Man jailed for drug addict murder

A man who murdered a drug addict in west London over a £50 robbery and then had trial witnesses threatened has been jailed for life. Anthony Small, 32, used a sub machine gun to shoot Anthony Dickson in Hayes on Christmas Eve, 2010. Two weeks earlier Mr Dickson, 33, had been so desperate for drugs that he stole the crack cocaine from Satwant Virdee. Virdee worked as a runner for Small and fellow dealer Max Feliciano, who would not let the robbery go unavenged. At the Old Bailey Small was jailed for life for murder and told he will serve a minimum of 34 years. Feliciano was sentenced to 14 years for manslaughter, and a further three years for smuggling drugs into prison. Judge John Bevan QC told Small: "This was a planned execution over a paltry £50 robbery and a few wraps of Class A. I suspect that you regarded the victim as disrespecting you, combined with a lack of self-control and a total lack of proportion for what he had done. "What entitles you as a drug dealer to administer a death sentence in addition to the misery you inflict on other drug addicts is beyond me." Feliciano and Small arranged to meet Mr Dickson near a park in Hayes, where Small, from Harlesden, north west London, shot him twice at close range with a sub machine gun. In the run-up to his trial for the murder at the Old Bailey last year, Small had two prosecution witnesses threatened and tried to intimidate his ex-girlfriend into giving him a false alibi. Nevertheless he was convicted of murder in November, while Feliciano, 27, from Hayes, was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month. Judge Bevan told Feliciano, who started taking heroin at the age of 13 and drug dealing at 16: "You are intelligent, street-wise and in my judgment entirely lacking in scruples. You have chosen to follow your own selfish ends and ignore any responsibility for your partner and three children." Feliciano was found in his cell at Belmarsh prison with 57 wraps of heroin, totalling just over six grams.

Resident who killed intruder in St. Louis won't face charges

Wednesday's shooting death of a man at a house on Labadie Avenue was justified because he was breaking into the home at the time, police said Thursday. No charges are being filed against the resident who fired the fatal shot. Police say the case has been classified as a justifiable homicide. It's the latest use of Missouri's Castle Doctrine, which allows people who encounter an intruder in their homes or vehicles to use deadly force without fear of being charged or sued. The dead man was identified Thursday as Jerome Burse, 38. Police say Burse, who had a gun, and a second man armed with a knife broke into a home in the 4700 block of Labadie Avenue at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. They took money and jewelry from people at the home. Shots were fired inside the house, police said. One of the adults in the home was a 23-year-old man, who chased the intruders outside and fired shots at them. Burse collapsed on Marcus Avenue about a half block from the house. Burse was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Burse had lived in the 4200 block of North 20th Street. Police recovered Burse's gun at the crime scene. The second suspect got away. Police say they don't know if the second man was shot. Police continue to investigate who that man might be. Police did not identify the man who killed Burse and were not seeking charges against him. The other victims of the home invasion were identified only as two women, ages 19 and 22, a 66-year-old man and a 7-month-old girl. According to court records, Burse's criminal past in St. Louis includes unlawful use of a weapon in 1993 and drug possession a year later. He pleaded guilty in both cases. He was sentenced to a 120-day shock jail time in the drug case and 167 days in jail for the weapons violation.

'Pocahontas' the stripper accused in fatal shooting of man in northwest Houston

female stripper is accused of setting up a man for a robbery in which he was shot and killed earlier this year in northwest Houston. Related Court documents state Luerissie Ashley Ross, aka 'Pocahontas,' was involved with the robbery and murder of Budrohoe Briscoe on February, 17, 2012. A witness told police that Briscoe picked him up and told him they were going to pick up his friend named Pocahontas. The witness says he and Briscoe picked up Pocahontas behind an apartment complex in the 2300 block of W. Tidwell Rd. when she received a phone call and told the person on the other end, "Yes, there are two of them." Pocahontas then told Briscoe and the witness that she needed to return to her apartment to get an item. According to court documents, they drove back to the complex and saw a white Lincoln parked in the back of the complex with two males inside. They parked and Pocahontas exited the car. The witness says a short time later, Pocahontas called and asked Briscoe to come meet her. The witness told police that Briscoe walked to the courtyard where Pocahontas was waiting with two black males, and that he saw the two men rob and shoot Briscoe. Briscoe died in the hospital on February 29. According to police, they discovered Pocahontas worked as a dancer at a local strip club and that her real name is Ross. They also say she was involved in another robbery/shooting in the area on January 20. Investigators say Ross admitted that she was present the night of Briscoe's shooting and that she set him up to be robbed. Ross, 20, is charged with capital murder. No bond has been set in the case.

