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.

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Glasgow 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:

"Gerbil was out of control, and people were getting sick of it.
"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."

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.
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.

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Michael Kanaan: Shoot to Kill

Michael Kanaan was an angry young man in a hurry to make a name for himself in Sydney's underworld. But his volatile temper and penchant for violence soon led him to kill three men before he was finally captured in a wild shootout with Sydney police. Born in Australia in 1975 to Lebanese parents he grew up following American crime gang culture in films and music. As a teenager he moved into petty theft and assault before his first arrest, for drug possession, in his early twenties. Despite being given a suspended sentence and a two-year good behaviour bond, he was soon in trouble again, this time for common assault, for which he escaped with a fine. He quickly returned to drug dealing and his gang, known as DK's boys, made huge profits distributing cocaine in Sydney's Kings Cross. His reputation grew and by 1998, at age 23, he had become a lieutenant to organised crime figure Danny Karam. Although outwardly courteous and well spoken, Michael Kanaan had an uncontrollable temper and did not hesitate to use violence to settle disputes. In July 1998, he made a passing comment to some people involved in a fight outside the Five Dock Hotel in Sydney's inner west. When one of them approached him, Kanaan suddenly drew a pistol and shot two men dead. His attempt to shoot a third failed as he had run out of bullets. A few months later, Kanaan led his gang in a drive-by shooting attack on the police station at Lakemba in Sydney in which the building was sprayed with bullets. Soon afterwards he organised the brutal execution of his underworld boss, Danny Karam in December 1998. He was finally cornered by police and arrested after a shoot-out in inner city Rushcutters Bay in which Constable Chris Patrech was wounded.

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Denard Edward "Bird" Carrington pleaded guilty in October to possession of firearms

Denard Edward "Bird" Carrington pleaded guilty in October to possession of firearms by a felon, possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of powder cocaine, and possession of an unregistered firearm.In a jury trial that same month, he also was convicted of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. He was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer in Richmond.Authorities said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Richmond Police Department began investigating Carrington's drug dealing last year. Investigators searched his house, at 1701 Peter Paul Blvd., on April 21.
When investigators entered the house, Carrington ran from the living room to the bedroom and jumped out of a rear window. He was caught in the backyard.
According to papers filed in U.S. District Court, as Carrington was led from the residence a neighbor asked him what he was caught with and Carrington replied: "a kilo."Inside Carrington's bedroom authorities seized more than 500 grams of powder cocaine, digital scales with cocaine and marijuana residue on them, drug-packaging materials, documents bearing Carrington's name, a money-counter, a safe, $57,021 in cash, a fully automatic Mac-10 machine gun, an AK-47 semiautomatic assault rifle, and assorted jewelry valued at $32,760.In addition, a Glock 31 .357-caliber handgun was recovered from inside a toilet bowl in the bathroom of the master bedroom.

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Juan Ruben Vela Garcia denied being the leader of the MS-13 gang.

Juan Ruben Vela Garcia knew what he would say in court Thursday could get him killed.
From the witness stand, Garcia, a former member of the MS-13 gang, told jurors that six men on trial were members of the violent gang.
Asked by a prosecutor if he was nervous, Garcia, 30, replied: "Yes, sir, I am."
The prosecutor then asked why he was cooperating with law enforcement.
"I'm ashamed. I'm embarrassed...," he said. "That's the way to get out of the gang. You die or you become a rat. That's what I am now - a rat."Each of the six men on trial at the federal courthouse in Charlotte is charged with racketeering conspiracy. Some also face firearms, drugs and robbery charges. One is charged with murder.The six men on trial are among 26 suspected MS-13 gang members indicted in June 2008. Eighteen, including Garcia, have pleaded guilty. One man is in a prison in El Salvador. Another, charged with murder, is scheduled to be tried for his life later this year.Prosecutors have said the defendants were part of an international organization that committed crimes across Charlotte, including robbery, extortion and murder.Garcia told jurors he's in the witness protection program while incarcerated. He said he became a member of MS-13 in 2000."I joined to fit in - to be in something and to be somebody," Garcia said.
Defense lawyers questioned Garcia's motives for testifying and whether he was telling the truth. One of the lawyers suggested he was testifying because he faces a life sentence and hopes his cooperation will get him a lighter sentence."I just wanted to do the right thing," Garcia said. "I don't want to be a gang member."
Garcia also denied being the leader of the MS-13 gang."I was one of the guys a lot of people respected," he said. "The more people who know you, the more respect you gain."Another former MS-13 gang member, who authorities say helped them infiltrate the gang, took the stand Thursday afternoon. The 21-year-old informant videotaped gang meetings and drug buys, according to the FBI.The informant told jurors he's in the government's witness protection program.Asked by a prosecutor why he needs protection, he replied: "They'll kill me."

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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."

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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.

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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.

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Hells Angels and Outlaws armed with knives, were involved in the "battle" at the airport.

