Three major criminal gangs in New Zealand - Hell's Angels, Mongrel Mob and Black Power - while the Tribesmen are attempting to set up shop.gangs should be outlawed.
Laws says the way to attack gangs is not to give them longer sentences after they have been convicted, but to hound, harass and deny them access to benefits and state houses. The council will make a submission to parliament along those lines.
Tukituki MP Craig Foss made a special speech in parliament about the murder of central Hawke's Bay farmer Mark McCutcheon after the Gangs and Organised Crimes Bill passed its first reading under urgency this week.A 22-year-old gang associate has been charged with McCutcheon's murder.Foss said society needs to fight back and say enough is enough.gangs to take over too many of the country's streets, Police Minister Judith Collins says.The criticism comes after a woman and her two young children were allegedly threatened and forced from their Lower Hutt home by neighbouring Mongrel Mob members.

Pomare's Farmer Cres is well known as a Mongrel Mob enclave, with at least nine families linked to the gang living there. Police told The Dominion Post that their officers avoided the area.

Rico R. Williams, 31, of Chesapeake smiled to family members as he was led into a federal courtroom Wednesday for a bond hearing. He waived his right to a hearing and will remain in jail pending proceedings in the Washington U.S. District Court.former airman accused of leading a violent gang in Germany agreed on Wednesday to be transferred to Washington, D.C., to face charges of killing a U.S. Army sergeant during an initiation ritual.Williams is accused of leading a German faction of the Gangster Disciples, a gang that originated in Chicago and is listed by the FBI as one of the 15 largest gangs in the country.The killing of Sgt. Juwan Johnson, 25, occurred at a Gangster Disciples initiation ceremony in Hohenecken, Germany, in early July 2005.According to a report in the Stars and Stripes newspaper, Johnson sustained more than 200 blows in the six-minute beating. Williams is accused of throwing the first two blows, which knocked Johnson unconscious. Timed beatings are a signature initiation rite of the Gangster Disciples, the FBI says.

Several other service members were charged with manslaughter by the military in Germany, but the outcomes of those cases could not be learned this week. The Stars and Striped obtained details of the beating by attending court proceedings.

Christopher Marenco, 20, showed no emotion as the verdict was read in court. The jury of eight women and four men decided that Marenco murdered 27-year-old Rodolfo Hernandez, gunning him down on Jan. 1 last year. Norteno gang member accused of killing a man for being a gang dropout was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday.
He now faces life in prison without parole.Norteno street gang member Christopher Marenco was found guilty Wednesday of the 2008 slaying of Rodolfo Hernandez.Although Marenco was expressionless, families on both sides in the audience shed tears and cried. Bernard Ruiz, the victim's stepfather, grasped his wife Frances and son Manuel by the shoulders as Marenco's fate was revealed. "Oh yes!" Ruiz yelled. He then placed his face in his hands and began crying uncontrollably.Meanwhile, Marenco's mother wept quietly, while other members put their heads down and also cried.Wearing long hair and a white collared shirt, Marenco seemed unmoved by the emotions in the courtroom, only turning briefly to wave at his family as deputies led him away in handcuffs.Investigators said Marenco killed Hernandez for being a dropout from the same gang. An important fact of the case, however, was that Hernandez was in a romantic relationship with the defendant's older sister at the time of his death. Hernandez was shot in the chest at a 1630 Yosemite Park Way residence, during the early morning hours.Deputy District Attorney David Elgin argued that Marenco was angered by his sister's relationship with Hernandez, saying it was an insult to have "a dropout" involved with a family member. Elgin said Marenco made verbal threats to Hernandez -- threats that he viciously carried out.Elgin said he was pleased with the verdict. "It sends a message that gang members will be held accountable," Elgin said. "If you took the gang aspect out of this case, Rudy would still be alive."Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Marenco's attorney, said his client still maintains the shooting was accidental, arguing that the gun unintentionally fired during a heated argument between the two. "It's a sad day for Christopher Marenco and his family," Tenenbaum said.Hernandez was a father of three and had been attending classes at Merced College, with dreams of becoming an auto mechanic.Bernard Ruiz said he doesn't hate Marenco, but said he's caused an unimaginable amount of pain to families on both sides. "I'll never forget what he's done to our family. He's got a lot of time to think about it," Ruiz said.Still, Ruiz admitted that he is somewhat relieved. "I know now that my son can rest in peace," he cried.In addition to first-degree murder, the jury also found Marenco guilty of a special circumstance for being an active member of a criminal street gang, in addition to an enhancement for having a previous strike for an assault conviction.He's scheduled to be sentenced on April 16.

