Scheme in which heroin is given to addicts in supervised clinics has led to big reductions in the use of street drugs and crime, the BBC has learned. More than 100 users took part in the pilot – part funded by the government – in London, Brighton and Darlington. They either injected heroin or received the drug’s substitute methadone. Those given heroin responded best and an independent panel which monitored the scheme over six months are advising ministers to set up further trials. About three-quarters of those given heroin were said to have "substantially" reduced their use of street drugs. Research suggests that between half and two-thirds of all crime in the UK is drug-related. The Home Office says on its website that about three-quarters of crack and heroin users claim they commit crime to feed their habits.
PILOT SCHEME FINDINGS
Three-quarters reduced use of street heroin
Offences down from 1,731 in 30 days to 547 in six months
Spending on drugs down from £300 to £50 a week
Figures for group given heroin Professor John Strang, who led the project, said the results were "very positive" because the scheme had helped cut crime and avoid "expensive" prison sentences. Professor Strang, who is based at the National Addiction Centre, part of King’s Health Partners, said the individuals on the programme were among those who had been the hardest to treat. "It’s as if each of them is an oil tanker heading for disaster and so the purpose of this trial is to see: ‘Can you turn them around Is it possible to avert disaster’ "And the surprising finding – which is good for the individuals and good for society as well – is that you can," he said. The Randomised Injecting Opioid Treatment Trial (RIOTT) programme – which is funded by a number of agencies, including the Department of Health – began in 2005. It involved 127 chronic heroin addicts for whom conventional types of treatment had failed. Many of the addicts were also using other substances, including crack cocaine. During the trials, a third of addicts were given the heroin substitute methadone orally and another third injected methadone under supervision. The remainder, observed by nurses, injected themselves with diamorphine – unadulterated heroin – imported from Switzerland.
National roll-out,Those on the programme were also given psychological support and help with their housing and social needs. The results showed that addicts in all three groups cut the amount of heroin they obtained illicitly from street dealers. According to researchers, more than half of the heroin injecting group were said to be "largely abstinent" and one-in-five did not use street heroin at all. Before they began the programme, the addicts in the heroin injecting group were spending more than £300 a week on street drugs. After six months, this had reduced to an average of £50 a week."It used to be about chasing the buzz, but when you go on the programme you just want to feel comfortable"John, RIOTT participant
There was also a big drop in the number of offences addicts admitted committing to obtain money to feed their habit. In the previous month before the scheme started, addicts in the heroin injecting group reported carrying out 1,731 crimes. After six months, this had fallen to 547 offences – a reduction of more than two-thirds. One of the heroin addicts on the programme, a 34-year-old man called John, had been addicted for eight years when the trials began. He fed his habit by dealing. "My life was just a shambles… waking up, chasing money, chasing drugs," he said.
But John said the scheme had transformed his life "100 per cent" and he now had a part-time job. "It used to be about chasing the buzz, but when you go on the programme you just want to feel comfortable," he said.
"I’ve started reducing my dose gradually, so that maybe in a few months time I’ll be able to come off it altogether, drug free totally." In its drug strategy, published last year, the government said it would "roll out" the prescription of injectible heroin, subject to the findings of the pilot scheme. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), which administers drug treatment in England, said the results were "encouraging". The NTA said an independent expert group, set up to advise the government, had concluded that there was enough "positive evidence of the benefits" of the programme to merit further pilots. The NTA is understood to be keen to evaluate the financial implications of the scheme. At £15,000 per user per year, supervised heroin injecting is three times more expensive than other treatments.

PREGNANT Filipinas are the favorite “carriers” of drug syndicates bringing illegal drugs to China and Malaysia, according to former labor undersecretary Susan Ople, head of the Blas Ople Policy Center. Ople’s group is helping overseas Filipino workers victimized by drug syndicates. She said these groups use pregnant women as drug mules because they are least to be eyed as couriers and they get lighter penalties if they get arrested

