Jarod Lance Bancroft,Curtis Stewart Bickle appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court today on charges including assault occasioning bodily harm

Jarod Lance Bancroft, 36, and Curtis Stewart Bickle, 29, appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court today on charges including assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, and threatening violence. The court was told the pair were wearing balaclavas and carrying hand guns when they approached a man outside his Corinda home, in Brisbane's west, about 9.10pm (AEST) on Wednesday. Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Brian Cazzulino said Mr Bancroft, Mr Bickle and the man were all known to each other through the illicit drug trade. Mr Bancroft's seven-year-old daughter and his former partner were residing with the man. The court was told the pair ordered the man back inside his house and when he refused Mr Bickle fired a shot into the air and held a gun to the man's temple. After forcing him inside, Mr Bancroft pushed his young daughter aside before herding his former partner, the man and another woman into a room, the court was told. It was alleged one of the offenders then forced a hand gun inside the mouth of one of the women, smacking her in the teeth. One of the women then allegedly grabbed a lamp and smashed it into the back of Mr Bickle's head. The male victim then struggled with one of the attackers over a loaded hand gun and a shot was fired into the ground before the attackers left. The female victims allegedly identified the attackers through their eyes, physical build and "having known them for so long". No motive was given for the attack which Snr Sgt Cazzulino labelled a copycat of the Channel Nine drama Underbelly, based on the Melbourne gangland war. "It really read as if it was an episode of Underbelly and police are concerned it was a copycat situation," he said.
Mr Bickle's defence lawyer Mark Houghton described the reference to the drama as "inflammatory", though magistrate Wally Ehrich said he'd never watched the show. Mr Houghton criticised what he said was a lack of evidence against his client, questioning the victim's ability to identify the attacker under a balaclava. In addition, Mr Bickle had no visible injuries which might have been caused by being struck by a lamp. Mr Bancroft's lawyer Nick Dore labelled the suggestion his client would shove his young daughter as "ludicrous".
He also said Mr Bancroft had provided police with an alibi - he was watching DVDs and eating pizza with another person at the time of the attack.
Mr Ehrich denied both men bail and remanded them in custody to reappear for mention on July 7.

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Terry Lamont Smith approached wearing a ski mask and began a fight with the victim. Smith’s mask came off during the struggle,

Terry Lamont Smith, 24, has prior felony convictions for burglary, grand larceny and distribution of crack. On Dec. 16, 2006, police responded to a shooting at the Tiger Mart located at 1208 E. Main St., Dillon. They found the victim lying on the floor with a single gunshot wound to the right side of his chest.
Witnesses told police the victim was vacuuming a woman’s car when Smith approached wearing a ski mask and began a fight with the victim. When Smith’s mask came off during the struggle, the victim recognized Smith. Smith then shot the victim and fled the scene.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case as part of Project CeaseFire, an initiative of the U.S. Attorneys Office that seeks to aggressively prosecute gun-related crimes.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also investigated this case.

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Jorge Zaragoza retrieved a handgun and shot his wife, hitting her in the neck, then turned the gun on himself.

The Stockton Police Department reported that around 9 p.m., the Zaragozas were arguing at their home in the 200 block of Horton Avenue when Jorge Zaragoza retrieved a handgun and shot his wife, hitting her in the neck, then turned the gun on himself.Gabriela Zaragoza, 47, is recovering at San Joaquin General Hospital. Her husband, Jorge Zaragoza, died at the scene.Jorge and Gabriela Zaragoza's son, George, 23, said he heard his parents arguing in the backyard and ran outside when he heard his sister begin to scream.He made it outside in time to see his father shoot his mother and then raise the gun to his own head. George Zaragoza tried to wrest the gun from his father's hands, he said, but was too late."Before I could do anything, he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger," he said.George Zaragoza said his father had always been a hot-tempered man but had lately fallen into a dark depression.A welder by trade, Jorge Zaragoza had been sidelined with a back injury. And Jorge, who had always taken pride in his appearance and his health, recently lost an eye after someone hit him with a glass bottle, his son said.
George Zaragoza said even as his mother lay in a hospital bed, she had already turned her mind to the well-being of her children. And she had sympathy for her husband, he said."She still loved him," George Zaragoza said.

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13-year-old boy is in custody after firing a weapon

13-year-old boy is in custody after firing a weapon at the Annual Annie Malone May Day Parade in downtown St. Louis.The parade drew thousands of spectators who lined the streets to honor Annie Malone, a civic leader who helped St. Louis orphans in the early 1900s.Police say the 13-year-old boy's weapon was recovered after the shooting Sunday. No one was hurt in the incident.

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Michael Dosunmu, Billy Cox, Jesse James, James Smarrt Ford and Adam Regis are just some of the names of young black men who have lost their lives

Michael Dosunmu, Billy Cox, Jesse James, James Smarrt Ford and Adam Regis are just some of the names of young black men who have lost their lives to the wave of escalating gun and knife crime in the UK. And in many cases, their attackers have also been young black men. Most of us who have seen these headlines have been shocked and concerned. For one woman the issue of gun violence became frighteningly real. But Manchester resident Erinma Bell’s brush with cold blooded gunmen was an experience that turned her into a crusader, determined to take on ruthless criminals. In December 1999, Bell from the city’s Moss Side area was returning home from a works Christmas party with her husband and a friend.
The happy talkative group were on their way to a house party to continue the festivities when Erinma noticed a group of men hanging around in an alleyway near where the party was taking place. “Even though it happened in December 1999, it’s as though it happened yesterday,” Bell recalls. “Every time I hear of another shooting, it brings back the memories, the sounds, the sights, the smell of the gun.
“As we were going to the party, I noticed three people in an alleyway. It was quite dark and after midnight. I just didn’t like the look of them. Call it women’s intuition, I just knew that something wasn’t right.”
She suspected that one of them was carrying a gun and she told her husband so. But she dismissed her fears and told her not to be so suspicious.
Not long after, the group got in the car to protect themselves from a sudden downpour of rain. But as they got in the car, Bell was still troubled. “We must have been inside the car a good ten or fifteen minutes but I hadn’t noticed that the three men had moved from the alleyway,” she remembered.
“After the rain had stopped, we got out of the car and I suddenly realised that the three men were stood outside of the door of the house we were supposed to be going into.” What happened next changed her life forever. “There were six of us in our group. The first of the two couples went into the house. Then as my friend was about to step in, one of the suspicious looking men tapped him on the shoulder.
“He took off his hood to look at this stranger and as he did this, all three of them opened fire and started shooting him. I was that shocked I stood still. I couldn’t move. “I went through a whole load of emotions and the one thought I remember going through my mind was ‘Is this really happening? Are they shooting guns? What’s happening here, what’s going on? Why are they doing this?’
“I remember my husband picked me up and ran across the road to guide me to safety. But then the reality of the situation hit me, it was our friend that they were shooting.
“I began shouting and screaming at them ‘Why are you doing this? You’re going to kill him! I’m going to call the police’. When I started running towards them, I didn’t think ‘I’m going to be brave’. I think it was just the adrenalin pumping and ethically it was the right thing to do. “It must be an instinctive thing to do because you want to stop them from hurting your friend. The shocking thing was that when they finished, they just calmly walked off. They didn’t run , they didn’t push anybody out of the way, they just walked off.” Thankfully, her friend (whose identity Bell wants to protect) survived the near fatal shooting. But her initial shock at what had just taken place followed by relief that he was still alive gave way to anger. “We administered first aid to him on the spot which helped to save his life. But we had to wait 45 minutes for the ambulance to come. “I’m still angry about that because I made that 999 call whilst they were still shooting. When they took him to hospital, they counted eleven bullet wounds, so it’s a miracle that he survived.
“That’s when gun crime became a reality in my life. Before then, it was something that I read about in the papers, or heard on the news. I can never forget the screams, the shouting, the mayhem. It was absolutely awful. “When you go home you relive all of that you have nightmares and it wasn’t even me that got shot so you can imagine what he was going through.” Following the incident, she decided that the best way to deal with her nightmares was to do something that would ensure that what she witnessed would never happen again in her neighbourhood. She needed a channel for her anger. Three years later, in 2002, she was instrumental in the creation of CARISMA (Community Alliance for Renewal, Inner South Manchester Area). The group was born out of Bell meeting with local people in Moss Side and the neighbouring Longsight area, who had enough of the area’s reputation as a haven for drugs, gangs and street violence. CARISMA’s statement of purpose is ‘creating life chances for young people in the community.’ And since it’s creation, the organisation has had quite an impact. It initiated an event called Peace Week. Now in it’s sixth year, Peace Week is a series of events that attracts thousands of people from all over the city for a series of events aimed at expressing the desire of local people for peace. The success of Peace Week has led to the creation of Peace FM. Initially a community radio station, operating on a month long restricted service licence, it was last month granted a five year licence by Ofcom, giving the community a permanent voice on the airwaves.
Bell was one of the individuals recently profiled in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s book ‘Britain’s Everyday Heroes’ in which he celebrates the ability of ordinary people to make a difference to their communities.
The Prime Minister praised Bell for her ability to channel her anger into helping her community. But the road to CARISMA’s success was not an easy one as Bell recalls. “Soon after the shooting, I started to try and get something done about the problem of gun crime in the area. And then my son was stopped in the street and questioned by some guys. He was asked ‘What are your parents saying to the police?’ and was told ‘Tell them not to speak to the police’ and that’s when I really started to fear. “It was like they were threatening me through my children and my children were not part of this. So I was going through all these emotions. But I was determined to do something and I said to everyone ‘I have a higher force that protects me’.
“I was brought up in the neighbourhood and I was not going to be run out from the neighbourhood. I did the drastic thing of sending my children abroad to be safe and away from the environment. It was a hard decision to make because I love my children but in the end I had to think about their future and their life.” CARISMA has gone from strength to strength. However, you won’t catch Bell resting on her laurels or being complacent. She is as passionate as ever about the need for an organisation like CARISMA. “We have young people today who feel the need to walk around with a deadly weapon. And that is definitely one of the things we have to communicate to our young people, that you don’t need to communicate using a deadly weapon. “Mistakes happen but if you shoot the wrong person, that person you have mistaken can’t come back. How many times are you going to say sorry when you realise you’ve got the wrong person? “These people need to understand that when you shoot someone, that bullet doesn’t stop at the body of the person you’ve aimed the gun at.
“It travels through the mother, the father, their brothers and sisters, their children. It keeps going throughout the whole of that person’s family. None of us has the right to take away a person’s life. “Life is a gift and we need to advocate to our young people that life is a gift to be grateful for. We who live in this society have to change it for the better instead of sitting on the fence and letting it happen.”