This is, in my estimation, gangs gone wild in Winnipeg," Winnipeg police Sgt. James Jewell said.Paa Pii Wak was supposed to be acting as an aboriginal treatment and healing centre, providing shelter to homeless people and teaching native culture, therapy and clean living to troubled residents who were sent to live there by the courts while their criminal charges were pending.

Instead, police say it became in effect a Manitoba Warriors clubhouse, a state that was unknown by Manitoba judges who let accused people stay there.

The man, who spent some time in the facility in 2007, was later charged with first-degree murder along with two co-accused with whom he’d spent time inside the facility. The trio is accused of beating a man to death in the core area.

The Salt Lake County SWAT team surrounded a condo near 1400 South Rutherford Avenue in Bluffdale at about midnight Wednesday, said sheriff's office spokesman Don Hutson. Inside was 31-year-old Oliver Benavidez, sought by law officers since he allegedly hit a deputy with a car late Saturday. Benavidez was wanted for two felony fleeing from police warrants, and when a metro gang unit deputy pulled over a car Benavidez was riding in, he knocked the driver out of the car and hit the officer in the leg as he sped away. Metro gang officers tracked Benavidez to a friend's condo in Bluffdale, and were told he was hiding in an upstairs closet, where he had access to two handguns and a rifle, Hutson said. "Benavidez made it clear it was not going to be arrested," Hutson said. He did not come out and officers called the SWAT team. They tried to contact him with a phone and a bullhorn, but all they heard was the sound of Benavidez barricading himself in the house, Hutson said. Then officers threw in tear gas, and Benavidez quickly gave himself up at about 5 a.m. He was booked on the outstanding warrants, along with new charges of fleeing police and aggravated assault on a police officer. According to Hutson, he is associated with the 38th Street gang.

Gilberto Solano was shot last night at 9:15 in the 6600 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his chest.He died at a local hospital.Investigators determined that the victim and the suspect got into an argument about their rival gangs. When the victim walked away, the suspect went to his vehicle, retrieved a gun and then confronted the victim. The suspect fired one shot into the victim's chest and fled in his vehicle with an accomplice.Detectives have few leads and no suspect or vehicle description.

Double shooting at Club Platinum over the weekend is getting the attention of city leaders. "What do you call fun? Shoot em up bang bang. That's not what I call fun."
Mayor pro tem Alvin Mason is speaking out after a shooting at Club Platinum that left two people in the hospital."It definitely merits some type of action," said Mason. The club has a police file that reads like a graphic novel. It comes complete with tales of gang rivalries, and it details 5 shootings in 3 years. One was deadly.
"Was this latest shooting gang related," we asked. "Definitely gang related," said Sgt. Richard Elim.Witnesses say the Harrisburg Boys were trying to start a fight with the Southside Boys inside the club. The group was thrown out. The shots were fired in the parking lot. The reason is unknown."What we do know is it keeps happening at this location," said Mason. "It may be time for this location to shutdown.""It would be a bad thing if we allowed that kind of operation to run and we have another murder there," said Elim. "We already had one.""I'm ready to act," said Mason. "I'm ready to act, today."Mason says this is just the beginning.
"Anyone who comes to club establishments with the intent of doing bodily harm to somebody, I don't care what your color is, they need to be dealt with," said Mason. "If a club caters to this type of environment then they ought to be dealt with," said Mason. "This isn't a Black issue. It's not a White issue. It's a right and wrong issue, and I'm prepared to deal with right and wrong."Committee meetings are coming up Wednesday. Commissioners are making a last minute attempt to get this item on the public safety agenda. Sheriff Ronnie Strength says he will recommend revoking the club's license. He says he is also looking into legal options for having the club's doors closed before the weekend