controversial scheme to give addicts heroin at supervised clinics has led to a reduction in crime. More than a hundred addicts took part in the scheme in London, Brighton and Darlington which was part funded by the government. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8254872.stm
Here's a report by Danny Shaw, the BBC home affairs correspondent:
Is this the right approach to tackling the problem of drugs and crime? If you've been a drug user or the victim of drug related crime are you in favour of this approach? Are you happy with any measures that reduce crime or do you feel that this is an example of society going soft on drug addicts?
In 1994 the Swiss embarked on their Heroin Assisted Treatment project. This resulted in a significant improvement of health (both mentally and physically) for the majority of the over 1200 participants. In addition, a massive reduction in criminal behavior was observed.The HAT outpatient centers are spread over the following Swiss cities : Basel, Bern, Biel, Brugg, Burgdorf, Chur, Geneva, Horgen, Lucerne, Olten, Reinach, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thun, Winterthur, Wetzikon, Zug, Zürich and in two prisons Oberschöngrün (canton Solthurn) and Realtà
The Swiss Federal office for public health reports that :
In many cases, patients’ physical and mental health has improved, their housing situation has become considerably more stable, and they have gradually managed to find employment. Numerous participants have managed to reduce their debts. In most cases, contacts with addicts and the drug scene have decreased. Consumption of non-prescribed substances declined significantly in the course of treatment.
Dramatic changes have been seen in the situation regarding crime. While the proportion of patients who obtained their income from illegal or borderline activities at the time of enrollment was 70%, the figure after 18 months of HAT was only 10%.Each year, between 180 and 200 patients discontinue HAT. Of these patients, 35-45% are transferred to methadone maintenance, and 23-27% to abstinence-based treatment.The average costs per patient-day at outpatient treatment centers in 1998 came to CHF 51. The overall economic benefit - based on savings in criminal investigations and prison terms and on improvements in health - was calculated to be CHF 96. After deduction of costs, the net benefit is CHF 45 per patient-day.

Baltimore man accused of killing a 16-year-old as part of a Black Guerrilla Family gang rite has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and related charges, prosecutors said. On Thursday, a jury was unable to reach a verdict against William Key, 21, who was accused in the Oct. 13, 2007, slaying of Deron Hope. Prosecutors say Hope was killed by Key and co-defendant Kenneth Robbins because Robbins wanted to be initiated into the gang. But after the hung jury, Key suddenly pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, the same charge Robbins pleaded to in May. Robbins is to be sentenced in November.

Three members of the notorious MS-13 gang pleaded guilty yesterday to stabbing a man and leaving him for dead inside a Hispanic nightclub in Chesterfield County last fall.One of the victim's five stab wounds to the chest punctured his heart in the Oct. 18 attack inside a restroom at Valentino's restaurant on Jefferson Davis Highway. The victim, who they mistakenly believed was their bitter rival, nearly died."The intent was to kill," said Matthew C. Ackley, special prosecutor of the Richmond-metropolitan multijurisdictional grand jury.Authorities described the attack, investigated by Chesterfield police and the Richmond Division of the FBI, as the most significant case of gang violence here involving known members of MS-13. The gang has local contacts but isn't believed to have gained a foothold in the region."The ones that we have identified have been from cliques in Northern Virginia," said Chesterfield Detective Keith Applewhite, a gang expert.The three gang members, natives of El Salvador who had spent time in Northern Virginia and New York, ambushed the victim after they believed the man flashed signs at them denoting he was a member of a rival Hispanic gang known as 18th Street."They are archrivals," Applewhite said of the two gangs. "If they see one another, they'll attack."
Saul Joab "Penguino" Miranda, 27, who was living in Mechanicsville at the time of the attack, was sentenced to serve nine years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated malicious wounding and criminal street-gang participation. A charge of abduction was withdrawn as part of his plea agreement.
Gilberto Ernesto "Diablo" Gutierrez, 30, living in Chesterfield in October, was sentenced to serve five years in prison after pleading guilty to similar charges. An abduction charge was withdrawn.Antonio "Little Duende" Urrutia-Barrera, 20, living in Reston last fall, pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated malicious wounding. Abduction and criminal gang-participation charges were withdrawn. He is to be sentenced next week.Urrutia-Barrera recently pleaded guilty in Loudoun County to criminal gang participation, and Ackley said MS-13 commanders sent him to the Richmond area last fall after a shooting in Northern Virginia.In a summary of evidence, Ackley gave this account of the assault:The three defendants were at Valentino's the evening of Oct. 18 when they saw the victim -- identified only as "R.H." in court yesterday -- flash gang signs. Mistakenly believing he was a member of 18th Street, the trio then challenged the victim to come outside. He refused.The defendants then followed him into the restroom, where Miranda and Urrutia-Barrera stabbed the victim repeatedly in the chest, shoulder and hand while Gutierrez held him and blocked the door.The victim was hospitalized for several weeks and still has significant scarring from his wounds and limited use of his right hand, which he no longer can close into a fist. The 26-year-old victim, who lives in South Richmond, denied being a gang member, Ackley said.During a break in yesterday's hearing, Ackley said the defendants may have been pumped up by the Salvadoran rap music playing that evening in the club. They also flashed their gang signs that night, he said.Chesterfield Detective Michael P. Morgott investigated the assault and was assisted by the FBI in linking the defendants to MS-13, a violent gang that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s by immigrants fleeing El Salvador's civil war.Ackley said an FBI informant infiltrated the gang and provided key information that aided in the defendants' arrest and prosecution. The FBI obtained recorded statements that implicated the trio, Ackley said.At the time of the offense, Miranda and Gutierrez were residing in the U.S. legally as protected refugees from El Salvador, according to their attorneys. Urrutia-Barrera's attorney declined to talk about her client. Miranda and Gutierrez originally lived in Bay Shore, N.Y., and Salisbury, Md., respectively, Ackley said.Through an interpreter, Urrutia-Barrera told Chesterfield Circuit Judge Frederick G. Rockwell III that he has been in the U.S. four or five years and attended high school in Fairfax County.
"This is for the Mara Salvatrucha," a nonfiction narrative about the gang, gives this explanation of the MS-13 name: The initials MS stand for Mara, or "clique," and Salvatrucha, commonly known to mean "street smart." When the Mara Salvatrucha allied themselves with the Mexican Mafia, they adopted "13" as part of their name out of respect, because "M" is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

