05:25
Reporter
Posted in: Commit_A_Crime_In_ThailandTuesday, 23 March 2010
young Russian tourist that she had been raped by a motorbike taxi driver, after she hired him to take her home to her condominium
PATTAYA Police Officers on the 14th March received a report from a young Russian tourist that she had been raped by a motorbike taxi driver, after she hired him to take her home to her condominium on Pratamnak Hill after an evening out with friends on Walking Street.
The attack which took place at around 4.30 in the morning, and left the victim, a 25 year old Russian woman, very shocked. She explained to the officers that she had hired the motorbike taxi driver close to Bali Hai Pier and asked him to take her to her condo. As they were riding along he suddenly pulled into some bush land and attempted to rape her. She fought, even managing to punch him in the face at one point, however, once he had violated her, he jumped onto his motorcycle and fled. As she made her way in the direction of home, she managed to get the attention of two Tourist Police Officers, who escorted her to the station.
Police have taken a statement from the young tourist, along with a very good description, and they will do everything to apprehend this monster before he attacks someone else. A composite drawing of the man has been created, and the motorbike taxi rank where the young woman hired the taxi, has been closed until further notice.
The young woman was then taken to the Banglamung Hospital where she received emergency treatment, forensic testing and a HIV check up.
MacMafia have failed to jail a journalist who revealed the mysterious death of their business partner.
MacMafia have failed to jail a journalist who revealed the mysterious death of their business partner.Now reporter Andrew Drummond is delivering a dossier to the Thai prime minister revealing his investigation into James Lumsden, 59, from Falkirk, and Gordon May, 67, from Edinburgh, who are involved in Pattaya's "Boyz Town" sex industry. The newsman had probed Lumsden and May's business in a series of Sunday Mail investigations. He told how, in April 1990, their business partner Iain Macdonald, 28, from Inverness, died in a Thai hotel fire.One month before his death, he had bequeathed his 50 per cent share in May and Lumsden's Boyz Boyz Boyz club and the Ambiance Hotel - worth £250,000 - to May's boyfriend, a Thai go-go dancer.
A second businessman, Kevin Quill, 39, from Yorkshire, also invested money with Lumsden and May but was jailed for sixyears for drug possession in 2000, despite a senior Thai police officer saying he had been framed. Three judges last week cleared Drummond, who faced being thrown into prison if he had lost the gruelling nine-year battle.The judges ruled: "The defendant was doing his job as a journalist, making facts public for foreigners doing business in Thailand. "There is nothing defamatory in what he wrote." Lumsden - who's drag stage name is Madame Jim - and May have been active since 1989 in an area of Pattaya called Boyz Town.Drummond, 58, said: "The Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will know exactly what I am talking about. He has already taken progressive steps against corruption."A year after opening Boyz Boyz Boyz with £250,000, Lumsden and May invited Macdonald, the son of a former provost of Inverness, to invest another £250,000 in their business. But when he mysteriously died, Drummond found he had made a will only a month earlier, leaving all his Thai investments to a man called Supan Kampanya.Drummond said: "I tracked the Thai man down. He was unhappy and scared of the influence of Gordon May.
"He had previously been a gay go-go dancer at Boyz Boyz Boyz and was May's boyfriend. He said all he got was 5000 baht - about £100.
"I am, of course, very pleased. But this is small consolation for the families of lain Macdonald or Kevin Quill. Their lives have been devastated."Marwaan Macan-Markar, president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, said: "We welcome this court ruling in favour of Andrew Drummond, particularly since the alleged libels involved were criminal offences under existing Thai law.
"The verdicts demonstrate a fundamental respect for investigative reporting in the public interest. This is a good day for journalism and the law in Thailand."
A second businessman, Kevin Quill, 39, from Yorkshire, also invested money with Lumsden and May but was jailed for sixyears for drug possession in 2000, despite a senior Thai police officer saying he had been framed. Three judges last week cleared Drummond, who faced being thrown into prison if he had lost the gruelling nine-year battle.The judges ruled: "The defendant was doing his job as a journalist, making facts public for foreigners doing business in Thailand. "There is nothing defamatory in what he wrote." Lumsden - who's drag stage name is Madame Jim - and May have been active since 1989 in an area of Pattaya called Boyz Town.Drummond, 58, said: "The Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will know exactly what I am talking about. He has already taken progressive steps against corruption."A year after opening Boyz Boyz Boyz with £250,000, Lumsden and May invited Macdonald, the son of a former provost of Inverness, to invest another £250,000 in their business. But when he mysteriously died, Drummond found he had made a will only a month earlier, leaving all his Thai investments to a man called Supan Kampanya.Drummond said: "I tracked the Thai man down. He was unhappy and scared of the influence of Gordon May.
"He had previously been a gay go-go dancer at Boyz Boyz Boyz and was May's boyfriend. He said all he got was 5000 baht - about £100.
"I am, of course, very pleased. But this is small consolation for the families of lain Macdonald or Kevin Quill. Their lives have been devastated."Marwaan Macan-Markar, president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, said: "We welcome this court ruling in favour of Andrew Drummond, particularly since the alleged libels involved were criminal offences under existing Thai law.
"The verdicts demonstrate a fundamental respect for investigative reporting in the public interest. This is a good day for journalism and the law in Thailand."
Posted in: Pattaya's "Boyz Town" sex industry.THAI army officers guarding checkpoints, government buildings and military bases during an anti-government rally will be armed
THAI army officers guarding checkpoints, government buildings and military bases during an anti-government rally will be armed from Monday due to recent grenade attacks, an army spokesman said.'Starting from today, the military deployed at checkpoints, government buildings and military bases will be armed in order to prevent ill-intentioned people from inciting unrest,' Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told reporters.'Because of the violent incidents in the past, including the (rocket-propelled grenade) attacks, the government is very concerned with the current situation so there is a need to adjust the security measures,' he said.Col. Sunsern said that only army officers at the key locations would be armed. Previously the 30,000 military personnel guarding the protests, which have stretched into their second week, were not armed.Two small grenade blasts hit Bangkok and a nearby province shortly after tens of thousands of anti-government protesters held a peaceful parade through the capital Saturday. One person was slightly injured but damage was minor. A week ago, four grenades exploded at a Bangkok military base, wounding two soldiers.
Mamoru Nagano, 64, from Kumamoto Prefecture, was arrested after the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok revoked his passport.
Mamoru Nagano, 64, from Kumamoto Prefecture, was arrested after the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok revoked his passport. Nagano has reportedly been living in Bangkok for the last three years, operating a real estate firm. He has been wanted by Hiroshima police on charges of violating investment-related lawsThai police on Monday arrested a Japanese man accused of swindling around 6 billion yen from about 1,600 victims across Japan, Thai Immigration Bureau officials said.
Canadian Woman Gets 3.5 Years in Thai Jail
Two Malaysians are still languishing in a jail in south Thailand as their families cannot afford to pay the 900,000 baht (RM90,000) bail
Two Malaysians are still languishing in a jail in south Thailand as their families cannot afford to pay the 900,000 baht (RM90,000) bail fixed by a southern Thai court.
Thailand's anti-government protesters said they will hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday to honour the revered monarch
Thailand's anti-government protesters said they will hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday to honour the revered monarch, who has been in hospital since September.The "Red Shirts" loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra have been demonstrating since March 14, pushing for snap elections to replace a government they criticise as elitist and undemocratic."Tomorrow we will light candles at eight o'clock in the evening to bless His Majesty the King's good health and to show our loyalty to the monarchy," Reds leader Jatuporn Prompan said Tuesday.Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption, has been accused by his critics of disloyalty to King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- a grave offence in Thailand, where the monarch is regarded by many as a demi-god.The 82-year-old, who is the world's longest-reigning monarch, was admitted to hospital on September 19 with a lung infection and fever. He has appeared in public several times since then.The protesters are also planning a rally on Saturday which they say will "shut down" Bangkok and exceed the parade they mounted in the capital last weekend which drew 65,000 people in a noisy but peaceful procession.
The Reds have rejected Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offers of talks with a junior minister, saying they will only speak with the premier and only to discuss the dissolution of the lower house.
Jatuporn played down comments from Thaksin's brother, who reportedly said he could act as a go-between to negotiate talks aimed at ending the street protests, which threaten to damage Thailand's image and economy.
"Thaksin's brother gave his private comments, it does not relate to the Red Shirts and what we call for again today is the dissolution of the house," Jatuporn said.
The Reds say the government is illegitimate as it came to power with army backing via a parliamentary vote in December 2008 after a court decision ousted Thaksin's allies from power.
The ruling brought an end to a blockade of Bangkok's airports by rival, royalist "Yellow Shirts".
The Reds have rejected Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offers of talks with a junior minister, saying they will only speak with the premier and only to discuss the dissolution of the lower house.
Jatuporn played down comments from Thaksin's brother, who reportedly said he could act as a go-between to negotiate talks aimed at ending the street protests, which threaten to damage Thailand's image and economy.
"Thaksin's brother gave his private comments, it does not relate to the Red Shirts and what we call for again today is the dissolution of the house," Jatuporn said.
The Reds say the government is illegitimate as it came to power with army backing via a parliamentary vote in December 2008 after a court decision ousted Thaksin's allies from power.
The ruling brought an end to a blockade of Bangkok's airports by rival, royalist "Yellow Shirts".
GRENADE attack occurred at around 10.30 pm Monday at a Highways Department depot in Bangkok's Talingchan area.
GRENADE attack occurred at around 10.30 pm Monday at a Highways Department depot in Bangkok's Talingchan area. No injuries were reported.A security box located in front of the local Highways Department office in Taling Chan area was damaged. Bang Phat police said the grenade used was an M-67.Pol Lt Colonel Prathan Jaemduang refused to comment whether the attack was politically motivated, but said a night guard was recently fired, and possibly responsible for the attack.No eyewitnesses were at the scene at the time of the blast.The officer said there was a security camera located around 100 metres away from the scene, but the distance was possibly too far to catch details of the incident.
accused, Rajinder Singh, Balvinder Singh, Kuldip Singh and Rajbir, had arrived in Mumbai on an Air India flight from Delhi early Sunday morning
Air Intelligence unit of Mumbai Customs arrested four persons at the Mumbai airport on the charge of smuggling digital memory cards worth Rs 52 lakh and produced them before a court on Monday which remanded them to five days custody.The accused, Rajinder Singh, Balvinder Singh, Kuldip Singh and Rajbir, had arrived in Mumbai on an Air India flight from Delhi early Sunday morning, a Customs official said.
One of them had arrived in Delhi from Hong Kong while the rest joined him there, the official said."They were detained while attempting to get past the green signal without declaring their goods," he added.
During the search, digital memory cards worth Rs 52 lakh were recovered from them, the official said, adding, subsequently all four accused were arrested under the Customs Act.
One of them had arrived in Delhi from Hong Kong while the rest joined him there, the official said."They were detained while attempting to get past the green signal without declaring their goods," he added.
During the search, digital memory cards worth Rs 52 lakh were recovered from them, the official said, adding, subsequently all four accused were arrested under the Customs Act.
saffron smuggling scams every day as criminals try to illegally import the aromatic flower from Iran.
widening gap in prices of the commodity between countries has fuelled a rise in criminals turning to the seasoning as an easy way to make money.
Customs officials have warned of an alarming rise in the number of illegal consignments of the red strand-like spice being seized at airports. officers claim they are uncovering up to three saffron smuggling scams every day as criminals try to illegally import the aromatic flower from Iran. The trend is being driven by the fact that while saffron costs around £1,100 per kilo in Iran, it fetches double that figure in India. Prices have soared in India as dwindling domestic yields have caused demand to outstrip supply. Saffron is imported legally from Iran, but criminals have turned to smuggling in order to avoid high import duties and reap the rewards of inflated prices in India. It is thought that gangs operating from within Indian and also in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are employing saffron “mules” to carry parcels of the spice in their hold luggage on international flights. An Indian customs spokesman said: “The smugglers are operating through carriers, who are paid 25,000 Indian rupees (£365) per trip. “The processed saffron powder is packed along with the unaccompanied baggage.” He added that the packages, which normally weigh between three and 10kg, are difficult to trace because scanning devices often fail to pick up saffron. Most of India’s saffron is grown in Kashmir, where the annual crops in October have sustained thousands of families for centuries. However, production has fallen from around 40 tonnes 20 years ago to just six tonnes last year, with experts blaming climate change, poor irrigation, and pollution in the region. Consequently, prices have doubled in the past three years. Shakeel Ahmad Mir, a spokesman for the Kashmir Saffron Growers Association, said: “Severe drought conditions that prevailed in 2000 and 2005 has effected the saffron yield to a large extent. “With poor or no irrigational facilities and the pest attack on the crop, the saffron production has gone down by approximately 85 per cent during last 10 years.
“The demand is quite high in India and the mafia, mostly based in south Indian states and Mumbai, smuggle Iranian saffron which is sold at cheaper rates compared to Kashmiri saffron. “The high demand and the influx of smuggled Iranian saffron in Indian market at a lost cost have emerged as a major challenge for the Kashmiri saffron.”
Although the decline in Indian saffron production is affecting prices in the region, European markets are not significantly affected as Iran and Spain provide the bulk of the 3,000 tonnes grown worldwide every year. Apart from its use in cookery, saffron is also used for religious purposes and in the pharmaceutical, therapeutic, dyeing industries. The spice is derived from the flower of the saffron crocus and its production is thought to date back around 3,000 years.
Liverpool-born gangster Curtis Warren, thought to be one of Britain's richest criminals, is due to appeal against a conviction
Liverpool-born gangster Curtis Warren, thought to be one of Britain's richest criminals, is due to appeal against a conviction for plotting to smuggle £1 million worth of cannabis.Warren, known by his nickname "Cocky", was once Interpol's most wanted man. He is the only drug dealer to have appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List when, in 1997, he was listed as a "property developer" worth £40 million
Warren, 46, started a 13-year jail term in December after he and five others were found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to import the drugs from mainland Europe to Jersey in the Channel Islands.The plot, the trial heard, would have seen 397lb (180kg) of cannabis bought in Amsterdam and driven back in a hire car through Belgium and France to the Normandy coast. It was then to be picked up by boat and smuggled on to the island where it was to be sold on the streets at massive profit.But when Warren's co-accused failed to come up with the cash, the plan fell apart. Police swooped to arrest the conspirators in July 2007 before the deal could be done.During the trial the court heard secret recordings made by police bugs fitted in the hire car and in public phone boxes around the island's capital St Helier.John Welsh, 43, originally from Liverpool, was jailed for 12 years; James O'Brien, 45, from Glasgow, got 10 years; Jason Woodward, 22, from Kent, and Jersey men Paul Hunt, 27 and Oliver Lucas, 23, were each handed five-year terms.All six men are appealing against their convictions and sentence at a two-day hearing in St Helier before Dame Heather Steel
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Two girls, aged fifteen and sixteen, ran away from a Nebraska juvenile home and made their way to a hotel in Omaha.
Two girls, aged fifteen and sixteen, ran away from a Nebraska juvenile home and made their way to a hotel in Omaha. A woman who introduced herself as Jazzie invited the girls to her room to smoke marijuana. Jazzie later introduced them to Russell. The girls were invited to join Jazzie and Russell on a road trip and were told they would have to make money along the way. The girls agreed to go. Prior to leaving, Russell gave one of the girls an identification card of a twenty-three or twenty-four-year old woman. The girls were later told that they would have to work at strip clubs and as prostitutes.In the days that followed, one or both of the girls performed at strip clubs and had sex in exchange for money. In time, law enforcement officers learned of the runaways' whereabouts and apprehended them. Based on information provided by the girls, they also apprehended Russell. The State charged Russell with the crimes listed above and a jury found Russell guilty as charged.Russell moved for a new trial, in which he challenged the credibility of the witnesses. The district court denied the motion. The court imposed sentence, which included a fine of $1000 in connection with the conviction for ongoing criminal conduct. Russell appealed.