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Phoenix 3-year-old died from injuries sustained during an accidental shooting Monday afternoon.

Phoenix 3-year-old died from injuries sustained during an accidental shooting Monday afternoon.Authorities on the scene said they think the boy shot himself in the head.It's unclear at this point how the boy got a hold of the gun or who owns the weapon. The boy was visiting friends at a home near Interstate 17 and Greenway on Monday afternoon with his Mom and two brothers, according to police.He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in downtown Phoenix where he was pronounced dead.Police blocked off a section of the neighborhood during the investigation.

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Colin Gunn has been at the heart of organised crime in Nottingham

Colin Gunn has been at the heart of organised crime in Nottingham for a long time.
Despite a ban on the media revealing his identity, few people had not heard his name in connection with gun crime in the city.He was one of three men jailed for life last June (2007) for conspiracy to murder John and John Stirland in Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire, in August 2004.He has been linked to the raid on the jeweller's shop in Arnold which led to the shooting of Marian Bates and the subsequent disappearance of the suspected gunman James Brodie.He allegedly paid hitman John McSally to shoot gang associate Patrick Marshall outside the Park Tavern pub in Bulwell in February 2004.Rumours on the Bestwood Estate also linked him and his associates to the shootings of David Draycott and John Shippam. No one has ever been charged with either murder.And now he has been found guilty of plotting to corrupt Notts police officers.Gunn denied all the allegations against him but was convicted of conspiracy to murder the Stirlands and a plot to corrupt police after two trials.He is likely to spend much of the rest of his life behind bars.

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Anjum Nawaz, Mohammed Imtiaz Malik, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life

Niwaz, 25, from Grindleton Road, Blackburn; Anjum Nawaz, 24, from Columbia Place, Sheffield and Mohammed Imtiaz Malik, 25, from Montague Street, Blackburn pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Today, all three men appeared before The Honourable Mrs Justice Rafferty at Manchester Crown Court for sentencing. Niwaz was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Nawaz received ten years and Malik was sentenced to eight years. This follows a major police investigation into a shooting which happened in the early hours of the morning on 18 June 2007 when two gunshots were fired through the windows of a house on Whalley New Road, Blackburn. It happened at 4.25am, when a 20-year-old student was woken by a disturbance outside his home. As he went to investigate, two gun shots were fired at the house, which narrowly missed his head and showered him and his 13-year-old brother with glass.
Both brothers were left shaken by the ordeal and police enquiries soon revealed that the family living at the address were not the intended targets. The shots had been intended for two men living next door. The attack was the culmination of a dispute between two rival groups of Asian men which had happened the day before outside an address on Wensley Road, Blackburn.
A robust and thorough police investigation was soon underway involving police in South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. In the hours that followed the shooting police arrested Niwaz in Darwen and recovered a Cherokee Jeep nearby. Niwaz had bought the Jeep only hours before the attack for £450. It was then used as a getaway vehicle as the offenders fled the scene. Following protracted enquiries with many different agencies, two further suspects were arrested and subsequent enquiries resulted in police recovering a double barrel shotgun and balaclavas which are believed to have been used in the attack.
Detective Inspector Andy Hulme who was in charge of the investigation said: “This sentence demonstrates our commitment to protecting members of the public from serious and organised crime.

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"SHOT" IN THE "HEAD" AND "DUMPED"

Four people believed to be Americans were "SHOT" IN THE "HEAD" AND "DUMPED" in a notorious drug-smuggling area in northern Mexico near the California border, Mexican police said on Monday.Police in the beach town of Rosarito, across the border from San Diego, said they discovered the bodies of three men and a woman on Sunday in an abandoned car in a remote patch of scrubland near the Pacific coast.Police concluded the victims were U.S. citizens because the vehicle had California license plates, the men appeared to be "BLACK," the woman was "WHITE" and a U.S. driver’s license was found in the car, the spokesman said.Murders have jumped in Mexico this year, the bulk of them linked to a war between rival drug cartels and security forces that has killed some 1,300 people across Mexico since January. But it is unusual for foreigners to be the victims.

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Police seized an AK47, ammunition and drugs Monday in a raid at an Oshtemo Township apartment.

Courtesy of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team
The Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team found crack cocaine, powder cocaine and an AK47 assault rifle Monday during a raid of an apartment in Oshtemo Township, police said.Police seized an AK47, ammunition and drugs Monday in a raid at an Oshtemo Township apartment. Two teenagers were arrested.
Police found 16 grams of crack cocaine, 56 grams of powder cocaine, the assault rifle and a loaded ammunition magazine after serving a search warrant at about 6 p.m. at Seville Apartments, located off South Drake Road, according to a KVET news release.Two men, ages 17 and 18, who lived at the apartment, were arrested by police following the search, police said. Their names were not released.Police said the 17-year-old was arrested on charges of possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine and felony use of a firearm. The other man was arrested on an outstanding warrant.

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German policewoman could be sacked after leaving her gun in a court toilet during a high security murder trial of rival biker gangs.

German policewoman could be sacked after leaving her gun in a court toilet during a high security murder trial of rival biker gangs.The missing weapon had been left by a sink in a ladies toilet for 15 minutes before it was spotted by a court worker, who raised the alarm.At first police thought a gang member had smuggled the gun inside, but soon realised it was a police officer's weapon.
Extra police had been drafted in to make sure the gang members were kept apart during a murder trial at Muenster court house.

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Friday’s bloody bank robbery in Laguna that left nine people killed and one seriously wounded.

