Missourian, "soldiers ... shot Crips gang members; in retaliation Crips has asked its members to shoot any soldiers on sight.

 

Missouri National Guard soldiers and airmen were still on "alert" Saturday afternoon to "avoid wearing a military uniform in public" because of a "direct threat" in retaliation to a gang-related shooting around Fort Sill, Okla., earlier in the week. The cautionary warning  was issued Friday. According to an internal memo leaked to the Columbia Missourian, "soldiers ... shot Crips gang members; in retaliation Crips has asked its members to shoot any soldiers on sight." MoreStory Related Articles Oklahoma shooting leads gang to threaten Missouri National Guard According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Crips is a collection of gangs throughout the U.S. with an estimated membership between 30,000 and 35,000 operating out of 221 cities in 41 states. Missouri is one of those states. Lt. Col. Levon E. Cumpton, who issued the memo, said the message "came out through Army channels"; Fort Sill is an Army base in Lawton, Okla. He called the action a "precautionary measure." According to Cumpton's memo, National Guard troops were instructed not to "wear a military uniform out for evening dining, shopping, and other personal matters." Full-time members were cautioned to "consider commuting to/from work in civilian clothes — specifically, if they need to make personal stops between home and work." Spokesmen for the Missouri National Guard and Fort Sill declined to elaborate on the incident, saying the investigation is in the hands of the Lawton, Okla., Police Department. Yet as of Saturday afternoon, "the alert has not been rescinded," said Maj. Tammy Spicer, the public affairs officer for the Missouri National Guard.  The decision to call off the alert will come from the Joint Operations Center in Jefferson City.  "As far as we know, and even the Lawton Police Department know," the gang’s threat is "just an unsubstantiated rumor," said Fort Sill Public Affairs Officer Keith Pannell during a phone call late Friday night. KSWO-TV 7 News in Lawton reported two Air Force bases in Oklahoma, Tinker and Altus, issued similar orders to enlisted soldiers. The Altus Air Force Base Facebook page commented Friday night on receiving "information on a criminal threat to military members in the Lawton-Fort Sill area." The incident that sparked the direct threat seems to be tied to a "brutal” home invasion in Lawton earlier in the week, with the four main suspects in the invasion being Fort Sill soldiers. They are believed to be responsible for shooting four people and injuring two others early Tuesday morning who, according to rumors circulating in the city, were gang members with ties to the Crips. The Missourian was unable to reach the chief of police who is handling the case.

Troy Davis Is Denied Clemency in Georgia

 