The Prosti who goes by the name “Kylie had worked in Brigitte’s Massage Parlour since 1993 before being fired in April 2003.
prostitute who was fired by a Cape Town establishment has gone to the Labour Appeal Court and judges are stumped.
The Prosti who goes by the name “Kylie had worked in Brigitte’s Massage Parlour since 1993 before being fired in April 2003.
She was apparently fired for not doing enough, being choosy when it came to clients for spending time in her room with her boyfriend, who did not pay for the service.
I guess they don’t have real pimps in Cape Town. A regular pimp would have pimp-slapped her, all the time asking “who yo pimp master, beeyaach!” Then he would have thrown her back into her room and tell her to up her game.
And since Cape Town has an extremely large gay community, the pimp would have found some work for the boyfriend – to pay for his upkeep and the “services” from his girlfriend.The three Labour Appeal Court judges are still grappling with whether she is entitled to challenge her dismissal, since her “work” is legally not kosher.
An exasperated Judge President Raymond Zondo asked the hooker’s lawyer: “When dismissed you are made to stop with something criminal…but then you say ‘please protect me from someone who is stopping me from doing something criminal, it doesn’t makes sense to me.”
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration flatly refused to entertain her.
If she succeeds in getting reinstated, then it would open a whole new world for drug dealers and taxi industry hit men.
Then we will begin to see media stories like: “A Hit man has taken a taxi industry boss to the CCMA following his dismissal for mistaken identity killing”.
Or “Mule fired for losing cocaine stash”. Hijackers will also hijack the headlines: “Hijacker demands full payment for bloodstained car”.
Then the whole thing will spiral out of control and we will have protest marches for better wages by drug mules, car hijackers and hit man.
man who reportedly smuggled Giant African Snails into the U.S. so his followers could drink their mucus
man who reportedly smuggled Giant African Snails into the U.S. so his followers could drink their mucus is being investigated by state and federal wildlife agencies.
In January federal agents raided the home of Charles Stewart, 48, after they received several complaints. Stewart says his religion, Ifa Orisha, uses the snails in healing ceremonies. Some followers said however they got violently sick, lost weight and developed strange lumps in their stomachs after ingesting the snail mucus.
The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval. Experts say the snail, which can grow up to 10 inches, can devastate ecosystems; it eats more than 500 plant species, even plaster and stucco and can reproduce on its own.
For the last several decades, there was no known giant African snail in Florida. However, the state is no stranger to this massive mollusk. In 1966, a boy smuggled three snails into Miami as pets and his grandmother subsequently released them into her garden. Seven years later, more than 18,000 snails were found. It took almost 10 years and more than $1 million to eradicate this pest from Florida.
While not charged yet, Stewart could face a number of smuggling or customs violations in additional to civil penalties.
In January federal agents raided the home of Charles Stewart, 48, after they received several complaints. Stewart says his religion, Ifa Orisha, uses the snails in healing ceremonies. Some followers said however they got violently sick, lost weight and developed strange lumps in their stomachs after ingesting the snail mucus.
The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval. Experts say the snail, which can grow up to 10 inches, can devastate ecosystems; it eats more than 500 plant species, even plaster and stucco and can reproduce on its own.
For the last several decades, there was no known giant African snail in Florida. However, the state is no stranger to this massive mollusk. In 1966, a boy smuggled three snails into Miami as pets and his grandmother subsequently released them into her garden. Seven years later, more than 18,000 snails were found. It took almost 10 years and more than $1 million to eradicate this pest from Florida.
While not charged yet, Stewart could face a number of smuggling or customs violations in additional to civil penalties.
Police are investigating reports of three rapes of foreign women in Oslo during the past week.
Police are investigating reports of three rapes of foreign women in Oslo during the past week. A police spokeswoman has described the cases as “brutal” and “extremely serious.”
All three occurred in apartments being used by the women, who reportedly have been working as prostitutes in Oslo. Street solicitation was outlawed in Norway last year, and most prostitution has since “moved indoors,” according to media reports.
The first report of rapes occurred when two women from Hungary were found bound and gagged inside an apartment in Oslo’s fashionable Frogner district. They said two men, possibly from Somalia, had forced their way into the apartment, raped them and left them with tape over their eyes and mouths.
A third report came from a 31-year-old woman from Russia, who described a similar ordeal. The rape she reported this week occurred on Saturday, while the two Hungarian women were found on Monday.
Police said they were taking the reports seriously but had few leads in the cases.
All three occurred in apartments being used by the women, who reportedly have been working as prostitutes in Oslo. Street solicitation was outlawed in Norway last year, and most prostitution has since “moved indoors,” according to media reports.
The first report of rapes occurred when two women from Hungary were found bound and gagged inside an apartment in Oslo’s fashionable Frogner district. They said two men, possibly from Somalia, had forced their way into the apartment, raped them and left them with tape over their eyes and mouths.
A third report came from a 31-year-old woman from Russia, who described a similar ordeal. The rape she reported this week occurred on Saturday, while the two Hungarian women were found on Monday.
Police said they were taking the reports seriously but had few leads in the cases.
Friday, 12 February 2010
the New Boys are declaring a war on one club, they can expect to cop it from all clubs
The New Boys has been undercutting other dealers, and targeted outlaw bikies, the Hell's Angels, in a series of drive-by shootings in August.The New Boys emerged in the northern suburbs about four years ago and once congregated at pubs around Elizabeth and Smithfield. They use Hindley St as their base, as well as the Norwood entertainment strips, including The Parade, where they sell drugs. The gang has two "chapters" and is extensively involved in selling drugs, including ecstasy tablets and methamphetamine, and street fights, usually using knives.The group said to be headed by a city tattooist, the target of the bungled bomb attack who lashed out at cameramen yesterday when he returned to his home, metres from the crime scene.It was two hours before sunrise on Thursday when Enfield shook with the force of the home-made bomb, ripping apart a hire car and killing two men on Truscott Rd.Convicted drug runner Vahe Hacopian, 31, of Munno Para West, and a 23-year-old Walkley Heights Hell's Angels associate, made it within metres of their suspected target when the explosives accidentally detonated.Their target, a tattooist and New Boys drug dealer, lived just metres from where shrapnel showered the road.They were killed instantly, with one man's body blown across the road while the other remained in the vehicle, secured by his seatbelt.The tattooist was a suspect in the 2008 Gouger St shootings, his Enfield home raided by STAR Group officers hours after the gun battle.Yesterday, he returned home to his wife and children, but stayed only five minutes.A uniformed police officer stood about 40m away, guarding the crime scene around Thursday's bomb blast."Get that camera off the house," he shouted while rushing at a television cameraman. "Haven't you got any respect for my kids and wife? Is this how you protect the community, you maggots? Insects. Dogs."The tattooist has a criminal history dating back to when he was 17, including numerous convictions for serious assault and drug dealing.Yesterday, bikie expert and author of The Brotherhoods, Inside the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, Professor Arthur Veno said Adelaide was most likely in the middle of a turf war between drug dealers. "It's extremely unlikely that the (motorcycle) clubs are doing this," he said."The clubs are desperately trying to get rid of these guys."They have to distance themselves from the criminal element because the understanding is if they want to keep their club, they need to get rid of that kind of thing. It's much more likely to be an underworld drug situation or turf war."Prof Veno said if the New Boys wanted a war with one club, they would be shut down by all of them. He said the once-warring bikie gangs had been brought together by the United Motorcycle Council to fight the state government's anti-bikie laws."If the New Boys are declaring a war on one club, they can expect to cop it from all clubs, who will join together and stop it real quick," he said. "The bikie clubs are under so much pressure and they've reached a consensus through the United Motorcycle Council that they will push out the criminal element."They are desperately trying to keep a lid on things.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
targeted killings in Monterey County during the past year are the result of gang orders to cleanse the area of those considered traitors by Norteños
targeted killings in Monterey County during the past year are the result of gang orders to cleanse the area of those considered traitors by Norteños and their parent gang, the Nuestra Familia.Recent slayings of at least seven people not in good standing with the gang in Greenfield and Salinas led investigators to conclude that a "cleanup" of the streets in the wake of two large federal racketeering cases is continuing."We're dealing with violence that is spread across the Salinas Valley and beyond," Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier said. "The issues are not in any one city and the solutions will have to involve the region."Gang members, agents and federal prosecutors -- all of whom asked not to be named -- say the FBI is working a new gang conspiracy case in the Salinas Valley. Only San Francisco U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said on the record that the FBI and his office are investigating more gang crimes in Monterey County.The brazenness of some slayings remind longtime gang cops of a bloody era more than a decade ago, when gang leaders in Salinas and points south ordered dozens of killings in a civil war and power struggle within the gang.
In late 1998, several regiment leaders and so-called traitors were slain, with attempts made on many more as Nuestra Familia crew bosses fought over control of the valley.The slayings of three people in and near the Pueblo Inn.motel in Greenfield in December and January point to the possible involvement of a higher "shot caller" presumably still at large, investigators said.
Israel Cota of Soledad, who police say is a Nuestra Familia boss for Salinas Valley, is wanted on warrant by state parole officers. Police declined to say if he is a person of interest in the Greenfield slayings.Police continue to try to apprehend 18-year-old Francisco Tamayo, believed to be the shooter of two women at the motel, but investigators do not consider him to be the gang authority who ordered the crime.
Yliza Martinez and Veronica Gallegos, both 30, were shot in their motel room Dec. 5. Gallegos died that night, Martinez died a week later.Shortly after the slayings, fire crews were summoned to put out a mysterious fire in the motel's hallway.Although police have not speculated on a suspect or motive behind the apparent arson, gangs for years have used arson and fire bombings as warnings to tell would-be crime witnesses not to cooperate with police.On Jan. 14, Gallegos' half-brother Angel Gutierrez, 40, was shot and killed not far from the motel.About that time, officers learned Cota failed to show up for a parole appointment. Cota was released from Monterey County jail in late December.Citing an ongoing investigation, police declined to say whether they are aware of a specific motive for the three slayings, although Gutierrez was known to have had a falling out with Nuestra Familia years ago. Before that, he was "very active" with the gang in Soledad, an investigator familiar with his history said.Some killings likely ordered Salinas police detective Lalo Villegas said that just because a gang member is on a hit list doesn't necessarily mean his killing was ordered by the gang."Norteños can be on a hit list forever and nothing ever happens to them," he said.
Nonetheless, in the past year, he said, "we've also seen some of the true hits."
Gang officers from Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties say current levels of violence are in part the unforeseen consequences of large federal prosecutions.
A leadership struggle at the gang's highest level emerged after the FBI's Operation Black Widow took out the Nuestra Familia's top captains and generals and sent them to a federal supermax prison in Colorado in 2005. Since then, it has been well-documented that two factions in the Central Coast have struggled over control of the gang: Those still loyal to the leaders in federal prisons, and those loyal to the new general, D.C. Cervantes of Chino, in Pelican Bay State Prison, the gang's traditional headquarters.During the past year, investigators say, the Pelican Bay faction has asserted its authority after the government's Operation Valley Star in 2007 swept up key figures in the Salinas and Central valleys still reporting to the old leaders.
A second likely factor in the violence is competition from rival Sureño gangs.
The bloodshed has stepped up in part, police say, because the Nuestra Familia is trying to re-establish territory lost to its archenemy during the Nuestra Familia's recent years of organizational chaos.
"Villegas said the Salinas Valley is seeing Sureños targeting suspected traitors within their ranks, although he said he hasn't seen evidence the killings were ordered by higher-ups.Links to '98 homicide?One curious aspect of the investigations is that police are looking into whether at least two of the past year's victims may have known something about the slaying 12 years ago of Nuestra Familia's Salinas crew leader Miguel "Mikeo" Castillo by Rico "Smiley" Garcia, a case that made dramatic headlines at the time.In 1998, Alberto Arizpe contacted police in an apparent attempt to mislead officers shortly after Castillo's killing, according to a police report.He told skeptical detectives that Castillo's attackers were three Sureños -- members of the Norteños' rival gang. But Garcia later admitted to conspiring to kill Castillo and is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Florida.Arizpe eventually left the gang after he was assaulted and beaten by Norteño gang members in Monterey County Jail.Last summer, he was 28 years old when he was killed along with a female friend in a brazen home-invasion attack on a Salinas residence.Authorities are looking into whether last week's slaying victim, Gutierrez, was connected to Castillo's murder.Suspect not believed to be gunmanThe only person charged in the Pueblo Inn killings is a 15-year-old boy held in Juvenile Hall. Prosecutors say he was not the triggerman in the slayings of the two women, but was present when they were killed.On Wednesday, a county court is expected to decide if the boy will be tried as an adult on two counts of murder.
"Sureños are definitely getting more organized," said Villegas. "We do know that we've been having some high-ranking people trying to unite them. They're starting to be a little more structured than we've seen before.
Hells Angels violent biker war with the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club
Rising tensions between two biker gangs have Winnipeg police closely monitoring their actions.Police paid close attention to a bar at a St. Boniface hotel Saturday night following a tip that a fight could be imminent.The news follows a serious attack against a Winnipeg member of the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club inside a business on St. Mary's Road about three weeks ago.Sources tell CTV News the victim was lured to the business where he was then beaten.The victim had such serious injuries that he was unrecognizable.Officers say they had received information that the people responsible for the attack were Hells Angels members and a few of their associates.
The group was allegedly unhappy with the victim because he is a former member of the Zig Zag crew, which is a puppet club to the Hells Angels.He had apparently been seen around the city wearing his new gang's vest, which drew negative attention from the Hells Angels.Since the attack, police have been preparing to deal with some sort of retaliation.There were suspicions that members of the Rock Machine were going to attend a bar on Saturday night at the hotel because they knew associates of the Hells Angels frequented the place.Nothing appeared to happen at that bar Saturday night.Still, a number of Rock Machine members from outside the province have been seen in Winnipeg over the past week.Saturday night's events follow the execution of several search warrants, including one last week on Mighton Avenue in Elmwood.A 30-year-old man was arrested and a loaded nine millimetre handgun was seized at the home.CTV News has learned the man who was arrested is a member of the Redlined Club, a group which is considered a friend club to the Hells Angels.This arrest is also believed to be connected to the rising tensions between the gangs, say sources.Police have confirmed they were at the bar on Saturday night, but will not provide any further information.The public's safety was one of the main reasons police say they were there in such large numbers.
There has been trouble between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine in the past. Both groups were involved in a violent biker war in Quebec in the mid-nineties.
A truce was made but police say they are worried violence could erupt again.
The group was allegedly unhappy with the victim because he is a former member of the Zig Zag crew, which is a puppet club to the Hells Angels.He had apparently been seen around the city wearing his new gang's vest, which drew negative attention from the Hells Angels.Since the attack, police have been preparing to deal with some sort of retaliation.There were suspicions that members of the Rock Machine were going to attend a bar on Saturday night at the hotel because they knew associates of the Hells Angels frequented the place.Nothing appeared to happen at that bar Saturday night.Still, a number of Rock Machine members from outside the province have been seen in Winnipeg over the past week.Saturday night's events follow the execution of several search warrants, including one last week on Mighton Avenue in Elmwood.A 30-year-old man was arrested and a loaded nine millimetre handgun was seized at the home.CTV News has learned the man who was arrested is a member of the Redlined Club, a group which is considered a friend club to the Hells Angels.This arrest is also believed to be connected to the rising tensions between the gangs, say sources.Police have confirmed they were at the bar on Saturday night, but will not provide any further information.The public's safety was one of the main reasons police say they were there in such large numbers.
There has been trouble between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine in the past. Both groups were involved in a violent biker war in Quebec in the mid-nineties.
A truce was made but police say they are worried violence could erupt again.
Posted in: violent biker war24-year-old Howard Astorga, found guilty of first-degree murder
Four-year-old Roberto Lopez loved creating artwork out of glitter and sequins at a neighborhood arts and community center in the southern edge of Echo Park. It was while Roberto was near that neighborhood center that he was fatally shot a year ago last month by a gang member on parole. Today, a jury found that gang member, 24-year-old Howard Astorga, found guilty of first-degree murder, according to Associated Press. Astorga was firing his gun at a speeding car but one of those bullets struck Roberto instead. Astorga faces a prison sentence of 82 years to life.Since the murder, several groups have tried to organize residents of the neighborhood, wedged between Temple Street and Vista Hermosa Park, against crime.