Teenager, who was being questioned by police Monday, fired a warning shot in the air as he told a group of up to 20 to "back the (expletive) up," according to students who witnessed the melee."They was about to fight and he pulled the gun out of his pants and shot," said one student, who didn't want to be identified."Everybody took off running. Some jumped on buses, ran across the street, all over."Grand Rapids police and Grand Rapids Public Schools Safety Director Larry Johnson said they were trying to determine what preceded the 3:10 p.m. shooting at the 1720 Plainfield Ave. NE school.No one was hurt and police recovered the weapon, Grand Rapids police Capt. Pam Carrier said.Authorities were unsure if the gun was ever in the school, but plan to increase security before, during and after classes Tuesday.Johnson was to convene his staff and discuss options that could include using metal detectors.
"We'll meet and determine how to go forward," he said.
"One gun near the school is too many."
Johnson said security officers did not sense trouble brewing during the day."I don't know if there's anything we could have done differently," he said.Police did not identify the student, pending possible criminal charges.Students said the teen was a member of the Highland's Finest street gang and that his attackers were part of the North Avenue gang.Police would not confirm gang ties played a role in the incident, which played out near a main exit from the school.A woman who lives across Plainfield Avenue said she heard girls yelling and screaming before the shot was fired. She's lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and says the violence and arguing is becoming more common."There's always people going back and forth," she said, declining to be identified.Johnson said the district has not had a complaint of a gunshot on school grounds since an Ottawa Hills student fired a gun in a bathroom three years ago."We can't change perception," he said. "It's not our job to change perception. We try to keep the kids as safe as possible."One 14-year-old freshman stood at a bus stop across from the school as police investigated. He saw the fighting and then heard a "big boom."He said he didn't know the people involved and that students were surprised a dispute escalated to the gunfire. Like security staff, he said there was not heightened tension at school Monday."But people are always talking trash, so you don't know," he said.

Female suspect was injured during a shootout with SQ officers in the Laurentians on Sunday evening. Two people had tried to steal gas from a gas station in Mont-Tremblant around 11 p.m. and were intercepted by police when they tried to flee.
There was an exchange of gunfire and a woman was injured and then arrested. A man fled into the forest and was arrested later in the morning.An SQ helicopter and search dogs joined the search for him. An apparent confrontation between street-gang members in Laval ended when a 20-year-old man was stabbed in the back. It happened just before 1 a.m. Monday inside a restaurant on Cure-Labelle boulevard in Chomedey.
The victim and three or four friends had been arguing with another group when he was stabbed. Everyone else, including the victim's buddies, fled the scene. The back-stabbed man is expected to live and is not co-operating with investigators from his hospital bed.