Derelle Oliver, who's being held in lieu of $2 million bail, is charged with two counts of murder and other charges in the Dec. 6 deaths of 17-year-old Monique Palmer and 15-year-old Michael Taylor. Deputy District Attorney Mike Still argued during a preliminary hearing last month that Oliver aided and abetted the actual killers and was part of a group that caused the murders.
The prosecutor tried to convince Judge John Thompson that the murders were a natural and probable consequence of Oliver pulling out a gun earlier and pointing it at people. But the judge dismissed the murder charges, ruling the prosecution produced no evidence that the defendant was directly involved in the fatal shootings. Still re-filed the murder charges last week. A hearing is planned to seek dismissal of the charges for a second time, defense attorney John Stathis said. A readiness conference is scheduled for May 18. At his arraignment today, Oliver pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, conspiracy to assault with a firearm and assault with a firearm. Stathis unsuccessfully urged Judge Jeffrey Fraser to order the media to obscure his client's face, saying he didn't want Oliver associated with murder charges that had been dismissed once and may be again. A number of witnesses testified at the preliminary hearing that the defendant and other gang members crashed a party in Valencia Park in rival gang territory, and that Oliver pointed a gun at people leaving the party and later at a group walking home that included Palmer.
Two gunmen later snuck up behind the group that included both victims and shot them. Palmer, a senior at Lincoln High School, was pronounced dead at the scene. Taylor, a freshman at Point Loma High School, died at a hospital. Still said Oliver bragged on his MySpace page that he couldn't wait "to beat those people" at the party, and that he and his fellow gangsters armed themselves before heading there. Thompson said earlier there was no doubt the murders were carried out by gang members in rival gang territory, but no evidence to link Oliver to the shootings. The investigation into who killed the victims is continuing, Still said

local gang member will spend more than 15 years in prison for supplying the gun used in a shooting. His involvement lead to the death of 16-year-old Juan Ramos. The jury found Jimmy Allen guilty of reckless endangerment, first-degree burglary, possession of a firearm, and theft of a firearm.
In September of last year, Allen dropped Ramos off on 15th Street in Sunnyside, where Ramos fired at rival gang members and then was shot himself.Allen took him to the hospital where he later died. Detectives say Allen likely gave Ramos the gun he stole earlier that day.

Gang crimes committed by Canoga Park Alabama, the area's toughest gang, fell 48 percent while crimes carried out by Van Nuys Barrios climbed 50 percent. The numbers were released late last month when Police Chief William Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the city's latest gang-fighting strategies. Police are hesitant to credit an injunction against Canoga Park Alabama for single-handedly lowering the crime rate there. Among other things, court-ordered injunctions limit gang members' freedom of movement and often ban them from meeting in public.
Still, police acknowledge the Canoga Park Alabama injunction has helped make the area feel more like a neighborhood again.