Morgan Hill police are offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the gang-related death
Morgan Hill police are offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the gang-related death of a 24-year-old Hollister man, the city's first homicide in four years.
Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said today that detectives are still trying to figure out who killed Juan Jose Arrellano Jr. on Oct. 2.
Shortly before midnight that day, police responded to 911 calls from residents who heard multiple shots fired near the Crest Avenue apartments. The arriving officer found Arrellano on the sidewalk, bleeding from a gunshot wound in his upper body. He was pronounced dead at 11:35 p.m.
Witnesses told police they saw at least two young men, between 16 and 20 years old and wearing dark blue clothing, shoot Arrellano with a 9 mm handgun while shouting gang-related slurs.
Arrellano was the first homicide in Morgan Hill since 2005.
Officers flooded the area with the help of dogs from the Santa Clara County sheriff's K-9 unit and air support from San Jose police, but to no avail.
Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said today that detectives are still trying to figure out who killed Juan Jose Arrellano Jr. on Oct. 2.
Shortly before midnight that day, police responded to 911 calls from residents who heard multiple shots fired near the Crest Avenue apartments. The arriving officer found Arrellano on the sidewalk, bleeding from a gunshot wound in his upper body. He was pronounced dead at 11:35 p.m.
Witnesses told police they saw at least two young men, between 16 and 20 years old and wearing dark blue clothing, shoot Arrellano with a 9 mm handgun while shouting gang-related slurs.
Arrellano was the first homicide in Morgan Hill since 2005.
Officers flooded the area with the help of dogs from the Santa Clara County sheriff's K-9 unit and air support from San Jose police, but to no avail.
Capture of Raydel Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental apparently wipes out the existing leadership of the cartel headed by Teodoro Garcia Simenta
Capture of Raydel Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental apparently wipes out the existing leadership of the cartel headed by Teodoro Garcia Simental, who was captured last month. Teodoro and Manuel Garcia are brothers.Lopez, known as "El Muletas," and Garcia, known as "El Chiquilin," were arrested Monday in La Paz, a city in the southern end of the Baja California peninsula, said Amy Roderick, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.Mexico's Public Security Department confirmed the arrests in a brief statement, describing Manual Garcia as the gang's leader after his brother's arrest and Lopez as the current second-in-command. It said the arrests were the result of leads starting with the capture of Teodoro Garcia in La Paz on Jan. 12, but offered no further details on the operations.Roderick said there were no U.S. indictments pending against the suspects.The gang was known for its brutality, having executed, beheaded and mutilated hundreds of rivals in Tijuana, which is across the U.S. border from San Diego. Gang members pinned notes to corpses and dissolved bodies in caustic soda.Tedoro Garcia's arrest netted 19 mobile phones and two laptop computers. Twelve more cartel suspects were arrested in two raids in late January, including two men and a women who were allegedly about to dissolve a body in a bathtub with chemicals.Manuel Garcia is the youngest of three brothers. The oldest brother, Marco Antonio, was arrested in a shootout with Mexican authorities in Tijuana in 2004.
Teodoro Garcia was once considered a top hit man for Tijuana's dominant drug gang, the family-run Arellano-Felix cartel. He launched a new group affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel after law enforcement arrested or killed most of the Tijuana cartel leaders in 2008.
The splintered organizations have been involved in a violent turf battle in Tijuana, a valuable trafficking corridor to the U.S.
More than 1,500 people have been murdered in Tijuana since the beginning of 2008.
Across the country, more than 15,000 people have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels when he took office three years ago. More than 2,500 of the killings occurred last year in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The military announced Monday that soldiers had seized more than 12 tons of marijuana found beneath a false floor of a tractor trailer. The drugs were found during a routine search at a checkpoint near San Felipe, a town in the central part of the Baja California peninsula.
Today another Mexican cartel leader was taken off the street and is no longer able to carry out his bloody turf war
Teodoro Garcia Simental, blamed for a years-long campaign of massacres, beheadings and kidnappings that chased away tourists and caused social upheaval in northern Baja California, was arrested by Mexican federal police without the suspect firing a shot, and immediately flown to Mexico City.The heavyset Garcia, believed to be in his mid-30s, with close-trimmed hair and a goatee, scowled and dabbed at his mouth as he was paraded before television cameras at a police base wearing a zippered warm-up jacket.Better known for savage killing rampages than narco-business acumen, the man nicknamed "El Teo" bedeviled Mexican authorities for years and narrowly escaped capture several times. Last January, authorities arrested the man they said admitted being Garcia's body disposal expert. Known as El Pozolero, or "the stew maker," he claimed, authorities said, to have dissolved 300 bodies in barrels of caustic chemicals.Mexican federal authorities, acting on intelligence provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said they tracked Garcia down after a five-month surveillance operation. He was captured in an upscale area in the southern part of the city."Today another Mexican cartel leader was taken off the street and is no longer able to carry out his bloody turf war," said Michele Leonhart, acting administrator of the DEA. "This was not an isolated event: It exemplifies the growing effectiveness of our information sharing with [Mexican President Felipe Calderon's] administration, and our continued commitment to defeat the drug traffickers who have plagued both our nations."Though Garcia was not considered to be in the top echelon of Mexican drug lords, few reputed crime bosses have had such a ruinous effect on a region. Mexican authorities say he was responsible for hundreds of killings during a nearly two-year power struggle with rivals in the Arellano Felix drug cartel, in which he had once been a top-ranking lieutenant.Garcia is said to have branched out from traditional drug trafficking and focused his criminal empire on extortion and kidnapping, targeting all levels of society. During his reign, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Tijuana residents moved out of the border city to avoid being kidnapped, and more than 42 police officers were killed.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
masked gunman walked into a southern Sacramento County Vietnamese restaurant Wednesday afternoon and executed a 22-year-old man at close range.
authorities are calling a likely gang hit, a masked gunman walked into a southern Sacramento County Vietnamese restaurant Wednesday afternoon and executed a 22-year-old man at close range.No words were exchanged before the unknown assailant fired a black semiautomatic handgun multiple times at the victim, hitting him in the head and chest, said Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Curran.The gunman fled on foot down 53rd Avenue, and had not been identified by evening, Curran said.Few homicides investigated by authorities, he said, are “as cold and as calculated as this one.”
“It’s very scary,” he said.Curran said detectives suspect the killing to be gang-related because the victim had been validated as a gang member by law enforcement and because the area – near Stockton Boulevard and the 65th Street Expressway – is known for gang activity.Deputies were called to the Pho Ga Hung Vietnamese Cuisine restaurant on Savings Place for a shooting just after 2:15 p.m., Curran said. They found a 22-year-old man, whose name was not released, on the restaurant’s floor. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Curran said the victim’s friends, who later wept in the parking lot, and the employees were cooperative with detectives. At this point, he said detectives do not believe they were involved in the killing.The call drew roughly two dozen deputies and detectives, including a number of investigators from the gang unit. It also drew spectators, who stopped along the sidewalk of the busy 65th Street Expressway.Richard Sims said he walks by the shopping center often while on his way to the grocery store. He described it as fairly quiet and humble.But he agreed with the Sheriff’s Department’s assessment about gang activity in the area, and noted that people he believes are gang members often congregate at one of the businesses in the center and at another across the street.“There’s something going on,” said Sims, 52. Gesturing toward the deputies, he added, “These cats know – the police know – but they don’t come by here.”
Curran said that’s because budget cuts and resulting layoffs mean deputies have little time for anything but emergencies.“Unless there’s a call for service there, our deputies don’t have time to be proactive,” he said. “They’re going from call to call to call.”
“It’s very scary,” he said.Curran said detectives suspect the killing to be gang-related because the victim had been validated as a gang member by law enforcement and because the area – near Stockton Boulevard and the 65th Street Expressway – is known for gang activity.Deputies were called to the Pho Ga Hung Vietnamese Cuisine restaurant on Savings Place for a shooting just after 2:15 p.m., Curran said. They found a 22-year-old man, whose name was not released, on the restaurant’s floor. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
He is the fifth homicide victim within the Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction in 2010.The victim was eating with three friends – a man and two women – when the suspect walked into the restaurant, up to their table and unloaded his gun, Curran said.Three employees also were inside at the time, but nobody else was shot at or injured, Curran said. For that reason, he said, detectives suspect the victim was targeted.Witnesses described the suspect to deputies as a man between age 28 and 35, 5 feet, 7 inches tall with a medium build. He wore a dark ski mask and a dark jacket.
Curran said the victim’s friends, who later wept in the parking lot, and the employees were cooperative with detectives. At this point, he said detectives do not believe they were involved in the killing.The call drew roughly two dozen deputies and detectives, including a number of investigators from the gang unit. It also drew spectators, who stopped along the sidewalk of the busy 65th Street Expressway.Richard Sims said he walks by the shopping center often while on his way to the grocery store. He described it as fairly quiet and humble.But he agreed with the Sheriff’s Department’s assessment about gang activity in the area, and noted that people he believes are gang members often congregate at one of the businesses in the center and at another across the street.“There’s something going on,” said Sims, 52. Gesturing toward the deputies, he added, “These cats know – the police know – but they don’t come by here.”
Curran said that’s because budget cuts and resulting layoffs mean deputies have little time for anything but emergencies.“Unless there’s a call for service there, our deputies don’t have time to be proactive,” he said. “They’re going from call to call to call.”
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Eastside Riva, numbering about 800, as Riverside's oldest and "most violent" street gang, at war with the 1200 Blocc Crips
people with alleged ties to two rival street gangs engaged in a bloody years-long war in Riverside were arrested today in an operation aimed at taking down the gangs' leadership."Operation Promise," a coordinated federal, state and local law enforcement sweep, targeted the Eastside Riva and the 1200 Blocc Crips, leading to the arrests of 50 people, the seizure of 28 guns and two pet rattlesnakes, authorities said."This unprecedented operation is part of my ongoing promise to bring hope and restoration to the people of Riverside," said Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco, who made the announcement during a news briefing at the Regency Tower in downtown Riverside.Pacheco. was joined by representatives from the various law enforcement agencies that participated in the sweep, including the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the Riverside Police Department, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
A total of 650 law enforcement personnel served warrants on the residences of about 100 suspected gang members during the operation, authorities said.
"The damage we did was to the leadership of the gangs," said Pacheco.
"We were going after the top folks."
In addition to Riverside, suspects' homes in Beaumont, Mead Valley, Moreno Valley, Nuevo, Perris and Rubidoux were raided, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Pacheco said the sweep was the culmination of 14 months' work by the District Attorney's Office and the other agencies involved, with the goal of having "as large an impact as possible, in as many ways as possible."
The district attorney described the all-Hispanic Eastside Riva, numbering about 800, as Riverside's oldest and "most violent" street gang, at war with the 1200 Blocc Crips, an all-black gang numbering around 200, since the early 1990s.
Pacheco said the two sides have caused numerous casualties, including the deaths of innocent people, some of them children. Both gangs are into narcotics trafficking, he said. The Eastside Riva's drug trade is largely managed by the Mexican Mafia from prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
A total of 650 law enforcement personnel served warrants on the residences of about 100 suspected gang members during the operation, authorities said.
"The damage we did was to the leadership of the gangs," said Pacheco.
"We were going after the top folks."
In addition to Riverside, suspects' homes in Beaumont, Mead Valley, Moreno Valley, Nuevo, Perris and Rubidoux were raided, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Pacheco said the sweep was the culmination of 14 months' work by the District Attorney's Office and the other agencies involved, with the goal of having "as large an impact as possible, in as many ways as possible."
The district attorney described the all-Hispanic Eastside Riva, numbering about 800, as Riverside's oldest and "most violent" street gang, at war with the 1200 Blocc Crips, an all-black gang numbering around 200, since the early 1990s.
Pacheco said the two sides have caused numerous casualties, including the deaths of innocent people, some of them children. Both gangs are into narcotics trafficking, he said. The Eastside Riva's drug trade is largely managed by the Mexican Mafia from prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
2009 was the bloodiest in Jamaica’s history.
1,680 killings in ’09 highest in country’s history.According to statistics released by the police yesterday, 1,680 murders were recorded in 2009, a four per cent increase over the 1,618 homicides reported in 2008.According to the police, approximately 52 per cent (859) of the murders committed last year “were due to intra-gang and internal gang feuds, in addition to reprisal killings”.
October proved to be the deadliest month last year with a total 177 murders reported. There were 155 murders in May while December rounded out the top three with 152 murders.There was no month when fewer than 100 murders were committed.
Portland, which for many years showed very low murder figures, recorded the largest percentage increase in murders during 2009, moving from 11 in 2008 to 20 last year for an overall 82 per cent increase, the police revealed.Yesterday, police in that parish attributed the increase in murders to domestic squabbles.
“The bulk of the killings committed in the division, we have found out, were domestic-related murders,” Deputy Superintendent Gary Flash in charge of operations told the Observer.“It is a cause for major concern,” he said, adding that the police have already started to put measures in place to address the problem.The police statistics also show that women accounted for almost 10 per cent of murder victims, with a total of 163, while 81 children and 11 cops were killed last year.Guns accounted for 1,293 (77 per cent) of all murders last year, while 227 persons were killed with knives and machetes were used to kill 56 persons.There were also 74 double murders, nine triple murders and three cases in which more than three people were killed in a single incident in 2009.Seventeen murders were committed during drive-by shootings.A total of 1,667 persons were shot and injured in 2009, 139 more than the previous year.The police also said they fatally shot a total of 241 persons and injured another 339. Eight others were killed by licensed firearm holders, five by security guards and one person was killed by a Jamaica Defence Force soldier.But amid the grim news, the police pointed to decreases in murders in five divisions — St Mary with 14 compared to 33 in 2008, a drop of 58 per cent; St Andrew Central with 95 last year compared to 137 in 2008, a decrease of 31 per cent; Kingston Central moved from 71 in 2008 to 54 in 2009 for an overall 24 per cent decrease; St Catherine North with 178 last year compared to 184 the previous year, a decrease of three per cent; and Kingston West which recorded 54 murders in 2009 compared to 57 in 2008, a five per cent decline.Police also reported that they seized 569 illegal guns and 6,068 rounds of assorted ammunition last year.But while murders and shootings continue to spiral out of control, the incidents of rape and carnal abuse have trended down.However property crimes — robbery (3,004), break-ins (3,780), and larceny (511) — have all trended up by 13, 54 and 57 per cent respectively.
Guns were used in 1,979 robberies.
October proved to be the deadliest month last year with a total 177 murders reported. There were 155 murders in May while December rounded out the top three with 152 murders.There was no month when fewer than 100 murders were committed.
Portland, which for many years showed very low murder figures, recorded the largest percentage increase in murders during 2009, moving from 11 in 2008 to 20 last year for an overall 82 per cent increase, the police revealed.Yesterday, police in that parish attributed the increase in murders to domestic squabbles.
“The bulk of the killings committed in the division, we have found out, were domestic-related murders,” Deputy Superintendent Gary Flash in charge of operations told the Observer.“It is a cause for major concern,” he said, adding that the police have already started to put measures in place to address the problem.The police statistics also show that women accounted for almost 10 per cent of murder victims, with a total of 163, while 81 children and 11 cops were killed last year.Guns accounted for 1,293 (77 per cent) of all murders last year, while 227 persons were killed with knives and machetes were used to kill 56 persons.There were also 74 double murders, nine triple murders and three cases in which more than three people were killed in a single incident in 2009.Seventeen murders were committed during drive-by shootings.A total of 1,667 persons were shot and injured in 2009, 139 more than the previous year.The police also said they fatally shot a total of 241 persons and injured another 339. Eight others were killed by licensed firearm holders, five by security guards and one person was killed by a Jamaica Defence Force soldier.But amid the grim news, the police pointed to decreases in murders in five divisions — St Mary with 14 compared to 33 in 2008, a drop of 58 per cent; St Andrew Central with 95 last year compared to 137 in 2008, a decrease of 31 per cent; Kingston Central moved from 71 in 2008 to 54 in 2009 for an overall 24 per cent decrease; St Catherine North with 178 last year compared to 184 the previous year, a decrease of three per cent; and Kingston West which recorded 54 murders in 2009 compared to 57 in 2008, a five per cent decline.Police also reported that they seized 569 illegal guns and 6,068 rounds of assorted ammunition last year.But while murders and shootings continue to spiral out of control, the incidents of rape and carnal abuse have trended down.However property crimes — robbery (3,004), break-ins (3,780), and larceny (511) — have all trended up by 13, 54 and 57 per cent respectively.
