City police in Adro have been promised 500 euros for every illegal immigrant they arrest

City police in Adro have been promised 500 euros for every illegal immigrant they arrest; Assisi has forbidden begging outside its churches; Rome has started cleaning up (and clearing out) its gypsy camps. Across Italy, new brooms are sweeping away illegal and semi-legal practices, mainly by immigrants, which have grown up over recent years and which the new right-wing government has promised to stamp out. Some of the measures are being taken by the city authorities. Much of the trouble comes from gypsies who have migrated to Western Europe, especially Italy, from Romania and Bulgaria since the enlargement of the EU in 2007. The new Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, has encouraged the development of “mayor-sheriffs”. On 5th August he signed a governmental decree which gives mayors powers to act against prostitution, drug trafficking, begging (especially by children), drinking in public and outrages committed against public decency. In Rome, the new Mayor, Gianni Alemanno, is going to give the municipal police guns and tell them to stop people begging and stop windscreen-washers at red lights. But it is not just the right which is getting tough on law and order; left-wing mayors have also acted against gypsy camps, for instance in Vicenza. Indeed, it was a left-wing city, Florence, which originally forbade windscreen-washers. In Verona, the Mayor, who is from the Northern League, has forbidden begging and any beggars caught will have their money confiscated and will get a 100 euro fine. In Assisi, the Mayor has forbidden people from begging outside churches.

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Officers arrested Leon Luster, 22, and Rachaan Lamonthe, 30, both of Oakland. Police believe them to be the ringleaders

Officers arrested Leon Luster, 22, and Rachaan Lamonthe, 30, both of Oakland. Police believe them to be the ringleaders behind several of the recent takeover-style robberies in the East Bay that started in mid-July, police spokesman Jeff Thomason said.In addition, Hayward police Lt. Chris Orrey said the arrested men resemble suspect descriptions in the Aug. 25 robbery at the Great River restaurant on Foothill Boulevard. "There is some information that leads us to believe they may be the same men," Orrey said, "and we are working with Oakland police."
Oakland police also arrested Shante Bostic, 20, of Oakland, whom police said was the driver and Luster's girlfriend. She has no prior convictions.Luster, Lamonthe and Bostic were arrested Tuesday after an early evening robbery at K & T Nail Salon at 10814 Bancroft Ave., Thomason said. Officers responded to a call about 6:15 p.m., were given a description of the getaway vehicle, and found a matching vehicle on 73rd Avenue at Bancroft Avenue. They followed the car and stopped it on Lockwood Street.In the car, police found ski masks, a firearm, and the money stolen from the salon, Thomason said.All three suspects will be charged with four counts of armed robbery in connection with the K & T holdup. The men will be charged with illegal possession of a firearm, and face a string of other charges for previous robberies, including false imprisonment.Also, all three will be charged in connection with recent armed robberies at Kerry House bar on Piedmont Avenue on Aug. 3, the Nomad Cafe on Shattuck Avenue on Aug. 22, and Full Moon Seafood Restaurant on MacArthur Boulevard on Aug. 24, police said.Both Luster and Lamonthe — known on the street as Money Man and Snotty, respectively, police said — were on parole for prior offenses and are expected to be denied bail at their arraignment today.The three suspects are believed by police to have connections to Oakland residents David Rodriguez, 19, and Dujuan Daniels, 19, who were arrested in mid-August on suspicion of committing recent armed robberies at the Lamyx Tea Bar on Lakeshore Avenue and El Torero Taqueria on International Boulevard."These aren't guys who lost their jobs and got desperate," Thomason said. "These are people who had access to guns and get off on the thrill of robbing people."Lead investigating officer Ryan Goodfellow explained the case at a 2 p.m. news conference Wednesday.
"You guys will have to excuse me; I've been on since 6:30 yesterday morning," he said. Goodfellow could not confirm that the suspects are connected to other recent robberies in the area, but said the department is still pursuing leads, and the case is by no means closed. About a dozen businesses, mostly restaurants, have been robbed in recent weeks in Oakland and surrounding areas.Goodfellow has been working on the case with Sgt. Mike Gantt and the department's Targeted Enforcement Task Force."I'm blown away. I can't believe this; I've been watching this (expletive) about the robberies on the news," said Lamonthe's brother, who asked not to be named.
"He's got no reason to be doing nothing like this," the brother said. "He's not a drug addict, not in a bind, there's no pressure situation. He was cool, man. He missed his calling: He should have been a basketball star. He's an incredible basketball player. He don't have no reason to be robbing no restaurants. That kind of (expletive) is serious and petty at the same time, you know?"The brother said the family is totally behind Lamonthe, and that they won't believe his guilt until it is proved and that they will hire a lawyer right away.Court records show that Lamonthe has seven prior felony convictions, mostly for possession of cocaine. Two of those convictions are for first-degree burglary. In August 2006, he was accused of crashing his car into his girlfriend's car, which was full of people, court records show. According to those records, he was charged with six felony counts for the incident, but pleaded down to a single domestic abuse charge when his girlfriend, now his wife, refused to testify.He was given five years probation as part of his sentence, and records show he violated that deal when he tested positive for marijuana. He'd been wanted as a parolee at-large when he was arrested, police said.
Lamonthe will be charged as a third-striker, and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted, police said.Luster was released on parole in June, police said, having been convicted in January 2007 for possession of ecstasy.Department sources said both Luster and Bostic gave admissions of their involvement in the robbery to police.
Christopher Waters, owner of the Nomad Cafe, praised the police work that led to the arrests and said a fundraiser at his restaurant planned for Friday night will also be held in appreciation of Oakland police. The fundraiser will include live music and runs from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the cafe, at 6500 Shattuck Ave."I know this is not a closed book, but at least it sends a message," Waters said. "Just because Oakland has problems with crime, it doesn't mean we will lay down and give Oakland to criminals."

