Gypsy Joker allegedly shot the Newboys gang member about 8pm (CDT) yesterday, a police spokesman said today. The Newboys gang member, a 34-year-old man who is a past member of the Hells Angels bikie club, was among a group outside the Gypsy Jokers' home in Adelaide's north, the spokesman said. "There was a heated argument amongst the group and at least two gunshots were heard,'' he said. The victim was admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm and the 49-year-old bikie was later charged with attempted murder and possessing a firearm without a license.
The man was due to face court later today.

Ringleader of a violent gang of Pretoria robbers linked to more than 30 robberies and hijackings across the city was killed on Monday after a dramatic shoot-out.
The gang's eight-month crime spree across Gauteng and Mpumalanga was brought to a bloody end when detectives from the Temba Trio Task Team, following up on information given through tip-offs, shot and critically injured the ringleader and arrested two other members.The arrests brought the number of suspects arrested to three. In February police arrested one of the alleged gang members in Rietgat.Detectives discovered the whereabouts of the 35-year-old ring leader and his two accomplices while investigating the hijacking and rape of two Hammanskraal women and the attack of a Temba resident. 'We are hoping to catch those police officers who are supplying the gang with weapons' The gang had also attacked two Soshanguve residents, two Akasia businesses and another in Temba.All the attacks took place within six hours of each other.As officers encircled the suspects' hide-out in Temba, police ordered the men to surrender and opened fire when the ringleader shot at officers as he fled.The gunman was shot repeatedly in the head, chest and stomach. His two alleged accomplices were arrested after they surrendered.The gang, which has between eight and 10 members, is believed to have been using the house as a hide-out for several months.The remaining gang members, who are thought to include police officers, were away at the time of the shooting. Police recovered a state-issued firearm from the injured suspect who later died of his injuries.Information from police sources is that the gang consists of a number of crooked police officers, who allegedly supplied the syndicate with weapons.The gang then used the weapons to commit crimes, posing as members of the police force.The ringleader, according to police spokesperson Inspector Lolo Mangena, was one of the most wanted suspects in both Gauteng and Mpumalanga. "I can confirm that the 35-year-old man was one of the most wanted suspects in Pretoria and Mpumalanga," he said.He added that the gang was linked to crimes in Akasia, Temba, Ga-Rankuwa, Soshanguve, Rietgat, Hammanskraal, KwaMahlanga and Mpumalanga.Mangena said the man's accomplices, who were aged between 18 and 20, were arrested inside the house after they had surrendered.He said police had located the three after following up on information on the gang's violent spree, which resulted in two women being raped, three businesses robbed, a motorist hijacked and three homeowners attacked in their houses.
He confirmed that detectives were investigating the involvement of rogue police officers in supplying the gang with guns."I say this because we have recovered a police-issued Z88 9mm pistol. Officers are currently searching for more state guns, such as R5 semi-automatic assault rifles, which the gang had allegedly stashed at their other hide-outs," he said.Mangena said follow-up investigations led to police recovering two Norinco pistols with their serial numbers filed off, as well as a 9mm Beretta and five rounds of ammunition at the gang's different hide-outs in Temba and Hammanskraal."As well as recovering the guns, police also recovered groceries, which were stolen during the business robbery in Temba," he said. He said more arrests were expected soon."We are hoping to catch those police officers who are supplying the gang with weapons."Mangena said the remaining suspects would be appearing in court tomorrow on charges of house robbery, business robbery and hijacking.

Police managed a record 400 convictions for serious crime involving members of the Hells Angels and its support group AK81, the Bandidos and five immigrant gangs.
Nonetheless, it remains uncertain whether the police focus on gang crime has actually worked. Since August 2007, Copenhageners have been plagued by an historically large number of armed attacks between bikers and immigrant groups. Liberal Party Justice Spokesman Kim Anders says, however, that the police focus is working. “The large number of convictions show that the police are on the right track. But the figures also show that we are dealing with hardened criminals. The unfortunate thing is that despite police successes and their focus, new members are coming into the gangs,” Andersen says. The police report shows that the National Police is monitoring five Category 1 gangs, in which members are mainly from ethnic minorities. Due to their loose organization, it is difficult to determine how many members they have, but police estimate some 172 members. Some 139 charges were brought against the groupings, with convictions for serious crime in 131 cases involving violence, narcotics or weapons possession. The report goes on to say that the Hells Angels had 120 members at the end of 2007 with members being charged 87 times and receiving 61 convictions for serious crime. The Hells Angels support group AK81 – with 113 members at the end of 2007, was, on paper at least, the worst of the gangs with 314 charges and 164 convictions. This means that on average, each member of AK81 received more than one conviction in 2007.

