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Tuesday 26 February 2008

Mohammad Anwar was shot five times by his own sub machine gun

A policeman was found dead insides a police post within the jurisdiction of Korangi Industrial Area (KIA) Police Station (PS) Monday. Thirty-eight-year old Mohammad Anwar was shot five times by his own sub machine gun (SMG) while he was on duty at police post Ameer Shaheed at Bhains Colony. On-duty policeman, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Ahmed Khan Niazi thinks that the post in-charge Nasur Hayat and another colleague Mohammad could be involved in the killing as they were both absent from duty Sunday night, the time of the murder. Niazi said that Hayat had recently arrested some criminals along with a dagger and was promoted by his officials after support from a political party. Niazi alleges that Hayat is an irresponsible policeman who did not do any police course to warrant the promotion. He is also known to take ‘bhatta’ money widely. “This never happens at the police post when he is on duty alone,” informed Niazi. “I think Hayat and Mohammad are involved in the killing.”Denying Niazi’s arguments, while talking to Daily Times, Hayat said, “I did a police course and that is why I was appointed as an ASI.” Hayat also said that he had the day shift while the crime took place at night and he did not know why Mohammad Anwar was not present on duty. When Hayat reached the post in the morning, Anwar was lying in a pool of blood. His SMG was also present there.
SHO KIA Mukhtiar Ahmed said that according to initial investigation, Anwar did not have any enemies inside the force. “Anwar was alone at the time of incident and it is possible that some of the friends came to visit him, where a fight broke out and they opened fired on Anwar.” An FIR, number 50/08, has been registered on behalf of Nasur Hayat against the unknown assailants. Acting-in-charge Landhi Town ASP Farrukh Bashir said that the case is being investigated from all angles. “Your argument that Hayat was involved in Anwar’s death might be true but we cannot arrest Hayat without any proof.” However, the ASP said that if found guilty, Hayat and Mohammad will immediately be arrested. The murdered Anwar was appointed to the police post one-and-a-half years ago. He lived at Green Town, Shah Faisal Colony and was the father of a child. His family lives in his hometown Sargodha. Anwar’s body, accompanied by two policemen, was rushed to his hometown by flight number PK-730.

Saul Avalos ,Javier Avalos ,Samuel Perez, Elezar Morales arrested

.On Sunday morning, police arrested Saul Avalos 23, of Nuevo, for murder.Investigators learned that Avalos and Javier Avalos 22, had argued with Richardson about money. Saul Avalos allegedly produced a gun and shot Richardson several times. The suspects apparently fled, met with Samuel Perez 21, of Nuevo, and drove to Shadybend Drive in Moreno Valley.Searches in Nuevo and Moreno Valley uncovered evidence linking Saul Avalos to Richardson’s death; they also turned up four pounds of marijuana and several ounces of methamphetamine.Javier Avalos and Perez were arrested as accessories to murder and possession of marijuana. Elezar Morales 22, of Moreno Valley, was arrested for possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of a firearm.Four men have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a San Jacinto man.According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Charles Richardson, 60, was found in the 27800 block of Highway 74 in unincorporated Romoland with gunshot wounds on Saturday afternoonRichardson died that evening at Riverside County Regional Medical Center.

Sean R. Rex tried to rob the business and struck a woman in the head with a gun

Sean R. Rex, 32, who has no permanent address, was arrested at 2:06 a.m. Wednesday at Margie's T-Bird Lounge at 1425 15th St. SW. Rex was in the Stark County Jail where he was held without bond Thursday.
Police reports show Rex tried to rob the business and struck a woman in the head with a gun, said Lt. James Cole. Rex was charged with aggravated robbery, illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor establishment, having weapons under disability, carrying concealed weapons, cocaine trafficking, cocaine possession, felony drug tampering and resisting arrest. Jail records said he was wanted on an unrelated warrant in Carroll County. Jail records said he tried to fight with police at the bar, pulling out a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun, then grabbing an officer's gun that had "fallen loose." He was shot with a Taser gun and arrested, jail records said. The officers said they found him with powder cocaine, Xanax pills, digital scales and bags of marijuana. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Web site shows Rex went to prison in 1997, 1999 and 2002 for felony weapons convictions, and for drug trafficking and weapons convictions in 2002.

William D. Johnson,Xavier Baker Both sold stolen weapons at the undercover shop

William D. Johnson, 18, and Xavier Baker, 18, pleaded guilty in separate federal cases that could mean as much as 10 years in prison without parole.
Both men were arrested through the undercover operation, Augusta Ink. Both sold stolen weapons at the undercover shop, Colur Tyme Tattooz & Things on Tobacco Road, Richmond County Sheriff Sgt. Blaise Dresser testified Monday.Mr. Johnson pleaded guilty to two charges involving the theft of 40 weapons from Waldens Outdoor World and the sale of several of those guns to undercover agents.
Mr. Johnson boasted that he and his friends burglarized the sports store, and that breaking into gun shops was "his thing," Sgt. Dresser testified. Mr. Johnson returned to the tattoo shop with a gun that had been stolen from another gun shop, Shooters, on Patriots Way.He was planning to burglarize another gun shop when he came into Colur Tyme for the last time on Nov. 8, Sgt. Dresser said.
Three other men indicted with Mr. Johnson have pleaded not guilty. Their cases are pending.Mr. Baker pleaded guilty to the theft of weapons from Shooters and the sale of two of those guns at Colur Tyme. Mr. Baker claimed he was in the Meadowbrook gang.

Vaughn Rico Wright, Michael William Long,Garnett Lee Long-Parham"The guns were all loaded ... and ready for use,"

A search turned up a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun in the waistband of Long-Parham's pants, police said. Two more weapons were found near front-seat passenger Long and rear-seat passenger Wright, authorities said. "The guns were all loaded ... and ready for use," Seranko said. Greensburg police said they stopped a vehicle going the wrong way on a one-way street and arrested three Allegheny County men on drug distribution charges.
Authorities reported four pounds of marijuana, with a street value of about $6,000, nearly $1,400 in cash and three stolen handguns were seized during the traffic stop about 7:30 p.m. Saturday on West Otterman Street.
"Where they were going, we really don't know at this point," police Capt. George Seranko said during a news conference Monday.
Charged are Garnett Lee Long-Parham, 22, Michael William Long, 25, and Vaughn Rico Wright, 21, all of Wilkinsburg. Each faces charges of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, possession of both a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, firearms violations and receiving stolen property. Long-Parham also is charged with driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
Police said that after Patrolman John Swank stopped the vehicle, he discovered the car was a rental and that Long-Parham wasn't listed as an eligible driver on the rental agreement. Swank spotted suspected marijuana residue on Long-Parham's shirt, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Other officers arrived, drew their weapons after the handgun was found, and ordered the passengers out of the vehicle, police said.
Greensburg's police said their canine indicated the possible presence of drugs. The marijuana was found in a bag in the trunk, according to court papers.
A trace showed that the three weapons were reported stolen to Monroeville and Clearfield police, as well as state police at Kittanning. Also seized were a Springfield .45-caliber handgun and a .22-caliber Smith and Wesson.
Police said they found $442 on Long-Parham, $461 on Long and $467 on Wright, for a total $1,370. Long had four cell phones on him. Each was jailed in lieu of $50,000 after their arraignments in Westmoreland County Night Court on Sunday.

Monday 25 February 2008

Metro Vancouver had the highest rate of gun crime

Metro Vancouver had the highest rate of gun crime in the country in 2006, part of a trend of relatively high violent crime and weapon use in western provinces, according to a new Statistics Canada report. Calculated by population, Metro Vancouver's gun crime rate was ahead of second-place Winnipeg and third-place Toronto. B.C.'s largest metropolitan area recorded 45.3 violent offences involving guns for every 100,000 people, compared to 43.9 in the Winnipeg region and 40.4 in metropolitan Toronto. The national average for gun-related crime of all types was 27.5, illustrating the modern trend of gun crime in urban areas. For gun-related homicides, the report found Abbotsford had the second-highest rate in Canada behind Edmonton. Provincially, B.C. had 29 gun-related homicides in 2006, and 521 robberies in which guns were used. B.C.'s rate was slightly higher than the national average for both homicides and robberies with guns. Nationally, gun crime rates for B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were two to three times greater than those in the Atlantic provinces. One exception was Halifax, which had the highest rate in the country of robberies with guns. With its large population, the Toronto region accounted for a quarter of all the gun-related crimes in the country.
Long-term trends show a decline of homicide with guns through most of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, with the 2006 rate about half what it was 30 years earlier. The study attributes that mainly to an 86 per cent decrease in homicides using rifles and shotguns, which have become scarce in modern urban society. The use of handguns in homicide surpassed rifles or shotguns by 1991, and by 2006 there were three times as many people killed with handguns as with rifles and shotguns.
The study found that mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related crime resulted in an average sentence of just over four years in prison, double the average sentence for violent crimes committed without guns. Adults accused of a violent offence involving a gun were also less likely to plead guilty. In 2005-06 a guilty plea was entered in 79 per cent of cases involving a firearm, compared to 86 per cent for violent crimes without a gun.

Twenty-one associates of jailed don Mukhtar Ansari were arrested

Twenty-one associates of jailed don Mukhtar Ansari were arrested from the state capital on Sunday evening. hey were on way to execute crimes involving extortion and land grabbing in different parts of the state capital. Five revolvers, four rifles, one double barrel gun, 118 cartridges and 32 cellphones were recovered from the accused travelling in five SUVs. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Akhil Kumar said that the arrests were made following a tip-off.
“The group was undertaking criminal activities in the name of Mukhtar Ansari for quite sometime now.
Investigations revealed that they were in regular touch with Ansari through cellphones or meetings inside the jail or during his visits to district courts,” he said. The Cantonment police intercepted the gang in Rajman Bazaar area. They have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 188 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). They have also been charged under the Arms Act, Motor Vehicle’s Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act.
“We are preparing crime history of them all so that Gangster’s Act could be slapped on them,” SSP told TOI. The arrested persons were identified as Amarnath, Ramakant Yadav, Ram Bachan Ram, Nasim Ahmad, Manoj Kumar, Shambhu Ram, Subhash Yadav, Babban Yadav, Kamta Ram, Ramjanam Yadav, Zakir Hussain, Shamshuddin, Zubair Ahmad, Mohammed Kashif, Arvind Kumar Singh, Guddu, Ashish, Tauqueer, Radhey Shyam, Manoj and Shakeel Haider. According to the police, they were working as the henchmen of Ansari who is languishing in jail in connection with the murder of BJP MLA Krishna Nand Rai.