Guns were used in 1,979 robberies.
Posted in: 2009 was the bloodiest in Jamaica’s history.Monday, 18 January 2010
BLACK PRISON GANGS
Black Guerrilla Family - United Blood Nation - DC Blacks - 415 Kumi Nation - Bloods
Crips - Mandingo Warriors - Black Warriors - Jamaican Posse - African American Council
Nation of Islam - Black Panthers - El Rukns - People Nation - Black P. Stones - Vice Lords
Mickey Cobras - Folk Nation - Black Disciples - Gangster Disciples
Crips - Mandingo Warriors - Black Warriors - Jamaican Posse - African American Council
Nation of Islam - Black Panthers - El Rukns - People Nation - Black P. Stones - Vice Lords
Mickey Cobras - Folk Nation - Black Disciples - Gangster Disciples
Aryan Brotherhood members make up less than one percent of the nation's prison inmate population,
Aryan Brotherhood members make up less than one percent of the nation's prison inmate population, yet the white prison gang is responsible for 18% of all prison murders.The Aryan Brotherhood picked the name because it showed white supremacy and the shamrock (clover) because it is the sign of the Irish (the original members had to be part Irish). They use the "666", which is the sign of the beast (it's earned for committing a murder), and the swastika, for one that takes pride in being hated & feared by their enemies. Only members of the AB are permitted to wear the "brand" of the gang; individuals found to be wearing the tattoo without consent are subject to being murdered.Sworn code of the AB:
I will stand by my brother.
My brother will come before all others.
My life is forfeit should I fail my brothers.
I will honor my brother in peace as in war.
As legend has it the Aryan Brotherhood formed at San Quentin Prison in California in 1967 in the cauldron of the prison race wars to fight the Black Guerrilla Family, a black prison gang led by the notorious Black Panther, revolutionary and author of Soledad Brother, George Jackson. The white supremacist group, which later became known as the Brand was originally comprised of prisoners of Irish descent and former members of 50's biker tips such as the Diamond Tooth gang and the Bluebird gang. The tips came together in the gladiator school style type prisons under a neo-Nazi banner. The Aryan Brotherhood was for whites only and its members were the most violent and ferocious of their race. By 1975 the gang was all throughout the California system.
As their notoriety increased and membership grew they established a chain of command modeled loosely on the structure of the Italian Mafia with commission that communicated via correspondence through 3rd parties passing orders to their prison based branches all across the US. The 3 man commissions were also a way to channel the gangs’ violence and resolve in-house feuds. They established drug trafficking, security, extortion and gambling rackets in prisons all over the country. The leaders who had multiple life sentences worked out of solitary confinement cells in some of the most secure prisons in the world. From Pelican Bay, the supermax in California, and ADX Florence, the Alcatraz of the Rockies, the Brand ran a prison empire through coded invisible ink letter. The FBI investigated them from 1982 to 1989, but the US Attorney declined prosecution. But the FBI reported that "the purpose of the AB is now power and is not a racial organization as it has been in the past." They even took a hit from John Gotti, the Mafioso, who offered the Brand $100,000 to kill the black prisoner who assaulted him at USP Marion in 1996.
On August 28, 2002, AUSA Greg Jessner indicted virtually the entire leadership of the gang. The indictment reached back 20 years spanning 3 decades and 32 murders. Forty members were indicted of federal racketeering charges in a 140, 10 count indictment. The majority of the gang members were already doing life sentences, so 23 of them are eligible for the death penalty. "This is a homicidal organization," Jessner announced. "That’s what they do. They kill people I suspect they kill more then the Mafia. They may be the most murderous criminal organization in the United States." The indictment is the largest capital case in the history of California and the AUSA indicted the Brand, a prison gang with laws originally passed to target Mafia leaders. "Inmates and others who do not follow orders of the AB are subject to being murdered as is anyone who uses violence against an AB member or anyone who cooperates with law enforcement." The indictment reads.
US vs Mills, No CR02-938 (C) (C.D. Calif.) is the docket number and the alleged leaders of the Brand have become legendary figures. Barry "The Baron" Mills, aged 57 and TD "The Hulk" Bingham, aged 58 are the leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood the government alleges. The indictment says that they've orchestrated the brotherhoods campaign from their cells at ADX, the federal supermax. Mills is doing life for a 1979 prison murder, but Bingham is scheduled for release in 2012, but if both are convicted they'll face the death penalty.
Thomas Silverstein
Another primary in the case is Thomas "Terrible Tom" Silverstein who started the AB-DC Black race war by killing Raymond "Cadillac" Smith, the leader of the DC Blacks in 1982 by stabbing him 67 times in the Marion Control Unit. "Within the gangs’ lore, Silverstein has become the Christ figure," AUSA Jessner said. And the race war with the DC Blacks is the central factor in the governments case as the 1997 killing of 2 DC Blacks at USP Lewisburg was allegedly ordered by Bingham in an invisible ink message written in urine.
Enemies of The Brand
The AB was originally formed to fight the Black Guerrilla Family, which was founded in San Quentin by George Jackson in 1966. The Former Black Panther, revolutionary and author of Soledad Brother had a vile hatred of the system and all things white. The BGF would beat, kill and maim random white when they caught them out of their cells for no other reason than that they were white. This cauldron of hate and atmosphere of tension, which existed at San Quentin at the time fermented the race wars in the California system and led to the rise of the big four prison gangs, which were divided along racial lines-The Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerrilla Family, Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia. The BGF allied with the Nuestra Family and fought a constant battle against the AB's who allied with the Mexican Mafia who was constantly at war with their counterparts from the northern part of California, Nuestra Familia while they represented the southern part of California.
The BGF was the most politically oriented of the gangs. It was formed as a revolutionary organization along paramilitary lines. Its goal was to overthrow the US government. They were led by a Supreme Commander or Chairman and the lowest echelon of gang members were known as soldiers. They originated out of the MAD Adjustment center at San Quentin, the first SHU in the country. They recruit members of black street gangs like the Crips, disenchanted members of radical black organizations and are aligned with the Black Liberation Army. Their founder George Jackson was killed by guards at San Quentin in the early seventies. A victim of his fame and notoriety.
The race wars in the federal system started on Nov 22, 1981 when the body of Robert M Chappelle, a member of the DC Blacks was found dead in his cell at USP Marion. Thomas Silverstein was the killer and Chappelle’s death worried bureau official who thought it might spark a war, which it certainly did.
Raymond "Cadillac" Smith, the alleged national leader of the DC blacks was the next person killed. Terrible Tom struck again on Sept 27, 1982 stabbing Cadillac 67 times in the Marion control Unit and dragging his body up and down the tier so that those locked in their cells could see. The race wars against the DC blacks raged across the feds in the early 1980's and again in the 1990's when 2 DC blacks were killed at USP Lewisburg by AB members who stabbed them 35 and 34 times to death. The violent campaign against the DC Blacks and the alleged race war are at the center of the government’s 2002 indictment against the Aryan Brotherhood.
The DC Blacks are prisoners from Washington DC who usually make up the largest single ethnic group from any single city making up 10 percent of the overall federal prison population. They are well schooled in violence from their time spent at Lorton the infamous DC penitentiary, and are known as notorious locker knockers, petty thieves and for pressuring prisoners for sex. A lot of DC Blacks were members of the Moorish religion at one time.
Timeline
"The most ferocious and notorious of any of the prison groups is the Aryan Brotherhood," the FBI reported. Over its four decade history the gang has evolved from an organization focusing on aggression against blacks to a violent white supremacist group that runs sophisticated gambling, extortion and dope operations in prison across the nation.
The Brand as the gang is called makes it members read The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Machiavelli's, The Prince and Nietzsche's Will To Power, as well as, exercising vigorously to stay in shape and studying Gray's Anatomy books, so as to know where to stab enemies and inflict killing blows. They've been accused of running-a barbed wire empire of terror, drugs and extortion. The case reached back 40 years to include stabbings, strangulations, poisonings, contract hits, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking. A brief history of the gang:
1964: The Aryan Brotherhood is founded in California's San Quentin maximum-security prison. Irish bikers formed the Brotherhood to fight against the Black Guerrilla Family. It is rumored that the AB sprung from a 1950s gang known as the Bluebirds.
1980: Throughout the 1980s, the gang becomes more organized as it establishes a chain of command. Two factions of the gang exist -- federal and California state. The federal faction creates a three-man commission to supervise gang activity in federal prisons. Allegedly, Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham are selected to oversee the gang's actions as high commissioners.
1982: An FBI report states that members of the Brotherhood are recruiting new members from prisons around the country. Prison officials try to disband the group by moving members throughout the correctional system. The AB forms a California commission and council that must approve the murder and assault of gang members who violate the organization's rules.
Oct. 22, 1983: Four guards are stabbed, two fatally, by AB members at the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Ill. It is the first time in federal prison history that two guards are killed on the same day.
1990s: Authorities relocate most of the Brotherhood's leaders to "Supermax" prisons, where prisoners are held in single cells for almost the entire day. The gang continues murdering prisoners and trafficking drugs.
1992: Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Jessner begins investigating the gang after it is linked to the strangulation of a prisoner in his cell at the Lompoc federal prison in California.
1993: The AB's federal commission forms a council that organizes day-to-day gang activity in the federal faction.
1994: Michael Patrick McElhiney arrives at the maximum-security federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan. He came from the Marion federal prison, where he served time with Barry Mills. McElhiney quickly becomes a much-feared AB gang member. In 2002, he is charged with running the gang's day-to-day operations at Marion and with controlling drug trafficking at Leavenworth.
March 24, 1995: Pelican Bay State Prison, a Supermax facility in northwest California, releases gang member Robert Scully on probation. Six days later, Scully fatally shoots a police officer -- evidence that AB crimes have moved beyond gang grudges and prison walls.
1997: Barry Mills and T.D. Bingham allegedly order a race war at a prison in Lewisburg, Pa., leading to the deaths of two black inmates.
1999: Barry Mills writes letters to paroled gang members, urging them to expand the gang's activities outside the prison. The gang allegedly used paroled members as drug dealers, gunrunners, stickup men and hit men.
Aug. 28, 2002: Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Jessner indicts nearly all the members suspected of being leaders in the gang. He charges them with carrying out stabbings, strangulations, poisonings, contract hits, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, robbery and narcotics trafficking.
March 14, 2006: The first in a series of gang-member trials begins in Orange County, Calif., for Barry "The Barron" Mills, T.D. "The Hulk" Bingham, Edgar "The Snail" Hevle and Christopher Overton Gibson. The four are accused of ordering or participating in 15 murders or attempted murders in the last 25 years. Federal racketeering charges are brought against 40 AB members, including Michael McElhiney. In a 140-page indictment, federal prosecutors outline gang actions that allegedly resulted in 32 murders or attempted murders in and out of prison.
July 2006: The first of a series of trials involving four high level members ended in convictions.Tyler Bingham and Barry Mills were convicted of murder and sent back to United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility Prison (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, where they are serving life sentence with no parole, escaping the death penalty. Edgar Hevle and Christopher Gibson were sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole.
September 2006: The nineteen inductees not eligible for the death penalty had plead guilty.
October 2006: Eleven more Aryan Brotherhood members are expected to go on trial in Los Angeles for similar racketeering charges
Aryan Brotherhood Lexicon
The Brand- the name the brotherhood is known by to members and refers to the shamrock or clover leaf tattoo found on members that denotes membership and signifies the Brand.
Blood In, Blood Out- This is the process by which someone is accepted into the gang meaning they have to kill to get in and the only way to get out is by death.
Making Your Bones- This is the initiation into the gang. When you kill someone to get in it is called making your bones.
Rocking Someone To Sleep- This is the process of disarming a target for murder by making him think you are friends. By rocking someone to sleep it makes them easier to kill when they aren't expecting it.
Lie or Die- When questioned by law enforcement types the Brand's motto is to lie or die because if you tell the truth and cooperate with law enforcement you will be marked for death, so you must lie to them and make them think you are telling the truth.
Getting Writted- This is when one AB member has a case and his defense lawyer gets all his brothers and fellow gang members writted in to be defense witnesses in the case at hand so that all the brotherhood members can be gathered at one place to discuss gang business.
Keistered- This is when a gang member in transit or in the hole sticks contraband such as drugs, tobacco or shanks up his ass so that it won't be found in strip searches and body searches.
In the Hat- this term is used when someone is marked or targeted for death. If someone is in the hat in gang parlance it means he will be killed soon.
Burpees- this exercise consisting of a combination of push ups and jumping jacks is performed by AB members on lockdown to stay in good shape. Sometimes thousands of burpees will be done a day.
Polishing the Rock- this term refers to gang members on the outside doing things to further gang and brotherhood business on the outside. Before leaving prison they will be urged to keep polishing the rock.
Kytes- this is what letters or notes to fellow prisoners are called. They might be in invisible ink or coded and are often sent via transferring prisoners or via a third party on the outside who will mail it to the appropriate gang member. Kytes typically contain instructions and order for furthering brotherhood business.
Runners- this term refers to girlfriends, associates and people on the outside who help the gang to achieve their goals by ferrying messages into and out of various prisons. They also gather mail at designated mail drops and forward them to other gang members in different prisons, smuggle drugs for the brotherhood into prisons through the visiting rooms and gather and collect monies sent to the higher ups in the gang either to put on their account or to pay for more drugs coming into the prisons,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prisons (and jails) that have reported AB activity within the past 3 years
* San Quentin State Prison in California
* California State Prison in California
* Pelican Bay State Prison in California
* USP Marion Federal Prison in Illinois
* Folsom State Prison in California
* California Institution for Men in California
* Harris County Jail in Texas
* Estelle High-Security Unit in Texas
* Garner Correctional Institution in Connecticut
* Lompoc Federal Prison in California
* High Desert State Prison in Nevada
* Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Mississippi
Allies: Mexican Mafia, Hells Angels, PENI, Nazi Low Riders
Rivals: La Nuestra Familia, Black Guerilla Family, DC Blacks
I will stand by my brother.
My brother will come before all others.
My life is forfeit should I fail my brothers.
I will honor my brother in peace as in war.
As legend has it the Aryan Brotherhood formed at San Quentin Prison in California in 1967 in the cauldron of the prison race wars to fight the Black Guerrilla Family, a black prison gang led by the notorious Black Panther, revolutionary and author of Soledad Brother, George Jackson. The white supremacist group, which later became known as the Brand was originally comprised of prisoners of Irish descent and former members of 50's biker tips such as the Diamond Tooth gang and the Bluebird gang. The tips came together in the gladiator school style type prisons under a neo-Nazi banner. The Aryan Brotherhood was for whites only and its members were the most violent and ferocious of their race. By 1975 the gang was all throughout the California system.
As their notoriety increased and membership grew they established a chain of command modeled loosely on the structure of the Italian Mafia with commission that communicated via correspondence through 3rd parties passing orders to their prison based branches all across the US. The 3 man commissions were also a way to channel the gangs’ violence and resolve in-house feuds. They established drug trafficking, security, extortion and gambling rackets in prisons all over the country. The leaders who had multiple life sentences worked out of solitary confinement cells in some of the most secure prisons in the world. From Pelican Bay, the supermax in California, and ADX Florence, the Alcatraz of the Rockies, the Brand ran a prison empire through coded invisible ink letter. The FBI investigated them from 1982 to 1989, but the US Attorney declined prosecution. But the FBI reported that "the purpose of the AB is now power and is not a racial organization as it has been in the past." They even took a hit from John Gotti, the Mafioso, who offered the Brand $100,000 to kill the black prisoner who assaulted him at USP Marion in 1996.