Police have issued a picture of a man they are trying to trace in connection with a riot inside an airport terminal.Detectives from West Midlands Police are trying to find 46-year-old Joseph Lagrue to speak to him in connection with the disorder at Birmingham International Airport on January 20, 2008.In June last year seven members of two rival biker gangs were each jailed for six years for their part in the "terrifying" riot.
A trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard how dozens of Hells Angels and Outlaws, some armed with knives, were involved in the "battle" at the airport.Neil Harrison, 46, Paul Arlett, 35, Mark Price, 50, Sean Timmins, 38, Leonard Hawthorne, 52, Mark Moseley, 46, and Jeremy Ball, 46, all from addresses across the West Midlands, were each jailed for six years by Judge Patrick Thomas in June after being previously convicted by a jury.Price, Harrison, Moseley and Ball were Outlaws, and Arlett, Timmins, and Hawthorne, were Hells Angels, the court heard.An eighth defendant, 47-year-old Mark Larner, of Tudor Road in Upper Gornal, West Midlands, fled to South Africa, but handed himself in in November and was jailed for six years.West Midlands Police said Joseph Lagrue was currently featured on the force's Most Wanted site.

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Lawrence “Butch” Watson, a 23-year-old reputed street gangster, admitting to setting up the 25-year-old Williams

One of the co-defendents in the slaying of aspiring musician Carl Williams pleaded guilty on Monday to murder and robbery. Lawrence “Butch” Watson, a 23-year-old reputed street gangster, admitting to setting up the 25-year-old Williams by luring him to an apartment complex on June 23, where he was robbed and shot dead. Watson also admitted to a gunpoint robbery earlier in the same day at the Horizons Complex. In exchange for the plea, Watson's sentence will be capped at a minimum of 22 years to life in prison. Watson's attorney will be allowed, however, to argue for a range of 20 years to life.

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shortage of guns in Britain is forcing rival gangsters to rent the same weapons

shortage of guns in Britain is forcing rival gangsters to rent the same weapons from middlemen who supply the bad guys, the Mirror reports."We are seeing the same guns being used over and over again," Detective Chief Superintendent Paul James, of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (Nabis), said. Officials credit a clamp-down on suppliers with putting fewer guns on the street, the Mirror reports.

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Georgi Slavov has been admitted for emergency surgery at Plovdiv's University Hospital St George

Georgi Slavov has been admitted for emergency surgery at Plovdiv's University Hospital St George, according to media reports. The duty surgeon has announced that Slavov had suffered a mild skull trauma, but has not specified a reason for the injury.Three security guards are guarding Slavov's room in the neurosurgery ward of the hospital. Access even by his two lawyers has not been permitted.Eyewitnesses have stated that Georgi Slavov was admitted to hospital at 10 pm on Monday evening. According to initial reports, he became unwell while in the 2nd regional police station, where he was under detention.As reported earlier by Novinite.com, prosecutors in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv had laid charges against 26-year-old Georgi Slavov aka Zhoro Glavata ("The Head") and one of his guards, Plamen Ivanov, following a fracas at a night club on Saturday at around midnight.
The son of Stoil Slavov, once a leading member of the notorious SIC group, and who has himself assumed the role of gangster, has been charged with aggravated hooliganism. Bulgarian law allows for up to 5 years' imprisonment for this criminal charge.Moreover, the Plovdiv prosecutors ordered the measure for detention for both "The Head" and his guard to be extended to 72 hours.The incident had occurred when a dispute broke out between Georgi Slavov and his guards, and Vladimir Arabadzhiev, son of local hotelier Vetko Arabadzhiev. In the ensuing melee firearms were used.The incident, which occurred at the "Bedroom" nightclub, did not become serious, with no reports of injury. It has been alleged that the reason for the scandal was playmate Nikoleta Lozanova. She has stated that she had nothing to do with the fight.When questioned by police, Arabadzhiev and Slavov told radically different versions of the incident. Arabadzhiev claimed that he had left the disco before the fight broke out, and did not take part in it. He also said he did not know "The Head".Slavov himself, however, stated that Arabadzhiev, his guards and his friends had started the quarrel, as Vetko Arabadjiev's son had to do some "paying back" since the summer. According to him, the root cause of their conflict is precisely the girlfriend Nikoleta Lozanova, with whom they had both had a relationship, Plovdiv media have reported.

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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.

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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.

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Glasgow firm Spyguard's general manager Gavin Scott, 64, and directors Paddy Dyer, 44, and Gary Fitzpatrick, 46, have all had their licences removed.