Troy Davis, whose death row case ignited an international campaign to save his life, has lost what appeared to be his last attempt to avoid death by lethal injection on Wednesday. Enlarge This Image Georgia Department of Correction, via Associated Press Troy Davis, in an undated photo provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections.  Readers’ Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » Read All Comments (7) » Rejecting pleas by Mr. Davis’s lawyers that shaky witness testimony and a lack of physical evidence presented enough doubt about his guilt to spare him death, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles ruled on Tuesday morning that Mr. Davis, 42, should die for killing Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer, in a Savannah parking lot in 1989. “He has had ample time to prove his innocence, and he is not innocent,” said Mr. MacPhail’s widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris. “We have laws in this land so that there is not chaos. We are not killing Troy because we want to. We’re trying to execute him because he was punished.” She, Mr. MacPhail’s mother and the couple’s two grown children were tearful after the hearing on Monday, pleading exhaustion. “I’m not for blood. I’m for justice,” said his mother, Anneliese MacPhail. “We have been through hell, my family.” The case has been a slow and convoluted exercise in legal maneuvering and death penalty politics. It has included last-minute stays and a rare Supreme Court decision. Because Georgia’s governor has no power to stay executions, the parole board was the last hope for Mr. Davis. “I don’t see any avenues to the Supreme Court,” said Anne S. Emanuel, a law professor at Georgia State University who has formally reviewed the case and found it too weak to merit the death penalty. “There’s nothing else apparent.” The last-ditch effort to spare Mr. Davis’s life produced a widespread reaction among people who believe there was too much doubt to execute him. More than 630,000 letters asking the board to stay the execution were delivered by Amnesty International last Friday. The list of people asking that the Georgia parole board offer clemency included President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 51 members of Congress, entertainment figures like Cee Lo Green and death penalty supporters, including William S. Sessions, a former F.B.I. director. On Friday, more than 3,000 people gathered at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, in the heart of Martin Luther King Jr.’s former neighborhood, for a prayer vigil and protest. This is the fourth time Mr. Davis has faced the death penalty. The state parole board granted him a stay in 2007 as he was preparing for his final hours, saying the execution should not proceed unless its members “are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.” The board has since added three new members. In 2008, his execution was about 90 minutes away when the Supreme Court stepped in. Although the court kept Mr. Davis from execution, it later declined to hear the case. In the week before his third execution date, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution to consider arguments from his lawyer that new testimony that could prove his innocence had not been considered. The appeals court denied the claim but allowed time for Mr. Davis to take his argument directly to the Supreme Court, which ordered a federal court to once again examine new testimony. But in June, a federal district court judge in Savannah said his legal team had failed to demonstrate his innocence, setting the stage for this latest execution date. Lawyers for Mr. Davis on Monday laid out a case of mistaken identity. Information was presented from several witnesses who said they had been pressured by the police and changed their testimony, although others stood by their original testimony. Another witness implicated the man who first identified Mr. Davis another gunman to the police. Throughout the ups and downs of the case, members of both families have attended all the legal proceedings. Mr. Davis’s sister, Martina Correia, a former soldier who made saving him her life’s work and who is weak from fighting breast cancer, was in the hearing Monday. So were members of Mr. MacPhail’s family, who testified toward the end of the hearing. “A future was taken from me,” said his daughter, Madison, 24. “Not just my father. The future we would have had together as a family.” She said she would be at the execution, along with her brother, Mark, 22. Anneliese MacPhail will not. But she welcomes it. “It sounds terrible but I can close this book,” she said. “I can finally get peace. I can never get closure, but I can get peace.”

Former MI6 chief says ministers approved Gaddafi links

 

Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of MI6 when British agents helped to send Muammar Gaddafi's opponents back to Libya, where they were tortured, said on Thursday that intelligence co-operation with countries with poor human rights records had always been cleared by ministers. "It has always been pretty clear that our governments in the UK have accepted that danger and difficulty and have given political clearance for that sort of co-operation," he told a meeting of the Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy international thinktank. Whitehall officials have already insisted that intelligence cooperation with Gaddafi's Libya was authorised by ministers. However, Labour ministers at the time, including Tony Blair and Jack Straw, have distanced themselves from MI6's co-operation with Gaddafi's security services, as has Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller, then head of MI5. Dearlove said that MI6's co-operation with Gaddafi's regime against extremism was "uncomfortable" and "pragmatic". But he denied MI6 enjoyed a "cosy" relationship with the regime. He said that MI6 had had "phenomenal" success in disarming Libya, which had succeeded in acquiring the infrastructure needed to begin a nuclear weapons programme from the rogue Pakistani scientist, AQ Khan. "I resent the suggestion the relationship with Gaddafi was cosy," he said. "It was not a cosy relationship, it was a pragmatic one." Dearlove added: "It was a political decision, having very significantly disarmed Libya, for the government to co-operate with Libya on Islamist terrorism. The whole relationship was one of serious calculation about where the overall balance of our national interests stood." Papers found abandoned in the Tripoli offices of Moussa Koussa, Gaddafi's former foreign minister and intelligence chief, showed how MI6 was involved in sending suspected extremists back to Libya. They included Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a former prominent member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which had links with al-Qaida, and who is now military commander in the Libyan capital. Referring to the forthcoming Gibson inquiry into allegations that British security and intelligence agencies colluded in the torture and abuse of terror suspects, Dearlove said that he should not say more about co-operation with countries which did not share the UK's views about human rights. Dearlove said he was surprised by the relative failure of violent Islamism to make a more lasting political impact. North Africa and the Middle East showed al-Qaida had failed to achieve the long-term political impact many people had predicted at the time of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. He said the terrorist network appeared to be "on the back foot" and was struggling to mount operations in the developed world. "I think it faces an issue of credibility. It badly needs to demonstrate to its sympathisers and its core membership that it can pull off something really big," he said. He said he believed al-Qaida had made a "serious tactical error" in taking on the Americans in Iraq when they would have been better off trying to mount more 9/11-style attacks. "I think it was a vision of taking on the US military. Once the US military got its act together, it came out of that confrontation very badly," he said. He insisted the west had been right to respond in the way it did to the events of 9/11, even though it resulted in the radicalisation of many Muslims. "Confronting al-Qaida was a confrontation of beliefs and values. I think it was the right thing to do, despite the risks, to come out on the front foot to meet that threat militantly," he said.