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Police unearthed an arms-manufacturing unit at a remote village in Bishnupur

Following a trail after the arrest of a notorious criminal, South 24-Parganas police unearthed an arms-manufacturing unit at a remote village in Bishnupur early on Sunday. Five persons were arrested for their involvement in the gun-running racket and a huge cache of arms was recovered. The arrests proved that, apart from arms made from Munger, a major quantum of illegal arms are also produced in various parts of Bengal. Jatan Naiyer of Noorshikdarchak village had been making guns for the last five years, armed with only two tools: an iron-cutting machine and a welding machine. The village is around 18 km from Baruipur Road. Naiyer and his two sons, Biswajit and Sanjit, earned their name in the murky underworld for their products. The recent arrest of Prasant Khan, a notorious criminal of Bishnupur, along with his associate Mohan Gayen, provided the first lead in the case. Police seized two guns from them, and Jatan’s name surfaced during interrogations. According to the police, the two confessed to having bought the guns from Jatan. District police superintendent Ajey Ranade soon formed a special team and raided the village in the wee hours of Sunday. Police uncovered a small workshop behind Naiyer’s home, where eight single-barrel guns and seven short-barrel pipe guns were found, along with ammunition. A probe revealed that the 50-year-old Naiyer used to make guns from iron pipes used in bicycles and cycle vans. According to police, the gun barrels were made of iron pipes. The father-sons trio has even given a demonstration to cops as to how they made the guns. The iron-cutter was used to shape the rods into a barrel. Powerful springs were then used to attach the barrel with the trigger, made from spare nuts. The barrels were perforated with a drilling machine. Unlike other improvised guns, Jatan fixed the guns with wooden butts. “Jatan probably purchased the butts. There are a few families who do outsourced jobs for the ordnance factory. Jatan might have collected the butts from them,” said an officer. According to police, Jatan’s guns might not be very well finished, but are very useful for medium-range firing. Naiyer and his sons told police that it took them four to five days to complete a single-barrel gun. The short pipe-guns took less time. The guns sold for Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500. The long-range rifles cost Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. Jatan was a known gun-supplier in Bishnupur and nearby areas. The Naiyers confessed that in last year, they had made more than 50 guns and had recently started supplying ammunition also. The trio, however, denied making small arms, as these need good quality metal, which is very costly and not easily accessible. Police claimed that criminals from other districts also collected arms from Jatan. Months ago, a similar gun manufacturer was nabbed at Basanti after a clash between RSP and CPM. “There are several units like Jatan’s in South 24-Parganas who supply arms to local criminals at rates cheaper than Munger-made guns,” said a senior police officer. “It is an important catch. We are grilling all five to get details about local criminals and gun-runners.

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cold-blooded killing of Timothy MacPherson said to be a gangland execution

Detectives investigating the cold-blooded killing of Timothy MacPherson – said to be a gangland execution – arrested a 31-year-old man on Monday night.The 29-year-old was shot in the neck and stomach on July 2, 2004, just weeks after being released early from a two-year jail term for selling cocaine and cannabis.Three binmen discovered his body in the yard of a house on Acre Lane, Derker, near Oldham.Three men were all acquitted of murder after a trial in 2006 and no-one has been convicted over the killing.Macpherson, of Pinewood Avenue, Lancaster, had a history of involvement with cocaine, heroin and other banned narcotics and had a criminal record for 14 drug offences.

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Mark Sebastian, 46, faces multiple gun charges in connection what authorities said was the exchange of guns to settle a drug debt

Mark Sebastian, 46, faces multiple gun charges in connection what authorities said was the exchange of guns to settle a drug debt. Sebastian is the vice-chairman of the North Stonington-based tribe. Sebastian was arraigned Tuesday in New London court where he entered a not guilty plea to three counts of illegal transfer of a pistol or revolver and three counts of purchasing a firearm with intent to transfer it to a person prohibited from possessing a gun. All of the charges are felonies.
In 2005, authorities said Sebastian purchased three handguns for his cousin, convicted felon Calvin Sebastian, according to the arrest warrant affidavit prepared by a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Mark Sebastian owed his cousin $1,000 for cocaine, police said.
Calvin Sebastian, 37, authorities said, later traded two of the guns to satisfy his own drug debt.The arrest was the result of an investigation by the ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration and Norwich, Groton and New London police departments.
Held on a $250,000 bond, Sebastian is due back in court on Sept. 11.

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Lindani Buthelezi, 30, was believed to be responsible for Wednesday's murder of Kranskop station commissioner Superintendent Zethembe Chonco

Lindani Buthelezi, 30, was believed to be responsible for Wednesday's murder of Kranskop station commissioner Superintendent Zethembe Chonco, ambushed in his car while in a convoy taking suspects to court.Safety, security and community liaison MEC Bheki Cele had last month expressed concern that there were a shadowy band of hitmen behind the taxi violence plaguing the province. Chonco was appointed by Cele to head up the taxi task team, part of the organised crime unit in the province. He was investigating recent taxi violence between KwaDukuza and KwaMaphumulo associations.Members of the police's Operation Greed team, who tracked down Buthelezi, are also investigating the murder of Senior Supt Frans Bothma, murdered in KwaMashu on Tuesday night.Cele said he was aware that a suspect, wanted in connection with Chonco's murder, was killed on Wednesday morning.
"This will not bring back a fallen officer but we will make sure we catch the remaining suspects. Another policeman was killed in KwaMashu on Tuesday night. It is clear that thugs have declared war on police and we will not take it lying down," he said.Cele paid his condolences to the Bothma family.Police sources said they received information that Buthelezi was hiding in a house in Stanger."Two policemen entered the house first, followed by another three officers. Buthelezi ran out of his room and into another part of the house. "When confronted by police he pulled out a gun from a suitcase and fired at two of the officers," the source said. Police returned fire, killing Buthelezi.Buthelezi has been linked to recent taxi violence between the Cato Manor and Chesterville taxi associations and has been described by high ranking investigators as a "dangerous hired-gunman".Last month 10 taxis were shot at, a taxi driver was shot in the arm and a taxi landed on the roof of a house in Dunbar Road, Cato Manor as the two associations fought over taxi routes.
"We know that hitmen were planning to take Chonco out the Friday before he was murdered.""When Chonco arrested two people from the Maphumulo taxi association, the killers knew he would be taking the suspects to court."Chonco was escorting prisoners from Kranskop to the Stanger Magistrate's Court last week when he was ambushed by gunmen hiding at the side of the road. Inspector Mphatheni Khanyile, who was with Chonco, was also shot several times and is in a critical condition in hospital. At least 25 bullets penetrated Chonco's car, which was the last in a convoy of three vehicles heading to court. Police said Chonco managed to kill one of the suspects.Earlier this year, Cele paid tribute to the best crime-fighters in the country, including Chonco, at a ceremony held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre." He was highly effective in what he did, as can be seen by the award. "He was one of the best officers South Africa has seen. It wasn't an award that was chosen to be awarded to him by a panel. It came from the people he served," Cele said.Speaking recently about the violence in Cato Manor and Chesterville Cele called for taxi rank security guards to be fired and said they were the cause of violence in the industry.Most recently, the work of Chonco had led to the arrests of a number of suspects in a case where a member of the Empangeni dog unit, Inspector Wayne Saunders, was killed.

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weapons, 165 in total, were found following a planned raid on a metal factory in Amsterdam and searches at three houses.