Wahab Zaaki, known as "Killa", was murdered in a row between rival gang members.He died as an ambulance rushed him to hospital after he was discovered badly injured in Walthamstow, east London, on Friday evening.Mr Zaaki was stabbed in the chest during a confrontation near a metalworking business in Prospect Hill, Shernhall Street. It is understood the teenager, of Old Church Road, Chingford, was known to police and had a reputation for carrying knives.His girlfriend, Lindsay Moss, 16, said he went to Walthamstow after receiving a phone call saying that someone was looking for him.
She told The Sun: "Killa was just a silly nickname. He was a very quiet person studying art."Detectives would like to speak to anyone who may have seen a disturbance in Shernhall Street before the emergency services arrived.Friends left flowers and cards at the scene paying tribute to the dead teenager, who was approaching his 19th birthday.One card read: "Thinking of you on your birthday" and "To our dearest friend, you sadly missed your birthday but happy birthday bro!"
Another card said: "To our dearest friend aka Killa we're sorry for losing you, you will be sadly missed. Rip!"

City police say they have five men and two juveniles in custody who are responsible for multiple break-ins along the Port Republic Road corridor that occurred while many James Madison University students were away for spring break.On Sunday, police were called to the 800 block of Port Republic Road for a trespassing incident. Police say once officers arrived, they found drugs and electronics in plain view.
That led to the seven arrests in connection with 14 break-ins that occurred last week mostly in the Hunters Ridge complex, which caters to JMU students. About 150 items have been recovered, police said.Five men, four from Harrisonburg and one from Staunton, were charged in the case. Two Staunton teens also were charged.Police say three of the seven arrested are known members of the "VA Stick Up" street gang, which is part of the Bloods.Those arrested were:
Jonathan Yale Artope, 19, of Harrisonburg, who was charged with six counts of felony burglary, and six counts of felony conspiracy to commit a burglary/breaking and entering;
Willie Anthony Colson Jr., 19, of Harrisonburg, who was charged with 14 counts of felony burglary, 14 counts of felony conspiracy to commit a burglary/breaking and entering and one count of felony gang participation;
Airik Bose Carter, 18, of Harrisonburg, who was charged with 10 counts of felony burglary, and 10 counts of felony conspiracy to commit a burglary/breaking and entering;
Aaron Michael Weaver, 19, of Harrisonburg, who was charged with 14 counts of felony burglary, and 14 counts of felony conspiracy to commit a burglary/breaking and entering;
Preston Lee Moats, 19, of Staunton, who was charged with four counts of felony burglary, four counts of felony conspiracy to commit a burglary/breaking and entering, and one count of felony gang participation;
A 15-year-old Staunton boy, who was charged with the possession of a firearm, receiving/concealing stolen goods and possession of marijuana;
A 17-year-old Staunton boy, who was charged with gang participation and four counts of burglary.

