Jarrod Bacon, co-accused Wayne Scott found guilty of drug conspiracy

 

Gangster Jarrod Bacon and his co-accused Wayne Scott have been found guilty of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Bacon, 28, and Scott, 55, who is the grandfather of Bacon’s child, were involved in a scheme to import up to 100 kilograms of cocaine into Canada from Mexico, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen concluded Friday. The two men were targeted in a sting operation in which a police agent, who can only be identified as G.L., implicated the accused in the conspiracy. Court heard wiretap evidence of the men meeting at Scott’s home in Abbotsford and discussing plans for the drug conspiracy. Bacon boasted that he could provide $3 million in financial backing to take the shipment of drugs. The scheme was aborted in August 2009 after a police emergency response team entered a warehouse where the drug transaction was expected to take place. Bacon was on bail at the time of the offence. He took the stand in his own defence, claiming that he wanted to steal the drugs but had no plans to traffic the narcotics. The accused lashed out at police and admitted to being a gangster but insisted he was not guilty of the offence. Bacon admitted a heavy drug habit, including the abuse of the painkiller OxyContin, as well as the use of cocaine and steroids. He called the media coverage of his family “propaganda” and said the press was on a relentless campaign to smear him. But prosecutors, who said the accused was motivated by greed, dismissed his testimony as an “outright fabrication” and called him an “unmitigated liar.” In a verdict that took nearly two hours to read out in court, the judge said he found Bacon’s evidence on cross-examination to be at times evasive, confrontational and argumentative. He said the evidence showed Bacon taking a “knowledgeable and cautious” approach to the business of drug dealing. He rejected the assertion by Bacon that he only wanted to steal the drugs, saying that “it does not accord with logic or common sense.” Bacon was clearly operating according to an agenda and his evidence was not truthful, said the judge. There was “ample evidence” of a conspiracy to traffic as opposed to just negotiations as asserted by the defence, he said. Though Scott was in the middle of the conspiracy, he had a stake in the trafficking enterprise and was also aware of the specifics of the plan, said Cullen. “The quantity of drugs at issue clearly implies an intention to traffic The discussions between Bacon and G.L. and Scott clearly imply the existence of a prospective trafficking enterprise.” The judge spent a good part of the ruling setting out the elements involved in a conspiracy offence and citing case law. Outside court, an RCMP officer said the ruling clarified conspiracy law for police. “I was really pleased because it gives all us more clarity on how we approach these things,” said RCMP Supt. Pat Fogarty. “In terms of the disposition, the verdict, I’m very pleased with it.” Asked why Bacon was targetted, Fogarty replied that there was intelligence available and police took the opportunity provided. “I don't like, and I would never say, that Jarrod Bacon would be a target based on his notoriety.” Asked about the impact of the verdict on the gang wars that have been raging in the Lower Mainland, Fograrty noted that many have been prosecuted with “a lot” more trials to come. “This is just one level of completion in terms of providing a level of safety to the Abbotsford community, in this case, but also as much in the Lower Mainland, to alleviate this gang stuff.” The verdict came after the judge had dismissed several applications by the defence to stay the charges. At trial, lawyers for the two men indicated that if there was a guilty verdict, the accused might seek to have the charges stayed on the grounds that the police were engaged in entrapment. Jeremy Guild, Scott’s lawyer, told Cullen that prior to sentencing, he would be proceeding with an entrapment motion but Jeffrey Ray, Bacon’s lawyer, asked that the matter be adjourned until next week before he decides whether to join in on the motion. The judge adjourned the matter until Feb. 8. Bacon’s older brother, Jonathan, was last year gunned down in a gangland slaying in Kelowna. His younger brother, Jamie, is awaiting trial in the Surrey Six murders.

NYC authorities hunt for leader of Folk Nation gang blamed for bloodshed

 

It’s one of the more colorful street gang names around: Six Tre Outlaw Gangsta Disciples Folk Nation — or Folk Nation, for short. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn allege that a particularly violent faction of the gang was behind at least four murders, three attempted murders and other mayhem that harmed innocent bystanders and terrorized the Ebbets Field Apartments housing complex, located where the storied ballpark once stood. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare ( FBI / Associated Press ) - In this undated photo provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Devon Rodney is shown. Wanted by the FBI, Rodney is the leader of the Brooklyn, N.Y. based Folk Nation gang, which they say is responsible for a series for armed robberies and shootings. A day after announcing charges against the faction’s upper echelon, the FBI and the New York Police Department sought the public’s help in a search Wednesday for a top lieutenant and another member still on the run. The fugitives were identified as 24 year-old Devon Rodney and 19-year-old Rahleek Odom. An undisclosed reward was offered for tips leading to their capture. The Folk Nation “claimed its turf by force ... leaving a trail of victims in its wake,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Said Janice Fedarcyk, head of the FBI’s New York office: “The defendants’ ruthlessness was matched by their recklessness.”

Gang Shooting In Union Gap

 

Union Gap has felt shielded from some of the gang violence seen in Yakima. That could be changing after a shooting over the weekend was the second in recent months. Action News found police are keeping tabs on the gang activity there. People in Union Gap are worried their quiet neighborhoods are starting to change. "I've noticed more groups of young boys walking around,” said neighbor Melissa John. “Not necessarily any certain colors." John doesn't know if the young boys she sees are gang members, or not, but she has seen more activity she blames on gangs. "There have been quite a few more tags on fences and side-streets and the building up here have been vandalized a couple of times with tags," said John. Union Gap Police are concerned that gang activity is escalating from taggings to shootings. Over the weekend, a man was shot not far from John’s home. These police photos show the evidence taken from the scene. It's the second shooting of this kind in Union Gap in just the last couple of months. The city used to see just one or two a year. Acting Police Chief Greg Cobb told Action News he's concerned the additional gang members moving in mean more violence for his city. Right now there are about 15-20 known gang members living in the city. The Chief said that in the past, troublemakers just lived in Union Gap, but caused most of their problems in Yakima. "Its only a matter of time before those drive-by's occur down here and those innocent victims are hit by stray bullets," said Cobb. For now people here, are not living in fear. "This area is pretty fine,” said John. “I feel safe here all the time." That's how police want it. So they'll keep a close eye on your new neighbors. Police identified where gang members live so officers can move quickly when there's trouble. Detectives say the biggest problem they face is that people aren't coming forward to report the activity.

Bikie gang member shot dead in Adelaide

 

The shooting of a bikie gang member and his club president father has been declared a major crime as the South Australian police minister says some outlaw gangs have no regard for the law or the community. Giovanni Focarelli, 22, is dead and his father, Comanchero club president Vince Focarelli, is in Royal Adelaide Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds after the shooting on Sunday night. Police Minister Jennifer Rankine said the state has tough laws to deal with the "scourge" of outlaw motorcycle gangs but some just shun the law."I am sure the police are as frustrated as what I am about what is occurring," she told ABC radio.