Dutch police said today they are questioning three men and a woman after seizing a massive cache of weapons in Amsterdam as part of an international investigation into organised crime in Ireland.The 165 firearms were put on display in Amsterdam as gardaí in Dublin revealed arms seized as part of the same operation in Dublin on Tuesday night.The Dublin cache was described as the biggest haul of gangland weaponry in the history of the State following the four-month international operation into the activities of a leading Dublin criminal.Forty-one firearms, mostly destined for crime gangs in Dublin and Limerick, were seized in the operation which involved police and customs from the Republic, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands.The investigation, codenamed Operation Bench, also resulted in the seizure of heroin and cannabis valued at €4.2 million in a car near Dublin airport on Tuesday.Some 27 weapons were found in the same vehicle with another 14 guns recovered in Belfast by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Ammunition for the weapons, totalling about 1,000 rounds, was also found.A total of three people were held by gardaí and another in Belfast.Police in Amsterdam said today they had also detained four after they found the weapons haul in an office building. It included Glock pistols, Steyr sub-machine guns and silencers.The men - aged 41, 42, and 53 - and a 27-year-old woman have not been identified, but Dutch police said they were arrested on suspicion of possession and sale of illegal firearms.The National Prosecutor’s Office said the arrests followed a tip-off from authorities in Northern Ireland who, along with the Garda, have led a crackdown on a drug and gun trafficking gang operating across Europe.The three arrested men are Dutch, while the woman is Brazilian.The weapons, 165 in total, were found following a planned raid on a metal factory in Amsterdam and searches at three houses.Seventy guns were found in plastic shopping bags lying in the back of a car in a car park beside the factory. The rest of the cache was found hidden in the basement. Thousands of rounds of ammunition were also seized.A spokesman for the Dutch National Prosecutor’s Office said: “A lot of the guns were brand new, including five machine guns.” Some €20,000 in cash was also seized by Dutch police.

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Thong Sengmany, 28, and Megan Dotson, 23, were in a car driven by Sengmany when the vehicle was pulled over by the Gang Violence Suppress Unit

Thong Sengmany, 28, and Megan Dotson, 23, were in a car driven by Sengmany when the vehicle was pulled over by the department's Gang Violence Suppression Unit.
A loaded gun, later determined to have been stolen, was found in the vehicle, Gorman said. Sengmany and Dotson, both identified as convicted felons, were arrested on suspicion of being felons in possession of a gun.Sengmany was also arrested for violating parole, and Dotson was wanted on an outstanding felony arrest warrant, Gorman said.

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Roberto Cervantes died at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday in a San Francisco Bay Area hospital after he was shot several times in the upper body.

55-year-old man is the latest casualty of gang violence in Salinas and the city's 18th homicide victim this year. His death was the result of one of three shootings in Monterey County in a two-hour period late Tuesday.
Roberto Cervantes died at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday in a San Francisco Bay Area hospital after he was shot several times in the upper body. Salinas police said he was wounded about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday outside his house in the 500 block of West Alisal Street. Investigators did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday and few details about the shooting have been released. Officers have said the slaying is being probed as a gang crime. They have not said if Cervantes was the intended target, nor have they elaborated on circumstances surrounding the shooting. Residents in the area, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation, told The Herald they saw a car, possibly a late-model Nissan with tinted windows, speeding away moments after gunshots were heard. All but one of Salinas' homicide victims this year have been Latino males, who were shot. The non-shooting victim was a 46-year-old woman who was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend. With four months left, this year is already the deadliest since 2004, when police reported 20 homicides for the entire year. The city has seen scores of other shootings this year. The second shooting Tuesday occurred about an hour and a half after Cervantes was shot, when officers responded to reports of gunfire in a North Salinas neighborhood. A 24-year-old man and a minor were shot several times in the upper body just after 10 p.m. in the 2100 block of Perez Street. The man's wounds were life-threatening and he was flown to a San Francisco Bay Area hospital. The 17-year-old was treated at a local hospital, police said. Officers did not release updated information on the man's condition Wednesday. They said it was unknown if the attack was gang-motivated or connected to Cervantes' shooting. In the past week there have been an additional four suspected gang shootings that injured five people in the city. But gang violence has not been isolated to Salinas. In the third shooting Tuesday, a 25-year-old woman was shot in the face about 10:30 p.m. in Soledad.
Police Chief Richard Cox said more than 20 rounds were fired at the house in the 400 block of San Diego Place during a drive-by shooting. Several people, including children, were in the house. The attack appears to be gang-related, police said.
The injured woman, who was not identified, was taken to a Salinas hospital and is expected to survive, Cox said. Few people have come forward with information about the shooting, and Cox said he worries about by-standers who might get caught in the middle. "There were kids in the house," he said.

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four Glock 19C semi-automatic pistols converted to fire fully automatically, along with accessories such as magazines and speed-loaders.

27 weapons and drugs seized when gardaí stopped a car near Dublin airport on Tuesday were displayed for the media at Garda Headquarters at Phoenix Park.The haul included four types of firearms. Among them were four Glock 19C semi-automatic pistols converted to fire fully automatically, along with accessories such as magazines and speed-loaders. These sub-machine guns are capable of firing up to 1,000 rounds of ammunition a minute, detectives said.There were also 15 Glock 19 semi-automatic pistols, six Beretta 19 semi-automatic pistols with sound-suppressors, two Smith & Wesson model 60 revolvers and 50 rounds of ammunition.
All were “military and police-spec weapons”, detectives said. Gardaí could not indicate whether the guns were all new as they have not been ballistically tested. However, they said that all of them were “in very good condition and ready to be deployed”.The weapons will all be sent for ballistics tests over the coming days.
Along with the guns, gardaí displayed more than a dozen shrink-wrapped blocks of heroin and about eight bags of herbal cannabis, alongside three holdall bags.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Bench, resulted in the seizure of heroin and cannabis valued at €4.2 million in a car near Dublin airport on Tuesday.
Twenty-seven weapons were found in the same vehicle and another 14 guns were recovered in Belfast by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Ammunition for the weapons, totalling about 1,000 rounds, was also found.
The firearms, believed to be destined for criminal gangs in Dublin and Limerick, were seized in an operation involving police and customs officers from the Republic, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands.