Gerald "Nana" Gibson today was ordered to spend 21 years in prison for a fatal shooting and a stabbing, as a judge decried the "senseless violence" because of all the city's unregistered guns.Gibson, 18, of Alexander Avenue, Cheektowaga, was sentenced for the fatal shooting of Jermain Martin, 19, last June 7 and his role in the stabbing of another Buffalo teen on a Metro Rail trail last January.As he was being led from court, he yelled out to friends, "Pop, killed it ... Ha!Ha!"
Afterward, defense attorney Michael G. O'Rourke insisted Gibson is "very sorry" for what O'Rourke called the alcohol-fueled shooting of Martin and the Metro Rail stabbing, contending his client "doesn't yet realize the full magnitude" of his crimes.Gibson pleaded guilty to reduced charges in both cases, including first-degree manslaughter in the shooting. He told State Supreme Court Justice Penny M. Wolfgang, "I accept the consequences of my actions and everyone else should do the same."He was captured in Pittsburgh by Buffalo homicide detectives as he was about to board a bus for Las Vegas two weeks after the shooting.On Jan. 21, Wolfgang sentenced Dijon Thomas, 18, a former street gang associate of Gibson's, to 10 years in prison for supplying the handgun Gibson used to kill the Shirley Avenue teenager. Gibson shot Martin at Bailey and Stockbridge avenues about 8 p.m. last June 7.Martin's mother, Rayshonne Stevens, noted that her son was not a gang member, but had gotten into an argument with Gibson and others at her daughter's Sweet 16 birthday party the night before. She told told the judge she hopes Gibson "gets to know the Lord."Thomas, Byron Brown Jr., 20, of Minnesota Avenue -- who is not related to Buffalo's mayor -- and Demario Golston, 19, of no permanent address, all face April 2 sentencings on their attempted assault pleas. Those pleas result from the attack on a rival gang member on a Metro Rail train near the Utica Station about 3:45 p.m Jan. 8, 2008.

Redd Alert and Indian Posse are established in jail, for safety, but often aren’t maintained closely after inmates are released, said Lethbridge regional police Const. Ric Wallace.
“You could almost call it disorganized crime rather than organized crime,” he said, adding aboriginal gangs have no visible street presence locally. “Although they’re on our radar, it’s not something we’re actively looking at.”
On the Blood Reserve, unsophisticated gangs known as the Bloods and the Crypts who were once prominent have largely disappeared in the past few years.
Several offshoots maintain a minor presence but consist mainly of teens who hang around together and wear bandanas to indicate their affiliations, said Sgt. Dean Syniak of the Blood Tribe Police.
None are linked to organized criminal activity, he said.
“A lot of these kids are just lost and bored,” he said. “We don’t feel there is a threat to the community, but there is a strong potential.”
Syniak said fostering a stronger cultural identity among young natives is essential to preventing gang activities from escalating, and added he has seen increasing levels of community involvement and support on the reserve for early prevention and education initiatives.Children on the reserve as young as nine years old are known to identify themselves with gangs in some way. One of the current concerns for tribal police is an initiation ritual that has youth burning themselves with cigarettes.“There are (a lot) of people who’ve lost their way, and they’re very susceptible to falling into the gang environment,” said Taber police Chief Alf Rudd, who formerly served as police chief for the central-Alberta aboriginal community of Hobbema which has long been plagued by drug problems and serious gang violence.
“For any youth on a first nation, it’s just the allure of this sensational, glamorous lifestyle — the money, the clothes, the friends. That’s what attracts them, but it’s exactly the opposite of that,” said Rudd, who was Blood Tribe Police chief before working in Hobbema. “It’s violence and intimidation as soon as you walk in the door. Once you get inside, you’re trapped.”
More than a dozen gangs are battling for control of the drug trade on the four aboriginal reserves that surround Hobbema, about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton. Drive-by shootings are common, and gangs peddle crack cocaine from derelict homes in a few old neighbourhoods that resemble inner city ghettos.
On the Piikani Reserve, police say the only semblance of gang activity has been young “wannabes” who don bandanas and strut around in groups.
“We don’t have any (gangs). That’s a positive thing and very surprising,” said Sgt. Sonny Richards of Piikani RCMP.
He noted the strong cultural identity, the involvement of tribal elders, and the use of healing circles with helping keep the reserve’s youth crime rate low.
“It’s a small community, and anything out of the norm is brought to our attention,” he said. “We’re not saying we’re perfect. We do have a handful of individuals we deal with on a regular basis.”
Totten’s study found that members of organized aboriginal gangs commonly recruit their own girlfriends and female family members who become sex slaves used to generate cash for the gangs.
“(Girls) tend to join gangs because they’ve got a friend, a father, an uncle in the gang,” Totten said in a telephone interview from his office in Gatineau, Que. “Pimping your niece or your daughter or your sister is not an unusual occurrence.
“Sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls and young women is very common in some communities,” Totten said. “Most of them are gang raped as part of an initiation ritual.”
The study also found suicide is the most common cause of death among gang members, and its findings suggest young aboriginal gang members are “killing the Indian part of themselves” through extreme acts of violence.
“They don’t have an identity outside of a gang identity,” Totten said. “Mainstream Canadians really aren’t that interested in the plight of aboriginal people because it really doesn’t affect them and because they really don’t care. And so, aboriginals are at the bottom of the social ladder in this country.”
Although officials may have to think outside the box to contain the problem, Rudd said traditional gang suppression and law enforcement are still an essential part of the solution.
“You can’t let up.”He cited the creation of the Hobbema Community Cadet Corps as an example of the police and the community helping children and teens foster positive identities instead of negative gang identities. He estimated 1,000 children and teens from the community now take part in the cadet program.