Hell's Lovers gang infiltrated in Denver

 

Investigators raided a Hell's Lovers motorcycle gang in Denver Friday night. Many of the motorcycle gang suspects are now in jail awaiting a court hearing Monday. The arrests come after a near three-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents raided the home and arrested at least 15 gang members for "violent crime." "We are not talking about traditional gang violence with younger youth that are from 17 to 24, which make up the bulk of gang violence. We are talking about...grandfathers even; some of them have different professions," says Terrance Roberts, a gang expert. The gang was formed in Chicago in the late 1960's, and has now spread to Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas. Agents say the gang has been associated with cocaine trafficking and use of weapons and explosives.

Murder trial of alleged SF gang member finally begins in deaths of father, sons

 

The triple-murder trial of an accused MS-13 gang member, whose case brought the country’s immigration debate to the steps of San Francisco City Hall three years ago, is set to officially begin today. Edwin Ramos, 25, is accused in the June 2008 fatal shootings of Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. Attorneys will present opening arguments this morning. The case was overshadowed by accusations that The City’s sanctuary policy contributed to the slayings. Media reports had suggested Ramos had been in the country illegally, but had not been deported when he was previously arrested as a juvenile. A lawsuit filed by the Bologna family against The City was later thrown out of court. Ramos’ attorneys have said Ramos entered the country legally from his native El Salvador on a tourist visa, but overstayed it. They also claim he left the gang prior to the killings. In July 2008 — as Ramos’ case entered the national debate and prompted fiery demonstrations in front of City Hall by both immigrant rights groups and conservative Minutemen — then-Mayor Gavin Newsom clarified city policy to begin referring undocumented juvenile felony suspects to federal immigration authorities. But Ramos’ immigration status will likely be a sidelight during the trial. Prosecutors are focused on trying to prove that when Ramos came upon the Bologna’s vehicle, he was an active gang member who was driving through the Excelsior district looking to retaliate for the earlier shooting of an MS-13 member. Police said Ramos may have mistaken the family for rival gang members. Ramos told police after his arrest he was the driver, but another man in the car fired the shots. His attorneys say Ramos “had no idea” the other man was going to shoot. A surviving Bologna son, however, testified at a 2009 hearing that Ramos was the gunman. The trial, which is expected to last for months, could feature testimony by gang informants who cooperated with federal agents. Authorities have successfully targeted the gang’s 20th Street clique in the Mission district in recent years.

Former top cop sees alarming trends in gang murders

 

Chicago police are celebrating the lowest murder rate since 1965. But a former police superintendent said he sees some alarming trends in both murders and the gang members who frequently commit them. "The residents of Chicago need to know - they deserve to know, that crime is headed in the right direction," said former superintendent Jody Weis. "We're nowhere where we need to be." For three years Jody Weis received briefings twice a day on who was being killed, where and why in the city of Chicago. He still keeps an eye on the stats - and trends - in his relatively new job as president of the Chicago Crime Commission. The year 2011 ended with five fewer murders than the previous year. But Weis said he sees cause for concern in what happened in the final few months of 2011. "If you look at it like a football team it might be like having a 12 and 4 season," Weis said. "The problem is if those four losses are at the end of the season, are you really satisfied with how the team is playing and I liken that to the last four months of the year. Murders were up 25-percent." The surge in killings last fall coincided with a decision to disband the department's Targeted Response and other units that flood hot spots with officers for a few weeks, then move on. New Superintendent Garry McCarthy sees that as a band-aid approach. Instead he hopes permanently re-assigning those officers to high-crime districts will knock down the number of shootings - and therefore murders - long-term. Last year Chicago police say gang members were involved in 66 percent of the city's murders. And gangs are a huge focus of Weis' work at the crime commission. Later this week he'll unveil the newest edition of the "Gang Book." Researchers found the Chicago-area has between 68,000 and 150,000 gang members. That's more than the entire population of many suburbs. More murders can be attributed to gangs. In 2005, fewer than 50 percent of all murders had gang ties. Now two-thirds do. And more people have multiple gang memberships. Experts think that's been inspired by the demolition of the large housing projects and scattering of residents across traditional gang boundaries. "Younger guys, not as mature, not as disciplined," Weis said. "They can't exercise a sphere of control any wider than maybe a block or two but they're every bit as dangerous and every bit as violent." Last week Weis' successor in the superintendent spot marked the first murder-free day in Chicago in nearly a year. If trends hold true, having "another" day without death will be many months away. On Friday the Chicago Crime Commission is hosting a seminar at Loyola University downtown called "Gangs: What do we know, What's being done and What's left to learn."

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post

 

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post in an apparently unmotivated attack. The youth, 14, was handed a sentence of 18 months of secure custody and supervision under the Youth Criminal Justice Act last week after admitting responsibility for an unprovoked summertime attack at a children’s park near Spence Street and Cumberland Avenue. Judge Heather Pullan credited the teen with six months of time already served, meaning he has eight months of jail left to be followed by a period of community supervision and probation. Details of the July 8, 2011 attack were described in court by the Crown as “gratuitous violence against complete strangers.” Prosecutor Sheila Seesahai said the boy approached a group of youths drinking in the park and started attacking them after striking up a short conversation over a “gang scarf.” While two youths managed to escape relatively uninjured, the teen pounced on a 15-year-old boy, knocked him down and repeatedly hit him in the head with the fence picket. “He hit the victim so hard that it shattered … the police just find pieces of it,” Seesahai said. Someone called 911 to report a “bludgeoning,” and officers arrived to find the victim passed out and bleeding from the face, court heard. His attacker was arrested not far from the scene. The youth was granted two shots at bail after his arrest but breached each time, Seesahai said. Since being in custody, he’s had to be transferred to a maximum-security youth lockup twice because of his behaviour, Pullan was told. The teen suffers from impulse issues and has had negative family influences, his lawyer told court. The youth said he “kind of felt bad for the people that I hurt.” “I’m sick and tired of the cockamamie in and out of this place,” he said. Pullan said she recognized the teen came from difficult circumstances, but it didn’t excuse his actions. “It’s not all about you,” said Pullan. “In the end, it’s about protection of the public.”

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post

 

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post in an apparently unmotivated attack. The youth, 14, was handed a sentence of 18 months of secure custody and supervision under the Youth Criminal Justice Act last week after admitting responsibility for an unprovoked summertime attack at a children’s park near Spence Street and Cumberland Avenue. Judge Heather Pullan credited the teen with six months of time already served, meaning he has eight months of jail left to be followed by a period of community supervision and probation. Details of the July 8, 2011 attack were described in court by the Crown as “gratuitous violence against complete strangers.” Prosecutor Sheila Seesahai said the boy approached a group of youths drinking in the park and started attacking them after striking up a short conversation over a “gang scarf.” While two youths managed to escape relatively uninjured, the teen pounced on a 15-year-old boy, knocked him down and repeatedly hit him in the head with the fence picket. “He hit the victim so hard that it shattered … the police just find pieces of it,” Seesahai said. Someone called 911 to report a “bludgeoning,” and officers arrived to find the victim passed out and bleeding from the face, court heard. His attacker was arrested not far from the scene. The youth was granted two shots at bail after his arrest but breached each time, Seesahai said. Since being in custody, he’s had to be transferred to a maximum-security youth lockup twice because of his behaviour, Pullan was told. The teen suffers from impulse issues and has had negative family influences, his lawyer told court. The youth said he “kind of felt bad for the people that I hurt.” “I’m sick and tired of the cockamamie in and out of this place,” he said. Pullan said she recognized the teen came from difficult circumstances, but it didn’t excuse his actions. “It’s not all about you,” said Pullan. “In the end, it’s about protection of the public.”