Friday’s bloody bank robbery in Laguna that left nine people killed and one seriously wounded.This, despite the admission of Edwin Ermita, vice president for corporate affairs of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) that they found no need for radical changes in bank security."On Monday may meeting kami with the PNP as part of the Joint Anti-Bank Robbery Action Committee (We will meet with the PNP as part of the Joint Anti-Bank Robbery Action Committee)," Ermita, who is also president of the Bank Security Management Association, told dzRH radio in an interview.He said that at this point, they saw no need to radically change security arrangements for banks, adding they had always sought to protect bank employees and customers.Ermita said that under the present security setup with the PNP, the bank security focuses on protecting customers and employees within the bank premises.
The PNP, for its part, is tasked with security for bank customers outside bank premises, including automated teller machine (ATM) sites."Yung nangyayari sa labas ng bangko, pagka-withdraw, malayo na pinangyarihan. That is already the responsibility of police authorities with regard to that (What happens outside the banks is the responsibility of the police)," he said.Police are now hunting down the robbers who killed nine persons and seriously wounded a tenth during the robbery on the RCBC branch in Cabuyao, Laguna.Calabarzon police director Chief Supt. Ricardo Padilla has described the robbery as the "work of the devil."President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had already ordered police to solve the crime at the soonest possible time.PNP chief Dir. Gen. Avelino Razon Jr added that with no new major leads on the matter so far, police have tightened security for the lone survivor, Isagani Pastor, to ensure that he will recover.Razon said Pastor could provide vital information regarding the incident.

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Fernando Diaz Jr angered by a custody dispute with his ex-girlfriend opened fire

Rifleman Fernando Diaz Jr angered by a custody dispute with his ex-girlfriend opened fire Saturday at a parish school festival in Granada Hills this morning, wounding the woman and two other fair-goers before being tackled by bystanders and arrested by an off-duty police officer, authorities said.Witnesses described scenes of terror and panic as the man nonchalantly brandished a .22-caliber rifle made to look like an M-16 assault rifle and fired into booths at the fair. The shooting took place shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the festival on a baseball field on the grounds of the St. John Baptist de la Salle church and school at Chatsworth Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue, authorities said. Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Steven Ruiz said Fernando Diaz Jr., 33, arrived at the festival and sought out his 9-year-old son, who attends the school, and his estranged girlfriend, who were both near a booth in center field. Diaz "walks up carrying a tennis bag on his shoulder, puts it down, embraces his child, and then removes the rifle from the bag and aims it" at his ex-girlfriend, Ruiz said. "He fires multiple rounds, hitting her and two others. People were screaming, running and ducking for cover."He is being held in lieu of $1.5-million bail at the LAPD Van Nuys station on suspicion of three counts of attempted murder.The ex-girlfriend, 29, was shot in the arm and was listed in stable condition.
A 45-year-old man who was shot in the leg and a 43-year-old man who was shot in the chest also were in stable condition. The victims were not identified, Ruiz said.
Diaz was subdued by half a dozen bystanders after he appeared to have difficulty firing his weapon, he said."He either had to change out his [clip] or his gun may have jammed," Ruiz said. "That was when people jumped on him."One of the first to tackle the man was Jeff Sempelsz, whose son attends the school. Sempelsz was hanging prizes at his coin-toss booth, waiting for the parish priest to bless the event, when he heard the gunshots."I heard a pop, pop, pop sound that sounded like balloons breaking," he said. "I saw a guy with a rifle about 50 feet away. . . . Then I saw kids running away screaming, and I thought, 'This is not funny. This is serious.' "Sempelsz said he saw the rifleman holding the gun in front of him, with his finger on the trigger. "He looked so calm," he said.Sempelsz then made eye contact with a parent outside his booth, and the two men charged the shooter, he said. Sempelsz tackled him at the waist, and the other parent hooked the neck of the gunman, who fell on his back. The two parents ripped the gun out of the assailant's hands and used their knees to pin him down.
"He was big but he wasn't fast," Sempelsz said. "He didn't get mad until more people piled on him."
Moments later, off-duty LAPD Officer Mike Williams, alerted by a call from his fiancee, arrived and handcuffed Diaz.
Police said that Diaz was on parole for an unspecified crime and that a restraining order was in place to prevent him from being near the school or his son and ex-girlfriend.
An inspection of the tennis bag uncovered 20 bullet rounds, police said. Only three shots were fired.
"This could have been a really horrific scene, much worse than it was," said Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michel Moore.
Hours after the shooting, the field was eerily empty with unmanned booths, international food stands and an idle Ferris wheel and miniature roller coaster.
Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said the parish had 5,000 to 7,000 families and an affiliated school.
"It's one of our larger parishes," Tamberg said. "This is festival season." Tamberg, who used to attend the church, went to the site.
"They're real heroes," Tamberg said of the two men who first subdued the gunman. "They jumped a guy with an ugly-looking gun. Thank God they were there."

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Miles Frazier-Nevers was charged with first-degree larceny

What started out as a good deed by an off-duty corrections officer ended in the arrest of two local men on gun, drugs and auto theft charges. An off-duty state corrections officer, William Finney Jr., got more than he bargained for Friday when he pulled over on the side of Route 2 here around 4:30 p.m. to lend a helping hand after seeing a disabled car in a ditch. Finney was traveling with his family when he noticed a 2006 Mercedes E350 on the side of the westbound lanes of Route 2. As he approached the car, two young men fled from the vehicle up an embankment, which led Finney to believe the car was stolen.
Finney, along with his two stepsons, pursued the men up the hill and confronted them. At that point, one of the men, a 16-year-old from New London, pulled out a handgun and threatened Finney and his sons. The corrections officer was able to persuade the man to put the gun on the ground; Finney detained both of the men until state police arrived from Troop K in Colchester.
Police determined that the Mercedes the men had been driving was stolen from a home in Ledyard on May 15. The 16-year-old from New London was charged with first-degree larceny, three counts of criminal attempt to commit second-degree assault, possession of a firearm without a permit, possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, altering a firearm, possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He is being held on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Monday. The other suspect, Miles Frazier-Nevers, 18, of 20 Deerfield Ave., Waterford, was charged with first-degree larceny and is being held on a $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday in Manchester as well.

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Brandon Bethea shot to death outside a Queens housing project

15-year-old girl was shot to death outside a Queens housing project Saturday night by a bullet meant for someone else, cops and witnesses said.Brandon Bethea was hit in the head when gunfire erupted in the courtyard of the Redfern Houses in Far Rockaway shortly after 11 p.m., cops and witnesses said. "She was coming to see me," said the victim's stunned boyfriend, Isaiah Alston, 15, who lives in the project. "Somebody was shooting. It wasn't meant for her. That's my girl." He said Brandon, who was with a group of friends, lived in Jamaica and was a student at Intermediate School 53. She liked to dance, he said. Brandon was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room. Cops were continuing to investigate early Sunday morning.

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Angel Ayala Roque "Do you think anyone returns a van with two boxes of cocaine in it?" he asked jurors.Does anyone return $1 million knowingly?"

Roque, 46, of 50 Glen Ave., Methuen, is charged with two counts of trafficking cocaine over 200 grams and one count of conspiracy. He was arrested in September 2006 after returning a minivan to a rental agency, allegedly leaving behind two boxes containing 21 2.2-pound bricks of cocaine.Facing 40 years in prison on cocaine trafficking and conspiracy charges, Angel Ayala Roque's case was handed to the jury that began deliberating his fate yesterday afternoon. He could receive 15 years in prison, the mandatory minimum sentence for each trafficking charge, and 10 years on the conspiracy charge.During their investigation, police found 30 more 2.2-pound bricks of cocaine in a locked bedroom at the Glen Avenue apartment.John Cicilline, a lawyer for Roque, urged jurors during his closing argument to apply common sense to the deliberations."The commonwealth needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he exercised dominion and control over the contraband, and that he knew it was there," Cicilline said.
"Do you think anyone returns a van with two boxes of cocaine in it?" he asked jurors. "The commonwealth will tell you the cocaine was worth over $1 million. Does anyone return $1 million knowingly?"He asked jurors if they thought Roque knew the cocaine was in the van, would he have admitted he was the man who returned the vehicle when arrested on Glen Avenue in front of the apartment building?
Cicilline reminded jurors there was no fingerprint evidence to show Roque touched the cocaine, which was packaged in cellophane, and there was no evidence showing he knew the cocaine was in the van.
He attacked the investigation conducted by Lawrence and state police, saying they failed to write reports documenting parts of the case and did not do enough to look into others involved in the case once they arrested Roque.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Hickey said Cicilline, with his pointed criticism of the investigation, was suggesting that police were collectively making up their testimony.
"If that's so, couldn't they have done a better job?" Hickey asked. "If they truly were out to get Mr. Roque, couldn't they have done a better job?"
He told jurors that on Sept. 12, 2006, the day he and codefendant Nicole Paquette of Haverhill were arrested, was a "very fluid event. The investigation was dropped in the lap of Lawrence and then state police. When the police went to work that day they had no idea they would be dealing with the likes of Nicole Paquette or this defendant."Hickey said Roque had access, whenever he chose, to the house where the cocaine was found.
He pointed out there was no furniture in the Glen Avenue apartment and none of the amenities that would be expected in an apartment used as a residence, but in addition to the cocaine, investigators found $123,000 in cash there.
"Does that speak to the purpose of what the house was being used for?" he asked.
"I suggest to you that all of this evidence is evidence you can touch, see and compare to the testimony. I suggest it points to him, the man who brought it to the location," Hickey said.
Judge John Lu spoke to jurors at length before they broke for lunch and then began their deliberations.
Paquette, 32, a mother of four, was sentenced in February to 15 years in prison for her conviction on a charge of trafficking cocaine over 200 grams.