GANGLAND security firms are on the run after police chiefs started sharing secret files with industry watchdogs, we can reveal today.Strathclyde Police are handing over intelligence on rogue firms to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) - leading to dozens of people losing their licences because of underworld links.One company have already lost their SIA approved contractor status.One security source said: "The SIA have failed to clean up the industry partly because it hasn't got enough power."It's fantastic the police are now sharing what they know about these people. If that continues, it could make a real difference."Glasgow firm Spyguard's general manager Gavin Scott, 64, and directors Paddy Dyer, 44, and Gary Fitzpatrick, 46, have all had their licences removed.The SIA acted after police told them how the firm used intimidation to win contracts.Former Army sergeant and weapons instructor Scott unsucessfully appealed against losing his licence at Glasgow Sheriff Court.In a written judgement, Sheriff John Brown said: "Such information, in my view, entitles the SIA to take the action they have to suspend the licence in the public interest."Scott, from Yoker, Glasgow, said he had no idea if his employers were involved in organised crime.He added: "I'm being punished not for who I am but for who the police say I work for. Does anyone know who they work for? "I earn £300 a week as a supervisor. Does that sound like someone who is a bigtime crook? I was 22 years in the Gordon Highlanders. I have no criminal record yet am being treated like one."It seems everyone is being tarred with the same brush."
Others who have had their licences revoked include gangster Eli Webb, 44, who has walked free on five attempted murder charges.He lost his licence a week after the it was revealed he was linked to "roll wars" - in which bakery firms were targeted in a campaign of intimidation.An industry source said: "It's incredible that someone like Webb was even licensed in the first place."Barry Dempster - a 29-year-old tanning salon boss linked to Pegasus Security - has also lost his licence. He is the son of underworld figure Bobby 'The Devil' Dempster. Boss Stephen Palombo, 41, had won approved contractor status for his firm X714 by convincing the SIA they were legitimate.But X714 were stripped of the status because of their links to Willie Bennett, 50, an associate of the Daniel crime clan.Palombo, who also runs a drug-testing business for employers, was unavailable last night. A spokeswoman said: "He's out the country and X714 is no longer in business. I don't know the name Willie Bennett."The SIA also moved to end Motherwellbased Izon Security's approved contractor status over alleged links to drug dealer Thomas Allan, 50.But the firm successfully challenged the move at Hamilton Sheriff Court.A police source said: "We can now spell out in detail the connections between criminals in the background and the people fronting and running the firms."That allows the SIA to review the suitability of individual licence holders and any firms who have gained approved contractor status. There's a lot more to come."Those stripped of their licences are now barred by law from working in security.Lawyer Jim Kelly said he planned a second appeal on Scott's behalf.He added: "I believe that the police and the SIA are acting illegally in the way they target people they suspect are involved in crime."If people pass all the tests laid down by the SIA, then they should be allowed to hold a licence."

The SIA said: "We can suspend a licence if we think there is a risk to the public."

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Salford gangster David Cullen, 29, lavished thousands of pounds on homes, cars and jewellery

armed robber was found to be living a life of luxury to rival Premier league footballers after he was caught carrying out a bank raid.Salford gangster David Cullen, 29, lavished thousands of pounds on homes, cars and jewellery for himself and his family, a police investigation discovered.Among the luxury items he bought during a three year spending spree were a £30,000 Franck Muller watch and a Harley Davidson 4x4 truck imported from the United States.He also shared his fortune with his mother, brothers and girlfriend, treating them to cars and foreign holidays, despite having no obvious source of income.But the high life came to an end when Cullen was caught carrying out a terrifying bank robbery in Preston in April 2006.
His gang, armed with a sledgehammer and two loaded guns, stole £136,000 from a Lloyds TSB branch but were arrested soon afterwards.Cullen is now serving ten years for his part in the robbery but police were suspicious about how he had funded his luxury lifestyle and launched a separate investigation into his finances.They found that in the the three years leading up to the Preston robbery Cullen splashed out:
A £40,000 deposit on a plush new semi in leafy Prestwich.£27,000 in cash to refurbish the house.£20,000 on a Harley Davidson 4x4 truck imported from the US.
A £30,000 Franck Muller watch.A £76,000 a holiday home in Florida.A fleet of cars, paying in cash for a £28,000 VW Toureg, a £6,000 Fiat Stilo (for his girlfriend), a £25,000 7 series BMW, a £21,000 Porsche 911 and also £8,000 on a Vauxhall Vectra.
A £3,000 insurance bill for the BMW was paid in full up frontExpensive holidays to Spain and Dubai for him and his girlfriend.An £80,000 deposit when he moved to a bigger house in Swinton.The spending spree began in 2003, shortly after Cullen was found not guilty of a £302,000 bank robbery in Bolton.Cullen, formerly of Heaton Street, Salford, has now pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to defraud, effectively admitting that he funded his extravagant purchases from the proceeds of crime. He could be given an extended prison sentence on top of the ten years he is serving when he is sentenced in the next few weeks.His mother, girlfriend and two brothers will also be sentenced after they pleaded guilty to a string of offences.Cullen's girlfriend, Natasha Smyth, 27, of Harbourne Avenue, Worsley, admitted benefits fraud and money laundering.Cullen's older brother Anthony Cullen, a former footballer known as Tony, 36, of Myrtle Grove, Whitefield, worked as a loan shark as well as helping his brother hide and spend the dirty cash. He admitted housing benefit fraud, conspiracy to defraud and also operating as an unlicensed money lender.David Cullen's younger brother, joiner Arron Cullen, 27, of Rydal Grove, Prestwich, admitted money laundering by acting as a front through which David bought and sold the Prestwich and Swinton houses.David's mother, Bernadette Cullen, created a false identity to buy two homes she owned in Salford and Prestwich, and then used her real name to sponge off the state by claiming she was a tenant. She falsely claimed housing and council tax benefits worth around £23,000.
Bernadette Cullen, 55, of Heaton Street, Salford, admitted conspiracy to defraud, two charges of dishonestly making false statements and converting or concealing criminal property by buying and then selling a £76,000 holiday home in Florida with David's money.Det Sgt John Mulvihill said: "This has been a long and complex investigation into David Cullen and his family. The investigation has untangled criminality going back to the 1990's. David Cullen is a professional armed robber and his greed and extravagant lifestyle was the downfall for his family. Cullen's ability to live cash rich and his determination to remain invisible to the authorities led to the investigation into the wider family unit."Evidence revealed that not only did family members assist him with laundering the proceeds of his criminality but they also had criminal enterprises of their own."His mother's business was benefit fraud and his elder brother Anthony earned his crust through benefit fraud and loan sharking."Greater Manchester Police are committed to bringing to justice families that are willing to assist in the laundering of criminal property. This investigation uncovered the lengths that certain individuals will go to in order to conceal their proceeds of crime but it also showed the lengths that GMP will go to by working in partnership with local authorities to expose, pursue and prosecute those who are willing to enjoy the benefits of a lavish lifestyle financed by crime. This is what the public of Greater Manchester wants and expects."
In July, the M.E.N. reported how another Salford family was also hauled before the courts for enjoying the criminal earnings of robber Peter Anderson, who was in Cullen's gang which raided the Preston bank. Anderson's girlfriend Danielle Bardsley was given a suspended jail sentence for living the high life on her boyfriend's ill-gotten gains.