Bloods street gang in Lakewood, authorities blamed gang members for killing the mother of a murder witness's girlfriend last year.Five alleged members of the Bloods have been indicted for that killing, including two men who were ultimately found guilty of the initial murder."By developing intelligence and information about the criminal activities of gangs, we've been able to make arrests and prosecute the entities that are committing these crimes," said Deputy Chief Michael Mohel, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.Still the Bloods, as well as other gangs such as the El Salvadoran MS-13, continue to pose a threat. The FBI assessment said there may be as many as 2,500 gang members active in Ocean County.
In Monmouth County, officials have identified more than 500 gang members since launching a task force in 2007, Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said, and found while the Bloods present the most serious threat, other groups like the Latin Kings also have set up shop in the area."These groups are committing the traditional crimes like drug trafficking, gun violence, armed robbery and assault. But we've also noticed through our intelligence they're becoming more sophisticated and getting into identity fraud and financial crimes," he said.While law enforcement has seen success going after gangs — Attorney General Anne Milgram touted more than 1,800 arrests and $4 million in drugs seized at a December news conference — efforts that focus on education and awareness also are under way.A member of the State Police's gang unit visited with Lakewood teachers early this month for a seminar on local groups and the warning signs that students may be associating with them.
Presentations like that have become common, said State Police spokesman Sgt. Julian Castellanos, and troopers are now meeting with school districts and civic groups on a regular basis.Several similar workshops have been held for teachers in Lakewood, where raising awareness is part of an ongoing response to gangs that already includes the use of security cameras and a dress code, instituted in part to curb the proliferation of students wearing gang colors.Still, however, the district recognizes that some students identify themselves with gangs, Schools Superintendent Eugenia Lawson said, as evidenced by a recent trend of using rosary beads to signify a gang affiliation in place of more tradition clothing."Kids are resilient. They're going to find different ways to do what they're going to do," Lawson said.
In Brick, where Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist Jr. has authorized a detective to work full time with Ocean County's gang task force, gang members still turn to drugs as their main source of income, but now also are known to commit acts of extortion and identity theft, Bergquist said."We're far from the first suburb to be affected. Nobody is immune to it," he said.Brick officers are expected to begin a new program next year for sixth-grade students that will follow the model of its Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which focuses on drug awareness for children, but instead spotlight gangs."We believe it's probably the most effective and productive avenue, but we still need to have the enforcement end and get out in front before it grows to the point where it was in some communities throughout the state," Bergquist said.

Kevin LeClair was gunned down in his truck in Langley, he was stopped by police in the same vehicle in Port Moody in the company of Jonathan Bacon.Bacon and LeClair, who died Sunday, were seen driving away from Bacon's apartment in the 600-block of Nootka Way, heading for popular Newport Village when they were pulled over. They told police they were on their way to the shopping area to get a coffee, apparently nonchalant about the threats facing them."On Thursday, Feb. 5, members of the Port Moody Police Department were in the area of Jonathan Bacon's residence," Insp. Andy Richards confirmed Sunday. "At approximately 12:15 p.m., Bacon was seen exiting his residence and getting into Kevin LeClair's late model Lincoln pickup truck.
The two were stopped and checked by PMPD members a short distance away and they advised they were heading to Starbucks. They were in the same vehicle in which LeClair was murdered the next day in Langley."Just two days before the LeClair-Bacon sighting, Port Moody Police issued an extraordinary public warning that Bacon -- the eldest of three gangster brothers targeted for death -- had moved to town and residents should be aware.It was the third police warning in Metro Vancouver since last May, when the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force said the public could be at risk because of the serious nature of the threats against the Bacon brothers and friends, who are linked to the Red Scorpion gang.LeClair, a 26-year-old Surrey resident, pulled into the Thunderbird Mall parking lot just after 4 p.m. Friday. Some witnesses said he was being chased by another vehicle. Right in front of a crowded IGA Marketplace, two gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons, shattering the driver's side window and leaving LeClair critically wounded.RCMP Cpl. Dale Carr said Sunday that the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is now in charge of the LeClair probe and is appealing to the public for information."Police have learned that two suspects were seen fleeing the area. They were last seen heading north through the parking lot of the shopping centre toward Colossus Theatre," Carr said. "It is believed that the suspects entered a vehicle to leave the area, and in doing so left the area in an erratic manner thereby drawing attention to themselves."