Manchester dad could be facing the death penalty after being arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling in Indonesia.

 

 Jack Walker, 53, is being held in jail after being stopped at the airport in the capital Jakarta. It is understood the father of two – who is well known for taking meat around pubs near his home in Wythenshawe – was arrested as he was about to board a flight back to the UK. Officials allegedly found a substantial amount of methylamphetamine – commonly known as crystal meth or ‘ice’. It is believed the drug was found in a concealed compartment of a suitcase. Mr Walker, who is a diabetic, collapsed after he was  stopped.  It is understood his family are anxious he may not be receiving the correct medication to control his condition while in custody. A friend of the family said: “He is well known in the area – he drops off meat at the pubs and clubs. “The family fear he could be facing the death penalty or 20 years in jail. They are desperately trying to get help but say no one is listening. “He has a wife and two children. Apparently someone should have gone with him when he went abroad but pulled out. “He needs medication for his diabetes. Everyone around here is shocked by this. “He is not the kind of guy that you would expect would get involved in anything like this.” Another friend and neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “We’re really shocked - it’s unbelievable. “My husband and I are devastated - we’ve known Jack for 19 years. He's never been in any trouble. I feel so sorry for him. It’s such a shame I just wish they could bring him back here.” A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the arrest of a British national at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia. Consular assistance is being offered.” He confirmed that the death penalty was used against convicted drug smugglers in Indonesia. The country has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world with capital punishment for trafficking and 10-15 years for drug use. Mr Walker was arrested at the end of August.

horn-headed Satan-worshipper charged with the murders of three men in Massachusetts is also said to be a vampire.

Suspect: Caius Veiovis, 31, faces murder and kidnapping charges in the deaths of three men

The horn-headed Satan-worshipper charged with the murders of three men in Massachusetts is also said to be a vampire.

The terrifying mugshot of Caius Veiovis, 31, was released earlier this month when he was arrested as part of a gang who are said to have kidnapped and murdered three Hells Angels.

It has now emerged that Veivois, who is said to have drank the blood of one of his victims, claims to be a vampire.

The 31-year-old has undergone extensive implants to create horns on his head and had the number of the devil - 666 - tattooed on his forehead.

Caius Veiovis served almost seven-and-a-half years in prison in Maine in 1999for charges including elevated aggravated assault.

Then known as Roy Gutfinski, he and his 16-year-old girlfriend cut a teenager’s back with a razor and kissed as they licked the blood. The injury required 32 stitches to close.

The Kennebec Journal reported Gutfinski claimed to be a vampire and a Satan worshipper. His name was changed while in prison.

In the recent murders he has been charged alongside Adam Hall, 34, and David Chalue, 44, with the killing of David Glasser, 44, Edward Frampton, 58, and 47-year-old Robert Chadwell.

Hall is a senior member of a Massachusetts Hells Angels chapter who was scheduled to go on trial next week on charges of kidnap, assault, intimidation, extortion and cocaine distribution.

It is alleged Glasser was killed because he was expected to give evidence as a key witness against Hall, with the other men 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'.

In court: Even officials appeared shocked as Veiovis enters Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield, Mass

Veiovis and Chalue are not believed to be full members of the feared motorcycle gang.

 

All three men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are being held without bail while awaiting trial.

SUBDERMAL IMPLANTS: UNMASKED

Human evolution and 3D body modification artist Steve Haworth is largely credited with popularising subdermal implants. 