On August 28, 2002, AUSA Greg Jessner indicted virtually the entire leadership of the gang. The indictment reached back 20 years spanning 3 decades and 32 murders. Forty members were indicted of federal racketeering charges in a 140, 10 count indictment. The majority of the gang members were already doing life sentences, so 23 of them are eligible for the death penalty. "This is a homicidal organization," Jessner announced. "That’s what they do. They kill people I suspect they kill more then the Mafia. They may be the most murderous criminal organization in the United States." The indictment is the largest capital case in the history of California and the AUSA indicted the Brand, a prison gang with laws originally passed to target Mafia leaders. "Inmates and others who do not follow orders of the AB are subject to being murdered as is anyone who uses violence against an AB member or anyone who cooperates with law enforcement." The indictment reads.
US vs Mills, No CR02-938 (C) (C.D. Calif.) is the docket number and the alleged leaders of the Brand have become legendary figures. Barry "The Baron" Mills, aged 57 and TD "The Hulk" Bingham, aged 58 are the leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood the government alleges. The indictment says that they've orchestrated the brotherhoods campaign from their cells at ADX, the federal supermax. Mills is doing life for a 1979 prison murder, but Bingham is scheduled for release in 2012, but if both are convicted they'll face the death penalty.
Thomas Silverstein
Another primary in the case is Thomas "Terrible Tom" Silverstein who started the AB-DC Black race war by killing Raymond "Cadillac" Smith, the leader of the DC Blacks in 1982 by stabbing him 67 times in the Marion Control Unit. "Within the gangs’ lore, Silverstein has become the Christ figure," AUSA Jessner said. And the race war with the DC Blacks is the central factor in the governments case as the 1997 killing of 2 DC Blacks at USP Lewisburg was allegedly ordered by Bingham in an invisible ink message written in urine.
Enemies of The Brand
The AB was originally formed to fight the Black Guerrilla Family, which was founded in San Quentin by George Jackson in 1966. The Former Black Panther, revolutionary and author of Soledad Brother had a vile hatred of the system and all things white. The BGF would beat, kill and maim random white when they caught them out of their cells for no other reason than that they were white. This cauldron of hate and atmosphere of tension, which existed at San Quentin at the time fermented the race wars in the California system and led to the rise of the big four prison gangs, which were divided along racial lines-The Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerrilla Family, Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia. The BGF allied with the Nuestra Family and fought a constant battle against the AB's who allied with the Mexican Mafia who was constantly at war with their counterparts from the northern part of California, Nuestra Familia while they represented the southern part of California.
The BGF was the most politically oriented of the gangs. It was formed as a revolutionary organization along paramilitary lines. Its goal was to overthrow the US government. They were led by a Supreme Commander or Chairman and the lowest echelon of gang members were known as soldiers. They originated out of the MAD Adjustment center at San Quentin, the first SHU in the country. They recruit members of black street gangs like the Crips, disenchanted members of radical black organizations and are aligned with the Black Liberation Army. Their founder George Jackson was killed by guards at San Quentin in the early seventies. A victim of his fame and notoriety.
The race wars in the federal system started on Nov 22, 1981 when the body of Robert M Chappelle, a member of the DC Blacks was found dead in his cell at USP Marion. Thomas Silverstein was the killer and Chappelle’s death worried bureau official who thought it might spark a war, which it certainly did.
Raymond "Cadillac" Smith, the alleged national leader of the DC blacks was the next person killed. Terrible Tom struck again on Sept 27, 1982 stabbing Cadillac 67 times in the Marion control Unit and dragging his body up and down the tier so that those locked in their cells could see. The race wars against the DC blacks raged across the feds in the early 1980's and again in the 1990's when 2 DC blacks were killed at USP Lewisburg by AB members who stabbed them 35 and 34 times to death. The violent campaign against the DC Blacks and the alleged race war are at the center of the government’s 2002 indictment against the Aryan Brotherhood.
The DC Blacks are prisoners from Washington DC who usually make up the largest single ethnic group from any single city making up 10 percent of the overall federal prison population. They are well schooled in violence from their time spent at Lorton the infamous DC penitentiary, and are known as notorious locker knockers, petty thieves and for pressuring prisoners for sex. A lot of DC Blacks were members of the Moorish religion at one time.
Timeline
"The most ferocious and notorious of any of the prison groups is the Aryan Brotherhood," the FBI reported. Over its four decade history the gang has evolved from an organization focusing on aggression against blacks to a violent white supremacist group that runs sophisticated gambling, extortion and dope operations in prison across the nation.
The Brand as the gang is called makes it members read The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Machiavelli's, The Prince and Nietzsche's Will To Power, as well as, exercising vigorously to stay in shape and studying Gray's Anatomy books, so as to know where to stab enemies and inflict killing blows. They've been accused of running-a barbed wire empire of terror, drugs and extortion. The case reached back 40 years to include stabbings, strangulations, poisonings, contract hits, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking. A brief history of the gang:
1964: The Aryan Brotherhood is founded in California's San Quentin maximum-security prison. Irish bikers formed the Brotherhood to fight against the Black Guerrilla Family. It is rumored that the AB sprung from a 1950s gang known as the Bluebirds.
1980: Throughout the 1980s, the gang becomes more organized as it establishes a chain of command. Two factions of the gang exist -- federal and California state. The federal faction creates a three-man commission to supervise gang activity in federal prisons. Allegedly, Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham are selected to oversee the gang's actions as high commissioners.
1982: An FBI report states that members of the Brotherhood are recruiting new members from prisons around the country. Prison officials try to disband the group by moving members throughout the correctional system. The AB forms a California commission and council that must approve the murder and assault of gang members who violate the organization's rules.
Oct. 22, 1983: Four guards are stabbed, two fatally, by AB members at the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Ill. It is the first time in federal prison history that two guards are killed on the same day.
1990s: Authorities relocate most of the Brotherhood's leaders to "Supermax" prisons, where prisoners are held in single cells for almost the entire day. The gang continues murdering prisoners and trafficking drugs.
1992: Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Jessner begins investigating the gang after it is linked to the strangulation of a prisoner in his cell at the Lompoc federal prison in California.
1993: The AB's federal commission forms a council that organizes day-to-day gang activity in the federal faction.
1994: Michael Patrick McElhiney arrives at the maximum-security federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan. He came from the Marion federal prison, where he served time with Barry Mills. McElhiney quickly becomes a much-feared AB gang member. In 2002, he is charged with running the gang's day-to-day operations at Marion and with controlling drug trafficking at Leavenworth.
March 24, 1995: Pelican Bay State Prison, a Supermax facility in northwest California, releases gang member Robert Scully on probation. Six days later, Scully fatally shoots a police officer -- evidence that AB crimes have moved beyond gang grudges and prison walls.
1997: Barry Mills and T.D. Bingham allegedly order a race war at a prison in Lewisburg, Pa., leading to the deaths of two black inmates.
1999: Barry Mills writes letters to paroled gang members, urging them to expand the gang's activities outside the prison. The gang allegedly used paroled members as drug dealers, gunrunners, stickup men and hit men.
Aug. 28, 2002: Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Jessner indicts nearly all the members suspected of being leaders in the gang. He charges them with carrying out stabbings, strangulations, poisonings, contract hits, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, robbery and narcotics trafficking.
March 14, 2006: The first in a series of gang-member trials begins in Orange County, Calif., for Barry "The Barron" Mills, T.D. "The Hulk" Bingham, Edgar "The Snail" Hevle and Christopher Overton Gibson. The four are accused of ordering or participating in 15 murders or attempted murders in the last 25 years. Federal racketeering charges are brought against 40 AB members, including Michael McElhiney. In a 140-page indictment, federal prosecutors outline gang actions that allegedly resulted in 32 murders or attempted murders in and out of prison.
July 2006: The first of a series of trials involving four high level members ended in convictions.Tyler Bingham and Barry Mills were convicted of murder and sent back to United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility Prison (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, where they are serving life sentence with no parole, escaping the death penalty. Edgar Hevle and Christopher Gibson were sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole.
September 2006: The nineteen inductees not eligible for the death penalty had plead guilty.
October 2006: Eleven more Aryan Brotherhood members are expected to go on trial in Los Angeles for similar racketeering charges
Aryan Brotherhood Lexicon
The Brand- the name the brotherhood is known by to members and refers to the shamrock or clover leaf tattoo found on members that denotes membership and signifies the Brand.
Blood In, Blood Out- This is the process by which someone is accepted into the gang meaning they have to kill to get in and the only way to get out is by death.
Making Your Bones- This is the initiation into the gang. When you kill someone to get in it is called making your bones.
Rocking Someone To Sleep- This is the process of disarming a target for murder by making him think you are friends. By rocking someone to sleep it makes them easier to kill when they aren't expecting it.
Lie or Die- When questioned by law enforcement types the Brand's motto is to lie or die because if you tell the truth and cooperate with law enforcement you will be marked for death, so you must lie to them and make them think you are telling the truth.
Getting Writted- This is when one AB member has a case and his defense lawyer gets all his brothers and fellow gang members writted in to be defense witnesses in the case at hand so that all the brotherhood members can be gathered at one place to discuss gang business.
Keistered- This is when a gang member in transit or in the hole sticks contraband such as drugs, tobacco or shanks up his ass so that it won't be found in strip searches and body searches.
In the Hat- this term is used when someone is marked or targeted for death. If someone is in the hat in gang parlance it means he will be killed soon.
Burpees- this exercise consisting of a combination of push ups and jumping jacks is performed by AB members on lockdown to stay in good shape. Sometimes thousands of burpees will be done a day.
Polishing the Rock- this term refers to gang members on the outside doing things to further gang and brotherhood business on the outside. Before leaving prison they will be urged to keep polishing the rock.
Kytes- this is what letters or notes to fellow prisoners are called. They might be in invisible ink or coded and are often sent via transferring prisoners or via a third party on the outside who will mail it to the appropriate gang member. Kytes typically contain instructions and order for furthering brotherhood business.
Runners- this term refers to girlfriends, associates and people on the outside who help the gang to achieve their goals by ferrying messages into and out of various prisons. They also gather mail at designated mail drops and forward them to other gang members in different prisons, smuggle drugs for the brotherhood into prisons through the visiting rooms and gather and collect monies sent to the higher ups in the gang either to put on their account or to pay for more drugs coming into the prisons,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prisons (and jails) that have reported AB activity within the past 3 years
* San Quentin State Prison in California
* California State Prison in California
* Pelican Bay State Prison in California
* USP Marion Federal Prison in Illinois
* Folsom State Prison in California
* California Institution for Men in California
* Harris County Jail in Texas
* Estelle High-Security Unit in Texas
* Garner Correctional Institution in Connecticut
* Lompoc Federal Prison in California
* High Desert State Prison in Nevada
* Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Mississippi
Allies: Mexican Mafia, Hells Angels, PENI, Nazi Low Riders
Rivals: La Nuestra Familia, Black Guerilla Family, DC Blacks
LATINO PRISON GANGS
Nortenos - Surenos - Mexican Mafia - Nuestra Familia - Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
Texas Syndicate - Mexikanemi - Barrio Azteca - Pistoleros Latinos - Fresno Bulldogs
Florencia 13 - 18th Street Gang - Latin Kings - Maniac Latin Disciples - Latin Counts
Tango Blast - Los Solidos - Tri City Bombers - Border Brothers - West Texas Tango
Raza Unida - Texas Chicano Brotherhood
Texas Syndicate - Mexikanemi - Barrio Azteca - Pistoleros Latinos - Fresno Bulldogs
Florencia 13 - 18th Street Gang - Latin Kings - Maniac Latin Disciples - Latin Counts
Tango Blast - Los Solidos - Tri City Bombers - Border Brothers - West Texas Tango
Raza Unida - Texas Chicano Brotherhood
WHITE PRISON GANGS
WHITE PRISON GANGS
Aryan Brotherhood - Nazi Low Riders - Public Enemy #1 (PENI) - Peckerwoods
Aryan Circle - Dirty White Boys - Aryan Knights - European Kindred
Skinheads - Hammerskins - Thorndale JagOffs - Silent Aryan Warriors
Almighty Gaylords - Simon City Royals - Insane Gangster Disciples
Dead Man Inc. - Krieger Verwandt - Brotherhood of Aryan Alliance
United Brotherhood Kindred - Saxon Knights - Aryan Warriors
Neo-Nazis - KKK - TCB Hate Crew - Fourth Reich - American Front
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in the United States - Henchmen MC
Hells Angels MC - Pagans MC - Sons of Silence MC - Mongols MC - Outlaws MC
Gypsy Joker MC - Diablos MC - Vagos MC - Black Pistons MC - Bandidos MC
Highwaymen MC - Warlocks MC - Brother Speed MC - The Breed MC
Aryan Brotherhood - Nazi Low Riders - Public Enemy #1 (PENI) - Peckerwoods
Aryan Circle - Dirty White Boys - Aryan Knights - European Kindred
Skinheads - Hammerskins - Thorndale JagOffs - Silent Aryan Warriors
Almighty Gaylords - Simon City Royals - Insane Gangster Disciples
Dead Man Inc. - Krieger Verwandt - Brotherhood of Aryan Alliance
United Brotherhood Kindred - Saxon Knights - Aryan Warriors
Neo-Nazis - KKK - TCB Hate Crew - Fourth Reich - American Front
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in the United States - Henchmen MC
Hells Angels MC - Pagans MC - Sons of Silence MC - Mongols MC - Outlaws MC
Gypsy Joker MC - Diablos MC - Vagos MC - Black Pistons MC - Bandidos MC
Highwaymen MC - Warlocks MC - Brother Speed MC - The Breed MC
Heavily armed gangs who once ran Haiti's largest slum like warlords have returned with a vengeance
Mounted on motorcycles, and brandishing assault rifles and guns thought to have been stripped from prison guards during the quake, the gang members include one stone-cold killer known only by the street name "Blade."Heavily armed gangs who once ran Haiti's largest slum like warlords have returned with a vengeance since Tuesday's earthquake damaged the National Penitentiary allowing 3,000 inmates to break out.The pacification of Cite Soleil had been one of President Rene Prevail's few undisputed achievements since taking office in 2006, until the quake devastated Port-au-Prince."It's only natural that they would come back here. This has always been their stronghold," said a Haitian police officer in the teeming warren of shacks, alleys and open sewers that is home to more than 300,000 people.He and other policemen, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about the volatile situation in Cite Soleil, said notorious armed gangs had been making their presence felt here since the quake.
If large-scale violence erupts here amid the chaos and looting that has grown by the hour in Port-au-Prince since the temblor, it could pose a major challenge to efforts to reestablish law and order throughout the Haitian capital.Cite Sole's gang leaders are larger-than-life criminals. The stuff of urban legend and popular Haitian rap songs, they are now seen as a breed apart from other Haitians in that they alone benefited from the Tuesday's disaster.Word on the street is that they swept down on the rubble of Haiti's collapsed Justice Ministry on Saturday morning and set it ablaze to destroy any records of their incarceration or criminal history.
Posted in: Cite Sole's gang leadersGlasgow Gang war following the execution of Kevin Carroll.
Lyons crime clan had been prime suspects in the fatal shooting of Carroll, a lieutenant of arch-enemies, the Daniels.But last night, the Daniel family faced accusations from within that they may have been behind the hit themselves.