Police destroyed a small bar in the community in addition to shooting into the painting done in memory of Dave 'Machine Man' Sterling, former area leader and head of the Rat Bat gang.
"Di dead man can't rest in peace!" residents remarked continually
"Di boss dead from last year and all now de police still a tek set, look ya, two shot dem buss inna him face," one resident said pointing to what appeared to be patched-out holes in the painting. "We patch dem out 'cause wi neva tink de media did a come 'cause we a call dem from Monday morning when it happened and we neva see nobody."
A female resident said the incident happened sometime before 6 a.m. on Monday. "Mi come in 'bout 5:20 a.m. and go in mi house and mi hear like some shot buss a likkle while after that," she said. "When mi look out mi see de police dem outta de road. Mi try fi go look a wha a gwaan but de police dem run mi back in. Mi go back out there after the crowd show up though and dat's when mi see dat a de painting dem shoot up and mash down de likkle bar." She said the police also picked up several persons during the operation yesterday, but most had been released. Another resident alleged that a policeman confiscated a big yellow radio along with some Red Bull beverages during the incident yesterday. Efforts to get a comment from the police Mobile Reserve, who were said to have carried out the operation, were unsuccessful up to press time yesterday. One source from the St Andrew South police division, however, said that while no official report of any sorts were made to them, they have heard rumours of the incident. The source also disclosed that a police operation was, in fact, carried out in the Crescent Road area by a police department. Machine Man was shot dead last October after he allegedly pointed a firearm at lawmen.

Police today identified two Kansas City, Kan., men as homicide victims in a shooting early Friday morning outside a Northeast area nightclub.They were positively identified as Drell D. Fisher, 22, and Reginald L. Barnes, 22.The shooting was reported about 3:30 a.m. outside of Gerry’s Silver Slipper near Independence Avenue and Van Brunt Boulevard.A witness told police that she heard the gunman say something about money before both men were shot. The gunman then fled in a car, possibly occupied by another man.When police arrived, officers found a man with a gun, but officers said the man dropped the weapon and ran.The man was apprehended after a short foot chase and was being held pending possible weapon and drug charges unrelated to the homicides. Police said they did not think that gun was the murder weapon.Two weeks ago, three men were injured — including one who was stabbed 14 times — during a brawl and knife fight at the same nightclub.