While Mr Haworth only uses Silicone implants, Teflon (PTFE) and biocompatible materials are used for similar effect.

Horn bumps such as Veiovis' can be inserted subdermally into the forehead, giving the appearance of an animal or creature from another planet.

Implants can be repeatedly removed, with larger ones added when the skin is ready, leaving a more dramatic effect. 

However, users face several health risks, including infection, tissue resorption, nerve and muscle pressure, migration, and implant rejection, among others.

Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless said: 'This is the end of the search for David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell, but it is also the beginning of our efforts to bring to justice those who are responsible for their deaths.'

Veiovis has had subdermal 3D implants in his head, leaving horns that look like the character Gul Dukat from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

They are one of the riskiest forms of body modification and are typically made from Teflon or Silicone.

The procedures are often performed by body artists with no medical training for what is essentially a surgical procedure comparative to plastic surgery.

'Horn bumps' can be inserted subdermally into the forehead, and then repeatedly removed with larger ones then added when the skin is 'ready'.

Hells Angels has been recognised as an organised crime syndicate by the FBI, which has contended that members carry out widespread violence, drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion.

Hall's lawyer said his client maintains his innocence. Lawyers for the other men declined comment

The Westies and psychopathic criminal PJ Judge, the neighbouring suburbs of Finglas/ Blanchardstown and Ballymun have had to deal with more than their fair share of gangland violence

 Eamon Dunne was murdered in a northside pub in April of 2010, the fear was that his cold-blooded execution would create a deadly power vacuum, one which would lead to bloody gang warfare on the streets.

After all, The Don's gang were responsible for 15 murders since he took over the Finglas gang that had been led by crimelord Martin 'Marlo' Hyland .

Marlo himself was murdered in December 2006.

Ever since the days of The Westies and psychopathic criminal PJ Judge, the neighbouring suburbs of Finglas/ Blanchardstown and Ballymun have had to deal with more than their fair share of gangland violence.

But the reign of terror imposed by crazed Eamon Dunne was unprecedented in the capital's gang scene.

Softly spoken and relatively well educated, Dunne was a massive hit with the ladies and sources say that his almost crazed sex drive was driven by the use of Viagra.

Until the gun murder of Traveller Tom McDonagh in Ballymun last weekend, the area had seen a dramatic decline in gang related violence since Dunne's murder.

It is understood that McDonagh was murdered over a drugs debt to Finglas gang.

"The lull in murders and complete drop in shooting incidents in the past 16 months has to be linked to the fact that Eamon Dunne is no longer with us," explained a senior source.

The situation had been so bad previously that a small area in Finglas west was dubbed the 'murder mile' or 'murder triangle' after up to 20 people were murdered in the space of a decade.

Most of these killings are unsolved gangland shootings in a small area which encompasses Cappagh Cross, Ratoath Road and Cardiffsbridge.

With the murders of Eamon Dunne and other gang bosses who came before him, the situation has eased in Finglas, Blanchardstown and Ballymun over the past year.

But the sprawling estates of north Dublin are still home to some of the most dangerous gangs in the country.

The Don's gang are still active and dealing in millions of euro worth of drugs.

But gardai have had some major successes against them.

Many of the core members of Dunne's crew cannot be named here because they are before the courts on charges including armed robbery, murder and dug dealing.

One of The Don's former associates who we can name is feared hardman Brian O'Reilly -- a Ballymun native who now lives in Co Meath.

"O'Reilly is a big tough man but he is very paranoid. He deeply dislikes the media and the gardai who he accuses of colluding against him.

"He is a man of few words but when he talks everyone listens. He has great respect," a source explained.

O'Reilly, who remains a major target for specialised garda units, was lucky to escape with his life when targeted by a gunman in a pub in Bettystown, Co Meath.

He was shot in the chin and back as he drank in his local pub in August, 2010.

But he survived the murder bid organised by the Real IRA.

A month later O'Reilly's close pal Eamon Kelly (62) cheated death when the Real IRA tried to murder him at his home in Killester.

A source said of Kelly: "On the outside, he seems like the quintessential retired Dubliner -- he enjoys his pints and going to the bookies but in reality he is a criminal campaigner with links to most of the crime gangs in the State."