Amos Brown believes that he has been targeted by the Money Green Gang, a group of youths from the Meadow Gardens housing complex who have alleged ties to the notorious Bloods street gang. The Money Green Gang is known for drug dealing and suspected in multiple shootings in the city, according to an affidavit for Troy Davis, who was arrested by Norwalk police Tuesday on drug charges.Hunt was allegedly associated with the gang and his friend, alleged Money Green Gang member Corey Young, was convicted of stabbing Johnson, according to court documents.Brown said the gang violence has made AJ's life intolerable and prevented him from furthering his education in public schools. AJ has been confined to his room inside of Brown's Orchard Street home since his acquittal."I keep thinking they will come here, and it's a nasty feeling," said Robertson, who lives in Bridgeport but visits Norwalk often to see her son. "I'm shocked by a lot of this. I used to change the Pampers on some of these kids."Leaving their lives in Norwalk behind has been rough on AJ and his father as they separate from strong bonds in the community, but it's the right decision, Brown said.AJ simply commented that he didn't want to move, but his girlfriend, Shanteria Cosby, said she understands the reasons behind his need to relocate."They really need to move," she said. "There's too much drama here."Robertson still has grown children and grandchildren in the area, preventing her from moving with Brown and her son. She said parting with AJ will be difficult for her, but she realizes a change is necessary."When Amos and AJ go, I won't like it, but there's nothing I can do at this point. AJ hasn't even finished high school yet," she said. "He can't go out to school, and no one will come here to educate him. He has another chance at life."Amos spent late August and early September tying up loose ends, paying bills and handing over his property management and home improvement business to a friend. "The customers didn't like that I was leaving," he said. "They were very unhappy with what's happening with crime in this town."
While hoisting a go-kart into a U-Haul truck Thursday night, Brown said AJ will have an open field to ride the recreational vehicle on, but he remained cryptic about his future residence."Everybody knows where I'm from," he said, "but they don't know where I'm going."

19-year-old alleged Carson City gang member was arrested at 4:27 p.m. Saturday on the corner of Lompa Lane and Highway 50 on suspicion of causing a fight. Bail was set at $1,132. According to the arrest report witnesses saw the man, along with several others all dressed in the known Lima Street gang uniform of green shirts and dark pants, beat the alleged victim.A witness reportedly told police the man jumped in the truck as the alleged victim drove away.“It is common practice for gang members to ‘jump in' new members of the gang or to ‘check them' when they have done something wrong,” the arresting officer wrote in the report. “Both instances involve beating of the members.”

alleged Westside gang member was ordered held Wednesday to face charges in a bus stop shooting last year that left one man dead and the man's cousin wounded.
Carlos Lopez, 32, targeted what appeared to be rival gang members - two men dressed in red clothing - at a downtown bus stop last year, say San Bernardino police. One of the men, 23-year-old Bobby Brookins, died. However, a witness at the same bus stop did not identify Lopez as the shooter in photo lineup and told a detective he thought the shooter may have been black because his voice lacked an accent. After listening to testimony from several witnesses, Judge Douglas Gericke ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold over Lopez to face charges at trial. The ruling came during a preliminary hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court. Lopez returns to court Sept. 18 to enter a formal plea on charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have also alleged the crimes benefit and promote a street gang. The surviving victim testified Wednesday that a tan SUV pulled up near a bus stop on Arrowhead Avenue, at Fifth Street, and stopped. The driver and passenger got out, but only the driver walked toward the victims. "What's up fool?" the victim recalled the driver saying, before he produced a handgun and fired several times. The victims turned to run, but Brookins was fatally shot. The county medical examiner later found that Brookins was shot in the chest and abdomen. The surviving victim was grazed on the head and shot in the arm and back, he said. Police said they found that one of the victims associated with a Los Angeles-based street gang. Officers crossed paths with Lopez during a traffic stop about two hours after the shooting. However, Lopez was dressed differently and had a different color vehicle than the accounts witnesses had given. Lopez surrendered to police with his lawyer the following week. Gang officer Francisco Hernandez testified that Lopez has self-admitted gang membership to police and has tattoos of "I.E." on his arms, "Mt. Vernon," on his stomach and "Verdugo" on his back. Hernandez said members typically commit violent crimes to gain respect and promote their gang, and it also shows Lopez's willingness to commit crimes for the gang. "It would intimidate and strike fear into the hearts of other gang members as well as members of the community," Hernandez said. A man who was also standing at the bus stop just before the shooting also noticed the victims' clothing. "They looked like they was from a gang," said Billy George. He described the shooter to police as possibly being black because he didn't hear an accent in the shooter's speech.