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Inner workings of a sophisticated drug syndicate that allegedly involved the wife and stepson of onetime Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek

Dealers made profits in the thousands, moved cocaine by the kilo and worked out a schedule among themselves so that there was no conflict.
Transcripts of State Police wiretaps reviewed by the Times Union Monday revealed more details into the inner workings of a sophisticated drug syndicate that allegedly involved the wife and stepson of onetime Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek, among others.The 13-month-long federal, state and local investigation into the sale and transport of cocaine and heroin between Suffolk County, Long Island and Schenectady culminated last week with the indictment of nearly two dozen people, among them alleged ringleaders Kerry "Slim" or "K" Kirkem and Oscar "O" Mora.
Authorities allege that Kirkem, 40, of both Schenectady and Waterford, and Mora, 30, of Waterford, ran the organization.A city man also was arrested over the weekend at the Schenectady County Jail while visiting drug courier suspect Misty Gallo, according to Undersheriff Gordon Pollard.Meanwhile, two other alleged members of the ring -- Maximo Doe of Coram, Long Island, and Wilfred Cordero of Schenectady -- remained at large as of Monday afternoon, said Lee Park, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which is leading the probe.
"It is an active investigation," Park said.
Miles Smith, the 20-year-old son of Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek, was released from the Schenectady County Jail Monday on $10,000 cash bail, Pollard said. Greg Kaczmarek, who retired as chief of police in 2002, has not been charged. Last week, he bailed out his wife.The transcripts reviewed by the Times Union primarily center on wiretapped phone calls made between Jan. 31 and March 3 of this year. In those conversations, numerous callers are heard making arrangements for the sale or pickup of drugs at various locations, ranging from four apartments in Schenectady and one in Coram, Suffolk County.The transcript, along with the the 54-page indictment, unsealed May 8, provides an indication of the sophistication of the operation, noting that members of the ring rented so-called "stash houses" where they would allegedly keep drugs, cash and weapons. Prosecutors also contend ring members would communicate via phone "in a guarded and cryptic" manner to avoid detection.
Kirkem allegedly boasts to one of his associates of his unlimited access to large quantities of crack cocaine."I got all the crack ... I got all the crack in the world, you heard me?" Kirkem allegedly tells accused ring member Hazel Nader in a Feb. 8 conversation, according to the transcript.The transcript also captures several discussions between Kirkem and Gallo, who is accused of being in the process of driving thousands of dollars' worth of drugs from downstate when she was pulled over in late February by State Police. She cries hysterically upon later discovering the cargo is missing, surreptitiously removed from the trunk of her vehicle by State Police while she was being given a field sobriety test:
Gallo: (Crying) I said it's not in my trunk no more.
Kirkem: I can't hear you ... You calm down. What happened?
Gallo: (Crying) I looked in my trunk ...
Kirkem: Your what?
Gallo: There's nothing in my trunk no more.

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suspect has been killed and three others arrested after a shootout with Tshwane Metro Police officers.

suspect has been killed and three others arrested after a shootout with Tshwane Metro Police officers.Metro Police spokesperson Louise Brits said the men were stopped by the officers at the corner of Nelson Mandela Drive and Vermeulen Street during a stop-and-search operation on Saturday.
"The officers noticed a suspicious Jetta with four occupants and decided to follow it to establish what the men were up to," she said.
The officers stopped the car, but one of the men jumped out and tried to run away. The officers gave chase.
Brits said the suspect ran to a bridge, turned around and opened fire on the officers.

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Dennis Farina has not yet posted bail and is still in jail.

Dennis Farina, a former policeman who built a Hollywood career playing detectives, was arrested overnight at Los Angeles airport for trying to take a loaded gun onto a plane.Farina, 64, told police he brought the .22 caliber, semi-automatic pistol with him on a drive from Arizona to Los Angeles and forgot it was in his briefcase when he tried to pass through airport security, police said.He was due to take a United Airlines flight to his home in Chicago. "Farina was very apologetic and cooperative with officers," police said. "However, he had no apparent authority to carry a concealed weapon at the time of his arrest." The actor was initially booked on one misdemeanour count of carrying a loaded firearm and was bailed.The charge was upgraded later to a felony after police confirmed the gun was not registered.Farina was a Chicago police officer for nearly 20 years before taking up acting in the 1980s.He has starred in movies such as Get Shorty and Sidewalks of New York and is perhaps best known in the role of New York Detective Joe Fontana on the popular television crime series, Law & Order.

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Christopher Wayne Hudson has pleaded guilty

Christopher Wayne Hudson has pleaded guilty to last year's Melbourne CBD shooting.
Hudson has been charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Father-of-three Brendan Keilar died, and Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard and former Sydney model Kaera Douglas were wounded, when the Hells Angels' member opened fire shortly after 8am on June 18. Mr Keilar, a solicitor, died when he went to the aid of Ms Douglas who was being assaulted by Hudson on the corner of Flinders Lane and William Street. Mr de Waard was on the brink of death after being shot twice in the chest and abdomen. Ms Douglas was also critically injured in the attack, but survived. Hudson turned himself into police two days after the triple shooting and a subsequent massive police man hunt. Magistrate Phillip Goldberg remanded Hudson to appear for a directions hearing in the Victoria Supreme Court in June.

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Eleanor Dava Alonzo was arrested as the driver of a four-door, burgundy-colored ’08 GMC Yukon used in the shooting.

Eleanor Dava Alonzo, 38, of Watsonville was arrested Tuesday afternoon after she entered the Watsonville Police Department lobby and reported the suspect vehicle had been stolen, police said.
The vehicle had not been stolen from Alonzo, but rather had been recovered by police after she had failed to return it to the rental agency, according to a police press release.The victim of the Sunday night driveby shooting, Gregorio Gallegos, 53, suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, police reported. He remained in a hospital this week and was being treated for life-threatening injuries, Watsonville police reported Thursday. Police say Alonzo was the driver of a four-door, burgundy-colored ’08 GMC Yukon used in the shooting. The suspected shooter remains at large, police say. He is described as a Hispanic male, tall and thin, with short hair or possibly balding and wearing a red No. 8 49ers jersey. There were three additional Hispanic males in the back seat of the Yukon, police said.In an “around-the-clock investigation,” police officers and detectives obtained information identifying the suspect vehicle and its license plate number, according to a police press release. The vehicle was traced to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which reported that Alonzo was renting it, according to police. Alonzo failed to return the suspect vehicle on the date and time it was due. Police tried several times to contact Alonzo without success until she was arrested on Tuesday without incident, the press release stated. Alonzo lived on Altamont Drive, a street located off of Clifford Avenue, about two miles from Maple Street.

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Three suspects were arrested who shot at a Florida Highway Patrol trooper's car while attempting to escape.

Three suspects were arrested late Friday night after police conducted a massive manhunt in a Deerfield Beach neighborhood to catch those who shot at a Florida Highway Patrol trooper's car while attempting to escape.The three arrested were suspected in the armed robbery of a Boynton Beach fast food restaurant, according to Boynton Beach police.Boynton Beach police and Florida Highway Patrol officers chased a car carrying the three suspects south on Interstate 95. Someone in the car fired at least one shot at a pursuing police unit.The bullet passed through the police car's windshield and hit the dashboard. The officer inside the unit was not injured, and continued in pursuit, according to FHP spokesman Mark Wysocky.Broward Sheriff's Office reported that the suspects also had a firefight with Boynton Beach police after they bailed out of their car near SW First Avenue and Second Court.After a four-hour manhunt by Boynton police, BSO deputies and state troopers, all three suspects were in custody.