Sources claimed bosses believed Carroll - nicknamed "Gerbil" - had grown increasingly out of control and become more trouble than he was worth.He was gunned down while sitting in a car with two associates in the car park of Asda at Robroyston, Glasgow, on Wednesday.Now Gerbil loyalists are said to be simmering with resentment at suggestions his murder may have been an "inside job".Carroll, 29, had a tempestuous relationship with the mother of his two sons, Kelly Bo - daughter of Daniel family boss Jamie.The pair had violent rows and Carroll had also bad-mouthed Jamie. Many within the Daniel gang are now speculating that the godfather may have run out of patience with Carroll and that key lieutenants interpreted this as a green light to take him out.They knew the murder was unlikely to backfire on Jamie Daniel as the Lyons were likely to be blamed.Last night, one source claimed: "There are folk who were loyal to Gerbil - for all his faults - and they want his killers dead."If it turns out he was done in by his own side, they will be spitting blood. It's worse than him getting done by their enemies - that's a danger you accept and live with every day."But to be killed by your own people is bang out of order. And a lot of Gerbil's pals won't stand for that."Whether it's the case or not, it's a theory that's starting to take root among some in the organisation - and that will create problems."The insider added: "Gerbil was supposed to have gone to the Asda car park for a meet. If that was true, he would have been watching for anyone approaching the car. Yet he got taken completely by surprise.
"A lot of us aren't buying that meeting story."Carroll and two pals, John Bonner and Stevie McLaggan, had driven to the supermarket car park in a black Audi for a pre-arranged meeting.Gerbil was sitting in the back seat when a gunman walked up and fired through the passenger window. Carroll was hit in the head and hand and died instantly.A stolen VW Golf used for the getaway was later found partially burned out near Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.The two pals of Carroll immediately baled out of the car and only returned after the gunman had escaped. They were swiftly cleared of being involved in any set-up after being questioned by Daniel family chiefs.
But that too, has fuelled the discontent rumblings among Carroll-loyal factions.
An insider said: "The Daniels were very quick to say those lads had nothing to do with setting up Gerbil."But they done nothing to help him when the shooting started. And no shots got fired at them. It stinks."In the wake of his execution, godfather Jamie Daniel, 52, swore revenge on the killers and made it clear he believed the Lyons were behind the hit.But a source within Daniel's own organisation said last night: "Of course Jamie made noises about wanting payback from the Lyons. That's what you'd expect him to do."He's a got a daughter there who's distraught at her man being killed - even if he did smack her about from time to time. There was a time last year when he beat her up three times in seven hours in a flat in Milton.
"Then there was Gerbil's mouth. He just didn't know when to shut up.
"He had threatened Jamie Daniel himself. He even called him a fat gypsy b******."
The speculation from within about Carroll's murder follows claims revealed in the Record that he had been denounced as an informer.Two Daniel associates - Raymond Anderson snr and James McDonald - were jailed for 35 years each for the fatal shooting of Michael Lyons, 21, at an MOT garage in Lambhill in 2006. The attack was said to have been carried out in revenge for an earlier bid to kill Carroll, who was subsequently questioned by police.Anderson remained convinced that Carroll named them as the gunmen.
In recent times, Carroll led a series of savage underworld kidnappings - seizing and torturing his gang's rivals for cash, drugs and guns.His team were nicknamed the "alien abduction" gang because victims told police they could remember nothing about their ordeals.
A source claimed:
A senior Daniel lieutenant had sped to the murder scene in an Asda car park before the police arrived.Francis "Fraggle" Green, godfather Jamie Daniel's 27-year-old son, was phoned seconds after the hit.He immediately drove to the scene in his red Audi later abandoned in the car park.
His sister Kelly Green, 29, was Carroll's partner and mother of his two sons.
The frantic call to Green was made by John Bonner - who was in the black Audi when the killer struck on Wednesday afternoon. Also in the car was Stevie McLaggan, another of Carroll's close pals.We can reveal police suspect the killer lay in wait in a Homebase car park next to the Asda store.The Daniel family have rejected claims that Bonner and McLagan, both in their 20s, helped set up the hit.One source said: "McLaggan and Bonner were in the front of the car and Carroll was in the back."They were waiting to meet someone who is suspected of setting the whole thing up.
"Clearly, they were there to talk business and whoever they were meeting was trusted. The Daniel mob are satisfied that the two guys in the car with Carroll had nothing to do with it. If it was thought they were involved, they would also now be dead."When the gunfire started they instinctively bailed out for their own safety.
"As soon as the dust settled they returned and it was obvious that Carroll was dead.
"Bonner immediately phoned Fraggle who was on the scene within minutes.
"Fraggle dumped his motor and was met with a scene of carnage. One of Carroll's hands was blown off and his face was unrecognisable."Murder squad detectives have revealed that just two shots were fired by the killer using a handgun.The first shot blasted Carroll's hand as he raised it after seeing the weapon but he died instantly after being hit in the head by the second shot.Police believe the gunman had been sitting in a car in the adjacent Homebase car park.A taxi driver reported men in a 4x4 acting supiciously and police are scouring CCTV footage from the they.They are also examining footage from neighbouring businesses including the Crowwood Hotel in nearby Stepps.A police source said: "The person who arranged the meeting is thought to have given the gunman details of where the car was parked and where Carroll was within it.
"There may have been some luck involved but whoever did this was clearly capable."
Within minutes of the shooting police arrived and sealed off the car park and supermarket. Shoppers were held inside for several hours to allow officers to question each of them and Fraggle, Bonner and McLaggan were also quizzed at the scene.In 2007, both McLaggan and Bonner were victims of Carroll's robbery and kidnap gang.
A source said: "Like some of the other victims, they decided the safest option was to join Carroll's crew but they remained loyal despite this unusual history."Carroll had previously survived several attempts on his life.
In 2006 he and close ally Ross Sherlock were injured in a shooting in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow and Carroll was also shot outside his mum's home in Milton, Glasgow, in 2003.Last year, Bonner was shot in Springburn, Glasgow, in a botched hit blamed on the Lyons crime clan.At the time, it was thought that the intended target was 28-year-old Sherlock.
Less than a fortnight ago, Carroll failed to attend a meeting with police to be told that his life was in danger.He'd been invited to Kirkintilloch police station to officially receive an "Osman warning".Such warnings are given when police receive intelligence that someone's life may be in danger and last year Carroll received three such warnings.Carroll's partner Kelly and her brother Fraggle are both children of wealthy Daniel mob boss Daniel, 52.In recent years, Carroll had risen through the ranks of his partner's family.
One source said: "A few years ago, he was regarded as a wee nyaff from Milton.
"Being part of the Daniel set up benefited him but there seems to have been pressure on him to match them in terms of violence."In recent years he became more than capable and reached a status within the family where he stood up to Jamie over some issues."Jamie and he had recent clashes but they were sorted out."There will be some people putting it about that Jamie had Carroll killed for getting too big and becoming a threat but it's untrue."Carroll lived in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, with Kelly and their boys, who are eight months and six years old.Kelly gives her occupation as a "hair and nail therapist" while Carroll described himself as a "car valet" on official documents.
Sources claimed bosses believed Carroll - nicknamed "Gerbil" - had grown increasingly out of control and become more trouble than he was worth.He was gunned down while sitting in a car with two associates in the car park of Asda at Robroyston, Glasgow, on Wednesday.Now Gerbil loyalists are said to be simmering with resentment at suggestions his murder may have been an "inside job".Carroll, 29, had a tempestuous relationship with the mother of his two sons, Kelly Bo - daughter of Daniel family boss Jamie.The pair had violent rows and Carroll had also bad-mouthed Jamie. Many within the Daniel gang are now speculating that the godfather may have run out of patience with Carroll and that key lieutenants interpreted this as a green light to take him out.They knew the murder was unlikely to backfire on Jamie Daniel as the Lyons were likely to be blamed.Last night, one source claimed: "There are folk who were loyal to Gerbil - for all his faults - and they want his killers dead."If it turns out he was done in by his own side, they will be spitting blood. It's worse than him getting done by their enemies - that's a danger you accept and live with every day."But to be killed by your own people is bang out of order. And a lot of Gerbil's pals won't stand for that."Whether it's the case or not, it's a theory that's starting to take root among some in the organisation - and that will create problems."The insider added: "Gerbil was supposed to have gone to the Asda car park for a meet. If that was true, he would have been watching for anyone approaching the car. Yet he got taken completely by surprise.
"A lot of us aren't buying that meeting story."Carroll and two pals, John Bonner and Stevie McLaggan, had driven to the supermarket car park in a black Audi for a pre-arranged meeting.Gerbil was sitting in the back seat when a gunman walked up and fired through the passenger window. Carroll was hit in the head and hand and died instantly.A stolen VW Golf used for the getaway was later found partially burned out near Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.The two pals of Carroll immediately baled out of the car and only returned after the gunman had escaped. They were swiftly cleared of being involved in any set-up after being questioned by Daniel family chiefs.
But that too, has fuelled the discontent rumblings among Carroll-loyal factions.
An insider said: "The Daniels were very quick to say those lads had nothing to do with setting up Gerbil."But they done nothing to help him when the shooting started. And no shots got fired at them. It stinks."In the wake of his execution, godfather Jamie Daniel, 52, swore revenge on the killers and made it clear he believed the Lyons were behind the hit.But a source within Daniel's own organisation said last night: "Of course Jamie made noises about wanting payback from the Lyons. That's what you'd expect him to do."He's a got a daughter there who's distraught at her man being killed - even if he did smack her about from time to time. There was a time last year when he beat her up three times in seven hours in a flat in Milton.
"Then there was Gerbil's mouth. He just didn't know when to shut up.
"He had threatened Jamie Daniel himself. He even called him a fat gypsy b******."
The speculation from within about Carroll's murder follows claims revealed in the Record that he had been denounced as an informer.Two Daniel associates - Raymond Anderson snr and James McDonald - were jailed for 35 years each for the fatal shooting of Michael Lyons, 21, at an MOT garage in Lambhill in 2006. The attack was said to have been carried out in revenge for an earlier bid to kill Carroll, who was subsequently questioned by police.Anderson remained convinced that Carroll named them as the gunmen.
In recent times, Carroll led a series of savage underworld kidnappings - seizing and torturing his gang's rivals for cash, drugs and guns.His team were nicknamed the "alien abduction" gang because victims told police they could remember nothing about their ordeals.
A source claimed:
"Gerbil was out of control, and people were getting sick of it.Meanwhile the home of Eddie Lyons Snr has been watched by police since Carroll's shooting, amid fears he could be targeted in a "revenge" hit.Key figures in the Daniel mob have vowed retribution against the Lyons clan - which would make Eddie snr, right, and his sons Eddie jnr, 30, and Steven, 29, the main targets.Yesterday, we watched as marked police cars did regular runs past the Lyons' modest home by Dullatur golf club, Cumbernauld.A police liaison officer has checked in on every member of the Lyons family in recent days.Crime clan godfather vows bloody revenge for slain hoodlum at secret summit.Daniel crime clan launched their investigation into the brutal shooting of Kevin Carroll before murder squad detectives even reached the scene.
"When folk tried to warn him he was p*****g folk off in the organisation, he was like, 'F*** you, I'll do what I want'. Then he'd be back to bad-mouthing the likes of Jamie Daniel."People told Gerbil he was taking risks but it made no difference."
A senior Daniel lieutenant had sped to the murder scene in an Asda car park before the police arrived.Francis "Fraggle" Green, godfather Jamie Daniel's 27-year-old son, was phoned seconds after the hit.He immediately drove to the scene in his red Audi later abandoned in the car park.
His sister Kelly Green, 29, was Carroll's partner and mother of his two sons.
The frantic call to Green was made by John Bonner - who was in the black Audi when the killer struck on Wednesday afternoon. Also in the car was Stevie McLaggan, another of Carroll's close pals.We can reveal police suspect the killer lay in wait in a Homebase car park next to the Asda store.The Daniel family have rejected claims that Bonner and McLagan, both in their 20s, helped set up the hit.One source said: "McLaggan and Bonner were in the front of the car and Carroll was in the back."They were waiting to meet someone who is suspected of setting the whole thing up.
"Clearly, they were there to talk business and whoever they were meeting was trusted. The Daniel mob are satisfied that the two guys in the car with Carroll had nothing to do with it. If it was thought they were involved, they would also now be dead."When the gunfire started they instinctively bailed out for their own safety.
"As soon as the dust settled they returned and it was obvious that Carroll was dead.
"Bonner immediately phoned Fraggle who was on the scene within minutes.
"Fraggle dumped his motor and was met with a scene of carnage. One of Carroll's hands was blown off and his face was unrecognisable."Murder squad detectives have revealed that just two shots were fired by the killer using a handgun.The first shot blasted Carroll's hand as he raised it after seeing the weapon but he died instantly after being hit in the head by the second shot.Police believe the gunman had been sitting in a car in the adjacent Homebase car park.A taxi driver reported men in a 4x4 acting supiciously and police are scouring CCTV footage from the they.They are also examining footage from neighbouring businesses including the Crowwood Hotel in nearby Stepps.A police source said: "The person who arranged the meeting is thought to have given the gunman details of where the car was parked and where Carroll was within it.
"There may have been some luck involved but whoever did this was clearly capable."
Within minutes of the shooting police arrived and sealed off the car park and supermarket. Shoppers were held inside for several hours to allow officers to question each of them and Fraggle, Bonner and McLaggan were also quizzed at the scene.In 2007, both McLaggan and Bonner were victims of Carroll's robbery and kidnap gang.
A source said: "Like some of the other victims, they decided the safest option was to join Carroll's crew but they remained loyal despite this unusual history."Carroll had previously survived several attempts on his life.
In 2006 he and close ally Ross Sherlock were injured in a shooting in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow and Carroll was also shot outside his mum's home in Milton, Glasgow, in 2003.Last year, Bonner was shot in Springburn, Glasgow, in a botched hit blamed on the Lyons crime clan.At the time, it was thought that the intended target was 28-year-old Sherlock.
Less than a fortnight ago, Carroll failed to attend a meeting with police to be told that his life was in danger.He'd been invited to Kirkintilloch police station to officially receive an "Osman warning".Such warnings are given when police receive intelligence that someone's life may be in danger and last year Carroll received three such warnings.Carroll's partner Kelly and her brother Fraggle are both children of wealthy Daniel mob boss Daniel, 52.In recent years, Carroll had risen through the ranks of his partner's family.
One source said: "A few years ago, he was regarded as a wee nyaff from Milton.
"Being part of the Daniel set up benefited him but there seems to have been pressure on him to match them in terms of violence."In recent years he became more than capable and reached a status within the family where he stood up to Jamie over some issues."Jamie and he had recent clashes but they were sorted out."There will be some people putting it about that Jamie had Carroll killed for getting too big and becoming a threat but it's untrue."Carroll lived in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, with Kelly and their boys, who are eight months and six years old.Kelly gives her occupation as a "hair and nail therapist" while Carroll described himself as a "car valet" on official documents.
Posted in: "alien abduction" gangFriday, 15 January 2010
Kevin "The Gerbil" Carroll assassinated in an ASDA car park was killed for "grassing" up hitmen
Kevin "The Gerbil" Carroll assassinated in an ASDA car park was killed for "grassing" up the hitmen behind a notorious shooting, underworld sources told the Record last night.Kevin "The Gerbil" Carroll was shot five times in the head in broad daylight as he sat in a car 100 yards from the supermarket entrance.
And it's claimed he paid with his life for informing on gunmen Raymond Anderson snr and James McDonald, who carried out a murderous attack in 2006 on an MOT garage run by a rival crime clan.Carroll, 29, and Anderson snr were both associates of the feared Daniel gang.But a source said: "There was no love lost between them. As far as Raymond was concerned, Gerbil was a grass."
Anderson snr was aware of the plot to kill Carroll.And word of the shooting reached his cell at Shotts jail, where he's serving a minimum 35 years for the garage attack in Lambhill, Glasgow, within half an hour of the hit being carried out.