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London gangster Dean Oxley who controlled a group responsible for a string of attacks on a cash van and jewellery stores was jailed for 12 years

“The gang members were running into the jewellery shops, threatening the staff, smashing display cases with hammers and taking items of high value.”
London gangster Dean Oxley who controlled a group responsible for a string of attacks on a cash van and jewellery stores was jailed for 12 years yesterday. Dean Oxley, 30, recruited a group of 11 men, aged between18 and 29, to commit the violent raids that netted them £1 million. They used guns and hammers to threaten staff, including a pregnant women. Oxley from Lewisham, southeast London, was convicted of five charges of conspiracy to rob. They hit targets in Chelsea, West London, and the Brent Cross shopping centre in North London, making off with £1,025,900.00 in valuables. Police have only been able to recover Rolex and Omega watches worth £100,000. Kenneth Millett, for the prosecution, told Kingston Crown Court that Oxley "supervised" without actually taking part. “He was a natural born leader and orchestrated the events, waiting nearby to share out the proceeds," he said.
Detective Sergeant Steve Kiely of the Met’s Flying Squad said: “Dean Oxley was an prominent and influential figure within South London organised crime circles. He controlled a violent gang of young men, directing them to commit high value commercial robberies across the capital. “He regarded himself as untouchable, remaining at arm's length from any robbery. It has taken a lengthy and complex investigation by the Flying Squad to prove his involvement in what was a wide-scale conspiracy.” Oxley and three others were convicted after a trial at the court. Andel Watson, 19, and Damian Gordon, 27, were each jailed for six-and-a-half years years for conspiracy to rob, and Marvin Samuels, 23, for six years on the same charge.
Eight members of the gang admitted an array of offences at an earlier hearing, including robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and firearms offences, and received jail sentences ranging from three years to seven years. The gang’s crime spree began in April 2007 when two members robbed a cash-in-transit van at a petrol station in Norwood Hill, southeast London. The pair stole more than £5,000 before making their escape in a getaway car driven by a third member of the gang before being intercepted by police who had been tailing them. Less than a month later, the gang struck again at Pravin Jewellers in Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Four men entered the store and screamed at staff: “Don’t fu**ing move I have got a fu**ing gun.” They kicked open display cabinets before escaping with £200,000 worth of watches.
The gang then hit another jewellery shop in the shopping centre - Fraser Hart - just 11 days later, when six men entered wearing hoods and masks and forced staff to hand over more than £500,000 of watches. As they fled from the shop through the shopping centre, chased by security guards, they pushed one guard down a flight of escalators, and one of the gang was caught. A further robbery took place on July 2 when five gang members threatened staff at Ernest Jones in Chelsea with hammers. As one of the gang tried to smash open a cabinet full of Rolex watches he showered one terrified worker with glass before giving up and snatching goods from open cabinets.
As they left the store, with more than £220,000 of watches, a five-month pregnant member of staff was threatened with a chair. The last attack happened on July 31 when officers from Barnes Flying Squad followed three of the gang before they robbed Marmalade Jewellers in Chiswick, southwest London, of £33,000 of goods. The three men were arrested shortly afterwards near the scene, along with mastermind Oxley.

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Crumlin/Drimnagh feud the Freddie Thompson gang or his sworn enemies, the Rastas.

Crumlin/Drimnagh feud the Freddie Thompson gang or his sworn enemies, the Rastas.
One of the most amazing facts of all about this urban feud is that it was sparked by the vandalism of a bicycle. Detectives believe a number of factors have led to the birth of this feud. "Some time in 1998 a dispute arose between various members over drugs and money causing a vicious split," said a well-placed source.
"Different members of both sides were assaulted and a series of tit-for-tat assaults, criminal damage to cars and vehicles belonging to them followed.
"Friends, relatives and associates from other areas such as Freddie Thompson and Paddy Doyle were brought into the dispute," said the source.
Gardai credit the burning of a bike belonging to one of Freddie's pals as the turning point in the neighbourhood squabble and the start of the decade-long warring. The bike belonging to the associate of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson was burned outside the gang member's home. The attack was blamed on a member of the Rastas, led by members of a local criminal family. The simple burning of the bike was a catalyst for a bloody war. In retaliation for the damage to the bike an attempt was made to petrol bomb the suspected culprit's house -- even though there was nothing whatsoever to associate him with the incident.
Shortly afterwards that Thompson associate was targeted again, almost certainly by the Rastas -- but this time it was his innocent mother's car that was attacked. The car was 'nitromorsed' -- in other words, burnt with acid. The combined incidents set the two gangs on a downward spiral of murder and mayhem. The gloves were well and truly off. From this inauspicious start, two gangs -- one lead by 'Fat' Freddie Thompson and his buddy Paddy Doyle (since murdered in Spain), and a rival and equally dangerous group of hoods led by another Drimnagh man known as the Rastas -- would war for position and power. Thompson's main rival in the Rastas cannot currently be named for legal reasons. Not long after the infamous bike burning incident the violence escalated and moved onto a much more dangerous level.
On March 4, 1999, shots were fired through the front window of a home on Kilworth Road in Crumlin by members of the Thompson gang. No one was injured in the shooting but the gunman shouted his name to neighbours, claiming responsibility for the incident. Nine days later the house was again targeted, and gardai believe it was the same gunman. Soon afterwards members of the Thompson gang were arrested and interviewed but no charges were ever brought due to lack of evidence. The gangs were flexing their muscles and testing each other's patience.
By April 2001 the war between the two gangs spilled over onto the streets, into pubs and outside city nightclubs. A resident in Lucan reported gunshots on his home following an altercation with a Thompson gang member in a Dublin nightclub some weeks earlier. On April 8, 2001, a gunman fired three shotgun blasts through the front door and window of the Lucan house at 3.40am. The resident told gardai he had been in a fight in a nightclub two weeks before with members of Freddie's gang, which may have made him a target. The shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional gangland attack. In a possible retaliation strike, the home of a Thompson gang member was attacked in a drive-by shooting incident on June 5, 2001.
Later that summer the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud was to claim the first of its 13 victims. Yet the feud was far from over. A family gathering between members of the Rastas ended up in a bloody brawl in February 2002 when "words were exchanged" between the gang members and associates of their rivals. One man was so badly assaulted during the attack that followed that he received 80 stitches to his head.
A revolver was also produced during the incident, which occurred just yards from the mobster's aunt's home on Basin Street in Dublin 8. Not to be outdone, a revenge attack was ordered. On June 13, 2002, two men kicked down the door of a house at Park Terrace, Dublin 8. There were five people in the house at the time of the incident and two of them received gunshot wounds. Three men from the Thompson side of the gang were arrested and questioned about this incident. Five days later two gun attacks in the space of four hours led to the beginning of a new level and intensity of violence for both gangs. As members of the Thompson gang sat celebrating St Patrick's Day in Judge Darley's Pub, outside their rivals were plotting some celebrations of their own. At 1am, members of the opposite gang were busy orchestrating a drive-by shooting of the inner city pub. Although no one was injured in the attack, gang members inside the Parkgate Street pub quickly sobered up in time to formulate a revenge plan. Just three hours later, at 4am, the house of a key 'Rasta' gang member was taken by storm and with devastating consequences.
The house at Cooley Road in Crumlin was showered in a hail of bullets when at least four men shot their way into the house and a man was shot in the stomach.
It was now just three years into the south Dublin dispute and already there had been one murder, six firearms incidents, two people shot and a series of assaults.
But the worst was yet to come. And if the worst is still yet to come, are we staring into the ugly and scarred face of urban gang warfare more often associated with Mexico, Los Angeles and South Africa?

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Mthokozisi Jali pleaded guilty to Andrew Main's murder, breaking into his house and aggravated robbery and possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.