Police investigating three murders arrested 43 feuding New York gang members

 

Police investigating three murders arrested 43 feuding New York gang members on Thursday based on evidence collected from monitoring what the gang members were saying about the cases on Twitter and Facebook, authorities said. The 25 accused members of the Wave Gang and 18 accused members of rival Hoodstarz have been terrorizing streets in Brooklyn with shootouts that led to the killing of three people and wounding of several others, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The gang members, ages 15 to 21, bragged about the shootings on the social media sites Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, he said. "By linking their postings and boastings to active cases and other crimes, these officers were able to build their case," Kelly said. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said authorities will next be going after gangs in other Brooklyn neighborhoods. "We know who you are. We know how you operate," he said. "Make no mistake about it. We're coming after you next." Hynes said the feud that started in August between Wave Gang and Hoodstarz resulted in the death of an innocent bystander, and the wounded included a 9-year-old boy and his father. Wave Gang members often robbed 13- and 14-year-olds by threatening to steal their bikes and electronics to intimidate them into joining their gangs, Hynes said. The 43 gang members were indicted on Thursday on charges including murder, assault, reckless endangerment, robbery and weapon possession, with potential sentences ranging from a year to life in prison.

Nigerian sect kills over 100 in deadliest strike yet

 

100 people were killed in bomb attacks and gunbattles in the Nigerian city Kano late on Friday, a local government security source said, in the deadliest strike claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram to date. "Definitely more than 100 have been killed," the senior source, who could not be named, told Reuters. "There were bombs and then gunmen were attacking police and police came back with attacks." Hospital staff said there were still bodies arriving at morgues in Kano. Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Saturday for the wave of strikes. The sect has killed hundreds in the north of Africa's most populous nation in the last year. The attacks late on Friday prompted the government to announce a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city of more than 10 million people, the country's second biggest. President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been criticized for failing to act quickly and decisively enough against Boko Haram, said the killers would face "the full wrath of the law." Kano and other northern cities have been plagued by an insurgency led by Boko Haram, which is blamed for scores of bombings and shootings. These have taken place mostly in the Muslim-dominated north of Africa's top oil producer, whose main oil-producing facilities are located to the south. Aimed mainly at government targets, the Boko Haram attacks have been growing in scale and sophistication. A spokesman for Boko Haram contacted reporters in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, where the sect is based, to claim responsibility for Friday's bombings. Copies of a letter apparently from the group were also dropped around Kano.

super-powerful street gangs to surpass Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel

 

The main groups of drugs now in Mexico, Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel, will be displaced by super-powerful street gangs, and could be as early as 2014, warned a report by Southern analysis group Press. According to the document Beyond 2012, which addresses a number of hemispheric security, in three years from now the big fish are no longer the main drivers of violence in Mexico. Instead, they will be local groups split off from larger organizations with an interest in drug dealing and consumer markets in Mexico, found the document. The report’s authors are specialists Sam Bosworth and James Logan, for whom the end of 2014 the followers of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman and his main rival, Heriberto Lazcano, are no longer the main protagonists. Image via Wikipedia  The role will be local, street gangs armed superpowers with Twitter, YouTube (which he defined as “the weapon of fear”) and an enviable arsenal manipulated local politicians and municipal police. They felt that they will be more likely to intimidate or murder journalists, kidnappings and displacement of local government. The situation would represent a major change, since Guzman and Lazcano are considered together as responsible for some of the worst fighting in the country. El Chapo, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, is seen as guilty of starting the battle with Vicente Carrillo Fuentes for control of Ciudad Juarez in 2008, in a fight that led to thousands of murders and for a while “catapulted” into Juarez to be the most dangerous city in the hemisphere. Image via Wikipedia The enmity of his former allies Guzmán, the Beltrán Leyva, shook the underworld in the country, and contributed to increased violence in Morelos, Guerrero and his native Sinaloa. Lazcano, the Z-3, top leader of Los Zetas, who became famous for his pattern of movements into new regions and the alteration of the status quo . Initially a group of assassins, Los Zetas operated mainly in Tamaulipas. But the group broke away from its founders in the Gulf cartel, and settled in states as distant as Quintana Roo and Jalisco. Also the band has perhaps been more aggressive in expanding their operations beyond the drug trade and marketing of extortion, kidnapping and piracy, among other unlawful activities. The cartel led by Lazcano has the reputation of the most violent group in Mexico. According to the report, there is evidence suggesting that decentralization of violence is already underway. While Guzman and Lazcano are still big names, the relative power of the lords of his stature has been reduced during the administration of Calderon, by increasing smaller groups and regionally isolated. Some of these organizations were formed from the remains of larger groups, such as the Hand with Eye (a branch of the Beltran Leyva) and the Knights Templar (from La Familia Michoacana ). Others, such as Los Zetas , began as mere executor groups but evolved into something quite different: perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is La Linea , a gang of Chihuahua has essentially replaced the Juárez cartel, its prime mover. There are also many local street gangs, although they have existed in some form for decades, have become more violent and are more connected than ever with transnational groups, it said. While the main reason for the violence in Juarez appears to be the struggle between the forces of Guzman and Carrillo, local bands are an important factor in sustaining the bloodshed: Mexican officials say there are at least a thousand 500 gangs operating in Ciudad Juarez. Expected that with the emergence of several groups of medium and small size in Mexico, seek more lucrative black market. Drugs continue to play an important role in that market forces, but local consumption is sure to rise.

US official linked to Mexico gun scandal refuses to testify

 

A US Justice Department employee considered a key figure in a botched US program to track guns into Mexico has refused to testify to Congress, claiming a constitutional right. Patrick Cunningham, head of the criminal division of the Arizona state Attorney General's office, said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, according to a letter to Congress from his lawyer, revealed Friday. "I am writing to advise you that my client is going to assert his constitutional privilege not to be compelled to be a witness against himself," lawyer Tobin Romero wrote to Republican congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On Wednesday, Issa subpoenaed Cunningham to testify no later than next Tuesday after several failed attempts to question him. According to Republican lawmakers, Cunningham played a key role in approving the tactics of the 'Fast and Furious' program, which allowed people linked to drug gangs to buy automatic weapons in the United States in order to track their trafficking routes. Cunningham's lawyer said they had "blamed him unfairly" and underlined that his client took his post in Arizona in 2010, when the operation already was under way. Issa said in a statement it was the first time a government official had refused to testify in the probe. "The assertion of the Fifth Amendment by a senior justice official is a significant indictment of the (Justice) Department's integrity in Operation Fast and Furious," he wrote. He said it "raises questions" about whether President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder knew about the operation, a charge they have denied. The sting, which ran between November 2009 and the end of 2010, observed some 2,000 weapons pass into Mexico, losing trace of many of them. It has caused an uproar in Mexico, where rising drug-related violence has left some 50,000 dead in the past five years.

