Two out of every 100 people in Merced County are gang members.

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.

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One man dead and six wounded bandana-wearing gunmen were targeting a specific person at The Coffee House in San Gabriel

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.

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Gang-related incident in North Highlands Two men, believed to be gang members shot

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.

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3304 Drew Street was a sophisticated nerve center for one of northeast Los Angeles' most notorious street gangs

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."

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Identified Eric Sherron Coats as the leader of the Cut Throat gang

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.

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Demichael Rashad Jackson, 18,Westside Crip was found guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity committing aggravated robbery as a gang member

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.

In 2007, Jackson pleaded guilty as a juvenile to engaging in organized criminal activity — burglarizing a building as a gang member — and was placed on probation until his 18th birthday on June 3, 2008. In 2003, Jackson was convicted of possessing marijuana at school.Jackson’s older sister, Jacqueline Orange, said she and Jackson have four other siblings and that their mother died in 2001. She said she works at First Baptist Church and that Jackson has worked there too. She said he had been in trouble as a juvenile but that she tried to help him through it and he did well on probation. She said he played football in high school, went to church and is a role model to his nieces and nephews. She said he always wanted to help people and that his continually bringing people home is “what got him into this mess.” She said he is mature and knows right from wrong and that he’s not a violent person.Ms. Orange said her brother has never been in a gang and that he sometimes lived with her or their other sister at 826 S. Peach St., a house that was built by Habitat for Humanity. She said gang members don’t hang out at that house but that there has been one drive-by shooting there.She said she was familiar with the Rolling Sixties gang but later in her testimony said such a gang did not exist. She said Jackson signed earlier court records, admitting he was a gang member but that he really was not. She said she knew he was smoking dope but that he quit and was released from probation early because he did so well.She said he didn’t commit his earlier crimes and that she doesn’t trust police, who she said have put her brothers and dad in jail. She said numerous police officers have harmed her family but that she didn’t know their names.

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.

The juvenile has been detained with five others, and he is an admitted member of the Rolling Sixties, other witnesses said.On the tape, Jackson can be heard laughing and bragging about the boy. He also asked his sisters to bring him a red shirt for court to “blow” the juror’s “minds” because Crips wear blue and rival Bloods wear red.Ms. Orange said they both showed concern about the woman and said that the boy who was shot after breaking into her home was not their cousin; she didn’t know why her sister said that.“He (Jackson) is just a sweet, loving person, I mean boy,” she said.

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.

He asked the jury to judge the credibility of the defendant’s sister.“He is a gang member,” he said. “He is violent.”Murphy said the five young adults who were robbed at gunpoint by Jackson will remember it for the rest of their lives. “He (Jackson) is a gangster. He’s an outlaw and you can’t change an outlaw,” he said. “There’s a whole bunch of kids who look up to him, and that should scare you to death.”
He asked the jurors to think about Jackson’s criminal history and his escalation of violence. Murphy said he deserves a life sentence.Defense attorney James Mills said Murphy wanted the jurors to deliberate with fear and anger and sentence an 18-year-old kid to life in the penitentiary. He said he was not excusing or justifying what Jackson did and the sentence was about justice for him and the victims.He said the jury could give Jackson another chance or send him to prison and throw away the key. He asked the jurors to sentence Jackson to probation so he could be rehabilitated. He said Jackson was an 18-year-old with a family and who should be in high school right now but, because of his choices, he sits in court. “His life is completely in your hands.”Murphy said at 2 a.m. on May 29, the five victims’ lives were in Jackson’s hands.Nicholas Graham, 21, Jacob Jones, Monica Daniel, 20, Christine "Tina" Fry, 21, and Andrew Stanley, 19, testified about the robbery. All but Ms. Fry identified Jackson as the gunmen in the robbery. Christopher Bunze, 19, said he was outside during the robbery but Jackson shot at him before he left. Mitchell, Ladarius Scott, Jerrell Amie, Jerry Amie and Jamiya Lacey all have been charged in the case.