Sunday 24 February 2008

Oscar Pena, Jr,Sotero Sotelo,firearms were likely going into Mexico and sold he says for one purpose, "Just to kill."


Authorities in Cameron County say a La Cueva Drive Thru in Brownsville was used as a front for illegal firearms and cocaine sales. Undercover sheriff investigators say they purchased both at the business on Central Boulevard. Police said one home on Linda lane in Brownsville is where the suspects stored their drugs and weapons.
"It's a big deal here in Cameron County because we in law enforcement are concerned about people having these types of weapons," said Sheriff Omar Lucio.
Two people were arrested and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and possession of a controlled substance.
Oscar Pena, Jr. is one of them. He traded in his county bailiff uniform for a county-issued orange, jail jumpsuit.
Pena reportedly works for Cameron County Court at Law number 2 Judge Daniel Robles' office who had no comment following the arrest. The other suspect, Sotero Sotelo, is already on probation. He admitted in court he had a previous firearms violation.
Sheriff Lucio said Sotelo and Pena can say goodbye to this: 14 high powered assault rifles, five semi automatic handguns, a sawed-off shotgun, thousands of dollars in cash and over a kilo of cocaine.
Lucio says the firearms were likely going into Mexico and sold he says for one purpose, "Just to kill."

Two people are hurt after a drive-by shooting in North Omaha

Two people are hurt after a drive-by shooting in North Omaha. The victims tell police they were near 27th and Fort around 12:30 Saturday morning, when a dark car pulled up and the people inside started shooting at them.Someone drove 19-year-old Kyle Viktora and 23-year-old Terrell Griffin to the hospital, where police came to investigate. They're both expected to survive.No arrests have been made.

Friday 22 February 2008

Los Angeles police fatally shot an armed suspect and wounded another

Los Angeles police fatally shot an armed suspect and wounded another Thursday in the wake of a fatal gang-related drive-by shooting, authorities said.
The drive-by killed a man holding a 2-year-old girl, who emerged from the incident unscathed. The victims and suspects were not immediately identified.
The officer-involved shooting occurred shortly after noon at Estara Avenue and Drew Street, but no officers were injured, said Los Angeles police Officer Kate Lopez.
"What we do know is that three suspects exited that car - all three with firearms," Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz said. "At least two of them fired at the officers, possibly three fired at the officers. "The officers fired back, striking two of the suspects. One expired at the scene. One was wounded and has been transported to a local hospital. Another, we're told, fled on foot, and we believe the driver fled in his vehicle." According to police, gang violence has erupted in the area in the past month, prompting additional resources to be assigned to the area. LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonald told reporters the officer-involved shooting occurred blocks away and minutes after a fatal drive-by shooting in which a man was shot 15 times.
"At that location, there was a man walking down the street carrying a 2-year-old child. The suspects in this vehicle drove by, ... shot the victim in this case a number of times. The victim went down at the scene, dropped the baby."
Police said the 37-year-old victim died later at a hospital. According to Chief William Bratton, officers anticipated that the suspects in the drive-by would return to their own neighborhood, so police tried to head them off. A third suspect ran from the scene, but was arrested shortly after 5 p.m., according to KABC (Channel 7). A fourth suspect, the vehicle's driver, left the scene and is still being sought.

Drive-by shooting on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

Two men have been injured, one seriously, in a drive-by shooting on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.The shooting happened around 8:00pm outside the Royal George Hotel in Nambour.One man received the full force of the shotgun blast to his chest and arm, while a bystander received minor injuries.Both have been taken to Nambour Hospital.
Police Sergeant Jeff Coote says it appears the incident was sparked by an altercation inside the hotel moments earlier."Two men and a woman have left the hotel," he said."The man who was also involved in the altercation has gone outside, and whilst he was outside, the car has gone past and a shot has been fired from the car whilst it was still moving."There was actually another man walking past at the time, and he was also injured by the shotgun blast."Police are searching for a light blue car involved in the incident

Gerardo Reyes,German Reyes Real, Jose Javier Laris the three faces six counts of attempted aggravated murder and an unlawful use of a weapon


Jackson County grand jury has indicted three men for their suspected roles in a gang-related drive-by shooting Monday night near South Medford High School.In addition to two Talent men arrested Tuesday — Gerardo Reyes, 20, and German Reyes Real, 18 — the grand jury indicted Jose Javier Laris, 18, of Rogue Valley Mobile Village, 3761 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. Each of the three faces six counts of attempted aggravated murder and an unlawful use of a weapon charge, officials said.Investigators suspect that Gerardo Reyes was the driver of a sedan from which shots were fired and his brother, German Reyes Real, was the gunman, Medford police Lt. Tim Doney said.They were arrested Tuesday night, one in Medford and one outside their family's home in the Shady Brook Mobile Home Park in Talent.Detectives believe Laris provided a small-caliber rifle to Reyes Real. A 16-year-old boy also was in the car when multiple shots were fired into a car with four teenage girls and two young men inside on Monroe Street near J Street Monday at about 11 p.m., but the boy was not charged by the grand jury, Doney said.Laris was arrested at the Jackson County District Attorney's office at about 4 p.m. Thursday after the grand jury met.Police seized the suspected car, a 1992 Mercury Marquis, Tuesday, and a .22-caliber rifle linked to the shooting Wednesday.Police said several people involved in the case are members or associates of the Sureños and Norteños gangs in both Oregon and California, but declined to confirm who among the suspects and victims had gang ties.The three suspects remain at the Jackson County Jail, with bail set at $1 million each. Jail records don't show any immigration holds that would indicate they are in the country illegally.In a continuing crackdown on people suspected of being involved with gangs, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department is searching for three young men who were at a gang-related New Year's Eve party that erupted in violence in White City early Jan. 1.Jorge Pacheco, 20, Jose Santos Perez, 18, and a 16-year-old whose brother is already in jail on charges linked to the party and ensuing fight are believed to be in Tulare County, Calif., sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan said.The party in the 3200 block of Antelope Road erupted in violence after two carloads of young men drove up and began assaulting partygoers with broken bottles and other objects. They fled and eluded police. A 23-year-old Hispanic man was stabbed and driven to Providence Medford Medical Center by friends.Investigators haven't arrested anyone in the stabbing, but have arrested eight people ranging in age from 14 to 22 on charges of riot and second-degree disorderly conduct stemming from the incident. Two are teenage girls and the rest are men and boys. The arrests were made locally and in California between Jan. 9 and Feb. 12.Investigators have seized gang-related clothing, drawings of gang symbols, and photos of people posing with known gang members and showing hand signs that link them with Sureños, Fagan said.He said the sheriff's department, along with Medford police and other police agencies across the county, has adopted a "zero-tolerance policy" for criminal gang activity."The whole criminal justice system is taking a stand," Fagan said. "If this gets a foothold, it will be much more difficult to deal with later."While Salem and Redding, Calif., have a long heritage of gang activity and families with several generations of gang involvement, Jackson County has a small faction of upstart activity, he said.He said people associated with gangs in other communities have come here and are recruiting young members, in part to add to their marijuana distribution network.The young men currently wanted in association with the New Year's Eve incident have long-standing family ties in the White City area and friends in California's Central Valley, where some arrests linked to the fight here were made, Fagan said.The clash at the party, a street fight in Medford on New Year's Day and three stabbings reported over three weeks in December and early January raised police concerns about escalating gang violence.Police were summoned to a party involving suspected gang members on Pinecroft Avenue, on the northeast edge of Medford, Saturday night after a 16-year-old boy affiliated with the Sureños suffered a gunshot wound to his neck in an apparent suicide attempt. Other partygoers believed the shotgun was an illegal weapon and hid it, so detectives spent hours searching for the weapon as they tried to piece together what happened, Doney said.The boy, Cody Eugene Sanders, died at Rogue Valley Medical Center at around 7 p.m. Thursday, hospital officials said.
Shaley Gomez, 16, who grew up with Sanders in Medford, said he was a friendly person who had struggled with homelessness and his mother's drug addiction and had been depressed recently. She said his wide circle of friends included gang members."He wanted to fit in," she said. "He wanted somebody to love him. He wanted somebody to lean on."Tom Cole, Kids Unlimited executive director, said he knew Sanders had endured many struggles that typically make kids vulnerable to the influence of gangs."He felt so hopeless (about) his role with gangs," Cole said. "He felt there was no way out."We haven't seen this sequence of tragedies before," Cole said. "I hope some positives can come out of these negatives."

John R. Chambers, 54, was arrested for aggravated robbery and felonious assault on an officer.

Columbus police officer fired his weapon at an armed man after a robbery at a University District pharmacy Thursday evening. The shot missed, but the officer quickly captured the man, police said.John R. Chambers, 54, was arrested for aggravated robbery and felonious assault on an officer. Police listed his address as “streets of Columbus.”The officer, whose name was not released, responded to a report of an armed robbery at Crosby’s Drugs, 2609 N. High St., at 6:55 p.m. Police said the officer spotted a man fitting the description of the robber nearby on W. Hudson Street and ordered the man to stop and drop his weapon.The officer fired when the man ignored the command and displayed his gun, police said. The man threw his gun into a ravine and ran from the officer, who captured him and recovered the weapon.Police said Crosby’s employees identified Chambers as the man who robbed the store.All officer-involved shootings are investigated by the division’s Critical Incident Response Team, comprised of veteran homicide detectives. Their findings are reviewed by a panel of commanders who determine whether the officer acted within division policy.