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Metro Gang Strike Force

members of the Metro Gang Strike Force attended a six-day conference in Hawaii, using nearly $17,000 in forfeited money that had been seized by the Strike Force in the course of its work.That turned out to be the first of many exclusive stories that Furst reported this year examining questionable practices within the Gang Strike Force. His reporting ultimately contributed to the decision to shut the organization down.Furst reported, along with Lora Pabst, how officers seized $4,500 in cash from Dagoberto Rodriquez Cardona in 2008 when Cardona went to claim a car from an impound lot, without ever documenting that the money had been seized. Cardona later filed suit, illustrating that the cash was money he and three others had earned through work, not drugs.We learned, through Furst's reporting, that seizing cash, cars, TVs and other property without proper documentation had become common practice on the force, first to help fund the work during tough days, and occasionally to enhance the lifestyles of some police officers.Furst also broke the story, ahead of everyone else, that Strike Force commander Chris Omodt had closed the unit in late May after discovering that officers had been shredding documents prior to an investigation into Strike Force activities.Today, Furst and Paul McEnroe take you behind the scenes to explain the meltdown of this organization, one of the biggest failures of crime enforcement in recent Twin Cities history. Their exhaustive reporting shows how something that began as a successful, upstanding crime-fighting organization eventually went rogue.

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“M62 Gang” - 4 females in their mid 30s to early 50s

criminal gang who stole over £300,000 of designer clothes, including £9,000 from Wigan stores are now behind bars, thanks to officers from the Wigan Business Crime Partnership. The “M62 Gang” - 4 females in their mid 30s to early 50s - have been operating across the North West shoplifting from high end designer womenswear stores, taking up to £5000 worth of clothes on each visit. A specialist officer, working with Wigan Council on behalf of Wigan’s Business Crime Partnership, was instrumental in securing the gang members’ arrests after undertaking surveillance in the town centre. That officer shared information about the gang’s activities in Wigan with colleagues across the region, which was crucial to the police arresting the four women in York last month. Cllr Kevin Anderson, the cabinet champion for safer communities, says: “This is an excellent result for the close teamwork of the Crime Partnership. Their work must remain confidential, but we can all be grateful that this gang has been stopped in its tracks, stealing from local shops who are working hard in the grip of a recession.” The specialist officer had been gathering evidence that the women had been coming to Wigan since August. Carol Ramsey, Lorraine Matthews and Collette and Debbie Ryan had been in town for six days a week, systematically targeting some of the top retail names in the town centre.
The four women were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last week, with Carol Ramsey and Lorraine Matthews each receiving 14 months. Collette Ryan was jailed for 10 months and Debbie Ryan for 6 months. The Crime Partnership was set up in 2001 in Wigan. It works to co-ordinate intelligence about criminal activities between Wigan’s day time and evening economies, Robin Retail Park and Ashton town centre, linking in with the council’s CCTV network. Images of known offenders are circulated amongst members as part of the group’s intelligence gathering operations. Violent crime in Wigan town centre reduced by 31 per cent last year and the team have won a number of industry awards.Cllr Anderson adds that the partnership wasn’t created because of any increase in crime. “Wigan remains to be one of the safest places to live, work and visit in Greater Manchester,” he says. “By maintaining and improving the standards of crime reduction, we can ensure even better and safer environment for businesses, residents and visitors.”

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Martin Hamilton attempt was made to gouge a man's eye out with a spoon and Hamilton also tried to cut a man's finger off with a knife.

Martin Hamilton is preparing for early release after nine years of a life sentence.

And a source told the Sunday Mail: "There will be a few people dreading the day he walks out of prison a free man."

Hamilton was flanked by two guards as he called on his mother for tea and biscuits on a home visit from Shotts Prison.

He watched l ive coverage of the UK Snooker Championship at the old lady's Glasgow flat on Thursday before emerging at 3.15pm.

He was then driven back to Kerr House, a low-supervision wing at Shotts.

Ultra-violent Hamilton was jailed for life in 2000 for a catalogue of offences , including abduction, torture and drug-dealing.

He was ordered to serve at least nine years before he could apply for parole.