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Johnell Neal Florida football star with ties to Baton Rouge is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds

Florida football star with ties to Baton Rouge is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police say the shooting happened early Friday morning on Wyandotte Street in Baton Rouge. Family members say Johnell Neal came home to Baton Rouge to celebrate his recent graduation from the University of Central Florida. The family planned to have a party for him Saturday, but now, it appears Johnell will be spending Mother's Day weekend in the hospital recovering.Before #31 became a standout player at the University of Central Florida, Neal wore #26 playing for Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge. The now 22-year-old college graduate recently earned his degree from UCF in criminal justice. His family is searching for justice of their own after someone shot Neal several times in the arm and chest with an assault rifle. It happened in front of his family home on Wyandotte Street around 2:30 Friday morning.
L'Jean McKneely with the Baton Rouge Police Department says, "Suspects were apparently hiding beside the house and waiting for the right opportunity to shoot him while he was standing in front of the house." Police say the shooters may not have been looking for Johnell in particular but simply someone who shares his well known last name. They believe a dispute between Neal's cousin and some guys around town might have caused the shooting this morning.

"We know Johnell has no connection to whatever feud happened in the past, but the guys involved apparently were targeting the Neal family. So, he was down here for Mother's Day and this happens to him," says McKneely. Johnell is the nephew of famous Baton Rouge jazz singer Jackie Neal, who was gunned down several years ago. Neal is scheduled to return to Orlando this summer to start working on his second bachelor's degree and he planned to use his last year of football eligibility. His family is hopeful that he will be able to do that. Neal's injuries are not life-threatening.

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Six people were arrested and weapons, drugs, cash and video surveillance equipment were all seized a .357 Magnum handgun, a 9 mm handgun and a Tech 9

Six people were arrested and weapons, drugs, cash and video surveillance equipment were all seized when officers used search warrants to raid two adjoining homes on Dickinson Street on Thursday, police said.The raids - carried out by officers assigned to the Tactical Anti-Crime and Narcotics Enforcement units - were the result of information authorities received about alleged "narcotics activities" taking place at the two homes, police said.Seized during the raids were three weapons - a .357 Magnum handgun, a 9 mm handgun and a Tech 9 machine gun with a silencer - as well as a half-pound of marijuana and $4,000 in cash, police said.
Also seized was video surveillance equipment that had been used to "fortify" both residences, police said.Police said the following people were arrested:
Tramain L. Shrieves, 21, of Trenton - charged with multiple weapon and drug offenses;
Alexander J. Green, 28, of Trenton - charged with multiple weapon and drug offenses;
Wade A. Wallace, 21, of Trenton - charged with multiple drug offenses;
Tony De Andre Champion, 27, of Trenton - charged with hindering apprehension;
Marquay O. Parker, 18, of Trenton - charged with a drug offense;
Esteven Gonzales Martinez, 25, of Trenton - charged with obstructing the administration of law;
Police said the raids were carried out under the direction of acting Capt. Michael Flaherty, Lt. Kenneth Zhan and Detective Sgts. Steve Wilson and Paul Gendron.

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John Delgado, Elizabeth, and Christian Alicea,arrested and charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon ,

John Delgado, 19, from East Grand Street in Elizabeth, and Christian Alicea, 21, of Hutton Street in Jersey City, and a 16-year-old teenager from Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon, police said.
Three people were arrested Saturday night after someone tried to settle a feud over an ex-girlfriend with a handgun, police reports said. Police responded to a report of a street fight with a handgun at Hutton Street and Cambridge Avenue at around 5:10 p.m., reports said. When they arrived, they saw two males a block away on Central Avenue, police said. One of them, a 17-year-old resident of Willow Avenue in Hoboken, told police he and his cousin had been attacked by Alicea, Delgado and the 16-year-old. During the fight, the teen said, Alicea pulled a handgun but was forced to drop it after the teen's cousin punched him in the face. Police recovered a 9 mm Magnum from the intersection. The Hoboken teenager said the trouble began a day earlier, when he was jumped by Alicea. He said they'd been feuding over an ex-girlfriend.

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Makayla died Sunday morning after her 5-year-old brother shot her while playing with a handgun,

Michelle Vensko went to Wal-Mart on Sunday to buy her 4-year-old daughter, Makayla Booher, one last outfit: pink silk pajamas and little house slippers.
Makayla died Sunday morning after her 5-year-old brother shot her while playing with a handgun, police said.Vensko wants her daughter to be dressed in her favorite color when she is buried."That's my snuggle bunny," she said.Vensko, 34, and the little girl's father, James Michael Booher, 24, were grief-stricken Sunday after child's play turned deadly.Officers were dispatched to the 6000 block of Massachusetts Avenue at 10:03 a.m."They arrived a minute later to find 4-year-old Makayla Booher on the floor of an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head," Sgt. Matthew Mount, spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said in a written statement. "A semi-automatic handgun was on the floor outside the doorway."Officers performed chest compressions on the girl until paramedics arrived, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.According to police, the brother had pulled a chair up to a bookcase in the downstairs living room and taken his father's handgun from the top shelf. There was no magazine in the pistol, but a round was in the chamber."The 5-year-old took the gun upstairs to play, and there pointed the gun at his sister and pulled the trigger," the statement said.
The Indianapolis Star generally does not identify juveniles in such cases.Booher has the gun because he works as a security officer.He was home at the time of the shooting, as were a 14-year-old stepsister of the two younger children and an aunt. All three children lived with Booher, who goes by the name Mike.Vensko and Booher, who are not married, are separated but still involved with each other.
"I didn't believe it," Vensko said in an interview hours after police took her to the home. "I was standing there, in front of all of this, and you see this on the news all the time, but you never think it's going to hit home -- ever."
Police were investigating the shooting and had made no arrests by late Sunday."The possibility of neglect charges exist, but that has not been determined yet," said Matthew Symons, spokesman for Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.Vensko said she knew Booher had a gun for his job but said he had always been careful with it.Vensko wasn't allowed to see Makayla at the scene, but she was able to see the other two children before they were placed in the care of Child Protective Services.
"He seems like he's doing OK," Vensko said of Makayla's brother. "He told me what happened, what he did. But I know he doesn't understand. He doesn't know Makayla is gone."Makayla was born prematurely on Feb. 17, 2004, at Riley Hospital for Children, at 26 weeks and six days -- far short of the normal 40 weeks of gestation. She weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces and was just 14 inches long.
"Makayla beat all the odds stuck in front of her," Vensko said. "She wasn't supposed to walk, or ever roll over. But Makayla was walking and talking. She was outdoing any 4-year-old you've met."
Makayla underwent 15 surgeries, the last one a year ago. The blue-eyed blonde remained small for her age but was otherwise developing well.
"She would have been beautiful," Vensko said. "If you've seen those pictures, where little girls are dressed in white dresses and have angel wings on them, that's what she looks like."
Vensko dressed Makayla in a girly style, but when it came to playtime, she was one of the boys.
"She was always out in the yard getting dirty," she said. "Anywhere you found dirt or a water puddle, that's where she was."
Booher said Makayla enjoyed playing with toy telephones that made fun ringing sounds. She often pretended she was talking to her father on the phone.
"She was my miracle baby," he said, his voice faltering. "I tried very, very hard to keep her healthy and safe. I love her very, very much. I'm going to miss her."

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Adrian Ezekiel Miller ,Alex Julian Porter,Jamal Wesley James charged with burglary to an occupied dwelling and aggravated battery.

18-year old Adrian Ezekiel Miller of 3 Eula Drive in Niceville, and 19-year old Alex Julian Porter of 118 Friar Tuck Drive in Niceville, are both charged with burglary to an occupied dwelling and aggravated battery.A third suspect, 19-year old Jamal Wesley James was taken into custody on December 21st, 2007 after being released from a Pensacola hospital. He had been shot by the homeowner, 64-year old Harold Crown, after he and Crown struggled over a gun during the robbery at Crown’s home. James is still awaiting trial on charges of burglary with assault and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. Sheriff’s Office Investigator Ralph Garrett says Miller told a witness the trio, who had dressed in black hooded sweat shirts and ski masks, went to Crown’s home looking for prescription drugs.