Steven Magana, 25, and Timothy Coronado, 22, are charged with attempted murder and several enhancements tied to allegedly discharging a firearm and being members of a criminal street gang. Merced County sheriff's investigators believe the defendants and a third suspect, a 16-year-old juvenile who is being tried separately, went to the victim's Westside Boulevard residence on March 9 at 10:20 p.m. and shot him four times.The victim, who admits to being a former gang member himself, survived the incident. The identity of the victim has been withheld by the Sun-Star because of concerns about his safety.Merced County District Attorney David Sandhaus said the victim didn't identify the suspects at first because Coronado and the 16-year-old juvenile are his nephews -- and he wanted to protect them. Sandhaus said the defendants . A bullet also grazed his face. "There's no doubt in my mind it was them," he said.The victim admitted he purposefully withheld information from detectives, but later stepped forward after his son and a 4-year-old girl were shot two months later at a residence in Livingston. The man suspected that Coronado, Magana and the juvenile were responsible for that shooting, although they were never charged."I just decided to step up and say what really happened," he said.When asked about his criminal background, the victim acknowledged that he'd been in prison several times, primarily for several DUI convictions and violation of parole. The man also said he'd been a gang member in and out of prison, but has since "given his heart to God" and changed his ways.Tenenbaum told jurors during his opening statement that Magana, his client, wasn't at the scene when the 54-year-old victim was shot. He said the victim had decided to "throw in" Magana's name when he talked to detectives.Smith said there's no physical evidence linking Coronado, his client, to the crime. Smith also said it was "pitch black" outside when the shooting happened, making it impossible for the victim to see the shooters. "He didn't see who did it -- that's the bottom line," Smith said.Coronado and Magana face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. Both men remain in custody, in lieu of $1.4 million bail.

four-day operation targeting street gangs in north and central Alabama ended with 23 people arrested and facing possible deportation. U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents arrested 20 men, two women and one juvenile they said have ties to violent street gangs during a sweep of Jefferson, Shelby and Morgan counties.
The effort targeted members of several "transnational street gangs" such as MS-13, one of the largest Hispanic street gangs in the United States, and Sureno-13, one of the most significant gangs operating in the Southeast, according to the National Gang Intelligence Center, a group supported and staffed by various government agencies. Such gangs have high numbers of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human trafficking, drug smuggling and immigration violations, according to ICE. Other gangs mentioned in the announcement of the arrests were Lejion Negra, Judas 13, Southside Locotes and La Quemada. "Street gangs account for a significant amount of crime nationally and locally," Jesse Blakeman, resident agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Birmingham, said in a prepared statement. "ICE works closely with our local law enforcement partners to identify, locate and arrest these gang members to thwart criminal activity in our communities. Ultimately, ICE deports these gang members." Most of those apprehended were taken to the DeKalb County Jail; three were released pending immigration hearings. As of Friday, only two faced criminal charges, according to ICE. Misael Godoy-Torres was arrested Thursday at Cedar Brook Apartments in Hoover and has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a gun, according to federal court records. An affidavit filed Friday stated ICE agents received a tip that Godoy-Torres, a Mexican citizen, was a member of street gang Brown Pride 13. When his girlfriend let the agents into the apartment, Godoy-Torres threw a rifle from a third-story bathroom window and was attempting to jump from the window when he was arrested, the affidavit said. Agents found a cell phone with pictures of Godoy-Torres with the gun and "what appears to be a gang bandanna," the affidavit stated. Another man, Margarito Carbajal-Nava, was in custody in Decatur City Jail on three state charges - probation violations on three charges of criminal trespassing - a jail official said Friday. Officer Sharon Latham said Carbajal-Nava, a 38-year-old Decatur resident, was being held for ICE and was arrested Aug. 30. A statement issued by ICE Friday stated that agents conducted the operation working with local law enforcement including police officers in Alabaster, Decatur, Hoover and Pelham, and Shelby County sheriff's deputies. Alabaster Police Deputy Chief Curtis Rigney said ICE agents asked his officers for backup as they "went to a few residences." Rigney said he did not know if anyone was apprehended in that city. Rigney said his department has not noticed an increased gang presence in Alabaster, but is eager to work with immigration officials because "you never know where these gangs are."