Two teenage males are dead after an afternoon shooting in Highland Park that police say may be gang related. Officer Karen Smith of the Los Angeles Police Department said the shooting occurred about 3:30 p.m. near Figueroa Street and York Boulevard. According to initial reports, the two victims were fighting with a man when another man pulled out a gun and shot the pair. One teenager was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and died there. A witness to the shooting told police that the shooter was a gang member, Smith said.

"Dump Squad," the "Bang Gang" or the "Slump Mobb" — is affliated with the national Bloods gang, prosectors said in announcing indictments Friday. In addition to the homicides, 36 charges were brought against 10 people who investigators say were members of the gang and involved in a criminal racketeering enterprise. An 11th person — Tina Stephanie Whalen — was indicted as an accessory after the fact to murder.The federal grand jury indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court marked the culmination of a multi-agency investigation after a spike in homicides in southeastern Newport News in the summer of 2007.U.S. attorney, local authorities announce gang indictments Video Edward Demond Davis, 24, known as "Cabbage," is accused of two killings. The indictment says he killed 22-year-old Terrell Williams of Hampton — found shot to death in a car on 16th Street near the Ridley Circle public housing complex — just before 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 2006.Davis is also accused of the killing of Tiarra Campbell, 22, whose burned body was found in the living room of her Ridley Circle apartment complex Jan. 17, 2007.Investigators say another man — Martin Jay Manley, 21 — shot Tony Vaughan dead outside the Atmosphere nightclub on Shell Road in Hampton on Dec. 24, 2007. Manley was arrested by Hampton police and charged with the killing the next day.The gang is linked to a reign of terror centered on the Ridley Circle, Harbor Homes and Dickerson Court areas of southeast Newport News from 2001 on, prosecutors say.

During a news conference at Newport News police headquarters Friday, acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente released details about the charges. They include murders, attempted murders, robberies, assaults, arson, witness intimidation, narcotics distribution and weapons violations.

Boente said the criminal organization controlled the supply of drugs and dealt ruthlessly with rival gangs and people who stood in its way.

"To protect the enterprise," gang members attempted to set fire to the Newport News police High Impact Patrol Station in the Harbor Homes apartment complex last year, according to the indictment.