'Kings of Dust' Gang Suspected of Murders and Shootings, Police Say

 

Members of the "Kings of Dust" drug gang that terrorized a Harlem public housing complex are suspected of carrying out several murders and half-a-dozen shootings while controlling their $1 million-a-year PCP and narcotics empire, police sources said. Prosecutors on Wednesday released a 268-count indictment against the 35-member drug gang, which investigators said put an 8-year-old boy to work keeping watch for cops as older members peddled massive quantities of PCP and other drugs. The indictment charged gang members with conspiracy and drug sales, but police sources said Thursday the gang resorted to murder on several occasions. Tenants at the New York City Housing Authority's Milbank Frawley Houses at 1780 Madison Avenue said Thursday they lived in fear for months as the alleged drug dealers ran rampant, intimidating locals. The alleged drug gang members urinated in the elevator and in hallways, fought at night, and fired a gun at the housing complex at least once, residents told DNAinfo. Tenants said they watched helplessly from their windows as the gang took over the complex, gathering nightly in a courtyard that served as a hub for their drug trade. Prosecutors said the gang hid 2.5 gallons of PCP, which is sold both in liquid form and crystallized as Angel Dust, in Hawaiian Punch bottles. The gang was made up of men, women, and some "very small" children, residents said. "Every day I'd see them out the window," said Luis Pena, 43, whose apartment overlooks the courtyard. "Every hour there'd be more people." Maxine, a 65-year-old resident, said she was afraid to go out late at night, when the gang seemed most active. "We were scared of getting robbed," she said. Some said the drug activity seemed to increase about a year and a half ago, then intensified in the past five months. Residents said they wondered why it seemed to take police so long to stop the gang's criminal activity. "There were mad dustheads in the building and on the corner," said Marcella, a 56-year-old resident. "I don't know how the cops took so long." Investigators tracked the drug gang's activity for 15 months, prosectors said Wednesday. The probe was sparked by residents' complaints, but some said Thursday that officials seemed to brush off their concerns. "I was scared," said a 60-year-old resident named Yolanda. "We went to (the New York City Housing Authority) to say it was very dangerous and there were people outside. They didn’t do anything. They just fixed the door. They said call the police." A NYCHA spokesperson said the agency worked closely with the NYPD and was aware of the drug activity at the Milbank Frawley Houses. NYCHA was working to evict the residents who were involved, a NYCHA spokesperson said. "We will continue to assist residents in working with the NYPD in any way that we can, and periodic meetings have taken place with...police officers regarding criminal activity," the spokeswoman said.

Gang members are caught after boasting about murders on Facebook

 

GANG MEMBERS were caught by police after boasting about murders on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, according to US authorities. According to Reuters, 43 feuding New York gang members were arrested on Thursday by police investigating three murders. The evidence to arrest the gang was based on monitoring what they were saying on the social networks, authorities said. New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly said that the 18 accused members of Hoodstarz and the 25 from its rival the Wave Gang had been involved in shootouts that led to three people being killed and several others injured. The 15 to 21 year old gang members then boasted about the incidents on social networking web sites. Officers were able to link the boastful web postings to active cases and other crimes to build their cases, Kelly said. The 43 gang members were indicted on Thursday on charges including murder, assault, reckless endangerment, robbery and weapon possession. They are facing sentences that range from a year to life in prison. Brooklyn district attorney Charles Hynes said that authorities will be going after gangs in other Brooklyn neighborhoods.

The G-Shyne Bloods are a Richmond-area subset of the Bloods national street gang.

 

Henrico County jury found a gang enforcer guilty on all counts for ordering a robbery that resulted in a murder, and recommended a sentence of life in prison plus 23 years. After deliberating about four hours Friday, the jury of six men and six women found Merwin Raheem Herbert "Poncho" White, 21, guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and two related firearm charges. Authorities say White ordered two other members of the G-Shyne Bloods to rob drug dealer Quondell Pringle because Pringle had been holding himself up falsely as a member of the gang. Authorities say that during the robbery, James B. Pryor shot and killed Pringle, 22. The G-Shyne Bloods are a Richmond-area subset of the Bloods national street gang. White stared impassively at the jury's forewoman as she announced the panel's recommended sentence, ending a three-day trial in Henrico Circuit Court. Formal sentencing was set for March 7. After a deputy placed White in handcuffs, he nodded solemnly to supporters in the courtroom gallery. One woman could be heard crying softly. Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, who was elected in November, said the sentence shows that her office won't put up with gang violence and noted that the case was unusual because it involved a murder prosecution of a man who set the events in motion by giving an order but didn't pull the trigger. "This gang culture is something that's real," Taylor said. "Gangs in Henrico County are not tolerated, and law enforcement is committed 100 percent to the public and going after gang activity." Taylor praised Henrico investigators and prosecutors Toni M. Randall and Thomas L. Johnson Jr. for their handling of the case. After Taylor was elected, she removed several veteran Henrico prosecutors and hired Randall and Johnson from Richmond to serve as deputies in her new administration. After Friday's verdict, White's attorney declined to comment. Supporters of the defendant said it was unfair he was convicted of murder when he didn't carry out the shooting himself. "He's not a menace to society as everyone is trying to make him out to be," said White's sister, Roderica White, 20, adding that her brother is the father of four daughters and one son. Prosecutors said White ordered two fellow affiliates of the G-Shyne Bloods, Pryor and William D. Hargrove, to set Quondell Pringle up to be robbed last April. In his closing arguments Friday, Johnson described a meeting White had with Pryor and Hargrove to plan the robbery of Pringle by setting up a drug deal to buy marijuana from him. Johnson said White told Pryor and Hargrove, "If he bucks, then you know what to do." "Those were the last words given to James Pryor before he and William Hargrove left the apartment in Newbridge to complete their mission," Johnson said. Johnson said the gang's message to Pringle would be this: "You're going to be robbed. You're going to stop reppin' for G-Shyne." Pryor, a G-Shyne initiate, told associates that he shot Pringle after Pringle grabbed for a gun White had provided. White's attorney, William Linka, had urged the jury to disregard the testimony of prosecution witnesses who were deeply involved with the gang. One of the witnesses was granted immunity for her testimony, and two others admitted they expected some form of leniency on criminal charges they face. One of the men, Deshon Randolph, is facing a gang-participation charge for his role in a shooting of two other gang members in Powhatan County shortly after Pringle died. One of the victims was killed and the other critically wounded. Richmonder Joe Lewis Harris III, known as Savage and who drove the getaway car in the Pringle case, has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the Powhatan double shooting.