But the 49-year-old heroin baron and bank robber is now confident he'll be out soon after he was granted the right to enjoy two-hour home visits.Our source told us: "Hammy can't wait to get out of prison."He's been inside for a long time now and knows each day is a day closer to freedom."All he has to do is keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble."The home visits are the start of the process for Hammy and he chooses to go and visit his mum."She's getting on, and Hammy going to visit her is easier than her having to make the journey to Shotts."Hamilton was the most notorious gangland figure in Scotland during a reign of terror which lasted almost 20 years.Before justice finally caught up with him, he walked free from TWELVE High Court indictments for crimes, including possession of firearms, a shooting, serious assault and robbery.Cases against him fell apart after witnesses were too afraid to give evidence against him, and preferred to be jailed for contempt of court instead.
But Hamilton was finally sent down at the High Court in Inverness - as armed police guarded every exit in the court building.Terrified witnesses were put in pol ice protection schemes and a news blackout on the trial was imposed.
Hamilton, of Anderston, Glasgow, was convicted of ordering the kidnap and torture of victims from the Edinburgh drug scene.Detectives say he was trying to take control of the capital's drug trade. Local dealers d ived for cover when he based himself in the capital 's Broomhouse area.Hamilton was found guilty of 14 charges, including several torture offences. Victims were set on fire, scalded with boiling water or stabbed in the face.In one horrific incident, a young couple were ordered to be stabbed in a bath so they wouldn't bleed all over the carpet of the flat where they were being held hostage.An attempt was made to gouge a man's eye out with a spoon and Hamilton also tried to cut a man's finger offwith a knife.Hamilton was also convicted of being concerned in the supply of heroin and diazepam, threatening a man with violence and holding a knife to another man's throat and threatening to kill him.He was acquitted over the abduction of two men and offering them money for sex.Passing sentence, Lord Kingarth said: "You showed yourself capable of taking sadistic pleasure in the infliction of pain and the inspiration of real terror over long periods.
"You pose a substantial danger to the public."Hamilton's co-accused, David Henderson, was jailed for six years.A third accused, Martin Byrne, 28, who gave evidence against Hamilton, admitted stabbing the teenage girl and boy in the face and was jailed for just three years.Hamilton had already served a nine -year sentence for trying to rob the Dunferml ine Bui lding Society in Anniesland, Glasgow in 1992.And in 1990, he abducted notorious gangster Paul Ferris off the street.
He bundled Ferris into a car on the orders of crime lord Arthur Thompson Snr, but released him when Thompson had a change of heart.Our source said: "Police were popping champagne when Hammy was sent down. They'd waited years to see him put away.
"Now they'll be wondering if they'll have to do it all over again when he gets out."

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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.

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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.

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.

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‘apprentice’ for the Hells Angels gang.

Police have arrested a third suspect in connection with the brutal attack on Alan Vestergaard, IT Factory chief executive Stein Bagger’s former business partner.
Bagger and another unnamed man have already been charged in relation to the attack on Vestergaard, who was severely beaten with a hammer in November 2008 at his home in the northern Zealand town of Farum. The third person charged is according to public broadcaster DR, an ‘apprentice’ for the Hells Angels gang.Police say DNA evidence from cigarette butts found at the scene led to the arrest earlier today.
The case of Bagger and IT Factory’s bankruptcy is one of the most spectacular corporate scandals in Denmark in modern times. Bagger admitted to fraud and forgery of 831 million dollars and in June he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for the crime.But Bagger has denied any involvement in the assault on Vestergaard. The incident took place just two days before Bagger left the country for Dubai, where he caught a flight to the US. He finally turned himself into police in Los Angeles after an extensive manhunt.Bagger was known to have connections to the Hells Angels, as leading member Brian Sandberg was once employed as his bodyguard.

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Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees’ interlocked NY logo

Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees’ interlocked NY logo as its own.By trimming the tail off the ‘Y,’ the famous Major League Baseball trademark is turned into an interwoven VN, standing for Van Nuys. The gang is touting its Yankee-esque symbol on social networking Web sites and YouTube.It’s just one example of what law enforcement say is an increasing trend among gangs to use cyberspace to broaden their appeal, boast of illegal exploits, pose threats and recruit new members.And more than ever, prosecutors are scouring sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for potential evidence in gang-related criminal cases.“Five years ago we would find evidence in a gang case on the Internet and say, ‘Wow.’ Well, there’s no more ‘Wow’ any more. Sadly, it’s much more routine,” said Bruce Riordan, director of anti-gang operations for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.Cyberbanging, as authorities call it, can provide prosecutors with the proof they need in criminal cases to demonstrate affiliation in a street gang – something typically denied by defendants at trial.“When the gang member has basically put his or her admission of gang membership up on the Internet, it can not only help prosecutors prove a case, it can also help us disprove a false defense,” said Riordan.George W. Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, said, however, that proving gang affiliation through cyberspace can be an arduous task. That is one reason he trains law enforcement officials how to cull intelligence on gang membership, rivalries, territory and lingo from their Internet posts.“Gangs are going to use any form of communication they can, including Twitter, including Facebook,” Knox said.“We don’t have any laws that prohibit them from doing this, and I don’t think we’re ready to bar them from the Internet.”
Attempts to contact numerous San Fernando Valley gang members for comment via e-mails through networking sites they use were unsuccessful.Los Angeles gang expert Alex Alonso said gang members are using networking sites more than before, but not necessarily to further criminal enterprises.“From my extensive experience, they use the Internet like any other person does – they’re just representing their neighborhoods and not trying to recruit,” said Alonso.