By using the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, gang suspects face tougher sentences. Davis and Manley could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bid to kill rivals, an admitted Spanish Cobra gang member acted as a lookout while an accomplice poured gas all over the stairs of an Albany Park three-flat and set it on fire in January, authorities said Friday. The fast-moving blaze killed a pregnant woman and her young daughter, severely burned another girl and endangered the lives of three families as well as police and firefighters who came to their rescue. The intended targets were unharmed, authorities said."It's the stupidity of the gangs. They just don't care," Chicago Police Detective Cmdr. Joseph Salemme said at a news conference after one of the suspects appeared in Bond Court. "Set a fire and hope [they] get the right guy. This time they got a pregnant woman and her 7-year-old daughter."Jovan Djurdjlov, 18, of the 4200 block of West Leland Avenue was ordered held without bail on charges of murder and aggravated arson in the deaths of Rosanna Ocampo, 23, and her daughter, Itzel Fernandez.A second suspect is in custody but has not yet been charged, Salemme said. Police have not ruled out charges against additional suspects, he said. Investigators are also checking to see whether Franco Avila, 17, an alleged gang member slain this week near his Albany Park home, may have been involved in the arson and been killed in retaliation for the attack, Salemme said.Authorities said Djurdjlov and another Spanish Cobra planned to set fire to a three-flat in the 3900 block of West Argyle Street to kill Spanish Gangster Disciples rivals.About 1:10 a.m. Jan. 31, Djurdjlov stood lookout on the street while another man poured a bottle of gas on the first-floor stairway and set it ablaze, authorities said.Police arrested Djurdjlov in an alley near Lawrence Avenue and Pulaski Road on Monday after he was identified as the man who shot a 24-year-old woman, grazing her arm, officials say.He has not been charged in that shooting, but while in custody, police questioned him about the fatal arson. After receiving contradictory stories about his whereabouts, investigators checked his cell phone records and found that his phone was near the fire that night, according to his arrest report.When confronted with the evidence, Djurdjlov admitted helping plan the fire and acting as the lookout, authorities said.Itzel, who attended Volta Elementary School, was named student of the month for November and a ceremony was held in her honor, principal Roger Ted Johnson said."She was a lovely, lovely girl," Johnson said. "To me, violence is senseless in any way, especially when innocents lose their lives."

Indictment of the "Dump Squad" street gang that includes 39 charges including murders, attempted murders, robberies, assaults, arson, witness intimidation, narcotics distribution and weapons violations, at a news conference at Newport News Police Station today.The 10 people accused of involvement in the criminal racketeering enterprise centered on the Ridley Circle, Harbor Homes and Dickerson Court areas of Newport News, were arrested Thursday in an operation involving FBI agents, Newport News and Hampton police departments and other Peninsula police departments. Some were already serving time in jail for other offenses.An 11th person, Rickey Irving Rice, 26, is still wanted for offenses including attempted murder and maiming in aid of racketeering.Two defendants, Edward Demond Davis, 24, and Martin Jay Manley, 21, are charged with murder in aid of racketeering activity, a charge that carries the death penalty as a maximum sentence.
Prosecutors say the Bloods affiliated gang was responsible for the killings of Terrell Williams in Nov., 2006; Tiarra Campbell in Jan. 2007 and Tony Vaughan in Dec. 2007, all in Newport News and Hampton.The others arrested are Latroy Antonio Urquhart, 25; Cordero Bernard Ellis, 21; Twann Dominque Bugg, 22; Steven Anthony Davis, 25: Rickey Irving Rice, 26; Samuel Leslie Bates III, 27; Ty Ramon Davis, 24; Travis Tyrell Horton, 20 and Tina Stephanie Whalen, 22.Newport News police chief James Fox said his department had launched a major operation against the gang after a spate of six homicides in the city in July, 2007.He said the arrests of gang members had made the city a safer place warned members of violent gangs the law enforcement community is "coming after you."

Targeted Falls-based members of the notorious Bloods street gang. However, investigators said, over time, it “morphed” to include other small groups. Among the local gangs caught up in the sweep were Highland World, 9th & Wild and 18 Block.
“What we were seeing was the same individuals involved in drug dealing, home invasions, every ‘shots fired’ call, it was the same people,” Falls Police Narcotics Captain Morris Shamrock said. “Our initial target was the Bloods because they appeared to be the most organized. Then we discovered that there were some secondary groups, as well. Some of these groups are affiliated with the Bloods.”Shamrock said because the Bloods are a national gang, Falls Police sought the help of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.“We didn’t know where the investigation would take us, so it made sense to have agencies with a national reach involved,” Shamrock said.The roundup targeted 26 people, seven on state-related drug and weapons charges. The other 19 defendants face federal drug and weapons charges contained in a series of complaints and indictments.“We think of this as very significant,” BATFE Buffalo Agent-in-Charge David DeJoe said. “Even though (the Falls) is a small city, they have some pretty big criminals.”In addition to the arrests Thursday, five other suspects were previously picked up and charged as part of the investigation.Investigators said they seized 10 guns, mostly shotguns and rifles, more than a pound of crack and powdered cocaine, some cash and a money-counting machine. A large collection of Bloods-related photos and clothing was also reportedly discovered at the Ashland Avenue home of Sean “Raw” McGiver, described as a local Blood “clubhouse.”
“You could not buy drugs in the North End without knowing these (gang members),” Shamrock said.