Man shot in Surrey was the half-brother of previously slain gang-associate

 

One of two men gunned down in Surrey late Thursday was the half-brother of a Dhak associate shot to death there in October, The Vancouver Sun has learned. And police are bracing for more violence as the death toll rises in a bloody ongoing conflict between two rival groups of gangsters. Sgt. Bill Whelan, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said heads of organized crime and homicide teams met Friday to strategize about what to do in the aftermath of a string of gang murders, including the execution at the Sheraton Wall Centre Tuesday of high-profile gangster Sandip (Dip) Duhre. “They are obviously concerned about the public shootings,” Whalen said. “Certainly in the last 24 hours, enforcement has been stepped up. There will be a significant increase in covert units tasked with working on this.” And he said the Uniformed Gang Task Force will be out in greater numbers throughout the weekend. The latest casualty, Sean Beaver, is from Montreal and was not well-known to police in B.C. before he was targeted in the driveway of a house in the 13900-block of 56 Ave. about 11 p.m. Thursday. A second man shot Thursday is fighting for his life in hospital. A second man shot Thursday and critically wounded is the sibling of Stephen Leone, a member of the Dhak-Duhre group who was fatally shot by a masked gunman as he sat in his black Acura sedan in a strip mall at 100th Avenue and King George Highway last Oct. 22. Another associate was wounded in the shooting. The Dhak-Duhre gang has been marked for months by a loose criminal alliance made up of Red Scorpions, Independent Soldiers and some Hells Angels. The conflict between the two sides bubbled into public view in October 2010, when Gurmit Dhak was gunned down at Metrotown mall by hit men suspected of being linked to the other side. Several retaliatory shootings followed in late 2010 and early 2011. And things spun out of control after Red Scorpion Jon Bacon was executed by masked gunmen outside of the Delta Grand hotel in Kelowna last August. A Hells Angel and an Independent Soldier were also wounded in that attack. The fallout led Gang Task Force leader Supt. Tom McCluskie to issue an extraordinary public warning telling people to stay away from anyone connected to the Dhak-Duhre group. And on Friday, McCluskie reiterated that plea. “If you are near or around any of these guys, then you are putting yourself or whoever you are with in serious, serious danger,” McCluskie said. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is in charge of Beaver’s murder. “Although it is in the very early stages, at this point this shooting appears to be targeted and gang related,” Sgt. Jennifer Pound said Friday. IHIT investigators canvassed the area around the palatial Panorama Ridge home where the shooting took place Friday, looking for evidence and speaking with potential witnesses. The oceanview house with an indoor pool sits on more than four acres and was purchased last August for $3.5 million by a person named Hua Deng. The new owner then rented the property out to a Dhak associate. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said politicians and police throughout the region are concerned about the escalation in violence. “I think with the shooting in Vancouver the other day, we thought there would be some retaliation,” Watts said. “I think it is something we are very, very concerned about.” Watts said if necessary Surrey RCMP could bring in resources from out of province to help as they did in 2009 when gang murders escalated. “We have that capability. If it escalates again, we are prepared to do that,” she said. “I would hope that things calm down."

Mention of Mafia at hearing for Hells Angel murder

 

References to the Mafia surfaced Tuesday as prosecutors and public defenders argued whether names of some witnesses should be kept secret at the upcoming murder trial for a Vagos motorcycle gang member accused of killing a high-ranking Hells Angel during a shootout at a Nevada casino. Ernesto Gonzalez, a Vagos member from San Francisco, is accused of fatally shooting the president of the rival Hells Angels' San Jose chapter, Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, during the Sept. 23 melee at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks. Lawyers for Gonzalez and two other men charged in connection with the killing asked Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer to order prosecutors to release the name of another Vagos member who testified confidentially before the grand jury that indicted all three men in November. But police testified Tuesday that the unidentified Vagos member fears for his life and is bound for a witness protection program. "The Hells Angels are a well-known, outlaw motorcycle gang, as are the Vagos, and people are scared of them," Deputy District Attorney Karl Hall said. Police Sgt. Eric Bennett, an investigator from San Bernardino, Calif., said yet another Vagos member who was wounded during the casino shootout - Leonard Rameriz of Garden Grove, Calif. - met with a member of the Mafia in the weeks after the killing. "We know a member of the Vagos met with the Mafia and gave him copies of affidavits for search warrants," Bennett said. He said that while the confidential witness is identified only as a number in the grand jury transcripts made public, there may have been clues to his identity in the search warrants. Rameriz, who was shot in the stomach but survived, also visited the residence of the secret witness and attempted to contact one of his friends, Bennett said. "He's afraid for his safety," he said. "Some (Vagos) members do know who he is." Steinheimer said she would consider the arguments and rule in the coming days whether the names of the confidential witnesses should be provided to the defense lawyers. Gonzalez, who police said is the president of a Vagos chapter in Nicaragua, appeared in court under heavy security Tuesday along with co-defendants who face the equivalent of murder charges for their role in the brawl that led to the fatal shooting. Gary Rudnick, the vice president of the Vagos Los Angeles chapter, is accused of instigating the fight by provoking Pettigrew. Cesar Villagrana, a Hells Angel member and friend of Pettigrew's, is accused of shooting Rameriz and another Vagos wounded that night. Gonzalez and Rudnick, whose nickname is "Jabbers," both wore bullet proof vests, shackles and handcuffs in court Tuesday. They're being represented by public defenders and are being held in the Washoe County jail awaiting their trial set to begin Oct. 29. Villagrana, who claims he was acting in self-defense and is free on $300,000 bail, is represented by David Chesnoff, a high-profile defense lawyer from Las Vegas. Chesnoff said Villagrana's rights are being violated because he doesn't have a chance to question the witness whose name remains secret and whose testimony was key to the grand jury indictment. He tried to make his point by asking two police officers testifying Tuesday whether they would want their defense lawyer to be able to question all the witnesses if they were accused of a crime they didn't commit. The officers acknowledged they would. "This isn't done in secret," Chesnoff said. "I want equal protection under the law here." The confidential witness told the grand jury he had been a member of the Vagos for 27 years and been part of its "higher echelon" of leadership "before this event." He said "Jabbers" is known for having a "big mouth" and was responsible for provoking a fight with Pettigrew that turned the casino floor into a shooting gallery. Rudnick had refused to back down even after national Vagos officers were summoned and talks with Hells Angels' leaders had calmed the volatile situation shortly after 10 p.m., the grand jury witness said. But about an hour later, Rudnick again was taunting Pettigrew, who the witness said "in the Hells Angels world is one of the most important guys in the United States." Finally, he said Pettigrew had enough and punched Rudnick in the face, touching off a series of fights that led to the gunfire. "All hell broke loose," the witness testified. "Just bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam." Other witnesses who testified before the grand jury on condition of confidentiality included the director of security and the director of surveillance at the Nugget. Gonzalez was arrested in San Francisco on Sept. 30. He told arresting officers that the Hells Angels were after him and asked them to get him out of the area as fast as possible when he was nabbed sitting in a rental car near campus police headquarters at the University of San Francisco, police said.

Bikie dispute leads to car park shooting

 

dispute between Comanchero motorcycle gang members led to a shooting in Adelaide's west on Monday night, police believe. Two shots were fired in the car park of the Findon Hotel about 10:00pm (ACDT). Detective Inspector Paul Yeomans says two men were arguing in the car park before one of them fired the shots at a dark-coloured sedan. "We don't think this is a random attack," he said. "We think that the two males are known to each other. We do think, even though it's early in the investigation, we do think it is linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang." The cars sped-off after the shooting and police have not said why they suspect Comanchero members. The shooting is the latest instance of bikie-related violence in the past two months. But Attorney-General John Rau insists the situation is not out of control. "There are always going to be lunatics who go out there and break the law as these people have done and when they're caught up with the law will deal with them," he said. There is no sign anyone was injured in the incident.