Armed robbery of the Florida Telco Credit Union

About 11 p.m. Wednesday, a 38-year-old man as arrested in connection to an armed robbery of the Florida Telco Credit Union in the 8100 block of Normandy Boulevard back in August. Witnesses said that on on Aug. 22 the man demanded cash and then fled into the woods. Surveillance footage was released to the media. A week later, a man said he believed the robber was one of his employees. Investigators spoke with the bank manager and a family member and identified 38-year-old Alan Dewayne Holston as the suspect. He was arrested Wednesday.Police are looking for a well-dressed suspect in an armed robbery Thursday morning at the Winn Dixie grocery store in the 11000 block of Old St. Augustine Road. An unknown masked man in a charcoal pin striped suit came in about 6:30 a.m. and demanded the money from the safe, witnesses said. After being handed $4,000, the man duct-taped the employees in the office. He fired a round from his handgun at a witness, who was not injured. No arrests have been made.
About 3:15 a.m. Thursday, shots rung out in the parking lot of The Globe Club at 11000 Beach Boulevard. An off-duty officer claimed he saw 21-year-old Lemarcus Kumar Mitchell, of Jacksonville, fire a gun into the air out of his car. Nobody was hurt. Mitchell was arrested on charges of discharging a firearm from a vehicle.

Wednesday 20 February 2008

Patrick Haliburton aka Killy Killy and another man were found suffering from gunshot wounds

One of two men who the police claimed was wanted for murder, was shot and killed, his crony injured and two guns seized.
The dead man was identified as Patrick Haliburton, 18, also known as 'Killy Killy' or 'Frost' of Walkers Avenue, Gregory Park, St Catherine.
Deputy Superintendent Clive Blair of the St Catherine South Division said the lawmen went to an address along Walkers Avenue when they were greeted by a barrage of gunfire. He says that the police fired at the men and shortly after, Killy Killy and another man were found suffering from gunshot wounds. Both men were found clutching 9mm pistols. They were taken to the Spanish Town Hospital where Killy Killy was pronounced dead and the other man admitted in a serious condition.
"These men were wanted for two murders, one on the 16th and the other on the 18th. On the 18th Jennifer Bell was shot and killed while another woman was injured and yesterday, Denroy Taylor was murdered by these men," remarked the division's crime chief acting Deputy Superintendent Carl Malcolm.

Joe Gun Store arrests

Police have made six arrests and recovered about 150 of the more than 200 guns stolen from a Midland County gun dealer earlier this month.WJRT-TV in Flint reports police arrested a 33-year-old Chesaning man and another person about 1 a.m. Wednesday near St. Charles. The Midland Daily News reports two more suspects were picked up in Midland County on Tuesday in Jerome and Greendale townships.The Saginaw News reports local law enforcement and federal agents acting on a tip also raided a Saginaw home Monday and a Chesaning apartment Tuesday. WSGW-AM reports a man and a woman were arrested.Authorities say someone cut the burglar alarm wire and forced open the door of Joe Gun Inc. in Sanford. Stolen were $92,000 worth of weapons and ammunition.

Tuesday 19 February 2008

England banned all guns in November 1997, gun crime has gone up

England banned all guns in November 1997, gun crime has gone up. As recently as 2006, Scotland Yard noted that more people than ever are carrying firearms as fashion accessories. These are not the law-biding citizens. They are not allowed to carry. A report in January 2006 showed offense involving guns soared by as much as 50 percent in some parts of the country. Kings College in London found that the use of handguns in crime rose by 40 percent in the two years after the weapons were banned.
"Hot" burglary rates, defined as burglaries committed while people are in the building, is 13 percent in the U.S. and in gun-free Great Britain it's 59 percent.
An American study showed that the No. 1 explanation from would-be burglars not to enter an occupied building was: "I might get shot."
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown that manslaughter rates or the attempted murder rate have not changed significantly since the gun bans have gone into effect.Parliament repealed the long-standing British Common Law right justifying the use of deadly force to defend oneself and one's property against a home invasion. Now, a homeowner repelling a burglar is liable for assault and even murder charges. Farmer Tony Martin languishes in a British fail for self-defense against burglars. Crime figures in Britain are a sham. If a burglar hits 15 or 20 flats, only one crime was added to the statistics.
If three men kill a woman during an argument outside a bar, they are arrested for murder, but because the main witness is dead, charges are eventually dropped. In America, the event counts as a three-person homicide, but in British statistics, it counts as nothing at all. As a final note Britain and Australia top U.S. in violent crime.

Ammunition used in a Mafia-style hit was traced by cops back to the barracks of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Ammunition used in a Mafia-style hit was traced by cops back to the barracks of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Bullet stolen from a Scots Army unit was used in a brutal gangland killing, the Record can reveal.
Cops ordered a raid on the battalion HQ after tracing the origin of a bullet taken from a murder victim's body.The Record revealed yesterday how cops smashed a major weapons-dealing ring in a joint raid with Kent Police at Howe Barracks in Canterbury, Kent, which led to soldiers being arrested for allegedly selling bullets and grenades.An Army insider said: "This thing's massive and will cause huge embarrassment for the Army top brass."It's all connected with the Scottish gangsters and civilian shootings committed using Army ammunition."I've heard that murders have been linked to the investigation - it's going that far. The security implications are massive."Each bullet has its own individual markings and can be traced back to source very easily."The police are talking about it being huge and are taking it very seriously. That was obvious by the number of officers used in the raids on Friday."The source said rank and file soldiers have been horrified by the arrests.He said: "The reaction amongst the regiment is one of complete shock. The senior hierarchy are furious that the name of the regiment has been dragged through the mud."The Record can also reveal today that lethal plastic explosives were allegedly found in the locker of a colour sergeant, one rank down from a sergeant major, during the bust.The colour sergeant, Garry Graham, 36, from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and Sergeant Kieran Campbell, 27, from Glasgow, who were arrested at the barracks, appeared at Folk estone Magistrates' Court yesterday.They are accused of shipping guns and grenades.Both were charged with possessing explosives for an unlawful purpose but made no pleas and spoke only to confirm their names.They were remanded in custody until their crown court trial, which is yet to be fixed.A civilian at the barracks, where Graham and Campbell were based, has been questioned by Kent Police about stealing munitions. She has been bailed until April 2.It is understood all three were questioned under the Terrorism Act before appearing at court.
Graham is a former sergeant major from the Royal Highland Fusiliers who was demoted to colour sergeant and moved to the Argylls last year after having an ASBO slapped on him when he was involved in a street fight.The two soldiers arrested in the ammo-dealing scandal head up the battalion's crack Reconnaissance Platoon, who deal closely with Army intelligence.They are in charge of monitoring ammunition during training exercises and have regular contact with the armoury.Last night, three separate sources told the Record how the cops had linked the soldiers to the ammo ring after tracing a bullet from a murder victim.One source said: "The bomb squad swooped on their homes and the sergeants' mess at four o'clock in the morning, they weren't taking any prisoners. It was an operation planned with military precision.
"They knew who and what they were looking for and they had names of everyone involved."The gangsters used the stolen bullets in a hit job and the cops traced the bullet from the body back to the barracks."A 9mm pistol was also found when the guys were arrested but I would think that didn't come from the barracks as guns are monitored very closely."The Argylls, the 5th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

Monday 18 February 2008

Mustafa Ali, Handgun allegedly used to kill two armored car guards

Two men connected to the handgun allegedly used to kill two armored car guards last year were among the latest round of arrests in a wide-ranging effort to crack down on straw purchases, authorities said Tuesday.
A dozen people were arrested on illegal gun trafficking charges in Philadelphia from Nov. 13 to Jan. 18.The warrants were issued through the efforts of a gun-violence task force formed in 2006 to round up straw purchasers, state Attorney General Tom Corbett and Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference announcing the arrests.
"We're going to push for very hard time on all these straw purchasers," Abraham said.
Mustafa Ali, 36, is charged with killing armored car guards William Widmaier, 65, and Joseph Alullo, 54, on Oct. 4 as they were servicing an ATM outside a Wachovia bank in Northeast Philadelphia.Police found the 9 mm semiautomatic pistol where Ali told them he had buried it, investigators said.Authorities arrested Jason Lighty, 2, who they said legally bought the pistol in a gun shop in 2003. He later illegally sold it to his co-worker Eric Benson, 25, who also was arrested, Abraham said.
Lighty's attorney, James A. Funt, said his client is a churchgoing, law-abiding husband and father of two toddlers. He wanted the gun out of his house and sold it to a co-worker who said he was the victim of a robbery and assault, Funt said.
Lighty "made a very bad lapse in judgment ... but does not fit the profile (of a straw purchaser) in any way, shape or form," Funt said.
Benson did not yet have an attorney in the gun case, according to court records, and a telephone number for him could not be found.Investigators are continuing to look into whether others had the gun before it allegedly made its way into Ali's hands.Felons are prohibited from owning firearms. Those trying to get guns typically enlist straw purchasers, who then commonly report the guns as stolen in an attempt to avoid liability if the weapons are used in crimes, authorities say.
The alleged straw buyers , two of whom are women accused of buying guns for their boyfriends , face felony charges including making false statements in connection with a firearm, transfer of a firearm to an ineligible person and other counts. Abraham said in cases when the straw purchaser knew the gun would be used in a crime, they could be charged as an accessory before the fact.
"We want to send a message to the straw purchasers that this is something you don't want to do," Corbett said.
Straw purchasers should serve time in state prison, not simply be sentenced to probation, because they are "aiding in the violence that is striking this city," Corbett said.In all, 112 arrests have been made and 190 firearms seized since the December 2006 creation of the task force, which includes 27 investigators and about five prosecutors working with city police.
Abraham said the task force existed largely through the efforts of state Sen. Vincent Fumo, who worked to get $5 million from the Legislature for 2007 and is seeking the same amount for this year.
Last year, Philadelphia tallied 392 homicides , many of them the result of gun violence.