Shootings leave 2 dead, 17 wounded across city

Two men were killed and 17 other people wounded in separate shootings across the city overnight, police said. One man died and three others were wounded by gunfire about 10:50 p.m. on the 7900 block of South Paulina Street in the Gresham neighborhood, police said. A 21-year-old man died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after being shot in the back, police said. A 21-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and is in serious condition at John H. Stroger Jr., Hospital of Cook County.  A 21-year-old man was shot in the right arm and a 32-year-old woman was shot in the ankle; both are in stable condition at Holy Cross Hospital, police said. Three males emerged from a light-colored sedan and started shooting at the group, police said. The three men in the group are all affiliated with a local gang, police said, but it's unclear if that's why they were targeted. Police are not sure if the woman is affiliated with a gang. A 24-year-old man was shot dead in the Little Village neighborhood about 8:50 p.m., police said. He was shot in the head and chest by a male who had exited a light-colored pickup truck on the 2700 block of South Homan Avenue and opened fire, police said. The shooting appears gang-related but police didn't say what gave them that impression. A 30-year-old man was shot in the right thigh in the 300 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue in the West Garfield Park neighborhood about 1:30 a.m. by a male gunman who came up to the victim on foot while he was standing on a sidewalk, police said. The 30-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, police said. A 26-year-old man was shot in the leg by a male on foot about 1 a.m. while walking on the 3600 block of West Chicago Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said. A friend drove the victim to Norwegian American Hospital, where he's in stable condition, police said. Three men were shot about 12:30 a.m. on the 6800 block of South Claremont Avenue in the West Englewood neighborhood, police said. A 22-year-old man was shot in the right side of his abdomen, a 21-year-old man was shot in the left leg, and an 18-year-old man was shot in his right buttocks. The three were standing on a sidewalk when someone shot at them from a nearby gangway. Police said the shooting may be gang-related. The 21 and 18-year-olds are both at Advocate Christ Medical Center, and the third man is at Holy Cross Hospital, police said. Their specific conditions were not known, but police said they had all stabilized. A man, 22, was shot about 12:25 a.m. on the 3300 block of West Washington Boulevard in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. He was walking down the street when someone shot him in the knee. An acquaintance dropped him off at Rush University Medical Center but he was transferred to Stroger Hospital, police said. A 19-year-old man was shot in the leg about 12:20 a.m. near the corner of LeMoyne Street and Maplewood Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said. Someone shot at the man from inside a nearby vehicle. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in stable condition, police said. The shooting may be gang-related. About 12:10 a.m., a 22-year-old man suffered a graze wound to his right thigh and a 21-year-old man was shot in the right calf, police said. The two were on the 8200 block of South Richmond Avenue in the Wrightwood neighborhood when they were shot and ended up at Little Company of Mary Hospital. It's not clear how they got there. Police said both were treated and released. The two victims said they were shot on Richmond but police weren't able to find a crime scene and didn't get any reports of gunfire from residents in the area. A man was found shot in an alley on the 3500 block of West 83rd Street in the Ashburn neighborhood about midnight, police said. His age wasn't available but he was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center, police said. He was in surgery as of about 2 a.m. An 18-year-old woman was shot about 11:30 p.m. Friday on the 6400 block of South Talman Avenue in the Marquette Park neighborhood, police said. She was walking down the street when someone in a passing light-colored sedan opened fire, hitting her in the left thigh, police said. She's in stable condition at Holy Cross Hospital, police said. A 16-year-old boy walking with friends was shot on the 7900 block of South Avalon Avenue in the Avalon Park neighborhood about 10:35 p.m., police said. He was shot in the shoulder and is in good condition at Jackson Park Hospital. His shooter approached on foot and opened fire, police said. About 9 p.m., two people standing in a strip mall in the 5000 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in the Bronzeville neighborhood were shot. A 47-year-old woman was grazed on the shin and was treated by Chicago paramedics at the scene. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the left bicep and suffered a graze wound on his left forearm, police said. He was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago in good condition, police said. No one is in custody in any of the shootings, police said, and Area North, Central and South detectives are investigating.