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police

 

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police just prior to a search of a St. Andrews home that netted drugs, ammunition and gang paraphernalia. Police said at about 3 p.m. Friday, Shane Allen Fischer, 31, and Nicole Joy Nykorak, 26, were arrested during a traffic stop at Highway 8 and Grassmere Road. The stop came about two hours prior to police executing two search warrants at the same alleged drug house on Lockport Road as part of a ongoing street crime investigation, police said Sunday. Police seized nearly $10,000 worth of cocaine and hash, along with coke-cutting agent, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, a bullet-proof vest and gang attire, Const. Jason Michalyshen said. The seizure of the armoured vest is significant, as it may prove to become the first test of provincial legislation that came into force Jan. 1 outlawing their use by the general public without a permit. Anyone unauthorized to have body armour and is caught with it faces a fine of up to $10,000, three months in jail or both. Michalyshen said he was unaware of any other pending arrests in the case. Fischer was out on bail at the time and was supposed to be living elsewhere, said police. Nykorak was out on statutory release from prison and is facing parole revocation, Michalyshen said. Police didn’t identify the gang involved, but said it was an outlaw motorcycle group. A police source said both have ties to the Rock Machine gang. Both suspects face “numerous” drug and weapons charges, police said. They are being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Movie fans must boycott Paul Ferris film..

 

SENIOR policeman has urged film fans to shun a new drama about Scottish gangster Paul Ferris. Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan spoke out after a promotional trailer for the film was leaked online. And he said he believed few people in Scotland would have any sympathy for the production, made by a London-based company and shot down south. The sympathetic trailer shows Ferris, known as “the enforcer”, as a victim who was bullied as a child and whose road into vicious career criminality came as a reaction against the “monsters” of his youth. It also contains scenes similar to the 1980s classic childhood friendship film Stand By Me. One shows Ferris as a young boy sitting around a fire with his childhood pals saying: “When we’re old, we’ll always be together. “We’ll live in huge castles and be kings. We’ll fight monsters and demons.” DCS Carnochan, head of Strathclyde Police’s Violence Reduction Unit, said last night it was wrong that people should seek to profit from Ferris’s criminal career. He added: “There comes a point in our understanding of the importance of the effect of early years has on later life when you’re beyond the point of saying, ‘You’re worthy of our empathy.’ “I’ve seen nothing of the film, so it’s hard to comment completely, but I understand why people will have a problem with this. “I don’t think that anyone should profit from criminality. Whoever they are and at whatever stage, I think it’s wholly inappropriate.” The film stars Greenock-born Sweet Sixteen actor Martin Compston in the lead role, with support from Hollywood Scots John Hannah and Denis Lawson. Hannah plays Ferris’s former enemy Tam “The Licensee” McGraw, while Lawson plays his father. Opening scenes see the young child Ferris climbing walls around his home in Blackhill in Glasgow’s east end, walking his dog and making “forever friends” pacts. Compston then emerges as the snarling adult Ferris, hell-bent on retribution against his childhood oppressors, growling: “Every single day of my life those b******s have bullied me. They sucked the life out of me. No f*****g more.” The scenes are played out against a sentimental score of plaintive folk guitar. No one from producers Carnaby Films was available last night.

Mexico drug gangs targeting gov’t choppers, at least 28 hit in 5 years

 

The Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have suffered at least 28 gunfire attacks on helicopters in the five years since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels, according to official documents made public Monday. The attacks show the increasing ferocity of Mexico’s drug gangs, and also suggest support for what the Mexican government has said in the past: that 2010 may have been the worst year for the upward spiral in violence. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare In the first two years of the drug war, reporting government agencies such as the air force, navy and Attorney General’s Office reported no chopper attacks. But in 2008, four helicopters were hit by gunfire, wounding at least one officer aboard. In 2009, bullets struck six government helicopters in the rotors, side doors or motor compartments. All the craft were apparently able to land safely. 2010 was the worst year for helicopter attacks, with 14 hit and one crew member wounded. Some craft had as many as seven bullet holes in them when they landed, with rounds going through windshields, fuselages, rotors and even landing gear. In 2011, only three helicopters were hit by gunfire, but the number is almost certainly higher. The federal police refused to release data on attacks on its craft, but publicly acknowledged that on May 24, suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a federal police chopper, hitting two officers and forcing the craft to land, though officials insisted it had not been shot down. Federal police said the pilot in that incident landed “to avoid any accident.” The Russian-made Mi-17 touched down about 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) from the shooting scene in the western state of Michoacan. Two officers aboard suffered non-life-threatening wounds. Mexico has long used helicopters in anti-drug operations. While security forces have updated their helicopter fleet in recent years, they has also retired some older craft, so the total number of choppers would not account for the variation in attacks. The newspaper Milenio originally requested the attack reports through a freedom of information request, and the reports were independently accessed by The Associated Press. Mexican drug gangs have long strung steel cables around opium and marijuana plantations to try to bring down police and military helicopters. In 2003, in what prosecutors said was the first fatal attack of its kind by drug traffickers in Mexico, gunmen guarding an opium-poppy plantation shot down two police helicopters, killing all five agents aboard. But those attacks were infrequent compared to what’s occurred since 2008. Overall Drug-related killings rose 11 percent in the first nine months of 2011, when 12,903 people were killed, compared to 11,583 in the same period of 2010, the office said. But the Attorney General’s Office found one small consolation: “It’s the first year (since 2006) that the homicide rate increase has been lower compared to the previous years.” Drug-related killings jumped by 70 percent for the same nine-month period of 2010 compared to January to September 2009, when 6,815 deaths were recorded. The carnage continued Monday, when seven gunmen were killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police on a highway in the city of Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City. A federal police officer was recovering from a gunshot wound to the foot following the confrontation. The prosecutors office in the central Mexican state of Morelos says the gunmen belonged to an organized crime gang, but did not say which one. “Organized crime” in Mexico generally refers to drug cartels, and remnants of the Beltran Leyva cartel have been fighting for control of Cuernavaca. Prosecutors said the gunmen were traveling in three stolen vehicles when police confronted them early Monday.