This year has seen the strength of the gang who murdered Dunne grow considerably and sources say that they operate drugs rackets in the Finglas/Cabra area.

Dunne's murder in the Fassaugh House pub was "sanctioned" by some of his own gang members and the gang's drug supplier, international crimelord Christy Kinahan.

The Herald has previously revealed that the chief suspect for the murder is a young man in his early 20s from the Cabra area who was very close to slain crime boss Hyland.

A former detective described Marlo's way of doing business as "unprecedented".

"He formed alliances with everyone he could -- he knew that murder was bad for business so he tried to keep away from it.

 

fearsome

"But in the last few months of his life the paranoia got to him. He couldn't eat or sleep properly -- he knew his days were numbered."

The young thug is considered "the leader" of a dangerous crew of young criminals from the Finglas, Cabra and north inner city areas who have built up a fearsome reputation for gangland violence since they were aged in their mid teens.

Gardai have placed the dangerous gangster "on top of the list" for pumping eight bullets into 'The Don' -- one of the most notorious criminals in the history of Irish gangs.

He was also involved in the murder of innocent Latvian woman Baiba Saulite in November 2006.

While these young thugs increase their powerbase, the area's veteran criminals continue to operate.

Some of these older criminals had strong links to Paul 'Farmer' Martin -- the Finglas crimelord who was murdered in August 2008.

Others are connected to a 44-year-old local man -- who was a childhood friend of Marlo Hyland.

As Marlo rose to become one of Ireland's biggest drug dealers, this man was constantly at his side.

The 44-year-old -- who now lives in the Finglas area -- was arrested in April by the Garda National Drugs Unit.

Undercover detectives seized more than €400,000 worth of cannabis resin.

Before the massive drugs seizure, detectives watched the gang transfer 70 kilos of the drug near the border before making arrests. However, the Finglas resident was later released without charge.

The Real IRA also have an active presence in this area.

In late March, mobsters from the Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for shooting three men in broad daylight in Corduff Park, Blanchardstown.

The victims were targeted because the dissidents claimed they were guilty of anti-social behaviour.

David Morgan (20) and cousins Gary (25) and Christopher Gleeson (26) all survived the shooting.

The duplicity of the CIRA is breathtaking.

Led by the former head of the Real IRA in Dublin -- now on remand in prison on other charges -- the Continuity mob were responsible for a pipe bomb attack in May at the home of an innocent family in Whitestown.

Also this year, armed gardai swooped on three Blanchardstown men who formerly had links with the infamous Westies gang, whose leaders Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg were murdered in Spain in 2004.

The gangsters were believed to be on their way to carry out a Tiger kidnapping when arrested by armed detectives.

Sources said that the three men had all been key members of the infamous Westies organisation which caused so much trouble a decade ago.

It was also this summer that the Herald profiled a gang from this area who were involved in a new criminal craze called 'fishing'.

A gang of thugs from Finglas and Blanchardstown used fishing rods and magnets to steal more than 100 high powered cars.

Gardai branded the new criminal craze 'fishing' because it involves the gang attaching a magnet to the end of a fishing rod or long wooden pole, pushing it through letterboxes and using it to remove car keys left behind locked doors.

The gang have been selling the high-quality cars for just €1,200 to UK criminals.

The gang has close links to Finglas criminal David Fahy (29) from Cappagh Avenue who was recently released from jail after serving two years for possession of a sawn-off shotgun and cocaine.

However, sources say that Fahy -- who has 152 previous convictions -- is not involved in the scam himself.

The mob also has links to a Traveller gang who operate in the Dunsink area of Finglas.