Melvin Bridges, unlawful use of a weapon Terrence T. Miller arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a weapon

Terrence T. Miller, 33, of Centreville, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon when police allegedly found him in possession of a loaded 9 mm handgun early Sunday outside the Blue Top nightclub, 817 S. 46th St., Centreville.Centreville Police Officer Corey Allen said the club's security guards called police to the club at 2 a.m., when a shot was fired inside the building.Miller fled investigating officers and was arrested shortly afterward.
Allen said no one was hurt in the shooting and police are still investigating whether Miller fired the shot.If convicted, Miller faces between two and three years imprisonment In a separate incident, Centreville police arrested Melvin Bridges, 19, of East St. Louis for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the 4700 block of Piggott Avenue in Centreville.Allen said police were investigating reports of a prowler in the area when Bridges fled police. Police arrested Bridges and allegedly found a loaded handgun in his possession.If convicted, Bridges faces between one and three years imprisonment.
Miller and Bridges were being held in jail Sunday the Centreville Police Department on $20,000 bail, and will be taken to the St. Clair County Jail today.
Allen said it was unusual for the department to have two gun-related arrests in a weekend and he was thankful no one was hurt during the police chases.
"The biggest thing for us lately has been investigating burglaries," Allen said

"riot" erupted outside a birthday party in the Center Point area

Fairfield police arrested five people on fighting and disorderly conduct charges at a skating rink, according to Police Chief Pat Mardis.
Police were called to investigate a report of gunfire in the area, but no one was injured, Mardis said. Saturday-night fights landed six people in Jefferson County jails. Also on Saturday, a "riot" erupted outside a birthday party in the Center Point area, according to Sgt. Randy Christian of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Teenagers began to gather outside a banquet hall in the 2300 block of First Street Northeast that was filled to capacity when a 14-year-old girl got into a fight, Christian said, "and riot conditions followed."
A gun was fired, but no one was hit.
Birmingham police, Center Point firefighters and deputies working other areas of the county responded to the scene.
Deputies were "vastly outnumbered," Christian said.
"I am sure at some point the deputies thought this is how Custer must have felt," Christian said. Some in the crowd threw things at deputies and at one point nearly 40 of the approximately 450 people there were involved in multiple fights, Christian said. The 14-year-old was the only one arrested, Christian said, because she started the fight that sparked the riot.
There were no known serious injuries, Christian said, but one person claimed to have been assaulted by approximately 14 males.
In Fairfield, one person arrested had a gun, Mardis said. An adult was also arrested for fighting a teenage girl, he said.

Driver was Jerome Lamar Joe of Holiday Florida. passenger is Isaac Flowers of Clearwater

Tampa Police Officers responded to a "shots being fired" call in the area of Ybor City this evening at 12:50AM. The suspect vehicle was a purple car.
Sergeant James Harris of the District III Street Anti-Crimes Squad observed a
1998 Plymouth Breeze, 4door, bearing Fl Tag 627-JJM near N. Nebraska Ave & E. Floribraska Ave. As it matched the description of one of the vehicles involved in the shooting incident, he ran the tag. The registration check showed that the vehicle was reported as stolen through the Pasco County Sheriffs Office on February 11, 2008.
Sgt Harris continued to follow the vehicle until additional officers responded to stop it. The vehicle was successfully boxed in at Nebraska Ave & E. 3rd Ave. As officers approached the vehicle, they observed the driver jump into the back seat and the passenger making furtive movements. When the vehicle doors were opened to extricate the occupants, the passenger was observed holding a loaded Beretta 92 9mm pistol in his hand, concealing it under his leg. The suspects were removed from the vehicle without incident and the gun was recovered. Search of the occupants and the vehicle revealed gloves. The driver had a screwdriver of the type used to commit auto burglaries and a quantity of rock cocaine. The driver was charged with Grand Theft Auto, Auto Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, Possession of Rock Cocaine, and Habitual Traffic Offender. The passenger was charged with Grand Theft Auto, Auto Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, and Carrying a Concealed Firearm.
Additionally, he had outstanding warrants out of Pinellas County.The driver was Jerome Lamar Joe of Holiday Florida.The passenger is Isaac Flowers of Clearwater, FL
A check by Officers in the Ybor City area did not reveal any reported incidents.

Andrew Wright pulling a gun on someone during a football game

Tavares police took down a man for pulling a gun on someone during a football game.
Police searched for the suspect, Andrew Wright, for 30 minutes and finally found him at a home on Sinclair Avenue in Tavares. Police said Wright was playing football when he got into an argument with another player and threatened to shoot him.
"They showed up at the house, wanting to get in the back door and everything saying that they was after him," said Tony Steward who lives at the house police thought Wright was hiding inside.police were also investigating a stolen car they found parked behind the same home on Sinclair Avenue.

Sunday 17 February 2008

Firm that transports prisoners the real CONAIR in court.

The arrest of Eric Scott Kindley, 39, was part of an FBI airport security initiative that has led to the filing of four criminal cases in the last few months, prosecutors said. Kindley surrendered to federal law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He is president of Court Services Inc., a Riverside-based company that transports prisoners. Kindley and an employee, Gary Douglas Garratt, 54, of Mountain View, were named in a federal grand jury indictment last Friday. The indictment alleges Kindley instructed Garratt to transport a prisoner from Phoenix to Honolulu. When the airline advised Kindley that two armed law enforcement officers must accompany a prisoner on flights longer than four hours, Kindley instructed Garratt to drive to Los Angeles and take a flight from there. On March 15, Garratt and a co-worker went to Los Angeles International Airport with the prisoner, but were again told about the law enforcement officer requirement, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. That night, Kindley gave Garratt a handgun. The next morning, as Garratt attempted to board the unidentified commercial airliner, he was stopped. The gun was not registered to him or Kindley and he was not a sworn law enforcement officer, Garratt, who was arrested last year, and Kindley are expected to be arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles. If convicted of conspiracy and attempting to bring a handgun on to a commercial airplane, they face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
Charles Aaron Smith, 38, of Camarillo, and Ricky Gene Boyd, 52, of Redlands. Smith was charged in December with attempting to bring a gun onto an airplane while claiming to be a retired police officer from Iowa. According to court documents, Smith arrived at LAX in January 2007 to board a flight to Atlanta. Prosecutors said he was stopped at the security checkpoint after an X-ray showed a handgun in his carry-on bag. Smith then falsely identified himself as a Lawler County police officer and presented a fake "retired police officer" identification card that purportedly allowed him to carry a concealed weapon, prosecutors said. When asked about the law enforcement credentials, Smith called Boyd, who then lied to airport officials by telling them that Smith was a retired police officer. Smith struck a deal and is set to enter his guilty plea Feb. 22 in Los Angeles. He faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced. Boyd, who made the bogus credential for Smith, pleaded guilty in November to charges of transporting a false identification document. He faces up to five years in federal prison at his Feb. 25 sentencing hearing. "It should be common sense that private citizens cannot bring firearms onto airplanes ," said U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien. "Security at our airports and in the air is a top priority for law enforcement, who should not have to contend with armed civilians or be distracted by bogus threats."

Dennis Robert White must spend 16 years behind bars without parole for the fatal shooting of aspiring artist Lee Matasi.

"pitilessness and randomness" of his crime, a judge ruled Friday that Dennis Robert White must spend 16 years behind bars without parole for the fatal shooting of aspiring artist Lee Matasi.White, 30, was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder and received the mandatory life sentence, with a minimum of 10 years in jail with no parole.Because the jury made no recommendation on a possible increase in parole ineligibility up to a maximum of 25 years, a hearing was then held for submissions on that issue.The Crown asked that White be held in prison for between 15 and 18 years without parole, calling the December 2005 killing outside a Vancouver nightclub an "execution-style" shooting and arguing that White's possession of cocaine indicated his involvement in drug dealing.White's lawyer disputed those claims and argued for no additional time.On Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan said one of the difficulties in the case was that White had no criminal record, his remorse was genuine, he recognizes the gravity of the offence and has the support of family and friends.But the judge also noted that White was "clearly in an aggressive frame of mind" on the night of the murder and his actions in mishandling the gun, and discharging the weapon into a building prior to the fatal shooting, gave White no pause."It's clear that . . . there was something almost compulsive about the way White handled and showed and used the gun," said the judge, citing case law indicating that gun crime must be deterred and denounced.White, who stood in the prisoner's box during the sentencing, looked up at the ceiling of the courtroom in response to the ruling.A number of his supporters sitting behind him, including his mother, broke down in tears.Outside court, Matasi's parents said they were satisfied with the judge's decision.His mother, Susan Jessop, said she found the judge's arguments to be "very reasoned" and commented that it properly delivered the message that handguns don't belong in Canadian society."I think my son would be happy with the outcome today."She noted the "absolutely senseless" nature of the crime."A man is dead, that's my son. Another man is going to jail for a very long time -- and for what? How did this come to pass here?"Matasi's father, Lou Matasi, said he was relieved at the ruling and that the next step was for Parliament to pass tougher laws against gun crimes.White's lawyer, Terry LaLiberte, called the sentencing "pure punishment" and vowed that there will be an appeal.

Friday 15 February 2008

Stephen Kazmierczak "outstanding" student and a "disturbed individual."

Authorities are describing the gunman who killed five students at Northern Illinois University yesterday as both an "outstanding" student and a "disturbed individual."Police say Stephen Kazmierczak carried a shotgun hidden in a guitar case and three handguns onto the campus. They say he bought the weapons legally and had a valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card required of all Illinois residents who own guns.Campus police say Kazmierczak "had stopped taking medication and become somewhat erratic in the last couple of weeks." But they declined to provide details.In Lakeland, Florida, the gunman's father briefly came to the door of his home and asked reporters to leave him alone. Saying "this is a very hard time," Robert Kazmierczak said he would make no statements, then broke down in tears.

Carlos Leon,Christopher Ault,Jordan Cole

"Two of these thugs are 17-year-old Crips members who were trying to make their bones and they figured by doing a robbery, a carjacking, it would carry some weight in their little criminal enterprise," Chief Mike Chitwood with the Daytona Beach Police Department said.Police believe that if Gibson had not saved herself by jumping out of her trunk she possibly would have been killed as part of the gang behavior.
Charity Gibson, 26, said she was forced into the trunk of her car at gunpoint during Tuesday's incident.
"I'm glad personally, and maybe this sounds a little bit crazy but I’m glad it happened to me, because I was prepared, rather than to somebody else," Gibson said. "Hopefully these guys will get justice."
Police said two teenage gang members, Carlos Leon, 17, and Christopher Ault, 17, and another man, Jordan Cole, 20, are responsible for the carjacking. The suspects were arrested with the help of authorities in Casselberry and Winter Springs.Leon and Ault escaped from a drug treatment center in Winter Springs and came to Daytona Beach with Cole.The suspects had followed six other women before investigator said they targeted Gibson and her red Ford Mustang.Police said the suspects were looking to make a name for themselves within their gang.Investigators also said they recovered the gun used during the carjacking.Authorities said they hope to charge the teenagers as adults for armed kidnapping and armed carjacking. They could face possible life sentences.