Mthokozisi Jali, 34, of Durban, was pleading guilty to Main's murder, breaking into his house and aggravated robbery and possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.Cramond farmer Andrew Main, 53, could have been overpowered and robbed instead of being shot dead on sight, a member of the gang that killed him admitted in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Main was shot dead as soon as he got out of his vehicle at his home last September. Jali is the second of his gang to plead to crimes relating to the incident. On August 26, Mxolisi Gcabashe pleaded guilty to possession of the murder weapon, the AK-47, and was jailed for seven years. A third accused, Mzamo Wiseman Jali, 36, of Cramond, is to stand trial on charges arising from the incident on February 2. A fourth member of the gang, Lucky Ntombela, who Jali alleged had shot Main with the AK-47, was shot dead when he and a policemen wrestled for a gun in an escape bid.Judge Thumba Pillay said he wanted to carefully consider the sentences he should impose, which he will do on Thursday. State counsel Prettygirl Ngcobo asked for the life sentence, saying Jali had been sentenced to 10 years' jail for robbery in 1996. Ngcobo said Jali had admitted during cross-examination that his gang had planned to rob Main of his guns so that they could commit other crimes.Divesh Mootheram, of the Legal Aid Board, said that Jali's remorse in pleading guilty, his apology to the bereaved family and the possibility of rehabilitation were substantial and compelling circumstances, allowing the court to deviate from the prescribed life sentence.Jali said the gang had waited for Main to park his vehicle. As he had alighted, Ntombela had fired and the farmer fell."We examined him; he was dead. We took his keys and Lucky unsuccessfully tried to open the door of Main's home. We broke a few door panels. Mzamo Jali and Lucky went in."They emerged with three firearms and placed them in Main's vehicle."We left in Main's vehicle, driven by Lucky."

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Lenworth A. Spence aka Lemarcus Smith is wanted in connection to the March 2007 execution-style killing

Boston police have captured Lemarcus Smith a Mississippi man who is wanted in connection with a murder in Canada.Police and federal marshals arrested Lenworth A. Spence, 27, of Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday after developing information that he was in the Hyde Park section of the city.Police said he was located sitting in a car, and arrested on an outstanding U.S. federal warrant. The warrant charges Spence, who also goes by the name Lemarcus Smith, with being a fugitive from Canada for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit indictable offense.He was handed over the federal authorities.According to the Toronto Star, Spence is wanted in connection to the March 2007 execution-style Killing

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Seventeen people complained the posters glorified and glamourised gun crime.

Seventeen people complained the posters glorified and glamourised gun crime.One of the posters - which showed Jolie clutching a gun directed upwards and McAvoy holding a gun in each hand, pointing towards the viewer - was used with restrictions preventing it from appearing near schools, the company told the ASA.


Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a series of complaints about two posters for Wanted - an action film which was released in Britain this summer.Seventeen people complained the posters glorified and glamourised gun crime.
Of those complainants, seven also objected on the grounds that the posters were unsuitable to be seen by children - and the ASA agreed on both counts.
In a ruling, it said: "We acknowledged most viewers would understand the posters reflected the content of an action film."However, we considered, that because the ads featured a glamorous actress, action poses, several images of or related to guns and aspirational text, they could be seen to glamourise the use of guns and violence."Universal Pictures UK told the authority the posters featuring just Jolie and McAvoy used stylised poses and, as the film was based on a comic book, the style of the posters reflected the film's roots.They added that none of the media owners they worked with had expressed concern about the two posters.However, the advertisements were no longer being used and there were no plans to use them again in the future, the company said.Another seven of the complainants further objected to the posters as offensive at a time of increasing public concern about gun crime. This was not upheld by the ASA.

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www.met.police.uk. London residents can see how much crime is being committed in their neighbourhood on a new website.

London residents can see how much crime is being committed in their neighbourhood on a new website.The £210,000 project shows robbery, burglary and car crime statistics for the capital.The site also compares levels between London boroughs, with higher crime areas shown in red and lower crime areas in blue.Users can type in their postcode and zoom in to see statistics for their local area.The information is extremely detailed, covering groups as few as five or six streets.The site will display monthly crime figures as well as historical data so the public can see yearly trends.Mayor of London Boris Johnson said he thought the site would be "hugely beneficial" and help reduce crime by putting public pressure on the police.Speaking at a press conference in City Hall he said: "What we want to see is Londoners feeling that if they experience crime that it matters. That it is not going to be lost in some great welter of statistics, that it's going to be recorded on the spot where it happened, that it's going to be publicly available and there's going to be pressure on the police to do something about it."Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the site could be expanded in the future to include other types of crime, clean-up rates and local crime-fighting plans.The website can be found at www.met.police.uk.

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Michael Bradley Gordon was shot to death in Chilliwack on August 25th.

Michael Bradley Gordon was shot to death in Chilliwack on August 25th. One more sad death in a protracted vendetta which shows no sign of of running out of bullets. What distinguishes Mr. Gordon's case is that he was the second local realtor with known associations to the incredibly ruthless UN Gang to be executed over the summer. (The other was Elliott Castaneda, slain in Mexico on July 12.)Mr. Gordon was a personal friend of Clayton Roueche and he personally handled Roueche’s real estate portfolio. Roueche is the now infamous leader of the UN Gang, currently being held in a federal lockup in Seattle.

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expat Gangsters:Seamus Ward,Mick `The Corporal' Weldon ,Tommy Savage,George `The Penguin' Mitchell ,John `The Coach' Traynor,Peter Mitchell

John `The Coach' Traynor (52)
Traynor strenuously denies allegations that he set up crime reporter Veronica Guerin for her murder.Garda and criminal sources allege that Traynor travels regularly between southern Spain, Amsterdam and Brussels to organise large-scale cannabis deals. Traynor, a former fraudster and associate of `The General', Martin Cahill, is believed to have made and spent a fortune from his involvement in the hash trade between 1994 and October 1996. In a phone interview with this reporter he denied that he had any part in Guerin's death.

Peter Mitchell (33)
Mitchell, from Dublin's north inner city, was alleged during two trials to be a member of the biggest cannabis gang that operated in Ireland in the mid-1990s.
Now based in Fuengirola, Spain, Mitchell is wanted by Gardai in connection with his alleged role in the gang. Mitchell and Traynor are believed to be in regular contact.

George `The Penguin' Mitchell (51)
Ballyfermot-born armed robber-turned-cannabis and ecstasy dealer Mitchell is unlikely ever to return home, as the Gardaí, the British police and the IRA are all keen to speak to him if he returns from Amsterdam, where he allegedly continues to run his hash business.Mitchell, a suspected member of the £30 million Beit art robbery gang led by Martin Cahill in the 1980s, served 18 months in jail since he left Ireland in 1996 after being caught during a robbery of computers in Holland. He is reportedly worth €15.3 million. Mitchell was accused in his absence in a court in London of being the organiser of a botched gangland hit on gangster Tony Brindle, a rival of the infamous Daly crime clan. Sources close to Mitchell have denied he was involved.