Fla. mom gets 20 years for firing warning shots

A Florida woman who fired warning shots against her allegedly abusive husband has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville had said the state's "Stand Your Ground" law should apply to her because she was defending herself against her allegedly abusive husband when she fired warning shots inside her home in August 2010. She told police it was to escape a brutal beating by her husband, against whom she had already taken out a protective order. CBS Affiliate WETV reports that Circuit Court Judge James Daniel handed down the sentence Friday. Under Florida's mandatory minimum sentencing requirements Alexander could receive a lesser sentence, even though she has never been in trouble with the law before. Judge Daniel said the law did not allow for extenuating or mitigating circumstances to reduce the sentence below the 20-year minimum. "I really was crying in there," Marissa's 11-year-old daughter told WETV. "I didn't want to cry in court, but I just really feel hurt. I don't think this should have been happening." Alexander was convicted of attempted murder after she rejected a plea deal for a three-year prison sentence. She said she did not believe she did anything wrong. She was recently denied a new trial after appealing to the judge to reconsider her case based on Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law. The law states that the victim of a crime does not have to attempt to run for safety and can immediately retaliate in self-defense. Alexander's attorney said she was clearly defending herself and should not have to spend the next two decades behind bars. Alexander's case has drawn support from domestic abuse advocates - and comparison to the case of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who has claimed a "Stand Your Ground" defense in his fatal shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Police arrest drive-by shooting suspect

Police have arrested a man suspected of seriously injuring a Gold Hill man in a drive-by shooting on Beall Lane in Central Point last November. Known gang member and sex offender Gabriel Perez, 21, was arrested at a residence along the 3000 block of Shelterwood Circle in Medford at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Medford police had come to the residence on an unrelated case when they saw Perez jump out of a window and take off running. Police caught up with him and arrested him.  Suspects in shooting may have performed gang ritualAnother drive-by suspect is soughtOne dead after shooting, crashNeighborhood rattled by outburst of violence Perez is lodged in the Jackson County Jail without bail on a parole violation for sexual assault, unrelated to the shooting and subsequent high-speed car chase that killed another man in November. Charges related to the shooting are under review by the Jackson County District Attorney's Office. The shooting happened at 4 a.m. Nov. 1. Erik Lee Dorey, then 22, and Jennifer Knutson, then 19, were sitting in an Izuzu Rodeo near the corner of Beall Lane and Circle Wood Drive. A car, allegedly driven by 19-year-old Trevor Carbajal, of Dinuba, Calif., pulled up in a 2004 Chevy. Perez is suspected to have fired several gunshots from the Chevy, which shattered the Rodeo's windows. One bullet hit Dorey in the mouth, and Knutson sustained minor injuries. Police later saw the Chevy run a red light and pursued it from Highway 99 up to the 8200 block of Old Stage Road, where the car crashed. Passenger Gustavo Santiago, 16, was ejected from the vehicle and killed. Carbajal and 19-year-old Francisco Campos were rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Perez fled from the scene and was able to seek medical treatment at Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass under a different name before fleeing again. Carbajal and Campos have been indicted on attempted aggravated murder and attempted murder charges, among others.