Kenrick Rowe,Juno Daniel was banned by a court from having a firearm for 10 years for a previous incident involving a firearm.

Kenrick Rowe, 31, and Juno Daniel, 25, both of Toronto, are charged with robbery while armed, possessing an unregistered restricted firearm, possessing a restricted firearm with ammunition, possessing a restricted knowing it's unauthorized, and wearing a disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence. Daniel is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a firearm with prohibited.
banned from having a firearm for a decade by a court was arrested with a loaded handgun following a store robbery in Etobicoke. Toronto holdup Det.-Sgt. John Brown said uniformed officers recovered the 9 mm pistol in a high-risk takedown at Alliance Ave. and Rockcliffe Blvd. shortly after the 9:41 p.m. Thursday robbery of the Islington Ave. shop.
Brown said plainclothes officers spotted a vehicle matching the one seen fleeing the convenience store.
Two suspects who obscured their faces by wearing balaclavas, wigs, hoodies and gloves threatened the clerk with the pistol, he said.
The suspects took some cash and then fled scene, leaving the victim shaken but uninjured, Brown said.
A patrolling plainsclothes team spotted the vehicle and followed it until marked cruisers were able to move in and assist in the arrests of the two suspects.
Police said the loaded handgun was found on the person of one of the suspects.
Police sources said one suspect was banned by a court from having a firearm for 10 years for a previous incident involving a firearm.

Gun tracker

Criminals don't sit still. They move from place to place, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray s Cooperative police work among cities on the Route 222 corridor in recent years has helped track individual criminals and gangs, Gray said.And the guns they use, Gray said, also often don't stay in one place. New technology and cooperative efforts discussed at a conference this week in Baltimore can be used to track those guns on an even larger scale.Gray and mayors from 11 cities from New York to Annapolis met Wednesday and agreed to share ballistics information that could link guns to crimes used in different cities.A presentation to the mayors focused on shell casings from one handgun that showed it had been used in crimes in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, he said.A criminal caught with that gun could lead to multiple prosecutions against several individuals in several cities."It provides a wealth of information to law enforcement people," Gray said this morning.The meeting, organized by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, included mayors from New York City, Baltimore and Annapolis, Md.; Newark and Trenton, N.J.; Dover and Wilmington, Del.; and Lancaster, Reading and York. Philadelphia's mayor sent an aide.
They agreed to establish a computer database for information collected from police along the Interstate 95 corridor and the surrounding areas. It will combine data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with local police ballistics and interrogation information. The mayors hope to have the database in operation later this year.A fundamental part of the plan is new technology that can identify a firearm by markings left on shell casings. With matching marks, police can trace a firearm to crime scenes in different states even if the firearm itself has not been recovered."They said it's like a fingerprint. It's that unique," Gray said of a Newark police presentation on the marking identification technology."It seems to be a real tool that police can use to track illicit activity," he said.In a joint statement that came from the meeting, the mayors said it wouldn't cost much to develop the database and new personnel would not be needed to implement the program.Gray said the federal government should really be leading the interstate effort. He remains hopeful that the federal or state government will step in to cover the cost of acquiring the new technology for Lancaster police.A spokesman for the National Rifle Association commented after the meeting to the Associated Press that law enforcement already has more than enough tools to combat gun crimes and the project sounded more like a publicity stunt.

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Reports this morning say the victim may have been killed by the Real IRA on suspicion of being an informer.

Dissident republicans are reported to be the prime suspects in the murder of a young man whose body was found near the border in Co Donegal last night.
The victim, who was in his early 20s and from Strabane in Co Tyrone, was found shot dead in Donnyloop, near the village of Castlefin, at around 7.30pm.The scene has been preserved pending a technical examination today.Reports this morning say the victim may have been killed by the Real IRA on suspicion of being an informer.

Stockton police arrested Chanreasmey Prum

Stockton police arrested Chanreasmey Prum, 21, and booked him into the San Joaquin County Jail on suspicion of murder and street terrorism in the shooting death Friday of 13-year-old Aaron Kelly at Stockton's Louis Park. Prum also faces other felony and misdemeanor charges from a previous incident

Fugitive of the Week Jermaine McBee


U.S. marshals arrested fugitive Jermaine McBee about 12:30 p.m. today at a house in the 10500 block of Garfield Avenue.McBee, 36, was hiding in a closet and refused to come out, Marshal Pete Elliott said. "So he had to be Tasered," he said.McBee was a Fugitive of the Week last month. A tipster helped marshals locate him, Elliott said.McBee is accused of selling guns in Cleveland, including a Mac 10 submachine gun marshals confiscated during a previous arrest. He has convictions for felonious assault, burglary and drug trafficking, which makes it illegal for him to have a gun.

Joseph "Fat Joe" Agate,; Joseph "Joe Rackets" Casiere, 72, of Toms River; Cody Farrell,; Ronald Flam,Gotti associates

Joseph "Fat Joe" Agate, 60, of Manchester; Joseph "Joe Rackets" Casiere, 72, of Toms River; Cody Farrell, 29, of Manalapan; Ronald Flam, 35, of Jackson; and Michael King, 41, of Freehold.indicted are Gotti associates who prosecutors said were part of a committee that helped the crime family's heir, John A. "Junior" Gotti, run the operation during the initial years of his father's imprisonment.
John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico of Hillsdale, the 71-year-old reputed to be the acting boss, was charged with being at the top of the broad racketeering conspiracy. Nicholas Corozzo, 67, was accused of extorting construction companies, running a major illegal gambling operation in Queens, and ordering a gangland hit that also took a bystander's life in 1996.
The allegations against the gang were the usual litany for a big Mafia case: skimming from unions, extorting tribute payments from construction companies, loan sharking, gambling. The allegations spanned decades, although prosecutors said many of the illegal acts took place just in the last few years.
The mob "still exists in the city and the state of New York," said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. "We like to think that it's a vestige of the past. It's not."
The U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, Benton Campbell, whose office spearheaded the case, told reporters the investigation had ensnared the remnants of the Gambino leadership and would bring "closure to crimes from the past."Most of the suspects were in custody late Thursday. Some have already been arraigned. Reputed Gambino consigliere Joseph Corozzo, 66, pleaded not guilty to charges that he distributed cocaine for 12 years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"He's never been involved in drugs," said his son, defense lawyer Joseph Corozzo Jr.
To little surprise, the case will feature a few Gottis too.The late don's younger brother, Vincent Gotti, and his nephew, Richard G. Gotti, were charged with distributing marijuana in the late 1990s and with planning a murder in the spring of 2003. Prosecutors said the intended victim was shot several times, but survived.Notably, there is no mention in the case of the "Teflon Don's" son, who recently beat a racketeering case by claiming to have left the Mafia for good while serving time for racketeering. His sentence expired in 2004.

As the mob's reach has deteriorated in recent years, many of the prosecutions targeting its remaining members have centered on its persistent influence in unions and various labor trades, and much of the new case is no different. It centers partly on an unnamed Staten Island construction executive who prosecutors said had been repeatedly extorted by the Gambinos.

There is blood in the indictment too.
Perhaps the most disturbing charges were lodged against Charles Carneglia, a 61-year-old reputed Mafia soldier who was recently released from prison. He was accused in five slayings dating back to the days when the crime family was still run by its namesake, Carlo Gambino.
Carneglia's victims included Albert Gelb, a New York state court officer gunned down in 1976, and Jose Delgado Rivera, a security guard killed during an armored car heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1990, prosecutors said.
He was also fingered in the death of reputed Gambino associate Louis DiBono, who was shot to death in the World Trade Center's parking garage in 1990. John Gotti and several underlings were later convicted of orchestrating the killing, which was related to DiBono's contract to install fireproofing at the Trade Center.
Carneglia, who was also charged with extortion, securities fraud, robbery and marijuana distribution, is the brother of John Carneglia, who was accused of being one of the triggermen who rubbed out Gambino boss Paul Castellano in the 1985 hit that propelled Gotti to power.
John Carneglia is now serving a 50-year sentence for racketeering and drug traffickin

shooting in northwest Jacksonville

man is at Shands Jacksonville with non life-threatening injuries following a shooting in northwest Jacksonville.Police say someone in a car drove up to man walking down Daniel Street near Kings Road and shot him in the face.Police have no witnesses or suspects.

Joshua K. Martin shooting into an occupied dwelling

Joshua K. Martin, 19, has been booked into the Shawnee County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied dwelling. Pankratz said police were called to the 300 block of S.E. 34th at about 2:20 a.m. on a report of shots fired at a residence. Their investigation led them to Martin. No one was injured in the shooting. Pankratz said police were called to the same residence at about 9:15 p.m. Monday on a report of shots fired. No one was injured and that case remains under investigation. Police also are investigating a report of a shooting into a residence at about 2:30 a.m. today in the 3400 block of S.W. Atwood. No one was injured.

Marcian Missick,Jeffier Nelson shot

Two men were shot in a drive-by shooting in the parking lot of the Tradewinds Apartments early Tuesday morning, police said.
According to Police Press Officer Superintendent Basil Rahming, around 12:20am, three males traveling inside a champagne coloured van pulled up in the parking lot of Tradewinds Apartments on Adventurers Way.
Before they were able to exit the vehicle, someone opened fire on the van from behind, shattering the windows and hitting two of the men, police said.
The trio pulled off and drove to the Central Police Station on the Mall, where they reported the incident, according to Mr. Rahming.
He said an ambulance transported the two injured males to hospital.
They were identified as Marcian Missick, 36, of Hawksbill and Jeffier Nelson, 33, of Bass Lane.Their injuries were reportedly non-life threatening and they were treated and discharged later during the afternoon.
Central Detective Unit officers were conducting an intensive investigation into the shooting, the motive for which had not yet been determined, Mr. Rahming said.

Tyriek M. Tyner stopped by police, and a .22-caliber handgun was recovered.