But law enforcement officials and youth counselors insist that young people who visit social networking sites to download music and pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set themselves up to be recruited by gangs.

Impressionable young people, say authorities, can sometimes be influenced by the secret handshakes, clothing and slang of gang cultures that are commonly found on Web sites created by or heavily used by gangs.

And it’s not just MySpace, Facebook and Twitter that parents should be concerned about, warned Douglas Semark, executive director of the Gang Alternatives Program, in San Pedro.“You can go into special areas of AOL, special areas of Yahoo or special areas of some of the other large Internet presences where (gang members) will go in and they’ll target specific topics and specific groups,” said Semark. “And kids may be in those areas with their parents’ blessing because the parents think they’re safe.
“And someone who is looking to victimize a specific individual will track them to those places and create false identities and false accounts.”
Two of the Valley’s fiercest gangs – Barrio Van Nuys and Canoga Park Alabama – have also used social networking sites to get around court injunctions secured by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office that forbid members from meeting in public, law enforcement officials say.
For many Valley gangs, MySpace – though passe in the era of Twitter and Facebook – appears to be the Internet social network of choice to glorify their lifestyle. Alonso said he believes gangs prefer MySpace because it is easier to search for and find other gang members on the site than others.
Representatives for MySpace and other popular networking Internet sites, which have come under criticism for their availability to gangs, did not return calls.
On MySpace, the 818 Gangland Musik Page offers free-streaming MP3s and song downloads that authorities say attract young Web surfers.
Among photographs posted by gang members are pictures of assault weapons and bullet-proof vests over a white T-shirt with the impression “Pacoima 818″ and of San Fernando gangbangers wearing San Francisco Giants garb with the famous interlocked SF logo of that team, which they have adopted as their own.Spokespersons for both the Giants and the Yankees said logos and trademark issues are handled by Major League Baseball, Inc., and that they have alerted officials at the league.A Yankee spokeswoman said that organization is especially concerned about seeing gang Web sites showing the lookalike NY trademark with guns sticking out of the logo.
Given the anonymous nature of the Internet, though, authorities say it is almost impossible to determine whether a posting has come from actual gang members or wannabes.Law enforcement officials say gangs’ use of the Internet has forced authorities to become skilled at reading between the lines of gang postings, looking for clues and hidden meanings of words and symbols.“To understand any subculture – Al-Qaida, cults, devil worshippers or gangs – you have to be able to know their own language and what they are saying,” said Knox of the National Gang Crime Research Center. “It takes time to study gang (Web) sites and blogs and pick up on subtle word choices, but that’s important.
“These are holy words to these gangs.”

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sentenced Jamal Shakir of the Rollin' 90s Crips for his role in arranging drug deals and killings

sentenced Jamal Shakir of the Rollin' 90s Crips for his role in arranging drug deals and killings, and executing power over a gang enterprise authorities say stretched from Los Angeles to Nashville.On Monday, the 34-year-old Shakir wore a yellow prison jump suit and was shackled at the wrists and ankles. Several U.S. Marshals guarded him in the courtroom.Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunny A.M. Koshy told the judge that officials found a handwritten note in Shakir's cell Monday morning with instructions on how to get out of handcuffs. Koshy said authorities have found letters Shakir wrote in the past few months calling for people to be killed and urging fire bombings.Several family members of the victims testified Monday about losing their loved ones. Thea Gibson said her daughter, Shannon, who was killed in 1996, will never know the joy of raising her two children — now 17 and 21.
"You left my grandchildren without a mother," Gibson said. "You are the punk that you are. I want the maximum for what my family has gone through and others because of his manipulative enterprise."Shakir then interrupted the witness to tell the judge he didn't want to be there."Excuse me your honor, but I shouldn't have to hear this again," Shakir said of the testimony, which was also given at his trial earlier this year. "I've heard it hundreds of times."When Nixon told Shakir he needed to listen, Shakir threatened to keep interrupting, but made only one more comment, saying, "You don't know me."Loretta Johnson spoke somberly of losing her youngest daughter, Regina, also in 1996. According to trial testimony, Regina was shot to death in her bed and her decomposed body was discovered about 10 days later. Her 3-year-old daughter was shot in both elbows and survived by drinking toilet water, prosecutors said.Johnson said that little girl, now 16, still has occasional nightmares but has managed to get on with her life."She's the miracle in our family," Johnson said.James Pilcher, the father of a Crip gang member whose killing was ordered in 1997, said he's become an ordained minister since the death of his son, Woody. Pilcher said he's asked God to forgive Shakir's sins, but he often reflects on the life his son could have had.
"Woody got the death penalty, and I got the possibility of life without parole," Pilcher said. "I have to go through this every day of my life."
Before the sentencing, Nixon gave Shakir an opportunity to speak, and he painted himself as the victim of "political aspirations" by Koshy, the lead prosecutor.
"If everybody say they're looking for justice, I say they're looking in the wrong place," Shakir said.Koshy responded that Shakir was once again being manipulative and that "nothing the defendant says can take ... away from what he did."

"This defendant is evil," Koshy said.