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Mario Harris, Justan Cantrell, James Glasper and Ramon Delemos arrested on weapons charges

Dayton police arrested four people on Saturday who now face felony weapons charges.Mario Harris, Justan Cantrell, James Glasper and Ramon Delemos were all arrested in traffic stops along Shiloh Springs Road.Police said they found weapons in their vehicles. Police reports indicate three of the men are convicted felons.Police also said the arrests were made near a weekend gun show.In addition to state charges, some of the suspects could face federal charges. Police said all four were released pending grand juries.

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Dennis Willard Dustyhorn is charged with manslaughter

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death of a 21-year-old Regina man Monday.
Dennis Willard Dustyhorn will make his first court appearance at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, faces five firearms-related charges, including careless use of a firearm.Regina Police Service said late Monday evening that a 42-year-old man is charged with manslaughter and a 17-year-old male faces firearms-related charges in connection with the noon-hour shooting on the 200 block of Ottawa Street.Police received a call at noon on Monday indicating a male had been wounded with a firearm, said police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich.When police and EMS arrived at the scene, they found a male in the backyard at the residence, she said."The male was taken to hospital by EMS and at about 12:50 p.m., was pronounced deceased," Popowich said.Popowich believes the call to police was made from the residence where the victim was shot.Police are in the process of confirming the victim's identity. Once his identity is confirmed, police will notify his next of kin.The deceased was the only person injured.Police did not release any details about the type of gun that fired the fatal shot. Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call them.On Monday afternoon, a convoy of police and emergency vehicles converged past a Road Closed sign that was set up to block traffic from the street while work on area water and sewer lines was underway.Shaken city workers and neighbours congregated on sidewalks in the area to talk about the tragic event that shattered the sunny day's tranquility.Barry Baker was standing outside his house talking with a friend when they heard a popping noise that sounded like a firecracker. Then police cars started pulling up."We looked out in the backyard and there was a young man laying on the grass next door motionless and a bunch of people were crying," Baker said.Baker, a resident on the street for seven years, said his next-door neighbours had moved on to the block about three months ago."I don't really know them but their kids play here once in a while," Baker said. "They were really quiet and good neighbours ... We don't usually get this kind of stuff happening -- it's a pretty quiet area. I'm in shock."Colin Docherty was also shaken. He was among a group of city workers who were making sewer and water repairs on the block. At the time of the shooting, he was sitting in his city truck filling out his time sheet when he heard what sounded like a firecracker going off."I started to back up and I saw a fella laying at the back of 226 Ottawa Street," Docherty said. "I didn't start putting two and two together until all the police cars started showing up ... I think that everybody is kind of in shock."Harvey Wolbaum, a SaskEnergy employee, was driving down the back lane when he got a jolt."I was just coming down the alley at dinnertime when a young kid on a mustang-style kind of chopper bike came flying out of the backyard and I almost hit him," Wolbaum said. "I hit the brakes and skidded. He just looked at me real quick and then took off south down the alley and was gone ...

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Acosta De Vargas,Jose Castro,Gabriel Pabon,Javier Rivera the fake Police crew

Among those charged were Acosta De Vargas, who police said has past arrests for heroin dealing; Jose Castro, who allegedly helped organize the kidnappings; Gabriel Pabon, who police said has past gun arrests; and Javier Rivera, who faced deportation to the Dominican Republic on an earlier offense.Queens-based robbery crew used fake police lights and sirens to pull over and rob drug couriers all over the East Coast, federal investigators said.
If drugs or cash were not in the car, prosecutors said the suspects would kidnap and torture the drivers to tell them where the drugs and cash were stored.Drug Enforcement agents along with New York State Police and NYPD officers made eight arrests. The suspects allegedly helped run the "police impersonation" ring that kidnapped and tortured more than 100 people over the last five years.
Investigators said the suspects used simulated drowning techniques as well as pliers on male victims to learn where and when millions in cash and drugs shipments were being made.U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell said the suspects would conduct surveillance on their victims for weeks at a time. Then the crew would allegedly use fake lights and sirens to pull over the victims' cars and kidnap those inside.
Police said they recovered 20 guns in their raids. The suspects allegedly stole more than $20 million in drugs and $4 million in cash. The stolen drugs were then resold on the streets of New York, prosecutors said.
Agents said the Queens-based ring traveled from Massachusetts to Florida to carry out the robberies.



DEA officials said more arrests are expected in the weeks ahead.

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Gunman who was involved in a five-hour stand-off with armed police in west London Tuesday is dead

Gunman who was involved in a five-hour stand-off with armed police in west London Tuesday is dead, police said, although there was no immediate confirmation of how he died."Following the incident a man has been pronounced dead. This is now a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (watchdog)," a force spokesman told AFP by telephone.IPCC spokesman Richard Offer told AFP: "The IPCC will independently investigate the fatal shooting of a man in the King's Road area of Chelsea tonight.
"At 9:50 pm (2050 GMT) the Metropolitan Police Service referred the incident to the IPCC. IPCC investigators are going to the scene to start the inquiry."There were three separate exchanges of fire between police and the man, after they were called to the scene at 4:50 pm following reports of gunshots in the area.Trained negotiators were also sent to the area, much of which was closed off to traffic and residents, causing chaos at rush hour. The man holed himself up in a house in Markham Square.Speaking at the scene, Commander Ali Desai told reporters earlier: "This is clearly a very very serious incident but our prime task is to contain the situation and negotiate our way through this."An eyewitness told Sky News television the shooting started after an argument between a man and a woman. The woman was heard to say the gunman was her ex-boyfriend, who is licensed to hold guns.Another said her house was shot at by a man brandishing a shotgun. He fired into one of her second floor bedrooms, sending shot spraying over pictures.
Local shop owners and householders were reported as saying that police had told them to lock themselves inside while the stand-off continued.

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Lil Wayne appeared in an Arizona courtroom

Lil Wayne appeared in an Arizona courtroom on Tuesday (May 6) to answer to several drug charges, stemming from an arrest in January.He has maintained since that arrest, the rapper entered a not guilty plea on charges of multiple drug possession charges -- three being felonies -- and a misconduct involving weapons charge.He is scheduled to appear back in court on May 19.Weezy was arrested at in late January, following a search of his tour bus during a routine stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint just outside of Yuma, Arizona.During the stop, DEA found numerous narcotics -- including 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine and 41 grams of ecstasy -- and a 40-caliber pistol registered to the rapper.Wayne's legal team filed a motion in March asking for a lesser drug charge, claiming the amount of cocaine (29 grams) was incorrect. They claim that the rapper had fewer than eight grams of coke.He was subsequently arrested, along with two others, and booked into the Yuma County Sheriff's Department.A day after his arrest, he posted $10,000 bond and is currently free pending the outcome of his case

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Unidentified man was killed with a bullet from his own gun

unidentified man was killed with a bullet from his own gun early yesterday during a struggle with police in an elevator machine room atop a commercial midtown Manhattan building, police said.Assistant Chief Michael Collins of the New York Police Department said they believe the man to be a 51-year-old from Brooklyn whose background includes a string of at least 15 burglary and stolen property arrests dating to 1982, according to a preliminary investigation.An employee at 30 E. 40th St. reported the altercation to police around 3:40 a.m. after finding evidence of a break-in at the 13-story building, Collins said. On surveillance video, the employee had spotted a man who resembled a suspect wanted in earlier burglaries at the building, he said.Police responded and followed the man from the penthouse floor, which contains a dentist's office and hair salon, to the roof, where he crawled through a window and into the elevator machine room, Collins said.
A police sergeant and a lieutenant followed him into the dark room, where, according to a police source, the sergeant saw what appeared to be a gun in the man's hand and began striking him with a police radio to loosen the weapon from his grasp.
The gun went off, shooting the man in the head, but it was unclear whether he had shot himself intentionally or whether the gun - inside a nylon sock - went off accidentally in the struggle, the source said.Collins said the man was wearing two pairs of pants and on his right hand two pairs of latex gloves. They also found a nylon bag with a hacksaw and a rope and another bag with three Dell laptops near the scene.Police are still investigating the incident, Collins said.