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Gonzalo Orozlo is a 'hit man' for the Mexican Mafia; Orozlo has bragged about kidnapping and killing people who fail to pay off

The detectives say they stumbled upon and thwarted the home invasion involving the "Mexican Mafia" on Wednesday while conducting a probationary search."They were in the right place at the right time," Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said of the detectives.The drug unit detectives initially searched the home at 2011 Gerber Dairy Road for weapons and narcotics. They found methamphetamines and drug paraphernalia, deputies say.As a result, detectives arrested three people who live at the home: Connie Jarvis, 39; Jessica Carden, 26; and Casey Nance, 24. They say they also arrested another person who happened to be at the home, sitting on a couch with a gun on his lap, 27-year-old David Valles of Winter Haven.While the investigation was ongoing, one of the detectives saw a vehicle pull into the home's driveway.The detective approached and saw Manuel Garza, 24, of Wauchula, and Catherine Hale, 22, of Lake Alfred. He determined Garza didn't have a valid driver's license. Hale was found in possession of phentaremine, a controlled substance, deputies say.Hale and Garza were arrested and taken inside the home.As detectives worked on affidavits for the six arrestees, one of the detectives saw a red Dodge Durango come to the home.The detective learned that the driver, 26-year-old Gonzalo Orozlo of Haines City, had a suspended driver's license.Orozlo refused a command to exit the vehicle, so the detective took a key from the ignition and called other detectives for help, according to the release. The four people inside the Dodge were searched, and each had a handgun. Detectives also found cocaine, methamphetamines and $4,230.Dodge passenger Gerardo Moralez, 23, of Haines City, said he and the others had come to the home to commit an armed robbery, detectives say."He further advised that someone who lives at the residence owed drug money to several 'Mexican Mafia' members with whom he is affiliated; that he and the other subjects collect money for the Mexican Mafia in the area; that he has been doing this for three months; that Gonzalo Orozlo is a 'hit man' for the Mexican Mafia; and that Orozlo has bragged about kidnapping and killing people who fail to pay off their drug debts to the Mexican Mafia," the release states. "Moralez had no specific information regarding the people Orozlo had supposedly killed."U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials placed a hold on Orozlo and Dodge passengers Agueda Maldonado and Miguel Flores-Hernandez. The special agent from ICE also agreed to seek federal indictments on all four Dodge passengers for federal firearms offenses, deputies say.Investigators later determined two of the guns found at the scene were reported stolen from Hillsborough County and Winter Haven. One of the guns was in Valles' possession, and the other was in Maldonado's, deputies say.

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community service aide Ebony Baret warned an inmate about an operation against his gang

Fort Pierce Police say community service aide Ebony Baret warned an inmate about an operation against his gang. According to an affidavit, Baret set up three-way calls with the inmate and another gang member to describe the uniforms and cars that officers would be using.She's also accused of helping gang members intimidate witnesses in the inmate's pending trial. Police say Baret had access to all "intelligence and criminal information."Baret's phone calls with the inmate were recorded.Baret was arrested Thursday on charges of obstructing justice and official misconduct. She was released from the St. Lucie County Jail on $10,000 bond.
Jail records did not show any attorney information.

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Chad Wilson is a Canadian citizen who pleaded guilty in federal court to being a non-immigrant alien in possession of a firearm.

two members of the Hells Angels acquitted of attempted murder in connection with a gunfight in a South Dakota park pleaded guilty today in Rapid City to a federal weapons charge.Chad Wilson of San Diego and John Midmore of Valparaiso, Ind., were earlier found not guilty of attempted murder for their part a 2006 gunfight at Custer State Park that injured five Outlaws Motorcycle Club affiliates.
Wilson is a Canadian citizen who pleaded guilty in federal court to being a non-immigrant alien in possession of a firearm.He's scheduled to be sentenced April 21.Midmore pleaded guilty Wednesday in Sioux Falls to having cocaine in his system and received credit for the 27 months he served in jail.Prosecutors have dropped a charge of conspiracy to commit murder against both men.

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Pedestrians run for cover after an apparent gang shooting in broad daylight in a Yakima neighborhood.

Pedestrians run for cover after an apparent gang shooting in broad daylight in a Yakima neighborhood.About 20 people heard or saw the shooting. Just one person was shot, a 17 year old male teen.School let out early Wednesday, so there were a lot of witnesses, including some children. Fortunately, no one else was hit.Two cars pulled up to the intersection of Sixth Ave. and Cherry Ave. Police say someone in a black car fired at the people who were in a silver car.The driver was hit once in the side. Police said there was one other passenger in the car. He ran once it crashed into a telephone pole at Sixth and Roosevelt. Police caught up with him and took him in for questioning.People who live in this neighborhood couldn't believe this happened in the middle of the day, but all those witnesses do give police some leads."Usually we can hear the gunshots at night," Joey Quinnett said. "But nothing's been done like this in broad daylight.""[There were] three to four Hispanic males, apparent gang members dressed in red in a smaller black car with a sun roof and it's been described as a Honda-type vehicle," Capt. Greg Copeland, Yakima Police Department, said. Police think the suspects are in their 20'sWitnesses disagreed on whether the car was a Honda Stealth or a Lexus. The victim's wound was not very severe. He's already been treated and released from Regional Hospital.