Accused bikie killer arrives back in Sydney

 

The man accused of shooting a bikie dead in Sydney's south earlier this month was flown back to the city last night from Western Australia. Tarek Abdallah was escorted on a flight from Perth after his arrest in the city's north last week. The 25-year-old spent last night in a police cell and is due to face Central Local Court today charged with murder and shooting with intent to murder. Lone Wolf bikie Neal Todorovski was fatally shot in the head outside his Sans Souci apartment on January 4. Police say the 37-year-old and two of his friends had confronted and bashed Abdallah. Abdallah allegedly broke free and fired at his attackers before escaping in a black four-wheel drive. Mr Todorovski's friends, 32-year-old John Leger and 23-year-old Matthew Lewis have each been charged with affray and concealing an indictable offence over their refusal to cooperate with police. Leger is also charged with possessing a prohibited weapon.

volunteered to be "jumped in," or beaten, by other gang members as an initiation into the Deuce Boyz/Soldiers

 

When Jonathan Rivera testified in his own defense in his murder trial Thursday, he was a soft-spoken former honor student who had found himself, through no fault of his own, living in a tough Salem neighborhood. Rivera, 23, addressed the prosecutor as "ma'am" and even told jurors his first thought after stabbing Shaundell Turner, 30, outside a Salem park nearly two years ago was "Oh, my goodness" as the reputed gang member with the street name "Tyson" kept coming at him on April 7, 2010. Yesterday, jurors got to learn about another side of Rivera, after he was confronted with evidence that he too was a member of a violent street gang — that he even volunteered to be "jumped in," or beaten, by other gang members as an initiation into the Deuce Boyz/Soldiers — and that he also sold drugs. Prosecutor Kristen Buxton was hoping to undercut Rivera's claims that he acted solely in self-defense and that he was simply a frightened young man struggling to survive in The Point neighborhood. The information about Rivera's ties to the Deuce Boyz, a gang affiliated with the nationwide Bloods street gang, and rivals to Turner's Gangster Disciples, emerged only as the trial got under way this week. But the questioning of Rivera about gang activities was limited, after a strategic decision by the defense, during a hearing that was done outside of the jury's presence. Rivera's lawyer, Ed Hayden, sought to introduce evidence about Turner's involvement in a meeting of the Gangster Disciples in which the members discussed killing an informant in an unrelated case. Buxton, the prosecutor, opposed the introduction of that evidence, saying that it did not show how, exactly, Turner was involved in the decision or whether he played any role in carrying out the retaliation. Judge David Lowy decided that Hayden could introduce the evidence — but only if Buxton were then also allowed to introduce evidence of Rivera's gang activities, including punching a cooperating witness who was also in custody at the Middleton Jail while Rivera was awaiting trial, a phone call in which he laughed about stabbing someone else months before Turner's stabbing, and a "mission" he had been asked to do by a more senior "Deuce Boy" named "Mundy" the night before Turner's stabbing. And while Hayden told the judge he was willing to "roll the dice," Rivera was not, and most of the gang information never made it to jurors. The jury did hear Rivera being forced to acknowledge that despite his claims that he always carried his knife, out of fear, he left it back at his girlfriend's apartment before fleeing to Quincy after the stabbing. "After the stabbing, you're in fear of retaliation," Buxton suggested, "and you have said you never go out without your knife." Yet this time, he did. "Because you knew it was the murder weapon," Buxton suggested. "That's not true," Rivera answered. Buxton suggested that Rivera deliberately took steps to conceal his involvement, including leaving a key to his girlfriend Valerie Moraitis' apartment, then leaving his clothing and the knife there before getting a ride to the Wonderland MBTA station. Rivera continued to insist that he changed his clothing only to avoid detection by the Gangster Disciples. And when he got to the hotel, Rivera initially claimed, he had a few hundred dollars that his parents had given him. Buxton pointed out that when he was arrested, police found him with thousands of dollars, something that might enable him to easily leave the state. Rivera told jurors, "The truth is, I've sold drugs." Closing arguments in the case are scheduled for Thursday.

Sydney police investigate drive-by shooting

 

Police say they are yet to determine the exact target of a drive-by shooting in Sydney's south-west, the eighth shooting since last Monday. Officers responded to reports of a shooting on Pelman Avenue in Greenacre about 4.20am today. A search of the area found six spent cartridges on the street but no damage to property. Acting Deputy Commissioner Alan Clarke says it is too early to say whether the incident is linked to recent shootings. "As we've been unable to establish a victim at this point in time, we'll go on the ballistic evidence before us and continue to conduct a canvas in that area and see if we can get to the bottom of this shooting," he said. He says the recent shootings seem to be targeting criminal networks. "Our biggest concern is the threat and the risk there is to innocent members of the public," he said. "As we've indicated continuously, this appears to be an intimidation tactic between criminal networks, and our fear is it is indicative of guns on the street. "We certainly wouldn't want an innocent member of the public to be caught up in one of these situations." Hannin Adra, who lives nearby, says she is worried. "I've got six grandkids - do you like your grandkids to grow up in this atmosphere?" she said. "It is a worry - if it's not a worry, you're not human." Neighbour Mounzer Adra says he heard five shots on the usually quiet street. "I woke up about 4.15, I hear the shooting, I wake up, I say, 'oh my God, what's happening? I thought it was a firecracker," he said. "It's not good feeling unsafe in this area, where the shooting is; something should be done about it." There have now been eight shootings in Sydney's west and south-west since last Monday night, and police have set up Operation Spartan to investigate the spate. There were two shootings in Yennora and Lakemba on Thursday night and one at Yagoona on Friday morning; no-one was injured in either of those incidents. Premier Barry O'Farrell has said he will consider new laws to compel people to speak to police about the shootings, but dismissed a call from the Opposition to recall Parliament to pass new anti-bikie legislation.

Cornwall shooting death men 'worked for IRA drug gang'

 

Two men killed and buried on a remote farm in Cornwall were working for an IRA gang involved in Liverpool's drugs trade, a court has heard. Boxer Brett Flournoy, from Merseyside, and David Griffiths, of Berkshire, were found dead buried in a van at Ross Stone's farm near St Austell in 2011. Murder accused Thomas Haigh, 26, told Truro Crown Court the pair worked for Irish republicans who "ran Liverpool". Mr Haigh and Mr Stone deny murder. The trial continues. 'Self-interest took over' Mr Stone, 28, who admits burying the bodies on his Sunny Corner farm at Trenance Downs, told police he had arrived back at the farm on 16 June to find the bodies of the two men lying on the ground, the jury heard. A badly beaten Mr Haigh was nearby, he said in an interview, and although Mr Haigh did not admit killing them, he told Mr Stone "Dave [Griffiths] wouldn't die". Jurors also heard that both defendants blamed the other for killing the two men, to whom the alleged killers both owed money, in Stone's case £40,000. The dead men were buried with their van on the farm near St Austell Mr Haigh - who went to hide in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, after the killings - told police that Mr Griffiths had beaten him up over a girl he had taken back to the farm. He said he had run off and that the men had still been alive when he did. Prosecuting, Paul Dunkels QC told the jury on the second day of the trial that both men's claims were lies. He said: "When arrested by the police, the alliance between these two men broke down and self-interest took over. "The murders were the result of the joint efforts of these two defendants." The burned bodies of Mr Griffiths, a father-of-three originally from Plymouth, Devon, but living in Bracknell, Berkshire; and Mr Flournoy, a father-of-two from Bebington, in Wirral, Merseyside, were found dumped in the back of a van buried on the farm in July 2011. Mr Haigh, 26, formerly of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and Mr Stone, both deny two counts of murder.