Koshy said the Federal Bureau of Prisons will decide where Shakir will be housed.
In October, a federal grand jury indicted two people on charges they plotted to steal a helicopter to help Shakir escape.Prosecutors claim the two conspired between June and September to find a helicopter, direct street gang members to restrain the aircraft's owner and then take it

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Bloods street gang accused of a gang-hit slaying

One of three alleged members of the Bloods street gang accused of a gang-hit slaying was brought to Lackawanna County Court on Monday under heavy security to enter a guilty plea to first-degree murder.The deal fell apart after Jeffery Future asked for more time to review hundreds of pages of documents investigators had compiled against him.Though Mr. Future had agreed to plead guilty, he told Judge Carmen Minora, through his attorney, he first wants to review the 600 to 700 pages of documents police have assembled in their investigation into the death of Allen Fernandez, another Bloods member, whose body was found July 30, shot 12 times with several different weapons on Snake Road in Ransom Twp.First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said after the aborted court hearing that Mr. Future "indicated he wanted additional time to contemplate his decision to enter a plea to first-degree murder, to honor the agreement he made with the commonwealth."
Beside asking for more time, Mr. Future's attorney, James Elliott, said he wants investigators to stop reading Mr. Future's mail. Mr. Talerico said the court has already ruled on the issue."We filed a motion with the court and the motion was granted," Mr. Talerico said.Judge Carmen Minora said he would allow Mr. Future and Mr. Elliott "six or seven weeks" to review the documents.Outside the courtroom, Mr. Elliott said he only received the documents last week through a process called "discovery." He also said Judge Minora said he would rule on the request about the mail after Mr. Elliott files a motion.Mr. Future, 25, was arrested along with Christian Kenyon, 17, and Tonie Future, 18, who were students at West Scranton High School. According to court documents, the Future brothers said they were ordered to kill Mr. Fernandez because he was disloyal within subsets of the Bloods street gang. Police say all three suspects allegedly shot Mr. Fernandez. The gang member who allegedly ordered the execution-style murder has not been identified.Before sending Mr. Future back to prison, Judge Minora gave him a warning about any possible future delays in courtroom proceedings.
"I won't let you run the show here," Judge Minora said. "I will be reasonable, to a point."If Mr. Future still has not decided whether he wants to enter a guilty plea, Judge Minora said, "Then I will set a trial date."By pleading guilty to first-degree murder and not going to trial, Mr. Future would escape a possible death sentence, which a jury could impose if it found him guilty of first-degree murder, Mr. Talerico said.

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Anh-Tuan Dao Pham, 19,has been sentenced to prison for 39 years to the rest of his life for shooting and killing a 17-year-old youth

Sacramento gang member has been sentenced to prison for 39 years to the rest of his life for shooting and killing a 17-year-old youth who was walking along the street near the Wildhawk Golf Club almost three years ago.Anh-Tuan Dao Pham, 19, received the term Thursday from Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy W. Frawley for the Feb. 22, 2007, shooting murder of Dominique Hickman, 17.Pham's term also includes time on an additional attempted murder conviction for shooting and wounding two people in the unincorporated south area less than an hour after he killed Hickman.

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Notorious French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, serving time in a Kathmandu prison for the murder of two western holidaymakers, could be out of jail

Notorious French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, serving time in a Kathmandu prison for the murder of two western holidaymakers, could be out of jail in February, his lawyer said.Sobhraj was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of two backpackers — Canadian Laurent Ormond Carriere, 26, and Connie Bronzich, 29, of California, United States — in the Himalayan state in 1975.“Prosecutors don’t have a single (piece of) evidence against Charles to show that he entered Nepal to kill. For the past 30 years, they are trying to establish evidence. Now his only charge is about false passport.“We have a very strong case and, sure, he will be freed by February next year,” Shakuntala Thapa, one of Sobhraj’s lawyers, told Bernama in a telephone interview from Kathmandu.

Nicknamed the “bikini killer”, the flamboyant globe-trotting Frenchman, who often preyed on young western tourists touring Southeast Asian capitals, allegedly committed at least 12 murders between 1972 and 1976.

But investigators across the world believe numerous other murders have gone unreported.
After a string of arrests and escapes from high-security prisons from Bangkok to Kabul for alleged crimes — from possessing fake passports, drug dealings, gemstones smuggling to murders — Sobhraj was finally arrested in New Delhi in July 1976 for drugging French tourists and robbing jewellery from a hotel.In 1986, he escaped from India’s Tihar prison by drugging the prison guards but was rearrested by Indian police months later, and he stayed behind bars until 1997.
After his release, Sobhraj returned to France and suddenly emerged in Kathmandu in 2004, where he was arrested while holidaying.The 65-year-old Sobhraj was born Gurmukh Sobhraj to an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother and became a French citizen after his mother remarried, to a French national.Last year, while in prison, he married 20-year-old Nihita Biswas, his interpreter and the daughter of his lawyer Shakuntala, in a simple Nepali ceremony.Sobhraj has also earned another nickname, “the serpent”, for his tact in deceiving authorities and staging daring prison breakouts.

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Copenhagen scene of a full-blown gang war that the government admits it is powerless to end.