Dale "Deli" Donovan became the latest casualty of a crime crackdown, receiving eight-and-half years behind bars for his role in a massive drug- trafficking network that was busted by a 2007 year-long undercover police investigation.Donovan follows in the footsteps of former local chapter president Ernie Dew, who is serving a 13-year sentence following his arrest in a similar 2006 police sting.More than 30 gang members and associates have been arrested in the two sweeps, which utilized the services of career criminals turned undercover police agents. Only a handful of the accused remain before the courts.Donovan was convicted of several charges, including conspiracy to traffic drugs, possession of proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal organization.Crown attorney Chris Mainella told court Donovan played several roles in the local organized crime scene. He was an "umpire" to feuding felons and a "tax collector" to people he authorized to sell marijuana and cocaine at various locales throughout Manitoba, such as native reserves and northern communities.Donovan was also trying to recruit people into a criminal lifestyle, Mainella said.Donovan's activities were being closely monitored by police during their Project Drill. Longtime criminal Scotty "Taz" Robertson was able to infiltrate the gang and conduct a series of drug and weapons deals that investigators caught on video and audio surveillance.Robertson was paid more than $600,000 for his work and put in the witness protection program. During the investigation, police seized five machine-guns, three handguns, 11 kilograms of cocaine, 2,000 tablets of methamphetamine and 13 pounds of marijuana. They also broke up a murder-for-hire plot in Thompson.More than 250 police officers across the country were involved in the arrests of 17 accused, which also involved arrests of full-patch Hells Angels members in B.C. and Ontario.

Drug gang zetas dumped five severed human heads in ice coolers on a road in western Mexico on Tuesday with a message threatening rivals, a state attorney general's office said.Police patrolling a highway on the edge of the Mexican colonial city of Guadalajara found the heads inside five coolers left on the roadside, the Jalisco state attorney general's office said."They were recently severed heads, cut off about four hours before they were found," a spokesman said, adding police found a message left by apparent drug hitmen threatening rival gangs. The victims' identities were not disclosed.Torturing and beheading rivals is common in Mexico's increasingly vicious drug war, which killed more than 6,000 people last year and shows no sign of abating this year despite the deployment of 45,000 troops across the country.President Felipe Calderon has centered his presidency on curtailing drug war violence and reforming corrupt police forces working in league with traffickers, but the bloodshed is frightening investors and tourists from northern Mexico.
Jalisco state is close to the Pacific state of Sinaloa, home to major traffickers including Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, and a key transit point for drugs smuggled through Mexico into the United States.The discovery of the heads of five men between the ages of 30 and 50 follows the killing of seven people by drug hitmen in February in a restaurant in Jalisco, which had been relatively quiet in the drug war over the past year.Drug violence has spiked dramatically since Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched his army crackdown, but the government says the surge in killings shows cartels are being weakened by the offensive.

Jonathan Feliz, known as Sweet Pea and Snoop, along with Reynaldo Montilla, known as Fats, are the alleged leaders of the Trinitarios, a dangerous gang police say. The group's alleged members and associates -- 35 so far --- were rounded up in early morning raids in Washington Heights and the Bronx. "We are innocent until proven guilty," said one suspect.They are accused of drug trafficking. Forty-one were indicted after a two year investigation by city and federal officers.
Story continues belowAdvertisementInvestigators charge that the Trinitarios controlled drug sales in roughly a four block area of West 171st to West 174th Street in Washington Heights.According to authorities, the dealers known as pitchers would do the hand-to-hand drug sales on the blocks, and then turn the money over to "managers." They would replenish the drug supply. Investigators found that some of the pitchers would work shift; some of them even double shifts.
Other members are also accused of violent acts. Jonathan Feliz allegedly ordered other members to kill a rival drug dealer at 174th and Audubon Avenue. It was an attempt that failed.People in the neighborhood did not want to talk about what goes on there.The Trinitarios an emerging threat and one of the fastest growing gangs in the New York/New Jersey area. The Trinitarios started, according to the website, as a prison gang in the city as protection for Dominican inmates.During the two year investigation, undercover officers purchased thousands of dollars of marijuana, cocaine and crack in private apartments and here on the street.