Kong Vue did not plan to commit a homicide, but he panicked and shot Sara Hougom twice while in her apartment to steal her purse

Kong Vue did not plan to commit a homicide, but he panicked and shot Sara Hougom twice while in her apartment to steal her purse, investigators testified Wednesday. "I think I just shot somebody," Vue told his uncle after leaving her apartment on March 26, La Crosse police detective Sgt. Jake Jansky testified. Vue, 19, and his uncle, Pao Choua Vue, 21, both of La Crosse, are charged in La Crosse County Circuit Court with first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide as party to the crime stemming from Hougom's death and a drive-by shooting minutes earlier. Ads by Google Circuit Judge Todd Bjerke found enough evidence Wednesday during their preliminary hearing to bind them over for trial. They return to court May 21 for arraignments after prosecutors decide whether to file additional charges. Kong Vue told investigators he walked into Hougom's unlocked apartment at 721 Division St. on March 26 hunting for her purse. He fired twice in her direction when he saw her move on the couch, Jansky testified. He then fled to a waiting car driven by his uncle. Hougom called 911 from her cell phone at 4:18 p.m., though dispatchers heard only "moaning or crying in the background, but no verbalization," La Crosse police officer Dan Ulrich testified. Officers found Hougom pale and unresponsive on the couch but with no signs of injury to her body, Ulrich said. Police and paramedics performed CPR before taking her to Mayo Clinic Health System. Doctors worked on her for 15 minutes and finally realized she'd been shot only when a small drop of blood emerged from her chest and an X-ray revealed the gunshot wounds, Ulrich testified. Hougom, 20, was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. Kong Vue told investigators he brought the gun -- the same one his uncle used in a drive-by shooting on the North Side -- to the robbery for intimidation, Jansky said. Upset by a recent argument with his girlfriend over money, Kong Vue told investigators he spent the morning of March 26 searching for jobs before picking up Pao Choua Vue, Jansky testified. They drove around the city before reaching 1519 Island St., where Pao Choua Vue fired four rounds into the house about 15 minutes before the shooting at Hougom's apartment, Jansky said. Three people in the house at the time were celebrating an 83-year-old's birthday when they heard a "crashing" noise, La Crosse police officer Brad Schomberg said. No one was hurt in that incident, and police said there was no motive for the shooting. Authorities recovered three bullets from inside the home and four casings from the street, investigator Ron Secord testified. The state Crime Laboratory determined the shell casings recovered from Island Street match those found at Hougom's apartment and were fired from the same gun, Jansky said. Authorities have not recovered the gun. At the time of the shootings, Pao Choua Vue was free on a cash bond for a pending drug case, but has been in the La Crosse County Jail since the day after the crimes for violating his bond. Former inmate Lucas Brickl testified Wednesday Pao Choua Vue stood up, spread out his arms and declared that he "killed" and "shot" Hougom during television news reports of her death. Pao Choua Vue and Kong Vue remain jailed on $1 million cash bonds.

Three teens injured in pair of unrelated shootings this week

Three teens were injured in unrelated shooting incidents on Monday and Wednesday, according to the Decatur Police Department. A 16-year-old male was injured in his arm during a drive-by shooting at 5:26 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Dunham and Packard streets, according to police, and two arrests were quickly made. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening, police said. Police said witnesses provided descriptions of two suspects, whose vehicle was located minutes later in the 1200 block of West Green Street. Officers found the suspects nearby, positively identified them and made the arrests. The suspects, 18 and 17 years old, were taken to the Macon County Jail on preliminary charges of attempted murder. Police said the handgun used in the shooting was recovered during the investigation. On Monday night, two teen males were treated and released from Decatur Memorial Hospital after they were shot while they were sitting on the porch of a vacant house on Union Street. A 16-year-old male was shot in his left arm; a 17-year-old male suffered a wound to his right shoulder. The two males, along with two other teens who were on the porch with them, told police they heard gunshots while at a house in the 1300 block of North Union Street. “At some point, they heard shots fired near them,” Decatur Police Sgt. Shane Brandel said. “They realized they were being shot at. The victims said they then ran from the scene and that’s when they were shot.” The victims and their friends told police they didn’t see the shooter and didn’t know who shot at them. Other people in the area who heard the gunshots said they were unable to provide any information on the suspects. The incident remained under investigation.