Documented gangs in Merced County

MERCED
Blood Asian Crip
Oriental Troop
True Blue
Rebels Before Locs (Norteno)
Dead End Locs (Norteno)
Loughborough Locs (Norteno)
Westside Merced (Norteno)
12th Street (Norteno)
Merced Ghetto Boys (Norteno)
Merced Gangster Crips
M Street (Norteno)
Nortenos for Life (Norteno)
Loc'd Out Crip
Asian Crip
Men of Destruction
Home Boys Only
Bloods
Players Nation Wide
Bay Area Youngsters
Surenos
Merced Peckerwoods
Hells Angels MC (biker gang, also in Los Banos)
Barhoppers MC (biker gang)
Nazi Lowriders
Peckerwood
Southside Locs (Sureno)
Crips N' Thugs
LOS BANOS
Illinois Avenue Trece (Sureno)
Territorial Sur Trece (Sureno, also in Dos Palos)
Varrio Sur Trece (Sureno)
West Side (Norteno)
East Side San Jose (Norteno)
East Side Los Banos (Norteno)
Garden Block (Norteno)
Mogols MC (biker gang)
Hells Angels MC (biker gang)
WINTON/ATWATER
A-Town (Sureno)
Winton Varrio Parke (Sureno)
Los Primos (Sureno)
South Side Loc (Sureno)
Willow Street (Sureno)
Poco Puero Loco (Sureno)
DELHI
Delhi Locs (Norteno)
Ghost Town Surenos)
Los Primos (Sureno)
LIVINGSTON
Livas (Norteno)
PLANADA
Varrio Planada X (Norteno)
Puero Sur Trece (Sureno)
LE GRAND
Nortenos
Le Grand Locs
Varrio Le Grand (Norteno)
GUSTINE
Central Valley Surenos
Central Valley Crew (also in Santa Nella)
DOS PALOS
Dos Palos Gang (Norteno)
Northside Dos Palos (Norteno)
Northside Varrio Locos
Territorial Sur Trece (Sureno)
Source: Merced County Multi-Agency Gang Task Force
Most people wouldn't recognize the dress code. But to the streetwise, it's clear he's a true-blue Sureno gangbanger. Agents Mike Baker and Shane Kensey of the Merced Multi-Agency Gang Task Force quickly handcuff him and his 20-year-old friend and sit them on a curb in Atwater.As if the blue clothes weren't enough of a flag, the 22-year-old stocky man they're interviewing is wearing another traditional Sureno symbol, engraved on his silver metal belt buckle: the number 13.One thing's for sure -- he's dodging Baker and Kensey's questions as if they were 9-millimeter rounds."A-Town? Willow Street? Southside Locs?" Baker asks, rattling off the names of Sureno gangs, as the man sits next to his friend. He shakes his head to each of those names. "I don't bang," he insists.Moments later, Kensey removes from the car a light blue marijuana bong and a CD case with the words "Varrio Los Primos" written across it in blue ink. Los Primos is a Sureno gang common to the Winton and Atwater area.Only a few crumbs of marijuana are found in the Sureno's car. The reason Baker and Kensey pulled him over in the first place was for driving through a stop sign.
That's not enough for the officers to make an arrest, but they have accomplished one goal. They've photographed the man and his tattoos. They've logged his personal information and address on a "field information" card, a small sheet containing details about the suspected gang member.That information will be entered into the task force's computer database, accessible to any law enforcement department in the county.Based on this Sureno gang member's lifestyle, Kensey says it's probably only a matter of time before the man commits a more serious crime. And when he does, at least he'll already be known to law enforcement. "We don't need him to admit (being a gang member). Based on what we see, right now we're going to validate him," Kensey explains.Just another day in the life of the Merced Multi-Agency Gang Task Force, one of the county's newest tools to combat what Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II calls the county's "No. 1 law enforcement challenge."
That may sound like a tall claim, but the task force has compiled sobering data to back it up. In a county with an estimated population of 255,250, the task force believes about 5,627 of those people are documented gang members. That's roughly 2 percent. Since last year, the task force has documented 54 gangs in Merced County.
Morse, who spearheaded the year-old task force, estimates that one in three homicides in Merced County is gang-related. There are few specific data about the number of recent gang crimes in Merced County. Law enforcement experts agree that's because witnesses and victims of those crimes rarely cooperate with law enforcement, out of fear of retaliation by the gangs. Naturally, that makes it hard to confirm which crimes are gang-related and which aren't. The sheriff's department reported nine gang homicides between 2005 and 2008. Merced police reported 19 gang homicides between 2004 and 2008, based on the initial reports of each investigating officer. And officials admit those numbers are extremely conservative.