Murders, rapes, drugs and extortion are the calling cards of Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13.According to the FBI, MS-13 operates in at least 42 states, with the largest concentrations in California, the District of Columbia, New York and Virginia.The gang originated in Los Angeles, but now they're putting down roots in Northern California."Two years ago, we have never heard of MS-13," Yuba City police Sgt. Brian Bernardas said. "Now we have 26 or 27 of them."Bernardas, on the gang task force, called MS-13 one of the most brutal gangs. Body and facial tattoos come with the territory."I am talking shootings. I am talking stabbings. I am talking murders," he said.But members are holding down regular 9-to-5 jobs, mostly in construction or farming.An undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who spent several years infiltrating MS-13 said now that the economy has dwindled, gang members are moving into rural communities.Police said gang members are getting younger by the day -- some as young as 9 or 10 years old. So in Lincoln, residents have decided to take it upon themselves to rid their streets of gangs one child at a time.Karen Hernandez is president of the nonprofit group called REDIRECT. Its mission to help kids stay off the street by offering alternatives to the gang lifestyle, such as spending time at the Lincoln Community Center."It takes a community to raise a child. That is what we are going after," she said.Former gang member Alejantro Tomas, 14, said he can only image where he'd be without REDIRECT."I wouldn't be here in Lincoln. I would be on the run," he said.
And while organizations such as REDIRECT work to change lives, police and other authorities work to change gang culture one arrest at a time.

Gangs are responsible for at least two or three of the four shootings over the weekend. He would not specify which shootings were gang related and whether the murder of 16-year old Torenda Youngblood at his school bus stop Monday was one of them."This violence is senseless and it has got to stop," said Baldwin.
He's rolling out a program called "Operation Ceasefire." It's modeled after a similar program instituted in Boston in 1996 which Baldwin says helped reduce crime by 70% in two years.The program has two components: enforcement and intervention. Police say they will step up enforcement of gangs, pushing for maximum prison time for offenders and their associates.Baldwin says his department has collected a list of 500 known gang members and associates in the city, tied to 12 different street gangs.As part of the intervention part of the program, police officers and community leaders will team up to visit the homes of each known gang member, trying to convince them to change their ways and get out of the gang. The community leaders will then serve as mentors to help those who choose to leave a gang, change their lives.Joe Jennings is one of the community leaders who's volunteered to help. He's a former gang member who says he's been shot 13 times. He's written books about how to get out of a gang and he now devotes much of his time to starting programs to help young people turn their lives around. He thinks the intervention can work.
"We’ve got to go from taking their leader to giving them a leader, from taking hope to giving hope," said Jennings.

According to confidential police documents, Ft. Pierce officers are targeting suspected gang members in their investigation of four recent shootings.The documents were mistakenly released to the press this morning. They provide summaries of field interviews conducted by Ft. Pierce officers Monday.

Udam Sanghera, 58, and co-accused Gordon Taylor, 42, are charged with multiple weapons offences.Judge Jeanne Watchuk placed a ban on publication of evidence on the bail application for Sanghera.Police allege the gang he ran is in a bitter turf war with the rival Buttar-Malli gang.Sheldon Goldberg said police are using his client as a scapegoat because they have not found the people responsible for the Lower Mainland's recent string of killings. (CBC)"Udham Sanghera is the head of the 15-member Sanghera crime group, which operates in southeast Vancouver," Vancouver police Insp. Mike Porteous said during a news conference last Friday."That family is in direct conflict with the Bhuttar-Malli group and this conflict has over the past couple of years resulted in close to 100 shootings in that area of the city."
Sanghera has not been charged in connection with any shootings.There were no publication bans issued on Taylor’s bail hearing because his lawyer, Sheldon Goldberg, contends Taylor has nothing to hide.“They’re looking for a scapegoat,” Goldberg said. “They haven’t found the persons who have committed all these murders in the Lower Mainland — they’re not even close, it looks like.”In court, a special gang prosecutor alleged Taylor attended a meeting to bomb a rival gangster’s home and also arranged to buy four handguns in February.Goldberg countered that his client was set up by police and lured into buying the guns.Wally Oppal, B.C.’s attorney general, said he is hoping the judge will take the charges of each of the men into consideration when making a decision on whether to grant bail.
“If a person has seven or eight or nine outstanding charges and some of those involve weapons, then I think the judges have to look carefully about the reputation of the system,” Oppal said.The men remain in jail while they await their next hearing, scheduled for Wednesday