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Gang-related shooting in the Central District.Seattle

About 5 p.m., Seattle police received a call from a man who heard five or six shots near the Starbucks at 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street. Police spokeswoman Renee Witt said another caller told them there were some gang members shooting at a car in the Walgreens parking lot."We got varying descriptions of suspects," she said. "We also got information that there were six to seven males running behind Walgreens. But we got no solid descriptions of suspects."Police were looking for a large silver vehicle that might have been involved, but were not sure if that vehicle belonged to a suspect or possible victim.No injuries were reported. A pillar at the bank was the only property damaged.Police sources say that area is known for illegal gun sales.In May of last year, an 18-year-old man was wounded in a gang-related gunfight in the area. He ran into the Bank of America at 23rd and Jackson, saying he'd been shot, stunning customers and employees who called police.

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Vietnamese street gang members will be arraigned Friday morning in Santa Ana for an execution-style retaliation murder of a gang associate

Anthony Paul Johnson Jr., 32, formerly of Westminster; Giang Thuy Nguyen, 33, formerly of Fountain Valley; Truc Ngoc Tran, 31, of Santa Ana; and Tam Hung Nguyen, 33, formerly of Riverside, are accused of murdering fellow gang member Viet Nguyen, 18, after he abandoned the four men Feb. 24, 1995, during a home-invasion robbery in Huntington Beach.

Three members of a Vietnamese street gang will be arraigned Friday morning in Santa Ana for an execution-style retaliation murder of a gang associate more than a decade old, authorities said. Arraignment for a fourth member was pending his return to California.

All four face one count of murder and one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder. Each man also was charged with special-circumstance allegations for murder by lying in wait and murder to avoid arrest, and sentencing enhancements for committing a crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang.Giang Nguyen also faces a burglary charge from a previous incident, according to a press statement from the Orange County district attorney's office.The fourth member, Tam Hung Nguyen, 33, faces similar charges and a count of discharging a firearm. Authorities say he was arrested in Anoka County, Minn.Johnson and Giang Nguyen were already in state prison at the time of the indictment on unrelated charges and were brought to Orange County for the arraignment. Tran was arrested Jan. 17 in Santa Ana by the Costa Mesa Police Department.The four men face maximum life terms in prison without the possibility of parole, the statement said. Authorities say that in February 1995, Johnson, Giang Nguyen and Viet Nguyen broke into a Huntington Beach home where Viet Nguyen's high school classmate lived. The men wore ski masks during the break-in, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.Fearing he would be recognized by the classmate, who was in the house at the time, Viet Nguyen fled and left the two others to finish the crime. Later that night, Giang Nguyen, Johnson, Tam Nguyen and Tran met at a house in Midway City and conspired to kill Viet Nguyen. They feared that if the classmate were to identify Viet Nguyen, he would identify Johnson and Giang Nguyen, officials said.Early the next morning, Tam Nguyen had Viet Nguyen drive him through Orange County under the pretense of looking for a drug dealer's home, authorities said. As they were driving along the Costa Mesa Freeway, Tam Nguyen pretended to be sick and allegedly told Viet Nguyen to pull over, police said. Tam Nguyen then pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and shot Viet Nguyen in the back of the head, authorities said.Tran, who was following in another car, then drove Tam Nguyen away. The four men allegedly met at a motel in Anaheim to come up with alibis, officials said. To avoid retribution from their own gang, the men told other members that Viet Nguyen had been killed by a drug dealer in Costa Mesa.

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Mack E. Porter then stepped over the victim after he fell and continued to shoot him

Homicide victim Randall D. Paris was ambushed as he walked on McKinnie Avenue on March 31, according to the arrest affidavits of two men charged Wednesday with shooting him in a gang-related killing.A witness told Fort Wayne Police that city residents Kevin R. Franklin and Mack E. Porter hid behind a fence at the intersection of Lillie and McKinnie avenues on the southeast side until Paris walked up, according to the affidavit written by Detective William Lyons Jr.