Thug law rules in gang war across NSW

 

THE dark-coloured car slows as it drives along the street and a gunman pumps bullets indiscriminately into the door, windows and fibro and weatherboard walls of an ordinary suburban home. The home is nothing special. Nothing makes it stand out. Except perhaps the surname of the people who live there. Perhaps the bullets slam into the car belonging to the occupants of the house. The gunshots shatter the quiet. The gunman's vehicle, probably stolen, roars off, wheels screeching, job done. This isn't Chicago in the 1920s. It is the harsh reality of Sydney - right now. The scenario has been repeated at least 48 times since March last year - and that's only the ones reported to police. "If people only knew how many shootings occurred in Sydney - there's a shooting on a daily basis, sometimes four or five a night," a law enforcement source said.  Explosives, steroids seized in police raids Perth Now, 16 Sep 2011 As the police launch Operation Spartan to put a stop to the gun madness, they admit their two biggest problems are the wall of silence they invariably run up against and the fact that there is no single group involved. Police reticence about singling out particular gangs for blame for the shooting spree isn't just political correctness. While bikies and Middle Eastern crime gangs are heavily involved, sorting out a dispute at the end of a gun has become terrifyingly common. Shots fired between cars at Greenfield Park Drive-bys sending a message at Arncliffe and Auburn Time to end gang wars It can be a blue about drugs, money, territory, a woman, a wrong look, a snub, a petty grievance. The answer is a bullet. Inevitably it is testosterone loaded. "You get two or three shootings that might be related to one conflict but then most are not linked to each other at all," a source said. The Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad focuses its attention on southwestern Sydney - areas around Lak- emba, Bankstown, Rosehill, Punchbowl and Flemington. These southwestern Sydney suburbs are the territories of the Punchbowl Boys, the Telopea Street Boys, the Assyrian Kings and the homes of notorious families who are gangs in their own rights. Like the Darwiches and the Razaks, whose fight over the cannabis trade in southwest Sydney claimed victims on both sides for almost a decade until Abdul Darwiche was executed in front of his family after leaving a restaurant in Bass Hill in March 2009. But this time, police can't bring peace to the streets by locking up a couple of families. Over the past five years there have been times when more than 50 per cent of each of the police squads, including homicide and drugs, have been actively investigating the Middle Eastern crime groups who live there. Among the disputes has been one over the ownership of a money-lending business after its boss was killed. These same suburbs are also home to many bikies. "Pretty much every bikie group you can think of has had a member arrested," Acting Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas said. "You can do teddy bear runs once a year but on the other 364 days of the year, you are committing crimes." Name the drug - heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis - it's available on these streets. Some shootings are drug related, fights over local turf. With the willingness to shoot dozens of bullets into a home comes the danger innocent people can get hurt. Now bullets are being aimed not at the main targets, but their families. It is wives and children waking up in horror.

Free booze for alcoholics makes perfect logic, but no sense

 

As the old adage has it, if you live long enough, you see everything. In the world of substance abuse and addiction, “everything” was in the news today. A group from Vancouver’s notorious hub of drug addiction and policy experimentation, the Downtown East Side, is proposing that a publicly funded, peer-run drinker’s lounge dispensing free legal alcohol to alcoholics be instituted as a means of harm reduction. The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education, whose spokesman, Rob Morgan, an alcoholic from a First Nations reserve near Terrace, B.C, sees the idea as the natural next step in Vancouver’s famous harm reduction movement. The lounge would be modeled on Insite, the safe injection site whose mandate is not to rehabilitate addicts, but to reduce the rates of disease and death caused by unhygienic consumption and unsupervised overdoes. Mr. Morgan’s logic is impeccable. Desperate alcoholics will drink anything with alcohol in it; they will drink hand sanitizer acquired from “dealers” who steal them from hospitals, as Mr Morgan has; they will share disease-ridden bottles; they sometimes freeze to death in an alcoholic stupor; and for only $3, and some water dilution, will consume 30 standard drinks from a 250 ml bottle of 95% rubbing alcohol. The ravages produced on the body by such a regime certainly rival any depredations short of AIDS suffered by drug addicts.

Goodwin Sentenced to 25 Years for Child's Rape

 

A member of the Bandidos biker gang is headed to prison for 25 years following his conviction on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Wednesday jurors started considering the punishment for Ira Goodwin, 67, who was wheelchair bound and hooked up to an oxygen tank in court. Goodwin faced up to 99 years in prison for raping a runaway 12-year-old girl who was staying at his home. The jury heard testimony from the victim and Goodwin's wife about the girl being given methamphetamine and alcohol before the assaults. Marcia Goodwin is serving a 10-year sentence for her role in the sexual assaults Ira Goodwin is no stranger to prison with multiple convictions in his past, including a 30-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter back in 1984.

Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown

 

Police have declared war on the gangs responsible for four Sydney shootings in as many days. And any would-be vigilantes and copycats have also been warned to butt out. Sydney's western suburbs came under siege again on Thursday about 12.30am (AEDT) when shots rang out in Bankstown Witnesses told police they saw a man wielding a rifle in a neighbourhood where a bullet hit a bedroom window in a home. A woman and her four children, aged between two months and 10, were in the room but no one was injured. Acting Commissioner Nick Kaldas labelled as cowards the people responsible for a string of shootings since Monday. "A lot of the conflicts that occur between these criminal groups is drug-related, unfortunately," Mr Kaldas told reporters on Thursday. "It's a combination of many ethnic-based groups as well as criminal types." Police launched Operation Spartan on Thursday and will deploy extra resources to the affected suburbs from the Public Order and Riot Squad, Dog Squad, Gangs Squad and the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad. Gangs Squad head Arthur Katsogiannis said the nature of the crimes was keeping vital information from getting to police. "Our frustration as investigators and police officers on the front line is the lack of assistance we're getting from both the victims and the witnesses," Superintendent Katsogiannis said at the same media conference. Police also warned would-be vigilantes and others to stay away. "One thing I hope that doesn't occur is any sort of copycat attraction," Mr Kaldas said. "Others may feel they want to take the law into their own hands. And my advice to those people is all you'll simply do is turn yourself from a victim into an offender." Mr Kaldas denied suggestions that gun crime was on the increase and said the incidents since Monday were a "spike" in shooting crimes. Around 2am (AEDT) on Wednesday the occupants of two cars were involved in a gun battle in Greenfield Park, in western Sydney. On Monday night, two drive-by attacks occurred in Auburn and Arncliffe, in Sydney's west and south respectively. Around 25 people were inside the two homes when the properties were sprayed with up to 35 bullets. Police are confident they will make arrests over some of the shootings. Asked if the shootings were all related, Mr Kaldas replied, "I have to say the bulk of them are not." NSW opposition emergency spokesman Nathan Rees said tweaking tough anti-bikie laws would be one way to help put an end to "gang warfare". As premier in the former Labor government, Mr Rees gave the Supreme Court powers to outlaw bikie gangs and prevent members from contacting each other. But the Crimes (Criminal Organisation Control) Act was struck out in June 2011 after Sydney Hells Angel Derek Wainohu challenged it in the High Court. The National Coalition for Gun Control has called on NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and the government to strengthen gun control laws. Police seized 6155 guns in the 2010/11 financial year and have seized 3663 guns in the first half of the current financial year. Most guns used in crimes are stolen from legitimate sources.