Dublin gang behind the shipment which was intercepted by the Naval Service off the west coast last November is said to be desperate to raise the huge bill amid suspicions that the Colombians and major drugs gangs in Britain are threatening retribution.The 1.9 tonnes of cocaine had a street value estimated at €675m and was the biggest ever haul of the drug here.Gardai believe the gang intended to ship on a substantial amount of it to gangs in Britain who may have also put up substantial sums of money, putting further pressure on the Irish gang.As a result of the seizure, the gangs had to turn to the high-risk "tiger" kidnap robberies, the first on December 23 last, when the family of a director of a security firm was held and €1.2m taken, followed by the Bank of Ireland job. It also prompted a attempted kidnap and robbery in Galway last month.Gardai now believe that the gang is so desperate they may carry out further robberies in an effort to raise the missing cash.Since the seizure the gang has been putting pressure on its dealer network here in Ireland and anyone falling into debt is being threatened, beaten or shot. The cash crisis for the gang has escalated levels of violence in Dublin and sparked the feuding which has led to seven gangland deaths this year.The gang itself has been trying to expand into other gangs' "turf" in the city and this has led to the round of killings which started in January with the murders of Michael 'Roly' Cronin and James Moloney as they sat in a car in Summerhill in the north inner city on January 6.This was followed by the murder of Stephen O'Halloran, 20, in Tallaght, and of Graham Nally, 35, in Finglas within 24 hours on January 19-20. Richard Keogh, 30, was then shot in Benalmadena in Spain on January 24. On February 9 last, Michael Hendrick, 36, was murdered in Clondalkin, and three days later one of Dublin's big drug dealers, John Carroll, was shot dead as he sat in a public house in the south inner city.Hitman Michael Murray, 41, was shot dead last Tuesday in Finglas.The murder of 28-year-old Stephen Gunn, whose body was found near the airport in January, is not thought to be connected with the feuding. It is believed he was stabbed to death after a row at a party.It is the worst ever spate of gang killings in Dublin and gardai do not expect it to stop. Sources said that despite the fact that the major gang in the city has a clear advantage over other gangs, their opponents are heavily armed also and several have made it clear they are not prepared to step down and allow their territories to be taken over. The violence is most intense in Finglas, but the murder of Johnny 'Champagne' Carroll has brought the conflict into the south inner city, where some of the most vicious independent gangs live and operate.The major gang has also been employing former republicans to manufacture bombs to kill and intimidate opponents. In the past month one was planted under a car belonging to one of the major drug families in the south city. This family has a long-established history of violence and has had no challenge to its authority in years. Gardai were surprised at the attack and expect retaliation.
Further down the chain, terrible pressure is being exerted on street dealers to pay debts and many are being beaten and shot. Since late last year the level of suicides among young people at a low level in the drugs trade has surged as many become unable to bear the violence.

cyber-banging. Gangs now use social networking sites to recruit, communicate, and post threats.For Salinas officials, the trend brought to mind how terrorist organizations developed and triggered the idea of bringing in terrorism experts from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue was fascinated with how the military methodically figured where Sadam Hussein was by using statistical analysis. He wondered if the same approach in terms of predictability could be used on gangs.Salinas police Commander Kelly McMillan agrees and said a lot of insurgent groups the military deals with in Iraq and Afghanistan are very much structured like a street gang in Salinas.