UVF supergrass trial

 

Fourteen alleged members of the UVF, including one of its former leaders Mark Haddock, are due to appear at Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday for the start of the first so-called "supergrass" trial to be held in Northern Ireland for 26 years. The charges include the murder of leading UDA member Tommy English during a loyalist feud. Critics say the process being used is unsafe and unjust, while the police and prosecutors insist it is legally sound. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney looks at the background to the case. The police bristle at the very mention of the word "supergrass" because of its association with a series of high profile trials in the 1980s. Hundreds of republicans and loyalists were convicted on the word of informers and suspects who agreed to give evidence against them in return for reduced sentences and new identities and lives outside Northern Ireland. There were claims that many also received financial rewards. The deals were arranged at a political level, approved by the Secretary of State, and the details were secret. No-one, not the defence teams, the relatives of victims, nor the accused, knew anything, and in many cases there were question marks over whether convicted informers actually served any time in prison at all. Credibility The trials were the largest in British criminal history. In one in 1983, 22 IRA members were given jail terms totalling more than 4,000 years. But 18 of them had their convictions quashed three years later, and the vast majority of the others convicted in a series of similar trials were also released on appeal. The system collapsed in 1985 because of concerns about the credibility of the evidence provided by the so-called supergrasses, with members of the judiciary complaining that they were being used as political tools to implement government security policy. The police and prosecutors say the trial starting today is based on an entirely different legal foundation. The investigation has centred around the activities of the UVF in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast New legislation introduced in 2005, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, enables an accused to enter into a written agreement indicating that they will help the prosecution by giving evidence against other criminals. Where this happens, the court may take this into account when passing sentence. The journey that led to the trial beginning today began with an investigation by the former Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan into the activities of the UVF in Mount Vernon in north Belfast. In January 2007, she published the results of Operation Ballast. 'Impunity' It was a highly critical report which said members of RUC Special Branch had allowed UVF informers to act with impunity, and that the gang may have been involved in up to 15 murders. Mark Haddock wasn't named in the report, but was referred to as Informant 1. Alarmed by the findings, the then Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, asked the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) to take over Operation Ballast. Then, in 2008, two brothers, Robert and David Stewart walked into Antrim police station, admitting that they were members of the UVF, and their role in more than 70 offences. They offered to give evidence against a number of alleged former comrades under the teams of the 2005 legislation. The HET then spent more than a year debriefing them, and arresting suspects as they went along. But, despite being given additional funding, the investigation became too big for the team to handle. In December 2009, the case was given over to the PSNI. The investigation is now led by Crime Operations Department headed by Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, and is now called Operation Stafford. As a result, just over four and a half years after Nuala O'Loan published her report, Mark Haddock and 13 others will appear in court on Tuesday. They will appear before a judge sitting without a jury because of fears of intimidation. Haddock and eight others are charged with the murder of Tommy English and a range of other offences. The remaining five face a range of charges, possession of firearms, kidnap and assault. The latest investigation into the Mount Vernon UVF began following a report by the former Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan Sealed containers The two chief prosecution witnesses, the Stewart brothers, have been held in isolation at Maghaberry prison, protected by a team of highly trained guards. Their food is brought into the prison in sealed containers to ensure they are not poisoned. They have admitted a total of 74 offences, but were sentenced to just three years each because the judge took into account their offer to testify. Their sentence was determined in open court, not secretly by the Secretary of State. The 2005 legislation contains penalties. If it emerges that the assisting offender is guilty of serious crimes they may not have admitted to, they are in breach of the agreement. If this is discovered after the trial, they can be re-arrested and charged with the additional offences. If they tell the truth but re-offend at a later stage, they can be re-arrested and charged. Supporters say this system is much more open and transparent than the discredited system used in the 1980s. Those on trial, and their families and supporters, insist that only the name has changed.

Gang member sentenced to death in murder-for-hire scheme

 