Tyriek M. Tyner, 18, was charged Monday.According to the charges:
Three people, described by police as victims, went to the Brookdale Library on the afternoon of Feb. 5 on Shingle Creek Parkway and were approached by three other people, one of them Tyner. The two groups began arguing inside the library.
The victims left the library and walked toward the Best Buy store across the street. Tyner and the other two in his group left the library in a white car.
As the first three walked past the Best Buy, the driver of the car shot at the victims. No one was hurt.
Tyner was stopped in the car several days later by police, and a .22-caliber handgun was recovered.

well-known hitman murders Dale George Henry has rocked the tight-knit expat community in Thailand

Dale George Henry, 48, was shot point blank in the head Feb. 3 in his home in Ranong, Thailand. His 27-year-old wife, a Thai woman who married him five years ago, is accused of hiring a hitman so she could collect on his $1-million life insurance policy.

Now, Mary-Jane Matheson is left worrying about making arrangements, not for funeral flowers, but her own safety.Hire security -- that's the first thing we'll want to do. I'm frightened of hitmen," Matheson said before boarding a flight Monday night to Vancouver"I've been told to go straight to the embassy. I'm going to ask them to have somebody pick me up."Family learned of Henry's death only last Tuesday, when his brother Richard was contacted by police at his home in Victoria.Richard has flown to the southeast Asian country and will sit inside a temple with his brother's body. A Thai funeral begins Wednesday.Henry had been living in Thailand for the past decade, frequently flying between there and Nigeria, where he worked for a U.S.-based oil drilling company.
His marriage to Manreet Nee, who is 20 years his junior, was his first.
Henry, a Canadian who spent much of his life in the Calgary area, worked about a decade ago as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Cochrane before contracting as a safety consultant for oil companies.
"Our 10-hour days went by quick," said former Cochrane paramedic/firefighter Mike Lamacchia. He and Henry were partners in 1991 and 1992."He was a great health care provider, a lot of fun to be around. He wasn't a shy guy. He was definitely heard wherever he went."He could tell a ton of jokes. It was never boring being around Dale."Lamacchia said he was stunned when he learned of Henry's dramatic death.

In 1994, Henry started a Calgary-based consulting business, Panther Safety Services, specializing in safety audits, inspections, training and safety program development.

Henry was due to return to work in Nigeria Feb. 22 after recovering from a broken leg that became infected. The injury occurred during a fall while hiking in the jungle.
Looking back, Matheson said she believes that was the first attempt on her brother's life.
The crime has resulted in the arrest of Dale's wife, Manreet Nee, an alleged hitman and a third man, said to be Nee's lover.

It's believed the motive for the killing was a million-dollar-plus insurance policy Henry had through his company.
The murder has rocked the tight-knit expat community in Thailand, many of whom are speaking out online about what they say is a corrupt justice system.
Australian Mac McLeod said in a telephone interview Monday night that the alleged hitman has killed before.
"It is well-known that he is a hitman. That is his job," said McLeod, who left Thailand several years ago in fear for his own life after a run-in with the man accused of pulling the trigger on Henry.
He said the area where Henry lived, a town called Panong in the south, is not heavily populated by ex-pats.

"There are all sorts of nefarious characters. There are more hitmen around Thailand than anywhere. That's the way they do business there -- it's a buck a gun."
He joked that "Dracula once went and barely escaped with his fangs."
Henry is the second Canadian slain in Thailand in as many months. Calgary native Leo Del Pinto, 25, was shot to death Jan. 6 while he and a friend were walking home in Pai. A Thai police officer has been charged in that case.

Monday 11 February 2008

Paddy Doyle gangland "soldier" from Dublin

Russian mafia hitmen shot dead Paddy Doyle on the Costa del Sol, senior gardai claimed this weekend.'Doyle was typical of the third generation of gangland "soldier" from Dublin. He was aggressive, showy and started fights at a whim. He and his ilk are unlike the older Irish criminal types on the Costa who live a very quiet life and just get on with their business. Our intelligence suggests Doyle simply crossed the people you don't cross on the Costa, the Russians.'
Doyle, the survivor of a vicious criminal turf war in south Dublin which has claimed at least 10 lives, was gunned down in Estepona last Monday. Veteran detectives with the Garda Siochana's 'Operation Anvil', the drive against Dublin's crime gangs, said the 27-year-old had beaten up a close relative of a Russian mafia leader based on the southern Spanish coastline.
'From what our Spanish colleagues have told us, this was a professional Russian hit. There were 13 shots and we don't think they wasted a bullet. It has a military-trained assassin written all over it, possibly ex-special forces,' a senior detective told The Observer. 'The intelligence coming back from the Costa del Sol is that Paddy Doyle crossed the Russian mafia, which is something you do there at your peril.'
The officer said shortly after Christmas Doyle got involved in a brawl with a young Russian man whom he severely beat up. Unknown to Doyle, the man was related to a senior Russian mafia figure. True to form, on a warm afternoon in one of Spain's most popular destinations for tourists and holiday-home owners, vengeance was exacted in a ruthless fashion.

Saturday 9 February 2008

Edwin G. Edgley, 54, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of second-degree assault-domestic violence.

Edwin G. Edgley, 54, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of second-degree assault-domestic violence.
Edgley's family members told deputies that he pointed a semiautomatic pistol at his wife and adult son and threatened to shoot everyone who got in the way of his shooting another adult son who was not at the house.
At around 8:30 p.m., deputies, along with members of the Tactical Detective Unit, the regional SWAT team and a tracking dog team, surrounded the house.
Edgley's wife and son had left the house, at 6511 N.E. 73rd Court, but Edgley remained inside. According to a sheriff's office bulletin, Edgley reportedly had access to a high-powered rifle and was making suicidal threats.
The sheriff's office hostage negotiator convinced Edgley to leave the house at 9:34.
Edgley then tried to run back inside the house, according to the bulletin. He was then arrested and taken to Southwest Washington Medical Center for injuries described as

Thursday 7 February 2008

firefighter drive-by shooting outside a Comfort Suites hotel.

Charles "Chucky" Whitaker is not coming back. And now, his wife, his teenage daughter, a stepson who recently joined the Navy, and an extended family of Dallas firefighters are left to wonder why.
The 38-year-old firefighter was put on life support after a drive-by shooting early Monday that seriously injured him and a colleague. Police in Peoria, Ariz., say that doctors pronounced Mr. Whitaker dead early Wednesday.
His family stood by his bedside as the life-support devices were removed, Dallas Fire Chief Eddie Burns said.
"We do not claim to understand the issues surrounding this tragic incident that led to the untimely demise of our brother," the chief said Wednesday. "What I can tell you is that Charles 'Chucky' Whitaker led a life rich in meaning. His contribution to the department and to the city has touched many lives."
A longtime friend, Eric McNairy, said Mr. Whitaker wasn't the type to be involved in a fight. He had spoken to Mr. Whitaker over the phone not long before the shooting, he said, and his friend was in high spirits.
"They were having a good time," Mr. McNairy said. "We were actually talking about how we could get back out there and play golf."
But then it happened at 1:50 a.m. Monday, after Mr. Whitaker and fellow firefighter Reginald Cuington watched the Super Bowl in a sports bar. They were walking back through the Phoenix suburb's entertainment district toward their room in a Comfort Suites hotel. Police say a car pulled up, and someone inside opened fire.
Mr. Whitaker was shot in the leg, chest and head. Lt. Cuington, who was shot in the leg, made his way back to their hotel to get help. Both were taken to area hospitals.
The bar's staff told investigators that the pair were good customers, and they did not appear to trade harsh words with anyone.
"We've gone back, re-interviewed people, everything, and we are not coming up with anything," said Mike Tellef of the Peoria police. "There doesn't seem to have been any arguments, disputes, no fights – nothing."
Lt. Cuington, a 17-year veteran of Dallas Fire-Rescue, remained in stable condition Wednesday.
Mr. Whitaker, a 14-year department veteran, had wanted to be a firefighter since growing up in southern Dallas, according to Mr. McNairy. Fun-loving and outgoing, he was a kid from a sometimes-rough neighborhood who grew up to be a positive force for his community.
"His sense of duty and mission to protect the citizens, and his fellow firefighters, and more importantly his family, will never be forgotten," Chief Burns said. "The city of Dallas and the Dallas Fire-Rescue department have lost a hero."
Mr. Whitaker still stayed connected in spirit to his old neighborhood. He would greet his friends loudly, "What the business is?" Then he'd

Sgt. Michael Ciresi is charged with 10 counts

Albert E. DeRobbio Jr., a former state trooper who is a son of the chief judge of Rhode Island District Court, testified in Superior Court that he struck up an acquaintance with informant Mark Pine while he was serving a 30-day sentence for violating a no-contact order. He said Pine told him he had been arrested after a home invasion in Pawtucket, where he tried to steal drugs and money.
“He told me he got the gun from a policeman’s glove compartment. He was laughing that the policeman didn’t know he had taken the gun from his car,” said DeRobbio, recalling a conversation he said took place in April 2005.
According to that conversation, Pine thought the break-in at the home of drug dealers on East Avenue, Pawtucket, would be an “easy score” because he believed no drug dealer would call the police, and decided to carry out the break-in by himself. “He was totally surprised that the female in the house called police,” DeRobbio said. “By calling police, they were turning themselves in and all three got arrested.”
DeRobbio’s testimony challenged one of the key allegations against Ciresi in his three-week trial: that Ciresi participated in the home invasion with Pine, gave him the gun and a mask, then fled before Pawtucket police arrived.
Judge Robert Krause is expected to give the case to the jury today.
Ciresi is charged with 10 counts, among them two counts of burglary, two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, two counts of receiving stolen goods, attempted larceny of currency from a stolen ATM machine, harboring and obstruction of justice.
Defense lawyers yesterday called North Providence Patrolman David A. Tessaris, who testified that in the fall of 2004, Ciresi told him at roll call that he had a generator that Tessaris might want to buy and he went to Ciresi’s house a few hours later to take a look at it.
Tessaris said he could not recall the make or model, but he was certain he saw it a “good two weeks” before another incident, on Dec. 17, 2004, involving a stolen ATM.
The timing is considered crucial because Ciresi is charged with accepting a generator that was stolen from a Cranston roofing company on Dec. 16.
Yesterday, revisiting a decision from Tuesday, Krause said he would reduce the stolen generator charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, saying it is unlikely the generator was worth more than $500 when Ciresi allegedly bought it from one of his informants, Darryl Streeper.
Yesterday, prosecuting attorneys Alan Goulart and Matthew Dawson asked DeRobbio why he hadn’t told law enforcement officials immediately when Pine told him about stealing Ciresi’s gun. DeRobbio said he never thought about it until he read a front page story in The Sunday Journal in October 2005 about allegations that Ciresi supplied a burglar with a gun.
“When I read it, I told my father, ‘This story isn’t right.’ ” DeRobbio said he passed the information to his attorney, John Cicilline, who assured him he would pass the information to authorities.
Also testifying yesterday was Pawtucket Detective Michael Demoranville, who acknowledged that he never took fingerprints of the glove compartment of Ciresi’s Ford Taurus because he was told by Detective Lt. Lance Trafford, an investigator in the Pawtucket case, that it wasn’t necessary.