Tommy Savage (51)
Savage phoned Garda detectives from Amsterdam four years ago and said he had no part in the shooting dead of ex-INLA man Paddy `Teasy Weasy' McDonald in 1992.
However, because of newspaper reports about his alleged cannabis dealing, he has not returned because he says he would not get a fair trial.Savage, a former member of the Official IRA -- the old paramilitary wing of the Workers' Party -- was sentenced to nine years in Portlaoise for armed robbery in the 1970s. A number of his former colleagues have suffered violent deaths. In 1983 Danny McKeown was shot dead outside a Dublin dole office. Later that year Gerry Hourigan was killed in Ballymun. Michael Crinnion was murdered in Cork in 1995. Savage is believed to be close to George Mitchell.

Mick `The Corporal' Weldon (48)
Gardai have sought Weldon since 1993, when he fled the country as detectives prepared to bring him before the Special Criminal Court. He was found by Gardai with a gun allegedly in his possession.Weldon reportedly has his own plane and pilot's licence, and frequently flies to Colombia and Surinam. It is claimed by Garda sources that the former Irish Army corporal from Swords is one of the biggest cannabis barons in Europe.One criminal who knows Weldon insisted: "Mick is just like one of the lads who does a bit of this and that -- he's not an international gangster."Weldon's whereabouts are uncertain. He was last sighted in the Costa del Sol.

Seamus Ward
Ward was named during a trial two years ago as being a member of the same cannabis gang as Peter Mitchell. Ward, from Walkinstown, Dublin, has been missing since October 1996. Gardai believe he may be in the Costa del Sol, but criminal sources claim he is living in southern England.

Jim McCann
Jim "Just call me the Shamrock Pimpernel" McCann is wanted all over the world for a variety of crimes, and is regarded as a colourful figure in the underworld.
The reformed cannabis smuggler Howard Marks wrote in his autobiography that McCann mixed with unsuspecting IRA men and Hollywood actors like James Coburn during his heyday in the 1980s.McCann, originally from Belfast, in 1971 became the first man in decades to escape from Crumlin Road jail, where he was on remand for petrol-bombing Queen's University.
In the intervening period he linked up with international cannabis dealer Marks, while still trading on his reputation as a revolutionary. In 1977 he was arrested in France for extradition to Germany for allegedly bombing a British Army base in Moenchengladbach. A subsequent case failed, thanks largely to protests by French political radicals. Next he turned up in Naas, when Gardai caught him with nearly £100,000 worth of cannabis. When arrested, he would only say: "My name is Mr Nobody. My address is The World."McCann was later freed by the Garda on a technicality. He was last seen in Argentina.

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Gary Nelson, Commissioner of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda has been fired.

Gary Nelson, Commissioner of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, had overseen the hunt for the killers of Benjamin and Catherine Mullany last month. A Canadian, he was appointed in February on a two-year commission to reform the police after a crimewave in which there was a tripling of the number of murders. head of police on a Caribbean island where a British honeymooning couple were murdered has been fired.Mr Nelson's probationary period ended this week and the island's Police Service Commission unanimously decided to end his contract, the Antigua Sun reported. The sacking will raise concerns about attempts to tackle crime on an island visited by an estimated 100,000 British holidaymakers each year. Last year the number of people killed rose to nineteen, compared with an average of six to seven for previous years. So far this year there have been twelve killings and the homicide rate in the former British colony is now ten times that of London. Dr Mullany and her husband, both 31, from Pontardawe, South Wales, were shot last month in a robbery at their hotel on the last day of their honeymoon.
Officers from Scotland Yard and South Wales were asked by Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister, to help the investigation. Two men have been charged with murder and robbery and three women with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The commissioner is the third of four senior Canadian officers to leave in the past two months. Assistant Commissioner Ronald Scott, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, and Deputy Commissioner Michael O'Neil resigned, citing personal reasons. The only remaining Canadian officer is Deputy Commissioner Thomas Bennett, who holds responsibility for operations in the hard-up force.

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Ernesto Valle will spend nearly 50 years in prison for shooting a man to death two years ago as part of a gang initiation.

Ernesto Valle will spend nearly 50 years in prison for shooting a man to death two years ago as part of a gang initiation.Valle, 21, of the 500 block of Columbia Street in Aurora was sentenced by Circuit Judge Grant Wegner on Friday to 45 years in prison for the gang-initiation shooting death of 19-year-old Jesse Lozano of Aurora, according the Kane County State's Attorney's office. Valle was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder on March 6.Just before 3 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2006, Valle and two other men, including co-defendant Hector D. Delgado, 19, were driving near Grove and Kendall streets in Aurora when Valle spotted Lozano driving a Chevrolet pickup.Valle walked to the truck and fired five shots -- two struck Lozano in the head and one struck him in the back. Lozano was pronounced dead a short time later. After the shooting, Valle returned to a gang party and was inducted into the gang, the release said.Valle’s sentence breaks down as 20 years for the murder, plus an additional mandatory 25 years because a firearm was used during commission of a crime. By law, he must serve 100 percent of the sentence. Valle had been held in Kane County Jail on $3 million bond, which was revoked upon conviction.
“This is a tragic case for two families. The Lozano family and the Valle family are grieving their respective loss of a son. Perhaps this case will make other young men think twice before trying to become a gang member,” said Asst. State’s Attorney Greg Sams, who prosecuted the case.

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Mackenzie Phillips, was released on $10,000 bail following her arrest at the Los Angeles airport on Wednesday

Mackenzie Phillips, was released on $10,000 bail following her arrest at the Los Angeles airport on Wednesday. Phillips was headed to New York when she failed to pass a security screening. The secondary screening then revealed that the former actress was carrying on her a small amount of heroin and cocaine.The photos show three balloons and three small Ziplock bags which cops say contained heroin and cocaine. There is also a pic of 34 syringes, her mugshot and her driver’s license. Apparently when Mackenzie went through the metal detector, the alarm went off because of a metal object. The TSA initially did not suspect drugs. TSA employees then began to pat her down — which is routine — and she became uncooperative. They asked her to sit, and that’s when we’re told the balloons and baggies fell from her waistband through her pant leg and onto the floor. At that point, MacKenzie knew she was caught and said so to folks at TSA.