Our source said: "The jail was buzzing with a detailed account of the shooting within minutes. The word inside is that it was payback for Lambhill."Anderson snr and McDonald murdered Michael Lyons, 21, and tried to kill Steven Lyons, 27, and Robert Pickett, 42, in the Lambhill attack. The garage was linked to the Lyons gang, bitter rivals of the Daniel clan.Both hitmen were caged for at least 35 years - the longest sentences handed down by a modern Scots court.The Lambhill hit was said to have been revenge for a bid to kill Carroll and another Daniel associate, Ross Sherlock, three weeks earlier. Carroll was arrested and questioned before Anderson snr and McDonald were charged.Carroll was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon after he went to the ASDA store in Robroyston, near Glasgow, with two pals.His friends went into the shop at around 1.30pm, leaving him alone in a black Audi A3. Sources say two masked hitmen then opened fire on the car.Scores of horrified shoppers witnessed Carroll's murder.The killers sped away in a dark blue Volkswagen Golf. Some reports have claimed their getaway driver f led on foot before any shots were fired.Police sealed off the supermarket and took statements from witnesses. Detectives are looking through CCTV for clues but it's understood the shooting was not filmed.Carroll had a direct line to millionaire crime boss Jamie Daniel and was the on-off boyfriend of his daughter, Kelly.He was at the centre of the long and bloody feud between the Daniel and Lyons clans. As well as the 2006 bid to kill him, he survived an attempt on his life in 2003.The Lambhill theory was just one of those being touted to explain Carroll's murder.
Other sources said the hit was part of the Daniel-Lyons feud, the result of a row over drugs, or a revenge attack for one of a spate of kidnappings carried out by Carroll.Detective Superintendent Michael Orr, leading the hunt for Carroll's killers, said: "There has been much speculation about this shooting, and indeed the victim, but our priority is tracing those responsible."A man has been shot dead in broad daylight. This attack was carried out with an utter disregard for public safety."Although we believe he was the intended target, it does not lessen the severity of this crime. He was someone's son, loved-one and friend, and this murder will be thoroughly investigated."
And it's claimed he paid with his life for informing on gunmen Raymond Anderson snr and James McDonald, who carried out a murderous attack in 2006 on an MOT garage run by a rival crime clan.Carroll, 29, and Anderson snr were both associates of the feared Daniel gang.But a source said: "There was no love lost between them. As far as Raymond was concerned, Gerbil was a grass."
Anderson snr was aware of the plot to kill Carroll.And word of the shooting reached his cell at Shotts jail, where he's serving a minimum 35 years for the garage attack in Lambhill, Glasgow, within half an hour of the hit being carried out.
Our source said: "The jail was buzzing with a detailed account of the shooting within minutes. The word inside is that it was payback for Lambhill."Anderson snr and McDonald murdered Michael Lyons, 21, and tried to kill Steven Lyons, 27, and Robert Pickett, 42, in the Lambhill attack. The garage was linked to the Lyons gang, bitter rivals of the Daniel clan.Both hitmen were caged for at least 35 years - the longest sentences handed down by a modern Scots court.The Lambhill hit was said to have been revenge for a bid to kill Carroll and another Daniel associate, Ross Sherlock, three weeks earlier. Carroll was arrested and questioned before Anderson snr and McDonald were charged.Carroll was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon after he went to the ASDA store in Robroyston, near Glasgow, with two pals.His friends went into the shop at around 1.30pm, leaving him alone in a black Audi A3. Sources say two masked hitmen then opened fire on the car.Scores of horrified shoppers witnessed Carroll's murder.The killers sped away in a dark blue Volkswagen Golf. Some reports have claimed their getaway driver f led on foot before any shots were fired.Police sealed off the supermarket and took statements from witnesses. Detectives are looking through CCTV for clues but it's understood the shooting was not filmed.Carroll had a direct line to millionaire crime boss Jamie Daniel and was the on-off boyfriend of his daughter, Kelly.He was at the centre of the long and bloody feud between the Daniel and Lyons clans. As well as the 2006 bid to kill him, he survived an attempt on his life in 2003.The Lambhill theory was just one of those being touted to explain Carroll's murder.
Other sources said the hit was part of the Daniel-Lyons feud, the result of a row over drugs, or a revenge attack for one of a spate of kidnappings carried out by Carroll.Detective Superintendent Michael Orr, leading the hunt for Carroll's killers, said: "There has been much speculation about this shooting, and indeed the victim, but our priority is tracing those responsible."A man has been shot dead in broad daylight. This attack was carried out with an utter disregard for public safety."Although we believe he was the intended target, it does not lessen the severity of this crime. He was someone's son, loved-one and friend, and this murder will be thoroughly investigated."
Thursday, 14 January 2010
violent drugs war 29-year-old Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll, an alleged associate of the Daniels family
29-year-old Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll, an alleged associate of the Daniels family, a Glasgow crime gang, pointing to possible links with a violent drugs war and vendettas between rival families. Another three men who were in the vehicle with the victim at the time of the assault were uninjured. Strathclyde Police said they believed the dead man was the intended target, and that the assailants had made off from the car park in a black or dark car.The incident left many shoppers stranded when the police sealed off the entrance and cordoned off the car park.
One witness described leaving the supermarket to be confronted with horrifying scenes of the dead man slumped in the backseat of the Audi. The glass of the back windscreen had been shattered by bullets. “I was inside the store at the checkout, paying, when I heard the gunshots, but I didn’t realise that’s what it was at the time – I thought it was just firecrackers or something. “I came out and the car was right in front of me with the back window shot in. The car door was open and you could just see his legs hanging out the side. “The paramedics were around him, but he was obviously dead. You just don’t expect this sort of thing in Robroyston.”
Dozens of shoppers, many of them elderly, were herded into the main foyer and kept there until almost 4pm while forensic teams examined the crime scene, spoke to witnesses and erected a white tent around the damaged vehicle.Some customers who had left the store before police closed off the entrance spent hours sitting in their cars after police redirected them into the car park while they conducted preliminary investigations.A builder who had popped into the supermarket for a sandwich found himself unable to return to work.“I only went in for something to eat, and I’ve no idea when I’m going to get back out now,” he told The Herald. “The police are just telling us to stay here.”
Detective Superintendent Michael Orr said last night: “There has been much speculation about this shooting and indeed the victim. “However, our priority is tracing those responsible. Although we believe that this was not a random attack and that he was the intended target, it does not lessen the severity of this crime. “He was someone’s son, loved one and friend and this murder will be thoroughly investigated with a team of highly trained officers.”He said they believed three men had carried out the attack, and urged anyone with information to contact the police.Mr Carroll has survived two previous attempts on his life, including a high-profile attack in Bishopbriggs in November 2006 when he and friend, Ross Sherlock, were ambushed in the street by gunmen posing as police officers and was left fighting for his life after being shot in the stomach at close range.
One witness described leaving the supermarket to be confronted with horrifying scenes of the dead man slumped in the backseat of the Audi. The glass of the back windscreen had been shattered by bullets. “I was inside the store at the checkout, paying, when I heard the gunshots, but I didn’t realise that’s what it was at the time – I thought it was just firecrackers or something. “I came out and the car was right in front of me with the back window shot in. The car door was open and you could just see his legs hanging out the side. “The paramedics were around him, but he was obviously dead. You just don’t expect this sort of thing in Robroyston.”
Dozens of shoppers, many of them elderly, were herded into the main foyer and kept there until almost 4pm while forensic teams examined the crime scene, spoke to witnesses and erected a white tent around the damaged vehicle.Some customers who had left the store before police closed off the entrance spent hours sitting in their cars after police redirected them into the car park while they conducted preliminary investigations.A builder who had popped into the supermarket for a sandwich found himself unable to return to work.“I only went in for something to eat, and I’ve no idea when I’m going to get back out now,” he told The Herald. “The police are just telling us to stay here.”
Detective Superintendent Michael Orr said last night: “There has been much speculation about this shooting and indeed the victim. “However, our priority is tracing those responsible. Although we believe that this was not a random attack and that he was the intended target, it does not lessen the severity of this crime. “He was someone’s son, loved one and friend and this murder will be thoroughly investigated with a team of highly trained officers.”He said they believed three men had carried out the attack, and urged anyone with information to contact the police.Mr Carroll has survived two previous attempts on his life, including a high-profile attack in Bishopbriggs in November 2006 when he and friend, Ross Sherlock, were ambushed in the street by gunmen posing as police officers and was left fighting for his life after being shot in the stomach at close range.
Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll was blasted five times in the back of the head
Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll was blasted five times in the back of the head as he sat in a car, yards from the main door while shoppers looked on.Detectives fear Glasgow's turf war between the Daniels and the Lyons will now escalate into a spate of revenge attacks.A police source said: "Gerbil was a big name and his killing is a huge deal.
"The fact the shooters were brazen enough to do it at lunchtime in a supermarket
"It's doubtful that the Daniels will let this lie and it's likely to mean dangerous times ahead."Carroll was sitting with three cronies in a black Audi car when he met his death just before 1.30pm in Robroyston, Glasgow.It is understood two handguns were used and police were last night hunting three men.The gunmen sped off in a dark-coloured car and would have been able to make a quick getaway on to the M80.Armed officers sealed off the car park. within minutes and shoppers were told to stay inside the store or in their cars.Stunned ASDA workers looked down on the murder scene from the first-floor staff canteen.The car in which Carroll was sitting was covered with a white tent as forensics experts combed the scene.An underworld source said Carroll, 29, was lured to his death under the pretence of a meeting with associates.Carroll, 29, was a key player in the Daniel vs Lyons feud which has resulted in countless shootings, slashings and fire attacks.Detectives were convinced he was behind a recent string of savage kidnappings.The thugs responsible were known as the Alien Abduction Gang because their traumatised victims told police they could not remember anything.It is thought the hit on Carroll may have been retribution for one of the kidnappings.Detective Superintendent Michael Orr said yesterday: "A man has been shot in broad daylight in a very public place. It is imperative that we trace those responsible who have no regard for public safety.
"We believe the victim was the intended target. However, I would like to reassure the public that a high police presence will be maintained in the area and ext ra resources will be deployed to trace the suspects."Carroll's on-off partner was Kelly Green, daughter of crime clan boss Jamie Daniel.Six years ago, Carroll was shot as the Daniel-Lyons feud erupted.The spat between the Lyons and Daniels is thought to have been reignited in November 2006 when the grave of eight-year-old leukaemia victim Garry Lyons was vandalised. He was the son of clan boss Eddie Lyons.
That year, Carroll survived a second shooting when he and pal Ross Sherlock were gunned down in Auchinairn, Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.He was also linked with the triple shooting in which Michael Lyons was killed at Apple Row motors in Lambhill, Glasgow, that December.Carroll admitted one charge relating to the stolen Army weapons and ammo used and was jailed for 18 months.In September last year, Strathclyde's Gangs Task Force seized £4000 from Carroll - also known as McCabe - in Maryhill, Glasgow.Yesterday, more than 50 officers were dispatched the murder scene. A force helicopter hovered above the scene and staff and shoppers and were kept within the cordon until around 5pm.Police were last night studying CCTV footage.
In a statement on ASDA's Twitter site yesterday a company spokesman said: "We're sorry to say there's been a fatal shooting incident outside our store in Robroyston, Glasgow, this afternoon."We don't know the full details yet, but the police are in charge and are dealing with the situation and we're helping with their investigation."The shooting is believed to be the first fatal gangland hit in daylight since drug baron Jim McDonald was gunned down in Cardonald, Glasgow, in May 2007.
"The fact the shooters were brazen enough to do it at lunchtime in a supermarket
"It's doubtful that the Daniels will let this lie and it's likely to mean dangerous times ahead."Carroll was sitting with three cronies in a black Audi car when he met his death just before 1.30pm in Robroyston, Glasgow.It is understood two handguns were used and police were last night hunting three men.The gunmen sped off in a dark-coloured car and would have been able to make a quick getaway on to the M80.Armed officers sealed off the car park. within minutes and shoppers were told to stay inside the store or in their cars.Stunned ASDA workers looked down on the murder scene from the first-floor staff canteen.The car in which Carroll was sitting was covered with a white tent as forensics experts combed the scene.An underworld source said Carroll, 29, was lured to his death under the pretence of a meeting with associates.Carroll, 29, was a key player in the Daniel vs Lyons feud which has resulted in countless shootings, slashings and fire attacks.Detectives were convinced he was behind a recent string of savage kidnappings.The thugs responsible were known as the Alien Abduction Gang because their traumatised victims told police they could not remember anything.It is thought the hit on Carroll may have been retribution for one of the kidnappings.Detective Superintendent Michael Orr said yesterday: "A man has been shot in broad daylight in a very public place. It is imperative that we trace those responsible who have no regard for public safety.
"We believe the victim was the intended target. However, I would like to reassure the public that a high police presence will be maintained in the area and ext ra resources will be deployed to trace the suspects."Carroll's on-off partner was Kelly Green, daughter of crime clan boss Jamie Daniel.Six years ago, Carroll was shot as the Daniel-Lyons feud erupted.The spat between the Lyons and Daniels is thought to have been reignited in November 2006 when the grave of eight-year-old leukaemia victim Garry Lyons was vandalised. He was the son of clan boss Eddie Lyons.
That year, Carroll survived a second shooting when he and pal Ross Sherlock were gunned down in Auchinairn, Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.He was also linked with the triple shooting in which Michael Lyons was killed at Apple Row motors in Lambhill, Glasgow, that December.Carroll admitted one charge relating to the stolen Army weapons and ammo used and was jailed for 18 months.In September last year, Strathclyde's Gangs Task Force seized £4000 from Carroll - also known as McCabe - in Maryhill, Glasgow.Yesterday, more than 50 officers were dispatched the murder scene. A force helicopter hovered above the scene and staff and shoppers and were kept within the cordon until around 5pm.Police were last night studying CCTV footage.
In a statement on ASDA's Twitter site yesterday a company spokesman said: "We're sorry to say there's been a fatal shooting incident outside our store in Robroyston, Glasgow, this afternoon."We don't know the full details yet, but the police are in charge and are dealing with the situation and we're helping with their investigation."The shooting is believed to be the first fatal gangland hit in daylight since drug baron Jim McDonald was gunned down in Cardonald, Glasgow, in May 2007.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Lane County judge denied the appeal of the woman known as "Gang Mom."
Lane County judge denied the appeal of the woman known as "Gang Mom."Getting out of prison early was a possibility for Mary Thompson under the new "earned time" law.
Thompson is serving 25 years for the murder of Eugene teenager Aaron Iturra back in 1994. Friday, a judge made it clear she is going to serve as much of that term as possible.The smile never left Janyce Iturra's face after the judge said no to shortening the sentence of her son's murderer."And for her to speak to me, and not to the crowd or the attorneys, but to me personally, it made me feel like she really did understand what this does to victims throughout the state of Oregon."The Iturra case highlights the nearly 4,800 cases re-opening in Oregon county courts because of new law 3508. It's also re-opening old wounds."You finally move on, things are going ok, you finally get your family back together, and bam, the system just bites me one more time."The bill aims to give a 10 percent reduction to prisoners' sentences for their non-violent crimes. But the judge determined Thompson's non-violent charges of burglary and hindering prosecution were connected to the murder, and therefore not excusable.
"It just does my heart good to know Mary is denied and will do that extra 10 months that it might have changed," Iturra said.Crime Victims United, a victim advocate group, hopes this outcome sets the standard for upcoming hearings. President Steve Doell said all you have to do is look at the unintended consequences the state of Washington is dealing with related to a similar law there."The property crime rate for each indidivual that got the extra earn time went up 4.7 times per offender. So this is not good public policy, this is not good for law-abiding citizens."Thompson has already received a reduction of 20 percent, which is available to prisoners who behave, so Iturra said she was shocked that another reduction was considered. This bill is going back to the special session next month for re-consideration.
Thompson is serving 25 years for the murder of Eugene teenager Aaron Iturra back in 1994. Friday, a judge made it clear she is going to serve as much of that term as possible.The smile never left Janyce Iturra's face after the judge said no to shortening the sentence of her son's murderer."And for her to speak to me, and not to the crowd or the attorneys, but to me personally, it made me feel like she really did understand what this does to victims throughout the state of Oregon."The Iturra case highlights the nearly 4,800 cases re-opening in Oregon county courts because of new law 3508. It's also re-opening old wounds."You finally move on, things are going ok, you finally get your family back together, and bam, the system just bites me one more time."The bill aims to give a 10 percent reduction to prisoners' sentences for their non-violent crimes. But the judge determined Thompson's non-violent charges of burglary and hindering prosecution were connected to the murder, and therefore not excusable.