“Porter stepped out, dressed in a black hoodie and wearing dreads, from behind the fence and shot the victim in the head causing him to fall to the ground,” Lyons wrote. “Porter then stepped over the victim after he fell and continued to shoot him … (Franklin) also stepped out and shot the victim at the same time.”

Franklin, 20, of the 2900 block of Schele Avenue, and Porter, 22, of the 1000 block of Milton Street, were each charged with murder, additional fixed term of imprisonment, criminal recklessness and two counts of carrying a pistol without a permit.Police said Paris, 17, was not a gang member, but his brother is a member of PAC, a gang feuding with the D-Boys, a rival gang. Police believe Paris was killed in retaliation for the March 24 killing of D-Boy Contrell L. Brown, 18. Paris was one of five people – one of whom was eight months pregnant – slain in killings unrelated to Paris’ on March 31.Lyons wrote that Paris was walking with a youth who heard someone scream, “Get him!” before a shot rang out and Paris fell to the ground.“He then ran past Randall Paris at which point suspects began shooting at him as he ran down the street,” Lyons wrote. “He believed the suspects fired approximately 10 shots.”Both Franklin and Porter are familiar to police.
Porter was shot in the stomach Nov. 30 in what witnesses told police was a beef between Porter and two friends and members of the MOB gang. Franklin was one of five men federally charged in May with dealing up to 5 kilograms of cocaine.

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Costa del Sol is ‘La Costa Nostra’.

Costa del Sol is ‘La Costa Nostra’. The statement was made by the Italian man, Roberto Saviano, who has recently achieved fame with the film and book about the Italian mafia, ‘Gomorra’. He has been in Spain, protected by a dozen Carabinieri and Catalan Mossos de Escuadra.The mafia have threatened to kill the writer because of the contents of his book, and on his trip to Barcelona reservations were made for him in as many as five hotels. He told the press that he never sleeps in the same place twice, but he has no regrets of making the revelations he has.He had a warning for Spain where he said there were many Mafia chiefs, concentrated in Barcelona and on the Costa del Sol.

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Angel Acosta,alleged Latin King gang member charged with the sexual abuse of a teenage girl.

Alleged gang member from north suburban Waukegan has been charged with the sexual abuse of a teenage girl.Angel Acosta, 21, of the 600 block of South Jackson Street in Waukegan, was charged late Wednesday with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to police.Acosta allegedly abused a 15-year-old girl, but details were not available immediately.Acosta, an alleged Latin King gang member, is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing later Thursday in Cook County Criminal Court, 2600 S. California Ave., according to police.

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Vancouver Gang Wars,These gangsters -- and they are gangsters -- are killing one another

"These gangsters -- and they are gangsters -- are killing one another... However, these gangsters, they have families. They have brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles," Cpl. Thiessen said.
"They have a network of family who know exactly what they are doing. Those people, we are calling on them to help us deal with this issue." Cpl. Thiessen called for action after three people were killed across the Lower Mainland in 24 hours. Raphael Baldini, 21, was gunned down in a busy mall parking lot in Surrey on Tuesday. He died in hospital. Police say the shooting was a targeted hit. Mr. Baldini, who had a lengthy criminal record and was out on bail on gun charges, was renting an apartment in the Balmoral Tower in Surrey in Oct. 2007 when six people were murdered there. On Wednesday, the mother of Christopher Mohan, an innocent man who was one of the murdered men, said police told her of Mr. Baldini's murder. "I told them I was very, very disappointed because for us he held the real answers of what happened that night," she said. Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr said that there is no known link between Mr. Baldini's death and the six Surrey murders, other than the rental agreement. IHIT is also trying to solve the murder of a 21-year-old Port Coquitlam woman who was found dead in a truck in Coquitlam Tuesday night. The woman, who's identity is being withheld pending notification of her kin, was found in a 2003 Dodge pickup truck parked at Mason Avenue and Oxford Street. The car was not registered to her or a boyfriend, Cpl. Carr said. Police have not said how she died. The woman was known to police and her death had "all the earmarks of a targeted incident," Cpl. Carr said. Autopsy results are expected Thursday. On Monday night, James Ward Erickson, 25, was found shot to death inside his second-floor unit in an apartment building in the rough Whalley neighbourhood inSurrey. Police say the shooting was targeted. Mr. Erickson was linked to street-level drug trade in the Whalley area. Cpl. Carr said Erickson's death may be linked to the driveway shooting of Andrew Michael Cilliers, 26, in Newton on Jan. 27. He stressed that the public has to become more involved in "putting a stop to this craziness" by reporting criminal activity. "The police can just not do this on our own," Cpl. Carr said. "If you have information, for crying out loud, give the police a call."