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DNA evidence has linked Michael Gargiulo repairman to the stabbing deaths of three women, including a former girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher

DNA evidence has linked an air conditioning repairman to the stabbing deaths of three women, including a former girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher, police said Friday. Michael Gargiulo, 32, of Santa Monica has been in custody since July for a separate knife attack and could face murder charges as soon as next week, police said. Santa Monica police Lt. Darrell Lowe said DNA collected from a crime scene last spring helped link Gargiulo to the stabbing deaths of women from Los Angeles, suburban Chicago and Monterey Park. One of the cases involves 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, Kutcher's former girlfriend, who was found dead in February 2001 in her Hollywood Hills home. Kutcher, who is married to actress Demi Moore and who starred in the television series "That '70s Show," told police he went to pick up the fashion student-model for a post-Grammy Awards party, but she did not answer the door. He checked a back window and spotted what he thought were red wine stains on the carpet and then left. Her body was discovered the next day by a friend.
Kutcher's agent, Stephanie Simon, said the actor had no comment. Attempts to reach Ellerin's parents were unsuccessful Friday night. Police said they have a DNA match that links Gargiulo to another fatal stabbing of a Monterey Park woman in 2005. They also suspect Gargiulo in the 1993 killing of a high school girl in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, where Gargiulo lived at the time.
Tricia Pacaccio, a senior at Glenbrook South High School, was found stabbed to death on her front doorstep, clutching her door key.
Gargiulo was being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail on attempted murder and burglary charges stemming from the April 28 stabbing of a Santa Monica woman in her home, Lowe said. Detectives matched a DNA sample taken from blood at the crime scene to Gargiulo. Lowe said further database cross-referencing found that Gargiulio's DNA matched genetic evidence in the three killings. Gargiulo's attorney, Anthony Salerno, said his client denies involvement in any of the attacks and "thinks the police are out to get him." Salerno acknowledged Gargiulo will possibly be charged with murder for the three slayings. He said that Gargiulo lived near the four victims at the time of the attacks and a garment of his was found in one of the victims' homes. But, he said, that does not make Gargiulo guilty. Salerno said he was not aware of any DNA matches in the three killings and questioned why police have taken so long to charge Gargiulo. "If there is any DNA evidence, that would be a surprise to me," he said. He said Gargiulo has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder and burglary charges from April and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Sept. 4. When asked about the Pacaccio case, John Gorman, a spokesman for the Cook County (Ill.) state's attorney's office, said he could not talk about an open investigation. "I can't comment on any evidence that may be out there," he said.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police are using DNA evidence to track down another suspected serial killer in Southern California. A special police task force has linked the fatal shootings of 10 black women prostitutes and one black man in South Los Angeles to one assailant who has been killing since 1985. Police said they have no known suspect because the DNA does not match any sample in national crime databases.
One victim survived an attack in 1988, giving police the only description they have of the suspect: a black man in his 30s driving an orange Ford Pinto. The last killing in the series occurred in January 2007 with the discovery of 25-year-old Janecia Peters' body. DNA tests showed she was killed by the same assailant as the others

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Ralph Thurston O'Neal III, 33, of Roane County's Midtown area is identified by authorities as the drug network's kingpin

Ralph Thurston O'Neal III, 33, of Roane County's Midtown area is identified by authorities as the drug network's kingpin and is named in all 10 counts of the indictment.Also charged are Michael Currier, 32, of Clinton, Brandon Cooper, 26, and Randy Spears, 43, both of Harriman, and Demond Reed, 37, of Rockwood.
According to a Roane County Sheriff's Department news release, O'Neal and others are accused of bringing in cocaine from Texas, California and Georgia.The drugs were then distributed to others for resale in Roane, Anderson and Knox counties, the news release alleges.Vehicles, cash and weapons were seized during the investigation.Other arrests are expected, Mynatt said."Most of the cocaine investigations pointed to Ralph O'Neal," Mynatt said.

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Jose Jaime Arroyos-Carrillo, 51, a convicted drug dealer, and two of his associates are believed to have worked for Guzman, Mexico's top drug kingpin

Jose Jaime Arroyos-Carrillo, 51, a convicted drug dealer, and two of his associates are believed to have worked for Guzman, Mexico's top drug kingpin and head of the Sinaloa Cartel. They are named in a 29-count indictment that an El Paso federal grand jury handed up in November 2006.All three were indicted on the following charges: conspiracy to import a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, importing a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to laundermonetary instruments and bulk cash smuggling.Arroyos-Carrillo may currently be in hiding in Chihuahua, Mexico. His associates, Isidro Gomez-Arpero and Juan Samaniego were arrested in 2006 in Mexico, and extradited to the United States last year. On Aug. 14, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone sentenced one of the masterminds of the organization, Gomez-Arpero, to 230 months (more than 19 years) in federal prison, and Juan Samaniego to 210 months (17½ years). The ICE investigation revealed that the Gomez organization, which was based in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, at one time was a large cell of the Guzman international drug-trafficking organization, judging by the large narcotics shipments it smuggled every week through El Paso.The nearly five-year OCDETF investigation was a joint effort by ICE and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Other law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation included: the El Paso County Sheriff's Office High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), the Texas Department of Public Safety, the El Paso Police Department, and ICE Offices in New York, Seattle, Birmingham, Houston. The El Paso FBI Office and DEA Strike Force New York also played an active role in this case.The investigation resulted in more than 20 seizures totaling more than 1,000 lbs. of cocaine, more than 2,820 lbs. of marijuana, and two separate cash seizures totaling more than $1.2 million.
More than 30 individuals were identified as active participants of the Gomez organizations' drug trafficking activities. Among the organization's members identified, were two members of the Barrio Azteca Street Gang who coordinated smuggling cocaine shipments into the United States.
"ICE and its law enforcement partners worked relentlessly for nearly five years on this case, which ultimately disrupted the flow of narcotics coming into the country by dismantling a major drug organization based here on the border," said Roberto G. Medina, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso."
To date, 25 of the organization's members, who have been prosecuted by federal authorities in this case, have been sentenced. Their combined sentences total 1,507 months. Fifteen individuals have been prosecuted by Texas law enforcement agencies and sentenced to a total of 80 years.Arroyos-Carrillo, originally from Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, is among several members of the organization still at large. Arroyos-Carrillo, whose aliases include Jaime-Lopez-Carrillo, Jaime Carrillo-Fuentes and Jaime Apachuco-Romero, is believed to be in Chihuahua, Mexico.
In 1987, he was convicted of smuggling more than 700 lbs. of cocaine into Arizona. In 2000, he was deported as an aggravated felon through Laredo, Texas. As early as last year, he was known to own property and businesses in Ciudad Juarez.

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Terrance Clark, 19, was arrested Dec. 11 after he pulled a .40-caliber handgun from his waistband and pointed it at four members

Terrance Clark, 19, was arrested Dec. 11 after he pulled a .40-caliber handgun from his waistband and pointed it at four members of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Violent Crime Impact Task Force on a North Side street.
Clark, who was wanted on three outstanding warrants, fled and was arrested in a nearby duplex. Senior U.S. District Judge Alan N. Bloch sentenced Clark, who pleaded guilty in June to a charge of using a firearm during a violent crime.