gang member recruited in a murder-for-hire conspiracy was sentenced to death Thursday for killing a man who was set to inherit a family-run business in Rancho Dominguez, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Armando Macias, 35, of Lancaster was found guilty by a jury in April of one felony count of special circumstances murder with an allegation of murder for financial gain in the slaying of 44-year-old David Montemayor, the prosecutor's office said. Macias, who is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in connection with Montemayor’s murder since 2006, was also found guilty of kidnapping to commit robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, street terrorism, attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, officials said. Macias, who has a prior strike conviction for voluntary manslaughter in 1993, also was slapped with several sentencing enhancements in connection with Montemayor’s murder. Prosecutors allege that in 2002, Montemayor’s sister Deborah Perna, 54, of Anaheim and her co-worker Edelmira Corona, 34, of Pico Rivera solicited the help of 44-year-old gang member Anthony Navarro of Canyon Country to kill Montemayor. Perna was jealous that her father intended to pass control of the family company to her brother, who she believed was stealing from the business, prosecutors said. Navarro recruited gang members Gerardo Lopez, 26, of Pacoima, Alberto Martinez, 33, of Castaic, and Macias in a kidnap-and-murder-for-hire scheme, prosecutors said. On Oct. 2, 2002, the men kidnapped Montemayor, a father of three, at the family business in Rancho Dominguez and headed to the victim’s home in Buena Park, where they were told he kept thousands of dollars in cash, prosecutors said. On the way, Montemayor, who only had one arm, managed to escape the car. But Macias shot him in the head as he fled, prosecutors said. Lopez also fired at Montemayor before the gang members raced off in their car, triggering a police car chase, authorities said. Police eventually stopped the vehicle and arrested Macias, Lopez and Martinez. Both Navarro and Martinez have been earlier sentenced to death for their role in Montemayor’s murder. Lopez, the other gang member, and Perna, the victim’s sister, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to information from the district attorney's office. Corona, the co-worker, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18. She faces a maximum of 22 years in prison, officials said.

Texas Syndicate's Valley head gets 20 years; 5 fellow gang members also sentenced

 

Six members of the Texas Syndicate prison gang — including its Rio Grande Valley leader — were sentenced to serve time in federal prison for several charges including racketeering, kidnapping and drug charges. Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa on Monday sentenced 40-year-old Jose Ismael Salas, the gang’s regional head, to 20 years in prison for drug and racketeering offenses, court records show. Salas originally pleaded guilty April 2, 2009, to two separate charges of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine on Aug. 12, 2004, and a similar charge for 39 kilograms of marijuana on March 28, 2003. The charge alleged that the intent of the possession of the drugs was to further the goals of the criminal organization. Among the five other Texas Syndicate members who were sentenced was Fidel Valle, 45, who received a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison. Valle was described as the drug supplier for the organization. He entered a guilty plea July 28, 2009, to the charge of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine. Court records show that Aug. 12, 2004, after speaking with Salas, Valle tried to sell the cocaine to other Texas Syndicate members but was stopped by authorities during a traffic stop. Also sentenced was Romeo Rosales, 41, who received 12 years and seven months in prison for the kidnapping of Amancio Pinales, who was abducted and eventually gunned down in Mexico on Aug. 12, 2004. Noel De Los Santos, 33, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the March 20, 2003, murder of fellow gang member Crisantos Moran. According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Moran had been ordered to kill a rival gang member from Peñitas, but after arriving there with De Los Santos and another member named Jose Armando Garcia, he failed to carry out the killing and was slain instead. Earlier this year, Garcia was given a life sentence. Two other Syndicate members were sentenced for a separate murder connected to the organization. Cristobal Hernandez, 31, and Arturo Rodriguez were sentenced to 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the murder of Marcelino Rodriguez in June 2007. The two men had aided a third man known as Raul Galindo, who shot Rodriguez in the back of the head. The two men then set the vehicle containing his body on fire. Rodriguez had been named in a sealed court document that had been provided to them by an employee at a law firm that was defending Rodriguez. The Texas Syndicate had sanctioned the death of Rodriguez.

Nine people stabbed to death, five killed in a deliberately set fire and an innocent grandmother’s body shoved in the trunk of her own car.

 