Martin Briden, a retired Pawtucket police detective now working for the state sheriff’s office, said that even before the East Avenue house invasion, he had received information from Pine that his brother, Troy, was planning to burglarize the house.

The final witness, Col. Ernest Spaziano, police chief in North Providence, said he’s known Ciresi for 20 years and that he was an outstanding police officer who had numerous informants and had made a “prolific” number of arrests.
Spaziano said there were “no hard and fast rules” when it came to members of the patrol division conducting drug investigations, but generally patrol officers would advise a superior if they planned to pursue an investigation that went beyond their primary responsibility.
Because Ciresi had worked with the narcotics unit with the Drug Enforcement Administration and because he was a sergeant and a supervisor, Ciresi was generally given “more leeway” than other officers when pursuing tips from informants.
Under cross-examination, Spaziano conceded that much of his regard for Ciresi, a son of former North Providence town solicitor Robert Ciresi, derives from the number of arrests he has made and that he would have to alter his view if it were shown he did things that were wrong.

Collin Hawkins used a gun to carjack a man in Baltimore

Collin Hawkins used a gun to carjack a man in Baltimore on Nov. 22, 2006, and was arrested less than a month later after shooting a city police officer in Northeast Baltimore, according to city police.
In connection with the shooting of the officer, Hawkins was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon and using a firearm in a violent crime, according to prosecutors. He also was convicted of carjacking for the Nov. 22 incident.
Federal authorities said Hawkins had been previously convicted in state courts on five drug-related arrests in five years. That made him eligible for the "three strikes" law that enables prosecutors to see a long prison sentence for his recent conviction.

"We pursued this case in federal court because, as a result of Collin Hawkins' criminal record, this conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison with no probation and no parole," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement. "Collin Hawkins will never again carry a gun, carjack or shoot anyone in Baltimore."
Hawkins was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial.
He was arrested in the shooting of Baltimore Police Officer Momodu Gondo, who was shot just after midnight Dec. 5, 2006, as the officer was getting out of his car at his home in the 5700 block of The Alameda. Police said two men, one armed with a gun, approached him.
The officer turned to flee, and Hawkins opened fire, striking him three times in the back, according to authorities. A police spokesman said Gondo returned fire before he fell to the ground. The officer was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Gondo, who had graduated from the police academy in October, was wearing his police uniform and protective vest under an overcoat when he was shot.

Robert Allen Young, 24, guilty Wednesday of armed robbery and assault and battery with intent to kill

Jurors found Robert Allen Young, 24, guilty Wednesday of armed robbery and assault and battery with intent to kill after a three-day trial in Spartanburg. Prosecutors said Young shot Dixon "Dick" Ijioma, 48, twice in the head during a holdup at about midnight on Nov. 1, 2006.sentenced to 50 years in prison in the 2006 non-fatal shooting and robbery of a local cab driver
Circuit Judge Derham Cole levied the sentence, and Young must serve 85 percent of the prison term before he is eligible for release, according to the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Police said Young was riding in Ijioma's taxi when he attacked him near the corner of Longview Drive and Belmont Street, then stole his cab. Ijioma was able to run to Mamasun Cocktails and Dreams on Whitney Road, where employees called 911.
Ijioma told investigators he recognized the robber as a regular customer and later identified Young in a photo lineup, according to the solicitor's office. The clothing Young was wearing at the time was stained with Ijioma's blood.
In a prepared statement, Assistant Solicitor Derrick Bulsa said Young tried to kill Ijioma because he was a "regular" and believed the cab driver could identify him as the robber. Solicitor's office spokesman Murray Glenn said Ijioma later returned to driving a taxi in Spartanburg - although he is too afraid to drive at night - to help support family living in Nigeria.
"He's a good man," Glenn said. "We're glad he's still here."
Young's prior criminal record includes convictions for threatening the life of a public official and drug convictions, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

Operation Trilogy

Armed police raided a "charity hostel" after it became linked with gang crime.
The intelligence-led operation targeting members of the notorious Ghetto Boys gang was launched last Wednesday morning.
Police from Lewisham police's proactive gang disruption team Operation Trilogy were backed up by officers from the Met's specialist firearms unit CO19.
They burst into St Christopher's Fellowship home in Boyne Road, Lewisham, at around 2am and recovered two handguns capable of firing 13 rounds of ammunition, and a silencer.
Seven people were arrested.
Detective Inspector Sarah Davies, from Operation Trilogy, said: "Since the turn of the year Operation Trilogy has taken five guns off the streets, which can only make our communities safer."
The suspects, all aged under 26, are being quizzed at a South London police station and remain in custody.
In the weeks leading up to the raid, Boyne Road residents had complained of a "crime wave" in their formerly peaceful street.
They said it had changed drastically in the space of a month since some new youngsters had moved into the home, which is for young people who have been in care.
Speaking before the police operation, Boyne Road resident John Cameron said: "We are not out to oust St Christopher's. The deterioration started just before Christmas. Cars are being broken into, houses burgled and there are fights between the teenagers. We have a suspicion that there may be drug dealing going on."
Mr Cameron said he and a number of other residents had complained to St Christopher's because they were concerned about the safety of their children, as well as youngsters at St Christopher's who are not involved.
He added: "We are now building up the pressure on them to have a resident warden, but they say they do not have enough money. We all get the sense that St Christopher's is not listening to us."


A St Christopher's spokesman said: "We are liaising with the police and other statutory agencies regarding the antisocial behaviour in the area, and the police safer neighbourhood team is currently setting up a meeting with residents to ensure all concerns are addressed."

Drive-by shooting in Desert Hot Springs.

Police arrested two men and two juveniles Sunday in connection to a drive-by shooting in Desert Hot Springs.
The suspects were spotted in a vehicle on Palm Drive at Third Street about 12 p.m., according to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.
Officers tried to pull them over, but the suspect vehicle sped off.
One of the passengers, Anthony Paez, ran from the vehicle but was later captured.
Police arrested the driver, Miguel Ruiz, on charges of felony evasion.
The juveniles were arrested on several felony charges, according to the police department. One of them had two loaded handguns.
They were taken to Riverside County Juvenile Hall in Indio.
The other suspects were booked into the Riverside County Jail in Indio.

Brandon Coffman, 17, was taken into custody by Columbus SWAT officers on Vendome Drive this afternoon.

Brandon Coffman, 17, was taken into custody by Columbus SWAT officers on Vendome Drive this afternoon.
The teen is charged with a delinquency count of murder in the shooting death of Kenyanna Bradley, 21.
Bradley was on her front porch on Kelton Avenue on Oct. 28, 2006, when four males in a car pulled up and one began shooting. She was shot in the back while trying to run into the front door, authorities said.
On Wednesday, Paul K. Hayes, 20, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Bradley's death. Christian Domis, assistant prosecutor, said that Hayes and Coffman fired several shots into the apartment building, the site of a previous confrontation, and that Bradley was not the intended target.
Coffman, whose address police didn't provide, became a suspect "during the investigation," according to a news release from homicide detectives after his capture. Homicide detectives didn't return phone calls seeking further explanation.

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Rey Alberto Davis-Bell, 23, is accused of shooting to death Degene Berecha Deshasa

Rey Alberto Davis-Bell, 23, is accused of shooting to death Degene Berecha Deshasa, 31, an Ethiopian immigrant who owned the restaurant Philadelphia Cheese Steak at 23rd Avenue and East Union Street.
King County prosecutors say Davis-Bell also fired at a customer, seriously injuring him, and a restaurant employee.
Last Wednesday's shooting left Dashasa's friends and relatives mourning and questioning why anyone would want to hurt the man.
An owner of the same restaurant was shot to death a few blocks away in 2003; the case remains unsolved.
Police said Davis-Bell, who was also charged with illegally possessing a gun, is a gang member with a prison record. His alleged rampage began earlier that day, when police say he fired at least nine times through the window of his ex-girlfriend's West Seattle home.

You can do dial-a-gun in Glasgow. You can have a gun in a couple of hours to order.

"Gun crime is up and, if it is not parallel with London, it is not far behind. You can do dial-a-gun in Glasgow. You can have a gun in a couple of hours to order."
Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, of Strathclyde's Violence Reduction Unit, said: "Although knives are the weapon of choice, firearms are used in homicides and we are vigilant about emerging trends.
"The issue is not what weapon is used to kill but rather the loss of a life."

James Jackson of Crotona Park is facing charges for the Saturday attack on Tim Kim

A 44-year-old man was arrested in the shooting of an Athlete's Foot worker in the Bronx and was awaiting arraignment Tuesday night, officials said. James Jackson of Crotona Park is facing a slew of charges for the Saturday attack on Tim Kim, 17, in a Fordham store, police said.
The victim, who is brain-dead, remained on life support at St.Barnabas Hospital while doctors prepared to harvest his organs, said his girlfriend, Kerrylee Ways, 18

Patrick Doyle was hit by Costa del Sol gang in Estepona

Spanish police are investigating possible links between a massive cocaine seizure on the Costa del Sol yesterday and the murder of Irish drug dealer Patrick Doyle.
Eight men, including one Irishman, were arrested following the seizure of 115kg of the drug close to where Doyle was shot dead on Monday in Estepona.
Spanish officials say the men in custody may have links to the murder.
They also believe the 27-year-old Dubliner was shot dead by rival drugs traffickers in Spain rather than as a result of an Irish gangland feud.
Meanwhile, an Irishman who was with Doyle at the time of his murder is understood to have come forward to the police
Police hunting Doyle's killers yesterday arrested seven men after seizing an €8m cocaine shipment in Estepona.