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George Iknadosian knowingly sold at least 650 firearms, including high-end semiautomatic pistols and assault-style rifles, to drug cartels

George Iknadosian, 46, knowingly sold at least 650 firearms, including high-end semiautomatic pistols and assault-style rifles, to drug cartels, the ATF said.arrest of a gun shop owner on Tuesday broke up a suspected firearms trafficking operation that supplied violent Mexican drug cartels, authorities said.
Agents raided X Calibur Guns and arrested George Iknadosian after undercover agents bought guns at the store indicating they were to be trafficked to Mexico, said Carlos Baixauli, a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The investigation began 11 months ago after some guns involved in crimes in Mexico were traced to X Caliber Guns in Phoenix, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said.Also arrested were two Mexican brothers who are accused of recruiting "straw buyers" to purchase weapons at X Calibur Guns that would then be trafficked to the drug cartels.Hugo Gamez, 26, and Cesar Gamez, 28, were legally living in the Phoenix metro area, but Baixauli said the brothers worked for a major Mexican drug cartel."This is not just taking guns to Mexico," Phoenix police Asst. Chief Andy Anderson said. "This is putting guns in the hands of drug dealers and human smugglers ... This is a despicable crime."The three men in custody face charges including conducting an illegal enterprise, misconduct involving weapons, money laundering, forgery and fraudulent schemes. It wasn't clear whether they had lawyers."The bottom line is illegal gun trafficking is not only destroying Mexico, but some of these guns may get back to the United States," Baixauli said. "It puts our law enforcement officers in danger, and in Mexico, it decimates law enforcement."

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First-degree murder charges have been laid against Denis Jerome Labossiere and two other men in the murders of his parents and brother

First-degree murder charges have been laid against Denis Jerome Labossiere and two other men in the murders of his parents and brother in November 2005. RCMP said the 37-year-old Labossiere, Jeremie Gerard Toupin, 22, and Michel Marc Hince, 21, hatched and carried out a plan to kill the trio in their St. Leon-area farmhouse on a winter night. Sources allege Labossiere came up with the plan and recruited the men so he could collect on an insurance policy and estate. Fernand Labossiere, 78, his 74-year-old wife Rita and their son Remi, 44, were shot to death before their farmhouse was burned down in an attempt to cover up the crime. A relative said the arrests are "a long time overdue" and bring relief to the family, which has been living in fear. "It's sad that it was possibly one of our family members that went to this extreme," the relative said. "It's unbelievable. How can this be?" In previous interviews, family members said they were afraid of Jerome, 37, and long suspected he may have had a hand in the deaths of his parents and brother. The relative said additional arrests are anticipated and the family is hoping this will bring an end to the mystery -- and fear -- surrounding the triple murder. The mystery deepened last month when Joel Labossiere, 34 -- a grandson of Fernand and Rita -- and his 33-year-old wife Magdalena, who was pregnant, were found shot to death in their St. Vital home. No one has been arrested in the double slaying, but city police are probing whether it has anything to do with a family court dispute. At issue is the estate of Remi, who took over the family farm. Remi's seven-year-old will left his estate to his nieces and nephews. After the triple murder, Jerome produced a new will that left the estate to his teenage son. Relatives claim the second will was a forgery. Joel had a protection order against his uncle Jerome and claimed in court documents Jerome was trying to get him to give up his stake in the $1.3-million estate. "He said if I didn't sign over my share, I would get this, like, he made this gesture of a gun," Joel said at a protection order hearing in December, according to a transcript.
Jerome denied the claims. Members of the RCMP's emergency response team arrested Jerome during a dramatic takedown on Riverton Avenue in Elmwood on Thursday night.
Witnesses said several unmarked police vehicles boxed in a pickup truck just west of Henderson Highway, and officers then smashed the truck's windows and tossed a smoke bomb inside the cab.Witnesses said the heavily-armed tactical unit pulled Labossiere and another man from the truck at gunpoint. RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Line Karpish said police arrested Hince, a Winnipeg resident, in rural Manitoba on Thursday but would not say where. Toupin was arrested in Lower Nicola, B.C., where he resides, last Wednesday. He is originally from St. Leon, and will soon be escorted back to Winnipeg. All three are charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy to commit murder. Hince and Toupin are friends of Jerome's, a relative said. The relative said Toupin's younger brother, Andre, was arrested with Jerome in February 2006 during a sweep of Hells Angels members and associates.
Jerome was convicted later that year and sentenced to six years in prison for selling cocaine for the biker gang. He claims he is no longer an associate of the Hells Angels. Before the arrest, he was on day parole and was eligible for full parole later this month.

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Jerome Labossière, his nephew Daniel Labossière and two Hells Angels associates were accused of hiding a cache of high-powered weapons

Police raided a residence on Four Mile Road in January 2006, seizing four firearms -- a Tec-9 submachinegun, Ruger Mini-14, FN assault rifle and an Israeli-made version of the Russian AK-47.Jerome Labossière, his nephew Daniel Labossière and two Hells Angels associates were accused of hiding a cache of high-powered weapons inside a south Winnipeg home just weeks after his parents and brother were gunned down in St. Leon, according to court documents obtained by the Free Press.
The Tec-9 barrel had been modified to attach a silencer, although one wasn't found. Police also seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition."It's certainly not for hunting," police Sgt. Rick Guyader said at the time.The couple who owned the property was arrested and charged with numerous weapons offences -- but only now has the alleged link to the Labossière family been revealed.Winnipeg police wrote an affidavit to obtain a search warrant days before the raid, telling a magistrate that an informant had come to them.The mystery man -- known as "Source A" throughout the documents -- said Jérôme and Daniel Labossière, along with Hells Angels associates Andre Toupin and Al Lebras, were involved in "trafficking multi-kilogram amounts of cocaine and thousands of tablets of ecstasy."Source A said he had been at the home on Four Mile Road in January when Jérôme and Daniel showed up with two large duffle bags they'd removed from the back of a pickup truck."Two assault rifles were removed from the duffle bags, one from each.Four loaded magazines for the assault rifles, two from each bag, were also removed. The loaded magazines were placed in a plastic fishing tackle box which was placed in the rafters of the garage. The two assault rifles were taken into the house," Source A said, according to police.
Source A said Lebras had called him about the guns, saying they had to find a good hiding spot because the November 2005 St. Leon murder was putting "lots of police attention" on Lebras, Jérôme and Daniel Labossière and they didn't want the guns to be found."Source A indicates that Lebras and the Labossières have the assault rifles for the purpose of protecting their illegal drug trafficking activities against rival criminals/outlaw motorcycle gangs," police said.Source A said he'd only been to the home at Four Mile Road on one prior occasion, for a party that had occurred just before Christmas 2005. He said Jerome, Daniel and Lebras were present.
Police said Source A was a reliable, truthful informant with no prior criminal record who was looking for a financial reward for his work. They said the weapons needed to be seized immediately to protect the public."The firearms could be moved at any time when police are unable to act," they wrote.Jérôme's connections to the Hells Angels are well-established. He was arrested in February 2006 for making a series of drug deals with criminalturned- police-agent Franco Atanasovic. Twelve other suspects were arrested, including Andre Toupin. Toupin is related to Jeremie Toupin, who along with Jérôme is now charged with the St. Leon murders. Andre Toupin will go on trial later this year. He is free on bail.The allegations that Daniel Labossière has ties to the Hells Angels are new. Previously, Jérôme had claimed in court documents that his other nephew, Joël Labossiere, was a Hells hangaround and good friend of Lebras. No mention was made of Daniel. Joël denied the allegations.Daniel and Joël Labossière jointly owned JDL Construction Inc.