Shawn A. Goldfinch, 27, made a preliminary appearance on the charges in U.S. District Court on Friday. According to a criminal complaint, he sold cocaine to an informant working with police on Feb. 4, March 16 and March 24. The alleged deals were captured via audio recordings. The case was investigated by the Safe Streets Task Force, which includes the FBI, Vancouver police, sheriff’s deputies and Department of Corrections agents.The government also alleges Goldfinch is a member of the Nortenos street gang.man whom federal agents characterized as a "member of a violent Vancouver street gang" faces charges of dealing in cocaine and crack cocaine.

Apple Valley gang member has been knowingly transmitting HIV/AIDS to women for the last decade, authorities said today.
Dennis "Dog" Rios, 40, was arrested last week while sheriff's detectives were investigating an alleged drug house in the 12000 block of Navajo Road.
While interviewing people at the home, detectives said they happened upon Rios. They discovered he has suffered from AIDS for the last 10 years but has continued to have sex with women without telling them. Officials have tracked down one victim and expects several more to come forward.He is being held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of knowingly transmitting the disases.

alleged Westside gang member was ordered held Wednesday to face charges in a bus stop shooting last year that left one man dead and the man's cousin wounded.
Carlos Lopez, 32, targeted what appeared to be rival gang members - two men dressed in red clothing - at a downtown bus stop last year, say San Bernardino police. One of the men, 23-year-old Bobby Brookins, died. However, a witness at the same bus stop did not identify Lopez as the shooter in photo lineup and told a detective he thought the shooter may have been black because his voice lacked an accent.
After listening to testimony from several witnesses, Judge Douglas Gericke ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold over Lopez to face charges at trial. The ruling came during a preliminary hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court. Lopez returns to court Sept. 18 to enter a formal plea on charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have also alleged the crimes benefit and promote a street gang. The surviving victim testified Wednesday that a tan SUV pulled up near a bus stop on Arrowhead Avenue, at Fifth Street, and stopped. The driver and passenger got out, but only the driver walked toward the victims. "What's up fool?" the victim recalled the driver saying, before he produced a handgun and fired several times. The victims turned to run, but Brookins was fatally shot. The county medical examiner later found that Brookins was shot in the chest and abdomen. The surviving victim was grazed on the head and shot in the arm and back, he said.
Police said they found that one of the victims associated with a Los Angeles-based street gang. Officers crossed paths with Lopez during a traffic stop about two hours after the shooting. However, Lopez was dressed differently and had a different color vehicle than the accounts witnesses had given. Lopez surrendered to police with his lawyer the following week. Gang officer Francisco Hernandez testified that Lopez has self-admitted gang membership to police and has tattoos of "I.E." on his arms, "Mt. Vernon," on his stomach and "Verdugo" on his back. Hernandez said members typically commit violent crimes to gain respect and promote their gang, and it also shows Lopez's willingness to commit crimes for the gang. "It would intimidate and strike fear into the hearts of other gang members as well as members of the community," Hernandez said. A man who was also standing at the bus stop just before the shooting also noticed the victims' clothing. "They looked like they was from a gang," said Billy George. He described the shooter to police as possibly being black because he didn't hear an accent in the shooter's speech.

Plattekill man beaten half to death and left on the street, police said.Officers arrived about 1 a.m. Sunday to Hasbrouck Street and found the 23-year-old man bludgeoned, stabbed and sliced. He had multiple punctures in his torso and a deep gash on the top of his head, police said.He went to the Newburgh campus of St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital where staff discovered his arm and leg were broken. His condition was serious.Three witnesses helped officers track the attackers, police said. A 20-year-old woman told police she watched four of the assailants drive away in a Jeep Cherokee. She followed in another vehicle and called police. When officers stopped a Jeep on Johnes Street, she and a 22-year-old man came and identified suspects.Police arrested the four occupants: 30-year-old Lucio Ramirez, 16-year-old Edgardo Perez and two 15-year-old boys.The 22-year-old witness told officers the four were part of 10 or so who beat the man with a bat and hacked at him with a machete. A third witness said the man had been sitting with him on some steps when the men attacked. That witness said he ran when one of the attackers pointed a gun at him. He heard one shot as he fled but wasn't hit.Police said they found a bloody baseball bat in the Jeep after arresting the four.The suspects face felony gang assault charges — a charge that relates to the number of attackers rather than any affiliation to a street gang.Ramirez and Perez were being held at Orange County Jail; Ramirez in lieu of $25,000 bail and Perez in lieu of $20,000. The two juveniles were released to their parents pending a Sept. 18 appearance in Family Court.