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Bodies of a retired Mexican brigadier general and two other men were found Tuesday in a sport utility vehicle abandoned on a highway outside of Cancun

Bodies of a retired Mexican brigadier general and two other men were found Tuesday in a sport utility vehicle abandoned on a highway outside of Cancun, the resort's mayor said. All had been shot many times.Mayor Gregorio Sanchez identified the victims as retired army Brig. Gen. Mauro Enrique Tello, his assistant Tulio Cesar Roman, an active-duty infantry lieutenant, and civilian Juan Ramirez.Tello had been working as a security consultant to the local government when he was killed.There was speculation that the slayings were intended as a warning to Cancun officials, some of whom have sought to rid the popular beach resort of drug traffickers and other gangsters.Elsewhere in Mexico, 14 people were reported killed between Monday night and late Tuesday afternoon in the border state of Chihuahua. Most of the dead were found in Ciudad Juarez.In one incident, a man and a woman were gunned down in a supermarket parking lot and a third person was killed in the checkout line.
Officials said they had not located any suspects or uncovered any clear motive in the killings, part of a wave of mostly drug-related violence.More than 5,000 homicides linked to organized crime were reported last year amid a battle among the world's most powerful drug cartels for territory and resistance to a two-year government crackdown on the cartels.Also Tuesday, a police station near the port of Lazaro Cardenas came under intense gunfire before dawn, killing officer Jose Cruz Zamorano as he sat in a parked patrol car, state police said in a statement. Another officer inside the station was injured.Authorities set up roadblocks to catch the attackers.In the northern border city of Tijuana on Tuesday, 55 city police officers were fired as part of the government's efforts to fight corruption. Police Chief Julian Leyzaola said the officers were involved in extorsion and often missed work.Tijuana has fired 350 police officers since December 2007, when Mayor Jorge Ramos took office.

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Hells Angel gang clubhouse has been blown up and shots fired into a nearby tattoo parlour in Sydney's inner west.

Hells Angel gang clubhouse has been blown up and shots fired into a nearby tattoo parlour in Sydney's inner west.Emergency services responded to reports of a loud explosion and gun shots at Petersham at about 2am (AEDT) on Wednesday, police said.
Officers arrived at a premises in Crystal Street, reported to be a Hells Angels clubhouse, to find it extensively damaged.Several shots were also fired into a tattoo parlour on nearby Parramatta Road.No injuries were reported at either the clubhouse or the tattoo parlour. Witnesses told police two males drove from the scene in a dark green four-wheel drive which was last seen travelling west along Parramatta Rd.Police said Crystal Street would remain closed for several hours between Parramatta Road and Margaret Street while investigators conducted their inquiries.

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The FBI's National Gang Threat Assessment for 2009 says more than 20,000 gangs were criminally active in the U.S.

The FBI's National Gang Threat Assessment for 2009 says more than 20,000 gangs were criminally active in the U.S. as of September 2008. Most operate at a local neighborhood or street level. Gang presence is so widespread that nearly 60 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies reported criminal gangs were active in their jurisdictions. They are moving out to the suburbs and beyond too, expanding their influence beyond urban centers. The suburban and rural expansion of gangs has been driven by the need to expand drug distribution territories, increase illicit revenue, recruit new members, hide from law enforcement, and escape from other gangs, according to the report. Many suburban and rural communities are experiencing increasing gang-related crime and violence because of the expanding gang influence. "Gang activity is no longer merely a problem for urban areas. Gang members are increasingly moving to suburban America, bringing with them the potential for increased crime and violence,” said Kenneth Kaiser, an assistant director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division.

The U.S. border remains a hotbed of gang activity -- and not just the border you might think. Canada-based gangs and criminal organizations are linking up with motorcycle and street gangs in the U.S. to facilitate drug smuggling and other cross-border criminal activities.