These troubling deaths are just a portion of Winnipeg’s climbing homicide cases this year. As of Thursday, Winnipeg has 29 homicides recorded, well above last year’s total of 22. Winnipeg’s deadliest year on record was 2004 when there was 34. “The numbers are a lot higher than we would like to see,” said Const. Jason Michalyshen, Winnipeg police spokesman. “It’s concerning to us, and it should be concerning to everyone.” The latest victim is Joseph Lalonde, 48, who was brutally beaten with a baseball bat. Two 15-year-old boys were charged with second-degree murder. A total of 10 youths have been charged in connection to the 2011 deaths. Michalyshen said it’s been a challenging year. “Our resources have been very busy making sure no stone is unturned, making sure that these investigations are investigated thoroughly, and arrests are made,” he said. Three cases are unsolved — Cara Lynn Hiebert, 31, was found dead in her home on Redwood Avenue on July 19; Baljinder Singh Sidhu, 27, was stabbed to death during a brawl on Osborne Street on Aug. 5; and 24-year-old April Hornbrook was found dead outside a building on Main Street on Aug. 27. Many violent crimes continue to occur in Winnipeg’s North End, a concerning stat for Coun. Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre). “The communities have to be working together and you don’t really have enough of that in the North End,” Smith said. “You have to have recreational activities, and ... I tend to think we should get more support for Citizens on Patrol.” Edmonton has the most homicides in Canada, with 34. Calgary has just three. “We’re very fortunate right now, but that could change before the end of the year,” said Calgary police Insp. Cliff O’Brien, who works in that city’s major crimes unit. O’Brien said there’s “no magical answer” for why the numbers are so low, but gave credit to the good work of officers and medical staff. Calgary police has a gang suppression team, who monitor entertainment districts, targeting known gang or organized crime members. “We have legislation here where we can kick people out if we can prove they’re associated with a gang,” he said. “That has helped us a lot.” O’Brien admits there’s a certain “element of luck.” “We’ve had those high rates before and I know that we will have those high rates again.”

Contract Killing On The Increase In Costa Rica

 

According to the Sección de Estadísticas del Departamento de Planificación del Poder Judicial (Statistics Section of the Planning Department of the Judiciary) the number of murders presumed by hired killers in 2010, went from 13 victims in 2009 to 40 in 2010, placing the La Carpio, Leon XIII, Los Cuadros y Guararí de Heredia as the places of highest incidence. Judicial authorities presume that organized crime groups, use this method to assert their interests in various criminal activities, as they are listed in order of importance: drug trafficking, gang revenge, robbery of drug traffickers (known as tumbonazos) and executions tied to the sale of illegal drugs. However, statistics show a slight increase in intentional homicides during the past year, compared to 2009, from 525 to 527 victims. The study found that the rate of homicide victims per 100.000 inhabitants remained virtually unchanged from 2009, settling at 11.5%. The existence of homicides associated with what is known as "error or omission," or those who were not the target and suffered mistaken identity or omission by the murderer, almost doubled in 2010 over 2009, for a total of 16 deaths. Also, the number of foreigners killed in the country increased by 7.6%, bringing the figure to 112 individuals, Nicaraguan and followed by Colombian nationals being the target. The use of firearms to commit homicide, again saw increases during 2010, bringing the total number to 319, which is equal numbers in 2008 and the highest throughout history. Good news for women as statistics indicate that the number of femicides dropped in 2010, from 15 victims in 2009 to 10 last year. However, the major cause of femicides continues to be attacks by cohabitants (60%) and spouses (40%). Contract or hired killing (sicario in Spanish) is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may be a single person, a group of people, a company, or any other kind of organization. The hired party may also be one person, such as a hitman, or a group of people, or an organization. In most countries, including Costa Rica, a contract to kill a person is void, meaning that it is not legally enforceable. Any contract to commit an indictable offense is not enforceable. Furthermore, both the actual killer and the person who paid the killer can be found guilty of murder. Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to be directly involved in the killing. This makes it more difficult to connect that party with the murder. Throughout history and in many different parts of the world, contract killing has been associated with organized crime and also vendettas. For example, in recent United States history, the gang Murder, Inc., which committed hundreds of murders in the 1920s to the 1940s on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate, is a well-known example of a contract killer.

Vallucos gang members get life in prison for 'ice pick' murder

 

Cameron Park man accused of stabbing and killing a woman with an ice pick will spend the rest of his life in jail. After two and a half hours of deliberation, a Cameron County jury sentenced Ernesto Berlanga to life in prison for the August 2005 murder of Patricia Salas. The two had been fighting when he stabbed her in the neck and then fled the scene. Prosecutors previously identified Berlanga as a member of the Vallucos prison gang. Berlaga was already serving a 25-year sentence for gouging the eye of a fellow inmate at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center back in 2006.