600 people had been arrested in the month-long sweep. More than 200 of them were alleged Bulldog gang members.Dyer told reporters at a news conference that the Bulldog street gang was attempting to make a comback, but that officers would continue targeting gang members.He said part of the growing gang problem is that parolees are getting out of prison and joining gangs.

Narcotics division of the Santa Barbara Police Department, shut down operations of a paper products business on Tuesday, after finding evidence of employees selling illegal street weapons.According to Lt. Paul McCaffrey, the owner of Pacific Paper Products and an employee, were taken into custody for allegedly selling illegal weapons to Santa Barbara gang members.Police confiscated weapons such as brass knuckles, throwing stars and even a blow gun.Lt. McCaffrey says, there was substantial evidence that these items were being sold for profit to members of local street gangs.

Jeffrey Grant faced up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder, improper discharge of a firearm, criminal gang activity and using a gun in a drive-by shooting. He testified against another gang member who was convicted last week. 18-year-old Cleveland man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for his role in gang-related shootings that injured four people, including a man in a wheelchair. "I am sorry," Grant said as he stood before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Janet Burnside. "I made a mistake. I would like another chance to become a better man. I will spend the time to educate myself to be a better man." Grant was a member of the Nelson Boys gang, based on East 116th Street. The gang feuded last fall with the Benham Miles Family gang, from nearby Benham and Miles avenues. The territorial battle erupted Nov. 14 in gunfire after BMF members shot at a Nelson Boy's van, putting two holes in it on Miles Avenue. Grant and Dasean Jenkins, 19, joined the van's owner, AlMichael Woods, 21, in seeking revenge. The Nelson Boys armed themselves with an SKS semi-automatic rifle, TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol and Glock 9-mm semi-automatic pistol and opened fire on a group of men in a field on Miles Avenue, shooting a man in the neck. Then they fired at another group of people near Benham Avenue. A man in a wheelchair unaffiliated with the gangs was shot in the forearm. Cleveland police officers and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents already investigating local gangs responded immediately, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence that resulted in more than a dozen felony charges against each shooter. Investigators found an assault rifle and the SKS and Tec- 9, but weren't able to find the Glock. Agents learned that the weapons were first purchased in the early 1990s, but couldn't track them further. Assistant County Prosecutor Mahmoud Awadallah lauded the investigators and said the defendants were lucky no one was killed. Jenkins pleaded guilty to the same charges as Grant and is awaiting sentencing. They testified against Woods, who was convicted last week of attempted murder, felonious assault, shooting into a habitation, criminal gang activity, carrying a concealed weapon and using a gun in a drive-by shooting. He will be sentenced Wednesday to 11 to 51 years in prison.trio opened fire on a group of men in a field on Miles Avenue, hitting a man in the neck. Then they shot at another group of men near Benham Avenue. A man in a wheelchair unaffiliated with the gangs was shot in the forearm. Cleveland police officers and ATF agents investigating local gangs responded immediately, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence that resulted in more than a dozen felony charges against each shooter. Assistant County Prosecutor Mahmoud Awadallah said the defendants were lucky no one was killed. Jenkins pleaded guilty to the same charges as Grant and is awaiting sentencing. He also testified against Woods, who was convicted last week of attempted murder, felonious assaults, discharge into a habitation, criminal gang activity and carrying a concealed weapon. He will be sentenced Sept. 16 to 11 to 51 years in prison.