Down south, gangs continue to be involved in smuggling drugs and illegal aliens into the U.S. from Mexico, with the report noting that U.S.-based gang members are crossing the border themselves to run their operations. Drug activity remains the mainstay of most gangs, both retail drug sales and wholesale-level distribution. "Gang members are the primary retail-level distributors of most illicit drugs. They also are increasingly distributing wholesale-level quantities of marijuana and cocaine in most urban and suburban communities," the report summary notes.In fact, criminal gangs are responsible for as much as 80 percent of all crime in many communities. The threat assessment is a means of sharing information on the current situation, similar to the national security threat assessments carried out by the CIA and other intelligence agencies

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Crazy White Boys Gang James David Thompson's murder trial

Jurors are being selected Tuesday, in the trial of an alleged member of a local street gang.Attorneys began selecting the jury for James David Thompson's murder trial on Monday. Thompson is accused of killing 42-year-old Steven Weed, at Weed's Cue Road mobile home in Bayou George last August. Bay County Sheriff's Investigators say Thompson is a member of the so-called ‘Crazy White Boys Gang’, and that the murder was part of a drug rip-off.Thompson is facing one count of 2nd degree murder, and one count of 1st degree attempted.

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Police in Abbotsford say they are taking tough measures to deal with a community under siege by gang violence.

Police in Abbotsford say they are taking tough measures to deal with a community under siege by gang violence. More than 400 worried residents packed a public meeting Monday night to hear a plan by police and the mayor to deal with the problem. The mayor unveiled a crime reduction task force in response to three shootings in the community last week, including a brazen shooting in a busy intersection during rush hour. The target of that shooting was known gangster Jamie Bacon, one of three Abbotsford brothers who are facing multiple criminal charges. Police Chief Bob Rich told residents that police are doing everything to keep Bacon and his potentially dangerous two brothers under surveillance, including convincing one company to revoke car leases for the brothers. Rich and Mayor George Peary are encouraging local businesses to shun the brothers and refuse service to any known gangsters. Police admit violence has doubled in the Fraser Valley community in thelast five years and say tackling drugs and gang crime is a priority. But there seems to be no easy answer when it comes to figuring out what will help. Some residents told the meeting that better school programs are needed to address the problem. Others suggested harsher jail sentences for known gangsters, and say the higher levels of government need to enforce tougher penalties against criminals. "The problem is we have too many prisoners walking the streets in Abbotsford that should be in prison," one resident told the forum. "They're being let off." The Abbotsford Police are asking for more resources to address the growing problem. "The sharks are circling. They have been allowed to get away with stuff for far too long -- they really are circling," said Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich.
But Rich says the police can only do so much to stop gang crime. "The sad part is the police won't be the ones there when the ends arise -- the other gang members will be. They have entered into a lifestyle that has only one ending. That's what's happening." The meeting also heard from family members who had their relatives murdered in gang warfare more than a year ago. Abbotsford resident Ed Schellenberg and Chris Mohan, 22, were both killed when gunmen stormed a Surrey apartment and shot four people known to police. The men happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and their families are still waiting for justice. "We lived very innocently beside gang members," said Mohan's mother Eileen. "We did not know who was living beside us. To see each one of you here tells me you will not stand for gang violence."

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Salinas police say suspected gang member Joel Morales is in custody after two struggles and a foot pursuit Sunday evening.

Salinas police say a suspected gang member is in custody after two struggles and a foot pursuit Sunday evening.Police say a sergeant with the Violence Suppression Unit, the city's gang unit, contacted Joel Morales, 31, a known gang member, in the parking lot of the N. Davis Road Applebee's restaurant at 7:05 p.m.Upon contact, they said, Morales resisted arrest and fought with the officer. A foot pursuit ensued across North Davis Road where Morales attempted to make his way onto Highway 101, but was stopped at the fence. Police said a second struggle took place there, but Morales was struck with a stun gun and taken into custody. An investigation revealed Morales was a wanted parolee at large, police said, and he was booked into Monterey County Jail.

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Man was being treated for a serious wound Monday after he was stabbed in the back in City Heights in an apparent gang-related attack

18-year-old man was being treated for a serious wound Monday after he was stabbed in the back in City Heights in an apparent gang-related attack, police said. The man had just walked out of a store in the 4000 block of Landis Avenue when another young man approached from behind around 4 p.m. Sunday, San Diego police Sgt. Bob Dare said. The assailant stabbed the victim in the back once, then ran to a silver car occupied by four other men, according to Dare. Friends of the victim drove him to the hospital with a wound determined to be serious but not life-threatening, Dare said. Police described the suspect as a Latino of about 17, 5 feet 7, weighing about 190 pounds. He wore a long-sleeve black checkered shirt and jeans and fled in a car similar to a Mercedes Benz, Dare said. San Diego police gang detectives were handling the investigation.