Police on Friday searched for two gunmen who killed one man and wounded six others when they opened fire on a table full of people at a crowded coffee shop in an attack believed to be gang-related.Sheriff Lee Baca said it appeared the bandana-wearing gunmen were targeting a specific person late Thursday at the cafe in San Gabriel, about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles."The manner in which it was done suggests it was a payback situation or a revenge situation," Baca said. "They had a specific person they were trying to shoot."Deputies said the attackers walked in through the front door of the Coffee House and began firing handguns. Saying nothing, they initially targeted a table next to the entrance where people were playing cards.Both suspects fired several shots toward the table then turned the guns deeper into the cafe, sheriff's homicide Lt. Pat Nelson said. The attack lasted only a few seconds before the two shooters fled on foot."We believe it probably is a gang-related case," Nelson said. "There is a recognized gang presence at that particular location."Five of those wounded were taken to area hospitals; three were listed in critical condition but Nelson said all were expected to survive. A sixth person suffered a grazing wound and refused treatment.The identity of the slain victim was not immediately released.The cafe was crowded with at least 40 people when the attack occurred late Thursday, but deputies were having a hard time finding witnesses."We know people saw something," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. "And we need them to come forward and help us solve this crime."San Gabriel police Sgt. Jeff Whitney said several gangs operate in the city, though he did not know which one might have been involved in the shooting.The Coffee House is located in a strip mall along busy Valley Boulevard. A Chinese bakery, foot massage parlor and Vietnamese restaurant are nearby.Four people who appeared to work at the cafe declined to speak to a reporter as they mopped up pools of blood and swept away blood-soaked playing cards and glass from a smashed table top.Signs of the killing were gone by midday, and the cafe was open, serving coffee and other hot drinks to about 10 men.Owners and customers at surrounding businesses were reluctant to discuss the incident. Most said they did not speak English.One person, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said the shop was a popular nighttime hangout for young people, and police had been called there in the past to break up fights.The shop's surveillance cameras were not working properly and did not record the attack, San Gabriel police Sgt. Rene Hernandez said.Responding officers who received a panic alarm call from the shop were flagged down by several people who had been shot, he said.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies were called to the shooting at the corner of Ramsey Drive and Cortright Way a little after 3 p.m. today, Sgt. Tim Curran, sheriff's spokesman said.There they found a 17-year-old Hispanic male shot in the neck and face with what appeared to be shotgun pellets, Curran said. Deputies also found an 18-year-old Hispanic male who suffered a shotgun wound to his hand and leg, he said.Two men, believed to be gang members, were shot in North Highlands this afternoon in what appears to be a gang-related incident, sheriff's officials said.Both were transported to a local hospital, Curran said. The 17-year-old's wounds are described as life-threatening, while the 18-year-old has been declared stable, Curran said.Neighbors said they saw a red Mitsubishi Eclipse with up to five occupants leaving the scene, Curran said.Both victims were validated gang members, Curran said.