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Grant Wilkinson was told he would serve a minimum of 11 years for converting replica Mac-10 sub-machine guns into real weapons

Grant Wilkinson was told he would serve a minimum of 11 years for converting replica Mac-10 sub-machine guns into real weapons and selling them to the criminal underworld.The judge who jailed the 33-year-old suggested that the Government might consider reviewing legislation to counter "endemic" gun crime.The sub-machine guns were made in shabby sheds converted into a workshop and test firing range at The Briars in Three Mile Cross.They were later used in at least 51 shootings and eight murders, including that of Michael Dosonmu, an innocent 15-year-old who was shot in his bedroom in Peckham, South London.Another of the guns was recovered from a vehicle in Birmingham and was later proved to have been fired at the robbery which led to the fatal shooting of Wpc Sharon Beshinevsky in Bradford.Prosecuter John Price said it was estimated that between 30 and 40 of the guns were still on the streets of Britain and that fatal shootings and injuries involving them would continue for several years.Sentencing Wilkinson today at Reading Crown Court, Judge Zoe Smith said the factory had led to an increase in the use of Mac-10s in gun crime since it was started in 2004, and added: "The continued increase in the roll call of death and injuries is inevitable."Defending, Abdullah Al-Yunusi, said his client could not be considered a serious risk of committing similar offences again.
Judge Smith said after his release Wilkinson would remain on licence for the rest of his life and could be recalled to prison at any time."This court knows from its own experience that gun crime has become endemic and it may be that the Government would wish to review this part of the legislation as a matter of urgency."

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Bermuda,Gun shots were reportedly fired in the St. Monica's Road area of Pembroke yesterday morning, in the second such incident this month.

Gun shots were reportedly fired in the St. Monica's Road area of Pembroke yesterday morning, in the second such incident this month. Police responded to a report of shots in the St. Monica's / Glebe Road vicinity around 11 a.m. "Details about the incident are unclear at this time. However, Police are appealing for any passengers of the Number Five Pond Hill bus that got on or off in the Glebe Road area, that may have seen two males on a motorcycle acting suspiciously, to contact the Serious Crime Unit," said a spokesman. He confirmed that no one was hurt, but would not comment on radio news reports that a car was hit by a bullet. Reports of gun and gang activity in the St. Monica's Road area of Pembroke – known colloquially as "42nd Street" – first put the Police on a heightened state of alert at the start of the month. A press release on August 8 reported: "The Bermuda Police Service has recently received reports of suspected firearm activity in the St. Monica's Road, Pembroke area and increased violence involving young men associated with the gang culture. In light of these reports, we wish to reassure the public that the Police are aware of these activities and that we will be responding appropriately."
Ten days after that, 22-year-old Prince Barrington Edness, from Pembroke, was shot in the leg on Princess Street, Hamilton, in a drive-by shooting. Detectives were understood to be investigating claims that he was injured in a revenge attack for the St. Monica's Road incident. locals told the Police the violence stemmed from tensions between the so-called 42nd Street and Parkside gangs and that further attacks could be on the cards. In response to that, and other violence this month including the stabbing death of teenager Kellon Hill at Elbow Beach, Premier Ewart Brown announced a new "get-tough" approach that could see a US-style SWAT team hit the streets.

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Rondell Rawlins, 33, and Jermaine Charles, 23, were gunned down by police and soldiers near the country's international airport, in Timehri

Rondell Rawlins, 33, and Jermaine Charles, 23, were gunned down by police and soldiers near the country's international airport, in Timehri, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Georgetown.An accomplice of the two fugitives was also killed in the shootout, but the police have no record of him being involved in any previous offense. One soldier was also wounded in the incident, Trotz said.The security forces are looking for a woman believed to have been harboring the fugitives.
Rawlins and Charles were blamed for the April 2006 murder of Sawh, his brother and sister, shortly after they had returned home from a family-function.Rawlins was never captured but Charles escaped from detention two months ago, while awaiting his return to a Georgetown maximum security prison pending trial for the Sawhs murders.
Charles was also charged with several other multiple murders including five printing press operators in August 2006.Rawlins was also implicated in several massacres, including the death of 11 women and children at their homes in January that intensified a man-hunt for him. A 250,000 dollar reward was placed on his head.

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Armed police shot dead boss Mark Nunes, 35, after lying in wait outside a bank in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire.

Gang carried out detailed reconnaissance trips and used stolen cars to target cash in transit vans outside banks in at least 18 robberies across the south of England, Kingston Crown Court heard. Its 18-month crime spree was brought to an end in September last year when armed police shot dead two of its number, including boss Mark Nunes, 35, after lying in wait outside a bank in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire.
The getaway driver, Terrence Wallace, 26, was arrested later that day after fleeing the scene, the court heard. Wallace and three other alleged members of the gang, Victor Iniodu, 34, Leroy Wilkinson, 29, and Adrian Johnson, 28, from London, all deny conspiracy to rob. Brendan Kelly, opening the case for the prosecution, said: "This case concerns robberies, sometimes armed, sometimes not, that targeted the carriers of cash in transit, that is guards employed to move money to and from banks and all other retail outlets. "Over an 18-month period of time, this gang netted in excess of £500,000." The court was told Nunes recruited gang members and selected the targets but also joined in on the robberies.
Mr Kelly said: "Despite their skills, their planning and to a degree, their patience, their luck ran out." The Metropolitan Police managed to identify at least some of the culprits and they were followed.
Nunes and accomplice Andrew Markland, 36, were under surveillance as they drove to Chandler's Ford, a small town in Hampshire on September 13.
"Again their victim was a Group 4 Security guard but this time there was a difference," Mr Kelly said. "Armed police officers both undercover and secluded in various buildings in the vicinity of the HSBC bank were watching.
"They saw Nunes point a loaded firearm at the head of the guard and as he did so, he was shot dead to protect the life of the guard.
"As Markland went to pick up the gun, he too was shot dead."
Wallace, of Raynes Park, Wilkinson, of 3 Presentation Mews, 42 Palace Road, Streatham, Johnson, of 79 Abbotts Place, Streatham Hill, and Iniodu, of 297 Derinton Road, Tooting, all deny conspiracy to rob cash in transit between April 27 2006 and September 14 2007.

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Joseph Yelko surrendered to Internal Affairs detectives Monday morning and was taken to Cleveland City Jail.

Cleveland police officer accused of using cocaine was charged with drug abuse Monday. Police say an investigation ordered by Police Chief Michael McGrath uncovered evidence of cocaine abuse by Joseph Yelko, a 10-year veteran. "We will not tolerate drug use and abuse among our officers," McGrath said. "This officer will be suspended from work without pay and we will move towards terminating him from employment with the Division of Police." Yelko surrendered to Internal Affairs detectives Monday morning and was taken to Cleveland City Jail. He was released on bond and is scheduled to make his initial appearance at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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