"It just does my heart good to know Mary is denied and will do that extra 10 months that it might have changed," Iturra said.Crime Victims United, a victim advocate group, hopes this outcome sets the standard for upcoming hearings. President Steve Doell said all you have to do is look at the unintended consequences the state of Washington is dealing with related to a similar law there."The property crime rate for each indidivual that got the extra earn time went up 4.7 times per offender. So this is not good public policy, this is not good for law-abiding citizens."Thompson has already received a reduction of 20 percent, which is available to prisoners who behave, so Iturra said she was shocked that another reduction was considered. This bill is going back to the special session next month for re-consideration.
feud between two factions of the same street gang
Crime seems to have become a sporting event of its own.
The crime wave is the presumed result of a feud between two factions of the same street gang. The neighborhood -- Nickerson Gardens -- is Los Angeles' version of no man's land; one of the city's most dangerous and volatile housing projects. And five dead gang-bangers in Watts don't count for much in a city celebrating a drop in crime that has made Los Angeles its safest in two decades.Enter the Wrecking Crew for Christ Holiness Church Trauma Center. I'm not making that up. That's the name of a South Los Angeles congregation heavy on reformed ex-cons. About 50 members staged a march through Watts' housing projects on Saturday, on a mission to stop the carnage.There was Pastor Michael L. Rowles with a megaphone, hawking his redemption mantra. Middle-aged women in sweat pants, waving and shouting Hallelujah. Young men with tattoos on their necks, their baggy white T-shirts scrawled with "Jesus is Real."When all else fails, we pray, I thought. I grabbed a notebook and fell in line.
Too many have died. We've come to let you know that somebody cares. . . . We must not be afraid.Cops on bicycles cleared traffic. An LAPD car led the march into Nickerson Gardens, a marcher waving a giant cross from the front window.
Cooperation between residents and police is being credited for part of the city's crime drop. But gang crimes are tough to crack; the LAPD has not made arrests in the Nickerson Gardens killings.Fear is the culprit, the marchers told me. "If you go into Nickerson Gardens after 6 o'clock, you wouldn't think anybody lives there," said Carl Lee, a former drug dealer, now a minister and fitness trainer. "People are too scared to go outside."
Scared to be shot by gang-bangers; scared to be questioned by the cops.The police "are doing the best they can," Lee said. "But you have five killings and people are afraid to talk. You'll be known as a snitch; you'll wind up dead; you'll have to find another place to live."That's why we as a church have to go over there and begin to pray."As we walked, residents trickled out of their apartments. Some waved and shouted their thanks. Others looked on blankly, unsure what to make of the raucous display."One thing's for sure," one marcher told me. "With all these police officers around, there ain't gone be no shooting for at least this hour."
The devil is alive!The killing must stop. The things going down in our community are wrong. . . . Oh God, turn our sons around.John King knows prayer isn't enough. He grew up in the neighborhood and works now as a project director for the city's Housing Authority. He told me he felt inspired marching. The demonstration of faith "helps people internally," he said. "They can look in the mirror and say, 'I can make better decisions.' That's the first step toward change."But the second step relies on resources to restore programs like King's Vocabulary League (every basketball player had to bring a vocabulary word to games and practice) lost during a decade of shrinking funding.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Nearly 10,000 gang members fight for control of these streets. The result: A war zone with a murder every three days
“Oakland, California,” intoned the narrator as the images flickered across the screen. “Nearly 10,000 gang members fight for control of these streets. The result: A war zone with a murder every three days.”The program was the second installment of a two-part documentary that aired in September. The first part had focused on African-American gangs in Oakland; this one explored Latino gangs and their territories by following the Oakland Police Department’s gang unit and the 9400 Boys, a small group in East Oakland. The conclusion of the show was the revelation that one of the 9400 Boys had been murdered; their leader, Javier, made a decision to kill whoever was responsible.“The cycle of violence continues,” the narrator said. “In Oakland, revenge is a promise all the time.” The credits rolled.
Park turned off the TV and looked up at the 15 guests seated in a cozy circle of chairs and couches: There was the man who lived downstairs, the older woman who moved from Atlanta last year, the baby-faced ex-gang member who grew up in Oakland, and the middle-aged mom who had raised her family here. Earlier, during the introductions, this mom had told the group, “Sometimes I love and hate Oakland at the same time,” and in the silence that came over the room after the TV went off, this contradiction seem to hang in the air.“As I drive around, I don’t feel the sense that I get from this documentary,” said Damond Moodie, who owns the preschool Park’s daughter attends. “I just feel that it has to be said that Oakland is not the seedy underbelly with 10,000 gang members that they make it out to be.”
“That’s true, but it’s getting worse,” said a young man named Ambrose. “Kids are getting crazier.”“I think it’s the United States is going though a recession and there’s all kinds of intangibles,” Moodie replied.Gangs are a complicated reality in Oakland, a city haunted by violence and the negative reputation that comes with it. But this fall, the nationwide broadcast of “Gang Wars: Oakland” added a new layer of complexity to many viewers’ already complicated feelings about what that violence means and how outsiders perceive it.The shows have prompted discussion on message boards and analysis by Chip Johnson in the Chronicle. There is even an after-school group of East Oakland high school students called the Raza History Through Film Club who watched the programs together and are working on their own student documentary to set the record straight.Back in Andrew Park’s living room, no one debated the seriousness of gang violence in Oakland, but the tone of the programs—particularly narration that called Oakland a “war zone” and compared the city to Iraq—struck many as sensational. Some felt the program made it look like violence was everywhere and could strike any part of the city at any time. Others questioned the assertion that the city had “10,000 gang members,” a number the Oakland police department estimates at closer to a few thousand. The Discovery Channel has since changed its figures, re-broadcasting the program with an updated number of 2,000.The small group of people who were interviewed for this article all watched “Gang Wars: Oakland” with the kind of curiosity one would expect them to have about a show that purports to hold up a mirror to their city. But these viewers—all of whom had some personal or professional connection to the show—felt different layers of emotion: disappointment, cynicism, sadness or recognition. If “Gang Wars: Oakland” held up a mirror, then it was a mirror with cracks and missing pieces. But looking in to it, they could still see fragments of their own experiences reflecting back at them.
Park turned off the TV and looked up at the 15 guests seated in a cozy circle of chairs and couches: There was the man who lived downstairs, the older woman who moved from Atlanta last year, the baby-faced ex-gang member who grew up in Oakland, and the middle-aged mom who had raised her family here. Earlier, during the introductions, this mom had told the group, “Sometimes I love and hate Oakland at the same time,” and in the silence that came over the room after the TV went off, this contradiction seem to hang in the air.“As I drive around, I don’t feel the sense that I get from this documentary,” said Damond Moodie, who owns the preschool Park’s daughter attends. “I just feel that it has to be said that Oakland is not the seedy underbelly with 10,000 gang members that they make it out to be.”
“That’s true, but it’s getting worse,” said a young man named Ambrose. “Kids are getting crazier.”“I think it’s the United States is going though a recession and there’s all kinds of intangibles,” Moodie replied.Gangs are a complicated reality in Oakland, a city haunted by violence and the negative reputation that comes with it. But this fall, the nationwide broadcast of “Gang Wars: Oakland” added a new layer of complexity to many viewers’ already complicated feelings about what that violence means and how outsiders perceive it.The shows have prompted discussion on message boards and analysis by Chip Johnson in the Chronicle. There is even an after-school group of East Oakland high school students called the Raza History Through Film Club who watched the programs together and are working on their own student documentary to set the record straight.Back in Andrew Park’s living room, no one debated the seriousness of gang violence in Oakland, but the tone of the programs—particularly narration that called Oakland a “war zone” and compared the city to Iraq—struck many as sensational. Some felt the program made it look like violence was everywhere and could strike any part of the city at any time. Others questioned the assertion that the city had “10,000 gang members,” a number the Oakland police department estimates at closer to a few thousand. The Discovery Channel has since changed its figures, re-broadcasting the program with an updated number of 2,000.The small group of people who were interviewed for this article all watched “Gang Wars: Oakland” with the kind of curiosity one would expect them to have about a show that purports to hold up a mirror to their city. But these viewers—all of whom had some personal or professional connection to the show—felt different layers of emotion: disappointment, cynicism, sadness or recognition. If “Gang Wars: Oakland” held up a mirror, then it was a mirror with cracks and missing pieces. But looking in to it, they could still see fragments of their own experiences reflecting back at them.
17 percent increase in total gun crimes this year, and a doubling of punishment or "respect" shootings where the intent is not to kill.
17 percent increase in total gun crimes this year, and a doubling of punishment or "respect" shootings where the intent is not to kill. Nationally, 87 percent of people here believe gun crime is on the rise, with an even greater margin - 93 percent - who believe knife crime is increasing, perhaps fueled by a spate of youth stabbings last year that had parents purchasing body armor for their children.
Officials have pushed back, noting that this year's bump in crime still represents the second-lowest figure in the past five years. Though "respect" shootings doubled, that was from an original total of just 33. Total homicides are down for the year, following a 20-year low last year."We have a very, very low murder rate for a reason," said London Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse, who along with his boss, Mayor Boris Johnson, has angled to seize unprecedented control over the Metropolitan Police Department. "And the reason is that we take it very, very seriously."
In Britain, obtaining guns remains a challenge for criminals, and just 20 percent of firearms seized by police are working guns. Instead, criminals reconfigure starter pistols and replica guns, or smuggle weapons from Eastern European and Asian countries. If guns are hard to come by, officers say, ammunition is even more rare. Many shootings avoid a fatal result because the bullets are of such poor quality - spent shell casings repacked and recycled.
"At the end of the day, it's not the gun that's going to kill you - it's the ammunition. But they struggle knowing where to get the ammunition from," said Police Constable Matthew Broome. "So they have to get creative, and refilling a shell of a bullet means a bullet isn't as potent when it's fired from the gun."
But those who get their hands on guns and ammunition adhere to the same shoot-first mentality that afflicts many of America's urban streets, and the crimes that hit the news are often just as shocking and senseless.
"We just don't like the idea of carrying firearms on the streets of the United Kingdom," Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said in a rare one-on-one interview. "We don't like it, the public don't like it, I don't like it, and actually the vast majority of cops don't want it."
That attitude toward guns is what fueled national fear about Manchester, an area of 2.5 million that is about 200 miles north. Neighborhood gangs' turf wars and retaliatory violence led the national press to dub it "Gunchester," and prompted formation of a task force called X-Calibre that targets efforts on intelligence-gathering and intervention in gang activity.X-Calibre's second-floor office sits in Manchester's traditionally highest crime area, the Moss Side, in a police station that has otherwise been closed for renovations. On the walls are mugshots of gang members, labeled with their nicknames. Red and blue bandanas hang over each group's section signaling their affiliation.Two of the major gangs have begun calling themselves Bloods and Crips, a nod of admiration for American gang culture; another is made up predominantly of Somalian immigrants. All are racially diverse.The beefs here are entrenched, passed down through generations, said Detective Sgt. Rob Cousen."Many of these gangs are family members - it's almost as if you're born into that family, you're under that umbrella," Cousen said. "It's difficult for lads to get out of that."Jerome Braithwaite, 20, is among those who know that violence is still a problem on Moss Side. His younger brother, Louis, was killed in January outside a betting hall in a drive-by shooting. Police say the incident elevated Jerome in the Fallowfield gang, with many wearing T-shirts memorializing Louis and urging retribution. The officers say Jerome, however, is conflicted.
"All this gun stuff, it's just rubbish, really. I want to get out of it," Jerome told a reporter while standing outside his home. Of the violence and retribution, he said, "It's just one big circle that keeps going round."
Police are trying to change those attitudes, and there are signs that X-Calibre's intervention is working. Until earlier this year, the city had a 16-month stretch without a killing and went the entire month of August without a "discharging," one of the ways police track crime here. Officials believed that was a first, at least in recent memory.
Officials have pushed back, noting that this year's bump in crime still represents the second-lowest figure in the past five years. Though "respect" shootings doubled, that was from an original total of just 33. Total homicides are down for the year, following a 20-year low last year."We have a very, very low murder rate for a reason," said London Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse, who along with his boss, Mayor Boris Johnson, has angled to seize unprecedented control over the Metropolitan Police Department. "And the reason is that we take it very, very seriously."
In Britain, obtaining guns remains a challenge for criminals, and just 20 percent of firearms seized by police are working guns. Instead, criminals reconfigure starter pistols and replica guns, or smuggle weapons from Eastern European and Asian countries. If guns are hard to come by, officers say, ammunition is even more rare. Many shootings avoid a fatal result because the bullets are of such poor quality - spent shell casings repacked and recycled.
"At the end of the day, it's not the gun that's going to kill you - it's the ammunition. But they struggle knowing where to get the ammunition from," said Police Constable Matthew Broome. "So they have to get creative, and refilling a shell of a bullet means a bullet isn't as potent when it's fired from the gun."
But those who get their hands on guns and ammunition adhere to the same shoot-first mentality that afflicts many of America's urban streets, and the crimes that hit the news are often just as shocking and senseless.
In March, a shopkeeper was locking up his grocery store when a shooter on a motorbike zipped by and killed him in a case of mistaken identity. In October, a prominent gang member was shot while sitting in his Range Rover at a traffic light with his 5-year-old stepson beside him. In a killing that police believe was retaliatory, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot three days later as he played snooker at a social hall. With residents pleading for help, police initiated an armed patrol in North London - the kind that later would be condemned.Police said they are concerned about the gun violence, but do not see a situation that begs breaking with the country's centuries-old tradition of unarmed police. An announcement in October by Scotland Yard that armed patrol units would "take to the streets of London" set off a flurry of anxiety among police advisers, politicians and commentators. One critic expressed "deep shock and horror," while others denounced the move as "totally unacceptable."Within days, police said the announcement had been made in error and reasserted their commitment to an unarmed agency that polices through consent rather than force.
"We just don't like the idea of carrying firearms on the streets of the United Kingdom," Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said in a rare one-on-one interview. "We don't like it, the public don't like it, I don't like it, and actually the vast majority of cops don't want it."
That attitude toward guns is what fueled national fear about Manchester, an area of 2.5 million that is about 200 miles north. Neighborhood gangs' turf wars and retaliatory violence led the national press to dub it "Gunchester," and prompted formation of a task force called X-Calibre that targets efforts on intelligence-gathering and intervention in gang activity.X-Calibre's second-floor office sits in Manchester's traditionally highest crime area, the Moss Side, in a police station that has otherwise been closed for renovations. On the walls are mugshots of gang members, labeled with their nicknames. Red and blue bandanas hang over each group's section signaling their affiliation.Two of the major gangs have begun calling themselves Bloods and Crips, a nod of admiration for American gang culture; another is made up predominantly of Somalian immigrants. All are racially diverse.The beefs here are entrenched, passed down through generations, said Detective Sgt. Rob Cousen."Many of these gangs are family members - it's almost as if you're born into that family, you're under that umbrella," Cousen said. "It's difficult for lads to get out of that."Jerome Braithwaite, 20, is among those who know that violence is still a problem on Moss Side. His younger brother, Louis, was killed in January outside a betting hall in a drive-by shooting. Police say the incident elevated Jerome in the Fallowfield gang, with many wearing T-shirts memorializing Louis and urging retribution. The officers say Jerome, however, is conflicted.
"All this gun stuff, it's just rubbish, really. I want to get out of it," Jerome told a reporter while standing outside his home. Of the violence and retribution, he said, "It's just one big circle that keeps going round."
Police are trying to change those attitudes, and there are signs that X-Calibre's intervention is working. Until earlier this year, the city had a 16-month stretch without a killing and went the entire month of August without a "discharging," one of the ways police track crime here. Officials believed that was a first, at least in recent memory.