3304 Drew Street was a sophisticated nerve center for one of northeast Los Angeles' most notorious street gangs. A 30-ton excavator made quick work of the stucco house Wednesday, turning it to rubble as jubilant officials and somewhat more skeptical neighbors looked on. "This was the 'In-N-Out' for drug sales in this particular neighborhood," City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said. "People were shot outside the front of this property, it just has been a menace." For more than two decades, the house was inhabited by a powerful family in the Avenues, a multigenerational gang named after the numbered roads crisscrossing the area about six miles northeast of downtown. Ex-residents included matriarch Maria "Chata" Leon, an illegal immigrant who was arrested in 2002 for allegedly selling cocaine, and one of her sons, Danny Leon, who police say carried out a drive-by shooting in February last year. Immediately after the shooting, he pulled an AK-47 on police officers, who shot him dead outside the house. Between 2002 and 2005, police conducted 14 narcotics raids, arrested more than a dozen homicide and other suspects, and confiscated drugs and automatic weapons from the property. "This house served as a terrifying monument which sought to intimidate and control this neighborhood," Delgadillo said.
Two alleged Avenues gang members not connected to the house pleaded not guilty to murdering a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was gunned down Aug. 2 in front of his nearby home. Despite its frightening reputation, the house was once a home. The names of several family members – Nicolas, Francisco, Jose – had been written into the poured cement along the footpath and an ornate fitting was still attached to a light switch in the kitchen. The city attorney's office initially targeted the house in 2005 and in November that year a court ordered the residents out. The property was barricaded in January 2007. Local officials reached out to federal law enforcement and immigration agents, sparking an investigation that culminated last year in a federal racketeering indictment and the arrest of more than 70 alleged Avenues gang members and their associates, Deputy City Attorney Nicholas Karno said.
His office has since filed lawsuits against 12 other alleged gang homes in the area, though those properties remain occupied. Several neighbors said the area had improved since the arrests, and new street lights made them feel safer at night.
"In the nighttime, we couldn't even go out," Cecilia Martinez, 28, said as she corralled her chihuahua puppy back toward her home. "Now it's cool." Others watching the excavator noisily chew through the home questioned razing a house in an already tightly populated community. "It hurts my heart," Lidia Martinez, 46, said in Spanish. "There are kids without parents and older people who need a place to live."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Miller identified Eric Sherron Coats as the leader of the Cut Throat gang in court Thursday.Coats was detained without bond Thursday in the central division of the U.S. Court for the Western District of Missouri in Jefferson City.Magistrate Judge William A. Knox ruled to detain the suspected leaderalong with co-defendant Tarron Montez Cason, 25, without bond until trial, scheduled to begin July 20. Both have entered pleas of not guilty on all counts.
Miller said that evidence collected from 60 days of wiretap recordings of Coats' phone led to the identification of Coats, 21, as the leader of the gang. The wiretaps are suspected to have recorded him discussing drugs, rival gangs, gun violence and the drive-by shootings in which Coats and other co-defendants are accused of having participated. Miller stated that this type of call occurred multiple times a day.Coats' attorney, Brian K. Stumpe, said Coats would not be a flight risk if released on bond because he had a chance to flee his house after he was informed that the FBI would be coming to arrest him. Instead, he remained at the house and allowed the FBI to search his home, Stumpe said.Knox granted the prosecution's request to detain Coats despite Stumpe's evidence and letters from Coats' family members, employers and teachers.Coats is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, use of a communications facility to assist in the distribution of illegal substances, possession of a firearm while being addicted to a controlled substance, and involvement in another conspiracy entailing competition with other individuals for drug-trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and firing a gun into a group of two or more people.Wiretaps are also suspected to have recorded Cason talking to Coats about narcotics. Cason has also been convicted of one earlier narcotics felony in Boone County, along with at least 23 misdemeanor convictions, according to Miller. Cason's attorney, Randall England, said Cason could present an alibi defense.
Cason is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and use of a communications facility to aid in the distribution of controlled substances.Coats and Cason are two of the 16 suspected gang members listed in a 34-count indictment. The co-defendants include Coats' mother,Donna C. Coats, and a brother, Koda Alshawn Coats.

Demichael Rashad Jackson, 18, was found guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity — committing aggravated robbery as a gang member — by a jury in 241st District Judge Jack Skeen Jr.’s court after nearly two hours of deliberation.Tyler gang leader who was out of jail on bond for one charge and on probation for another at the time he robbed five people at gunpoint during a home invasion was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison. After learning of his criminal history, which began in 2003, the jury sentenced him to 60 years and a $10,000 fine after more than an hour of deliberation. Jackson, who faced life in prison, will be eligible for parole after 30 years.Jackson, who prosecutors call the "self-proclaimed leader" of the Westside Crips Rolling Sixties gang, busted down the door at 1206 S. Buckley Ave. with two other gang members and pointed a gun at five people, threatening to kill them as he stole their belongings on May 29. As he left the house, Jackson fired his gun at a man standing across the street. He and other gang members pawned and sold some of the items and were found with the rest by police.

The robbery occurred at about 2 a.m. on May 29. At 10 a.m. that same day, Jackson appeared at the Smith County Courthouse and pleaded guilty to assaulting a man. He was allowed to remain out of jail on bond, as he had been, and was told to report to jail in June. At 7 p.m. May 29, Jackson is shown in video surveillance at the Game X Change, wearing one of the robbery victim’s backpacks and pawning stolen video games with other gang members.

Prosecutors played a recording of a phone call from jail in which Jackson was talking to both Ms. Orange and the sister he lived with on Peach Street. During the conversation, the women told him about their “cousin” who broke into a woman’s apartment at Southwest Pines Sunday and was shot in the face by the victim.

Assistant District Attorney Joe Murphy said the Habitat for Humanity house where Jackson lived is now a gang den and riddled with bullet holes from rival gangs.