One dead, one shot in Northside drive-by

One man was killed and another shot in the knee at the Madison Woods apartment complex on Jacksonville’s Northside this afternoon. Sgt. Michael Paul of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the man was shot in the parking lot of the apartment complex located at 10970 Lem Turner Road at around 3:15 p.m. He said there were at least five shots fired.  The victim is believed to be in his 20s. A man in a white SUV fired shots and hit the man multiple times.  Another man in the parking lot was hit in the knee. A witness told the Times Union that she saw a man in front of the apartment complex who was shot.  She said other residents told her that the man in the white SUV was driving around the complex asking for a connection to marijuana.  The man in the car then stopped, got out and fired several shots at the victim. Sgt. Paul said the motive is unclear and they’re searching for the man in the white SUV who drove away after the shooting.  No arrests have been man. He said the injured victim had an association with the man who was killed.

27-year-old man was shot in the upper torso on a street near Oceanside High School on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

 The shooting occurred about 1:25 p.m. in the 200 block of South Weitzel Street in the city's Crown Heights neighborhood, Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Mata said. The victim, whom police did not identify, was flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla with a wound that did not appear to be life-threatening, Mata said. The neighborhood, which has a long history of gang conflict, has seen a recent surge in gang-related violence, including the slaying of a teenager March 8, and the shooting of one of the resource center's volunteer soccer coaches March 2 within a block of each other. Tuesday's shooting is the third to happen in the one block-radius next to the Oceanside High School ballfields and less than a mile from City Hall. Mayor Jim Wood said Tuesday he was frustrated by the continuing violence in Crown Heights and called on the community to work closer with police to identify problems. "They've got to open up and speak to us," said Wood, a former police officer. "They have to take action, too." Councilman Jack Feller said he wanted to reassure the community "that we're on it." He said that the recent spate of shootings was "a very serious issue," and asked for the public to work with police to stop it. "I would say if they see wrongdoing, please, help us head off these types of incidents at the pass," Feller said. "If they know bad people are operating next door to them, help us ... we need them to help us." Councilman Jerry Kern said he's worried by the upsurge in violence going into the summer. "It seems like the activity over the last few weeks has gone up," Kern said. "It sounds like it's more gang violence. My concern is it will spill over into the general population, that a bystander will get hurt, not that I want to see gang members get hurt. I don't want to see anybody get hurt." Kern said community members have been organizing, trying to find some way to steer youths away from gangs. "Somehow, we've got to stop this before it starts," he said. "I don't know what the solution is. I'm at a loss. I don't know how we get to these young people." Kern said he's attended community meetings, and that the people who live in Crown Heights are frustrated, too. "The community really wants to help," Kern said. "I guess the feeling I have is severe disappointment. It seemed like we were headed in the right direction. I'm just disheartened that it happened again." Neighborhood organizer Ruben Almader said the city, police and residents have all stepped up to address the violence in the Crown Heights neighborhood, but change has been slow. "We ran out of time when the first person got shot," Almader said. "When the second person got shot, we were definitely out of time. And now that the third person was shot, there is no more time ---- we're out." He said the community should resist budget cuts that pull police officers off the streets in the neighborhood. "Letting one police officer go is like letting 600 police go in our neighborhood," Almedar said. "We need as much help as we can get." Blood still stains the concrete outside an apartment complex across the street from the Crown Heights Community Resource Center, where kids were laughing and playing soccer Tuesday ---- even after the shooting. Police did not immediately release information about the circumstances of Tuesday's shooting, and Mata was tight-lipped about any possible motive behind it. Two Latino males in hooded sweatshirts were seen running from the shooting, said Lt. Valencia Saadat, of the Oceanside police SWAT team. Police had not arrested any suspects by late Tuesday afternoon, Mata said. Residents in the Crown Heights neighborhood said they were afraid that the shooting were motivated by racial tension. The victim, residents said, was black. A local leader of the Mexican Mafia prison gang ordered Escondido's rival Latino street gangs to stop fighting amongst themselves and target black people instead, leading to a surge in such attacks, gang members and authorities said last month. Black people, the residents said, tend to be confronted in Crown Heights. The victim occasionally was asked why he was in a Latino neighborhood, said one man who didn't give his name. "They don't want blacks in the neighborhood," said a mother of five who identified herself only as Gloria. The 45-year-old Gloria said that's the word on the street, and she's worried because she looks black, though she isn't. She said she recently moved to Crown Heights, and now her pregnant daughter is afraid to leave the house. "Every other day there's gunshots," she said. "I left from a bad area in San Diego to a worse area."