A spokesman said they were investigating if there was a link between the shooting and the seizure.
But senior Police officers believe the two are not connected.
Four of those arrested are British, two are Moroccans and the seventh suspect gave the name of an Irishman from Dublin's north inner city.
However, Police are awaiting further confirmation that the man is Irish.
Doyle had been active in drug trafficking in Spain for the past two years.
He disappeared in late 2005 after he became the prime suspect for the murder of Noel Roche, who was shot dead in a car in Clontarf as part of the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud.
The 27-year-old, from Portland Row, in the north city, is believed by gardai to have fled initially to Liverpool and then moved to Spain, where he set up a new base.
He was regularly visited there by other Irish criminals, including Gary Hutch, who was driving the BMW off-road vehicle when it came under fire from the occupants of a similar vehicle on the outskirts of Estepona, 10 miles from Marbella.
Hutch and Doyle were on their way to collect an English companion when they found their way blocked by the other BMW in a narrow street in the Cancelada district.
Both men tried to run after their windscreen was shattered by four shots and their vehicle crashed into a lamp post.
The gunmen singled out Doyle, who was their target, and he was shot twice in the head at close range.
Hutch escaped with minor injuries and he was interviewed by Spanish police yesterday.
Earlier reports that Freddie Thompson, who is under regular garda surveillance here, had been in the back seat of the vehicle have now been discounted.
Gardai and Spanish police are both satisfied that Doyle was the intended victim of the gun gang.
Senior officers in Dublin said last night there was no intelligence to indicate that the Doyle murder was linked to the gang feud here and they believed that Doyle, who was known as a "heavy" in the criminal underworld, had probably clashed with another trafficking group operating on the Costa del Sol.
The Roche shooting was thought to have been a retaliatory hit by one of the feuding gangs for the double murder of Darren Geoghegan and Gavin Byrne in Firhouse.
However, the consensus view now is that one gang was responsible for the two attacks and that Doyle was involved in both of them.
Gardai believe that Doyle's murder will be a major blow to his gang leader as he was regarded as the most ruthless member of the group.
His mistake, detectives think, is that he believed he could earn a "hard man" reputation in Spain but was regarded as a minor criminal figure by the international traffickers using the Costa del Sol as their base.
A similar mistake was made by two other Dublin criminals, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, who also clashed with drug lords in Spain and paid the ultimate price.
Their bodies were found in a concrete grave on the Costa Blanca, following a tip-off from the Gardai, in 2006.

Sunday 3 February 2008

Dexter Cox

Dexter Cox has been charged with first degree murder. According to a Police Affidavit, Cox confessed to shooting Vidulich, taking his gun and his Ford Explorer - then setting the S-U-V on fire.
Another affidavit says Cox was arrested Wednesday in connection to a shooting outside Frayser High School. Police found him, searched a nearby home and found a gun they say was stolen from the Officer's home. Investigators then realized they had their guy.
Mack McKinna has some harsh words for Cox, calling him "a little 18 year-old punk, who killed a good policeman." McKinna, and other neighbors are happy to hear an arrest has been made. The crime scene tape is still outside Vidulich's home. Since Monday, there has been a constant police presence - squad cars, and the CSI Command Post is still across the street. Neighbors say they are relieved because an arrest has been made. But they also say this isn't over. Neighbor Archie Collins says a conviction or more arrests would add closure. Collins also says he'll be content when he hears "in detail, what happened in the death of Ed Vidulich." Collins has many questions for officers including, "why his (Vidulich) particular house?
A News Conference will take place Sunday February 3rd at 3p.m.
Police records show this isn't Cox's first run in with the law. In July of 2007, he was arrested for Aggravated Robbery and Evading Arrest.

Why was Martin Foley shot.

The grim reality of the attempt on Martin Foley's life began to sink in after the middle of last week when his body, weakened from three previous gun attacks, began to react severely to infection caused by the latest bullet wounds. Foley's spleen had been destroyed in one of the previous attacks. A normal healthy person can survive well enough without one, but the spleen is a necessary organ for helping the body repair itself from blood infection and Foley's is no longer there to do the job. He was "touch and go" on Thursday morning.
Senior garda sources said yesterday that while they can't be sure what will happen in terms of serious gangland crime in Ireland this year, they are certain that there are enough live disputes between gangs to ensure that there will be more killing in the coming months.
While Foley was in St James's Hospital's intensive care unit, gardai in Dublin were still trying to work out exactly what Foley had done or who exactly he had crossed to merit this latest attempt on his life. It is the absence of precise intelligence on matters such as the attempted assassination of a man who has probably the highest public profile of any criminal in Ireland that has prompted a major review of the anti-organised crime policing.
Within three days of the attempt on Foley's life, the new Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, announced that he was going to regularise and put on a permanent footing the 70-strong Organised Crime Unit (OCU), which is attached to the National Bureau of Crime Investigation at his Harcourt Square headquarters in Dublin.
The unit was set up just over two years ago as a temporary expedient after a rash of gangland murders in the city. It has had some significant successes in terms of seizures of guns and drugs, and in arrests. However, over the past six months, the dedicated and hard-working young gardai seconded to the unit found that their temporary status meant that their service was not being counted for promotion purposes. They were, effectively, doing down their promotion prospects by volunteering for dangerous policing.
After senior gardai in Dublin made a strong case for the regularising of the OCU, the new Commissioner agreed and last week officially dedicated the OCU as the permanent and, it is expected, leading unit in the fight against organised drugs crime, initially, in Dublin. It will be headed by a Detective Superintendent with considerable experience of the gang scene in Dublin.
A senior Dublin detective said the statistics, claims and counterclaims surrounding them were "irrelevant". "They don't paint a picture of the reality out there," he said.
Asked about the immediate priority of the OCU, a senior source involved in the development of the unit said: "Intelligence -- there is no point in having surveillance alone. You could spend all your life watching people. You need intelligence. We still don't know for sure why Martin Foley was shot, for instance."
He added: "There are feuds all over this city flaring up and we don't know why." He pointed out that last year, while gardai in the north inner city -- helped by dozens of armed gardai from the OCU -- had been concentrating on the blood feud surrounding ex-members of the IRA and criminal associates who had split and began killing each other after one had raped his partner's daughter, another feud erupted for unknown reasons.

Paul Kelly (26), from Gardiner Street, was shot dead outside a block of flats on the Malahide Road. It had been assumed, at first, that it was because he was from the inner city and known to people involved in the feud. However, it subsequently emerged that he was murdered over an entirely different argument and since then this has developed into a quite separate dispute.

The south inner Dublin gang leader who Martin Foley had been associating with in recent years is emerging as one of the most significant criminals in the State. Freddy Thompson is still only 27, yet has been associated with some of the biggest drugs seizures in recent times. He was arrested in Rotterdam with seven kilos of cocaine and six handguns and ammunition in October 2006 but evaded prosecution on a technicality.

Foley had once regarded "Fat" Freddie Thompson as a protégé but gardai say that Foley has, in recent years, been regarded as little more than a throwback to the old days of organised crime. It is regarded as highly possible that associates of Thompson shot Foley.

Gardai also believe that associates of Thompson were involved in the double murder of Brian Downes (40) and the innocent young mechanic, Eddie Ward (24), who were shot dead at the lock-up garage behind Downes' home in Walkinstown last October. An associate of Downes', Sean McMahon (35), was shot dead as he slept in his bed at his home in Tallaght two weeks later. It is now believed McMahon was murdered because it was merely believed he was intent on revenge for the murder of his friend. The major feud between the two south inner city Dublin drugs gangs that has resulted in over 10 deaths since 2000 has not been resolved and is showing little sign of stabilising.

Saturday 2 February 2008

Jorge “Rivi” Ayala


contract killer Jorge “Rivi” Ayala, Cocaine Cowboys director Billy Corben says: “He told me where there is a body buried in Miami, by the Florida turnpike. It’s all developed now, malls and condominiums. He knows where all the bodies are buried. We told the police. I think he told the police too. I just don’t think they care.”
Now serving three life sentences for 12 counts of murder, Rivi is a chillingly cool customer. He affably reels off the names of the victims he dispatched as if he were running through a shopping list. “The guy is one of the most pleasant interview subjects, the most laid-back, easy-going, polite, friendly and simple to deal with. But we’d be sitting there in an interview and you would have to kick yourself in the head to remind yourself what it is that this guy is talking about. He might as well be talking about the weather outside. But he’s talking about murdering women and children.”
Rivi was, for a time, the hit-man of choice for Griselda Blanco, aka the Black Widow. Griselda was the grande dame of the Miami cocaine business, a Colombian mother of three, of impoverished origins, who slaughtered and intimidated her way to the top of a billion-dollar industry. She is a central character in this movie, the most deadly figure in a story in which the bodies are stacked like dominos. Conspicuous by her absence as an interviewee, she is one of the few key survivors of the era whom the film-makers were unable to coax before the lens. “Her release was imminent at that point, as was her deportation. I think she has changed her mind since, because we have been reapproached,” Corben says.
Rapid-fire editing unleashes an onslaught of information. This is documentary-making for ADD sufferers and has now inspired a feature film to star Mark Wahlberg, based on the the drug dealer Jon Roberts, featured in Cocaine Cowboys.
Corben, a Miami native with a conversational style like a runaway train, acknowledges the drug’s influence on Cocaine Cowboys’ aesthetic. “My intended effect was that after this movie, you felt like you had been on a bender.” Besides Griselda and Rivi, the key characters in the film are Roberts and Mickey Munday. They are the “cowboys” of the title, two outlaws who imported but didn’t sell the drugs. The way they tell it, their clever smuggling methods transformed the fortunes of the once sleepy backwater of Miami.
Corben’s memories of growing up in Miami during the cocaine-fuelled 1980s are of nightly news stories with a body count to rival a small war, and an awful lot of money. “I remember being in this working-class neighbourhood and everybody was doing very well. Whatever business you were in, the city was flush with so much cash that it trickled down, sort of a Reagan theory of economics. The trickle-down theory worked as long as you had successful drug king-pins in the community.”

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