Copenhagen, renowned for its fairytale palaces and Little Mermaid, has for more than a year been the scene of a full-blown gang war that the government admits it is powerless to end.Daily police patrols, raids and harsher sentences for gang-related crimes have failed to quell the wave of drive-by shootings, execution-style killings, and grenade attacks that have rocked the Danish capital and its suburbs since August 2008.Although Denmark is no stranger to gang wars after dealing with clashes between rival biker gangs Hells Angels and Bandidos in the 1990s, this upsurge of violence - pitting biker gangs against youths of immigrant origin - has spiralled out of the authorities' control."I am asking everyone for help and good advice," Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen implored, talking directly to citizens his plea for ideas to bring a halt to the bloody conflict.Copenhagen's spiral of violence started in August 2008 when an armed man of Turkish origin was executed on the street, his body riddled with 25 bullets by a member of Hells Angels spin-off AK81.At times played out in broad daylight, the conflict has claimed seven lives and wounded 60 people since then, some of the dead and wounded being innocent bystanders.
In October alone, nine attacks shook the ordinarily calm, seaside capital, including its posh and residential areas.Authorities say the conflict originally stemmed from the desire to control territory for the sale of both hard and soft drugs but that it is increasingly fuelled by vengeance, with each clan avenging its own losses.
This war is much deadlier than the 1990s biker feuds, and Mikkelsen said it "could only be stopped by society."More than 300 Danes have sent tips on how to stop the conflict to Mikkelsen by email, the minister said, while even the United States has offered help."We have some expertise in the area of gangs ... And if we can offer some assistance or training that would be beneficial, we would be happy to do that," US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told reporters after talks with Mikkelsen in Copenhagen.The minister announced a series of meetings where his country, a normally peaceful country of 5,5 million inhabitants, hopes to learn from the United States how to deal with urban violence.So far, Mikkelsen's hardline anti-gang plan seems nowhere near putting an end to the bloodshed."We cannot control this absurd and infernal cycle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," chief police inspector Per Larsen admitted.He says it is a "miracle" that the conflict has not claimed more victims, but insists that police have not surrendered and that Copenhagen still "isn't Chicago in the 1930s."But a Gallup poll has suggested more than eight of 10 people in Denmark do not believe police will be able to stop the conflict, with many Danes, consistently ranked among the happiest people on earth, fearing for their own safety.
"Those gangs should face-off and kill each other once and for all so we can finally live in peace," says Inger, a woman in her 70s.A founding Hells Angels member was injured by two youths of immigrant origin in an attack in broad daylight in the suburb where she lives.
"The Hells will avenge the attack, and the spiral of violence will continue," said Yavuz Ilmaz, a 28-year-old Dane of Turkish descent, of the incident.
Despite the authorities' best intentions and promises, Ilmaz judged "insane" how easy it was to obtain illegal weapons in Copenhagen, and suggested stronger measures to stop the gang war."Putting cameras up everywhere like in London and legalising hash like in the Netherlands" could halt the drug trade and the violence, giving Copenhagen a chance to return to calm, Ilmaz proposed. - AFP

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Mike Tyson allegedly hit a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport

Mike Tyson allegedly hit a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport and was detained on suspicion of battery Wednesday, police said.The paparazzo told police that the former heavyweight boxing champion struck him once, airport police spokesman Sgt. Jim Holcomb said. The photographer fell to the ground and was treated for a cut to his forehead at a hospital.Tyson's spokeswoman Tammy Brook said the boxer was traveling with his wife and 10-month-old child Wednesday afternoon when he was attacked by an overly aggressive paparazzo. He acted in self-defense to protect his child, she said.Tyson and the unnamed photographer both want to press charges for misdemeanor battery, police said."There's a lot of different versions to this story and that's all going to come out later," Holcomb said. "Some witness statements support Tyson's version, others support the photographer's."Paparazzi often camp out at Los Angeles' largest airport to get shots of celebrities in transit.Tyson was cooperative as he waited in a holding cell at the airport police station, Holcomb said. He will be booked and released later. The photographer will also be booked once he is released from the hospital, police said.Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever in 1986 when he won his title as a 20-year-old. But his life since then has been marred by accusations of domestic violence, rape and cocaine use.Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992, serving three years in prison. He was disqualified from a 1997 heavyweight title fight when he bit off part of Evander Holyfield's right ear, and in 1999 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland.In 2003, Tyson filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He served 24 hours in an Arizona jail in 2007 after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and driving under the influence.

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Staten Island gang war that has claimed the lives of four men

Staten Island gang war that has claimed the lives of four men so far this month has gotten so intense that members of the Bloods are apparently skipping town to stay safe. According to the Daily News, the internal squabble between Bloods members from New Brighton and those from Port Richmond and Mariners Harbor turned deadly on Nov. 7, when an argument over a girl lead to the shooting of Jermaine "Big Den" Dickerson in an Arlington housing development. The next week, Earl Mangin — who allegedly drove the getaway car in Dickerson's shooting — was gunned down in front of his home. Those murders might be linked to the Nov. 16 drive-by shooting of Kameek Sears, who was found dead in a white Lexus in Arlington. Two days later, 18-year-old Kyre Henderson — who is suspected of being a passenger in the car during the Sears drive-by — was found dead in South Beach.The Daily News reports that at least two Bloods have fled the city in fear that they would be the next targets. Police are trying to round up parolees and make more "quality-of-life" arrests to gain information about the gangs. "Right now we're dealing with bad guys, but we still don't want bad guys to get shot," said NYPD Asst. Chief Stephen Paragallo, Staten Island's borough commander. "And the last thing we want is good people, innocent people, to get shot — especially children." Let's hope the cops are checking Twitter regularly.

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