Sources confirmed to the Calgary Herald the man who died was David Tajali, who was once involved in a feud between rival gangs of Iranian origin in B. C.'s Lower Mainland.Two brothers with ties to a gang war in B. C. were caught in a spray of gunfire in southwest Calgary early Sunday, leaving one dead and the other recovering in a city hospital.The second man, now in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, is Tajali's younger brother, Niki, who is a known B. C. gangster.
The elder Tajali was once aligned with the North Vancouver Persian Pride gang and later the United Nations, and the younger brother has some of the same affiliations.
David Tajali was also the victim of an attempted murder in November 2006 when he was shot at his Richmond apartment.But it was the shooting that unfolded around 2:30 a. m. Sunday that took his life, sparking a police investigation that had officers poring over evidence at a crime scene that stretched for several blocks.Residents reported hearing numerous shots fired on 4th Street at 18th Avenue S. W., sending officers flooding into the neighbourhood.When police arrived, they found an injured Tajali in the driver's seat of a black BMW convertible with B. C. plates. He was rushed to hospital by paramedics but died of his injuries, said Duty Insp. Keith Pollock.The driver's side window of the BMW was smashed and what appeared to be two bullet holes marked the door. A piece of clothing lay on the ground next to the car.
Homicide unit Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus said the second victim was not in the vehicle when he was shot.Niki showed up at a local hospital after the shooting, where he remains -- not under police guard--and is co-operating with investigators, Andrus said."The hospital is aware of the investigation," Andrus added.A female passenger inside the BMW was not injured in the shooting. She is also cooperating with police.
Officers cordoned off several blocks of the neighbourhood as part of the investigation.Evidence markers denoting blood droplets and other items wove a pathway along the sidewalk on 4th Street, down the alley between 18th and 19th avenues and into a small parking lot. There, they also marked a pile of shattered auto glass.Forensic investigators dusted for fingerprints along a low wall at the edge of the small lot.Curt Heitmann, who lives in the apartment block overlooking the crime scene, said he was sleeping at the time."I woke up because I heard what sounded like fireworks," he said.The shots, more than 10, he said, came in two sets and were followed by someone on the street yelling, "I'm just trying to help you."
With the bars emptying at the time, many called police to report the gunfire, said Pollock."We're talking to a lot of people right now and trying to sort out what was related(to the shooting)and what wasn't. That could take awhile," he said.
But police are most interested in speaking with two women spotted talking to a lone man behind a building on the east side of the 1800 block of 4th Street S. W. just before the shooting."We believe the lone male will have information in regards to this incident. It's very important we talk to those two women. . . ." said Andrus. "We want to know what they saw, what they heard, who they talked to."
He would not say if the man is a witness or suspect, but said the woman are believed to be strictly bystanders in the crime.Besides talking to witnesses, investigators also canvassed the neighbourhood Sunday to see if there is any surveillance video that may assist them.It is unclear whether Tajali's death is a sign the gang war in B. C. has crossed into Alberta or if he somehow became entangled in the feud between the FOB and the UN-linked FOB Killers.Andrus said investigators have been in touch with B. C. police and Calgary's own gang unit is assisting.Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the B. C. Integrated Gang Task Force said over the past few years many gangs in that province have set up shop in Alberta and Ontario or have developed business relationships with gangs in other cities."We know that individuals well-known in Metro Vancouver organized crime and gang circles have been known to travel to other provinces where they are just as susceptible to violence," he said.Tajali moved to Calgary about a year ago. He had been no stranger to the law in B. C.His involvement in the ongoing gang war there had seen both him and his brother injured by bullets.
Investigators have speculated he was the target of another shooting in January 2007 --just two months after he was shot--that claimed the life of a man who happened to drive a truck of the same make, model and colour as Tajali.Kirk Holifield was driving his Dodge Ram truck near Tajali's residence in Richmond, B. C., when the vehicle was sprayed with bullets and he was hit several times.The father of a baby girl died a few hours later in hospital.At the time, sources said the shooting may have been a case of mistaken identity and police confirmed earlier this year Holifield was an innocent victim. The case remains unsolved.Tajali was busted in a complex dial-a-dope scheme in 2004, but those charges were stayed. Some of his co-accused pleaded guilty in 2006 and one of the gang was sentenced to seven years in jail in November that year--the same day Tajali was shot at his apartment.
A few years earlier, he was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm after he was found swimming in Vancouver's False Creek with a handgun in a fanny pack around his neck. That same night in October 2003, police had responded to reports of shots fired at a nightclub. In his July 20, 2005, ruling acquitting Tajali, Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Raymond Low said it was clear, considering the time of year, that Tajali was "not swimming as a part of recreation."Tajali's younger brother, Niki, was also involved in the ongoing feud. He was injured in a gunfight in a quiet residential neighbourhood around the same time Holifield was killed. Police said that shootout saw more than 150 shots exchanged between at least six gunmen using automatic weapons in a park frequented by families and dog-walkers.