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Juan Merced fatally shot in a BMW that had crashed on the 4200 block of Foothill Boulevard. Two other people were injured by gunfire

At about 2 a.m., police found Juan Merced, 21, of Oakland fatally shot in a BMW that had crashed on the 4200 block of Foothill Boulevard. Two other people were injured by gunfire in that incident, police said, but didn't elaborate.man was found shot and killed in a crashed car early Saturday in Oakland and two other people were shot and wounded in the latest spate of violence that police believe was related to illegal street races known as sideshows.Another car was found crashed and riddled with bullets at 51st Avenue and Foothill, a half-mile away, but it was unclear whether that crash was related.Police said the triple shooting appeared to be related to sideshows, the reckless displays of stunts and speed by drivers who often are intoxicated and typically don't have drivers' licenses. The BMW was among a group of cars that had congregated in the area, police said.But Merced's family and friends said they found it hard to believe that the victim, whom they called "Johnny," would participate in a sideshow."He doesn't engage in sideshows," said Merced's close friend, Sharhonda King, 23. "He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person."King described Merced as "sweet, kindhearted, very caring, loved to laugh and loved to joke." He was somewhat shy and liked playing video games and going on the computer to look up information about cars, she said. He worked at a Sleep Train store in East Oakland, his family said.
Merced's girlfriend, Jourdan Clark, 20, said, "He really didn't have any enemies. He was just loved by everyone."Police said the shooting is the latest example of the violence that can erupt at sideshows, which started in Oakland in the late 1980s and have been linked to dozens of deaths and injuries and property damage, including instances in which police have been shot at and pelted with bottles and rocks.
Oakland Police Deputy Chief Dave Kozicki said the size of crowds at sideshows has declined to fewer than 100 people, from an average of several hundred in the mid-1990s, due to tougher law enforcement and 30-day vehicle impounds. But he said the violence associated with sideshows has escalated.
The increased violence "is just part of the situation we are seeing in general in Oakland," Kozicki said. "We're seeing too many people settling problems with guns; the sideshows are just one example." Some recent sideshows have involved death and property damage unrelated to firearms, however. Saturday's slaying comes two weeks after a 22-year-old woman was killed when her car was hit head-on as she participated in a sideshow at 47th Avenue and Foothill. And on April 12, two cars apparently involved in a sideshow plowed through the front yard of a bungalow-style home at 2040 90th Ave. near Bancroft Avenue in East Oakland at about 4:20 a.m., breaking a gas line and touching off a blaze that destroyed most of the three-bedroom residence.Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente said Saturday that police could cut down on sideshows by confiscating and selling vehicles associated with the gatherings rather than just impounding them for 30 days - the current limit under state law. In 2007, the council repealed a 2005 ordinance that enabled police officers to seize cars used in the sideshows, after the state Supreme Court ruled that similar local laws are superseded by state law, which only allows police to impound cars for 30 days in this kind of case.
In spite of the fact that Oakland's car seizure law has been repealed, De La Fuente said, "We should push the envelope" and seize cars anyway. "As a city, we get sued for everything anyway. ... By the time someone gets his day in court, we'll have had his car for a long time."

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Levon Warner arrested for the killing of a Philadelphia officer during a robbery

Philadelphia police announced just before 8 a.m. Sunday that one person was arrested for the killing of a Philadelphia officer during a robbery, and they have the warrant to arrest another person.During a news conference late Sunday morning, Philadelphia Police released more names linked to the murder of Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski.The man in custody and charged with robbery, murder and other crimes has been identified as 38-year-old Levon Warner. Police are trying to find 34-year-old Eric DeShawn Floyd. Investigators say he recently escaped from a halfway house in Reading, Pa., and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
A third suspect, now identified as 33-year-old Howard Cain, was shot and killed during a confrontation with Philadelphia Police.Liczbinski, 39 years old and serving in the 24th District, encountered suspects from the holdup of a Bank of America branch inside the Shop Rite located at 3547 Aramingo Avenue around 11:26 a.m. Saturday. On the 2500 block of E. Schiller Street, Liczbinski found a dark-colored Jeep that the suspects used to get away. At least one of the suspects drew an assault-type weapon and fired shots at Liczbinski, fatally wounding the officer.Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey told reporters, "It is my understanding that he was either in the car or had just gotten out of the car at the time he was struck."Sgt. Liczbinski was shot three times, suffering wounds to the face and abdomen. He was rushed to Northeastern Hospital then transferred to Temple University Hospital, where he later died.A short time later officers spotted the suspects inside a van in the 500 block of E. Louden Street. One suspect, now identified as Cain, was shot and later died at Einstein Medical Center. Crime scene investigators collected a weapon, an SKS assault rifle, from the sidewalk near the van. The gun was loaded with 25 rounds.Warner had initially reported a Town and Country minivan stolen. The minivan reported stolen by Werner is the minivan that police recovered along the 500 block of E. Louden Street. Inside the van, police found a fully-loaded revolver, 2 sets of Muslim clothing about $38,000 in cash and 2 GPS tracking devices. Nearby, next to a trash can, police also found another fully-loaded gun and more clothing that was linked to the initial bank robbery.During the night Saturday, police were engaged in an all-out manhunt for the suspect or suspects that got away. SWAT teams went door to door searching for the cop killers.
Police are now looking into possible links between the suspects in this crime and other robberies in the city in which the perpetrators were wearing Muslim clothing.
During their investigation, along the 3400 block of North Miller Street, police found a Jeep that had been reported stolen Friday. This is the vehicle was the Jeep involved in the shooting death of Officer Liczbinski, according to police.
Liczbinski, a 12-year veteran of the department, was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant. He would have celebrated his 40th birthday this coming Tuesday, May 6th. Liczbinski is survived by his wife Michele, sons Matt and Stephen, and daughter Amber.

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Jahangar Majid ,Michael Pearson,Mazhar Mohammed guns seized, which were shown to the court, were loaded and ready to use,

Judge has jailed three men for a total of 19 years and warned that courts will show no mercy to those caught in possession of firearms.
Judge Thomas spoke out as he sentenced Jahangar Majid to five years for keeping a pistol and ammunition in his flat.
Earlier, two other men were each jailed for seven years. All three were arrested in Operation Werewolf, a series of police raids targeting gun crime earlier this year.
Manchester Crown Court was told a Browning pistol and five rounds of ammunition were found at Majid's flat, in Valley Mill Lane, Bury.
The 29-year-old former driver at Manchester Airport told police he had been 'bullied' by people in Old Trafford and Stretford into keeping the gun.
But Judge Thomas told him: "It is obvious, to those of us who sit in these courts, that there is a very unhappy connection between possession and use of guns and drugs.
"You say you have been trying to better yourself by moving away but it was your old associates, perhaps, that asked you to keep the gun.
"You must understand - and others like you in Manchester must understand - that whatever threats are made, whatever old allegiances, if you are found to be in possession of firearms, you will end up with a long prison sentence."
Earlier Michael Pearson, 28, of Roedean Gardens, Flixton, pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a firearm, ammunition, and cannabis.
Mazhar Mohammed 24, of Albion Street, Old Trafford, pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a firearm and ammunition.
Operation Werewolf involved more than 300 police and targeted members of an organised crime group involved in the possession, use and supply of firearms and ammunition, as well as drugs.The guns seized, which were shown to the court, were loaded and ready to use, and police say both Majid and Mohammed had links with gangs.Det Supt Darren Shenton from GP's Xcalibre Task Force said after the sentencing: "The impact of the operation cannot be under-estimated, as the circulation of such weapons has without doubt, fuelled the recent acts of extreme criminality including two murders.
"Greater Manchester Police continues to actively target such criminality. It undermines public confidence and breaks down the fabric of society, affecting decent law-abiding citizens."Throughout Operation Werewolf, the vast majority of people living in Trafford have worked closely with police, assisting in reducing criminal activity and providing valuable support.
"The sentences passed give a clear indication that this sort of criminality will be dealt with severely."

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Just for Jesus rally one of the students had a gun

According to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Department students who attended the Just for Jesus rally told deputies they thought one of the students had a gun even though they didn't see it. When deputies approached the student he ran through a bank parking lot on Lakeshore Drive.The student was caught on Broad Street across from Wendy's parking lot. Witnesses saw the student throw something blue into nearby bushes. When deputies looked through the area they found a Smith and Wesson .357 caliber handgun wrapped in a blue hooded shirt. There was one round in the gun cylinder.The gun was recovered by deputies and there were no unspent rounds in the gun. Deputies say the gun was identified as one that was stolen from a car back in September 2007. The student was arrested and taken to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office.The student attends Reynaud Middle School and is 15-years-old.CPSO Sgt. Jerry Roessler is the primary deputy for this incident.Three other students were arrested for fighting. Another arrested for underaged possession of tobacco products.

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