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Mobster Joey "the Clown" Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison

Mobster Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, one of the five Outfit associates convicted in the landmark Family Secrets trial that riveted Chicago for weeks with its lurid testimony about 18 decades-old gangland slayings, was sentenced to life in prison this afternoon.U.S. District Judge James Zagel levied the sentenc after the aging mob boss addressed the court in a gravelly voice and denied having anything to do with the Seifert murder.The judge said that unlike co-defendants in case, Lombardo showed some balance in judgment and some ability to charm people. But in the end, defendants must be judged by their actions, "not about our wit and our smiles," Zagel said."The worst things you have done are terrible, and I see no regret in you," the judge told Lombardo in handing down the life sentence.
Lombardo, the wisecracking elder statesman of the mob, and four other defendants were found guilty in 2007 of a racketeering conspiracy that stretched back to the 1960s and included extorting "street taxes," collecting high-interest "juice" loans, running illegal gambling operations and using violence and murder to protect the mob's interests. He also was found guilty of the 1974 murder of federal witness Daniel Seifert and of obstructing justice by fleeing from authorities after his indictment. He faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.Lombardo was sent to federal prison in the 1980s for conspiring with International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Roy Lee Williams and union pension fund manager Allen Dorfman to bribe Sen. Howard Cannon (D-Nev.) to help defeat a trucking deregulation bill. Cannon was never charged with any wrongdoing and the bill became law with his support.When Lombardo got out, he resumed life as the boss of the mob's Grand Avenue street crew, prosecutors said. He denied it. but his attorney, Rick Halprin, told the trial he ran "the oldest and most reliable floating craps game on Grand Avenue."
When the Family Secrets indictment was unsealed, Lombardo went on the lam for nine months. He ultimately was brought before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.
Two of Lombardo's co-defendants were sentenced last week. Paul "the Indian" Schiro got 20 years for the racketeering conviction, and Frank Calabrese Sr. got life for racketeering and for seven murders.James Marcello, once called Chicago's mob boss by authorities, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

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Valentino Sanchez, 32,alleged Latin Kings gang leader wanted on federal drug charges

FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the location and arrest of an alleged Latin Kings gang leader wanted on federal drug charges for more than three years. Valentino Sanchez, 32, whose last known address was 8105 White Ave. in Lyons, has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt coordinated by Chicago FBI's Joint Task Force on Gangs since July 2005, when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court with violation of federal drug laws, according to a release from the FBI. Sanchez is alleged to be a high ranking member of the Latin Kings who oversaw distribution of wholesale quantities of cocaine at locations throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, the release said.
He is described as a Hispanic male, 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds with medium build, black hair, brown eyes and slight facial hair. He is known to use the street name "Shorty" and is considered armed and dangerous.

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Oak Park gang member charged in the shooting death of one of his homeboys while they were out on a retaliation attack in rival territory.

Closing arguments began today in the murder trial of a reputed Oak Park gang member charged in the shooting death of one of his homeboys while they were out on a retaliation attack in rival territory.Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz said as many as 30 shots were fired in the June 27, 2005, broad-daylight shooting on Della Circle in the Florin area. One of the shots fired by defendant Denishio Demmitrius Collins, 26, killed David Perkins, 22, one of the eight gang members from the Oak Park Bloods who filled three cars in the assault on a rival Crip set, according to Ortiz."This wasn't an in-the-dark sneak attack," Ortiz said. "These were people who said 'screw it' - this is our war and we're going to bring it to your streets."
After the shooting, the Oak Park gang members dumped the dying Perkins out of one of their vehicles and left him to die, Ortiz said."He was left on a sidewalk to die by his homeboys," the prosecutor said. Their mindset, Ortiz said, was, "'We just shot up a neighborhood. I'm not waiting around to see what happens to David Perkins.'"Prosecutors charged Collins under a theory of the natural and probable consequences of a dangerous act. Ortiz argued that even though Perkins was part of the gang that took the offensive, he still was the victim of the "transferred intent" of his cohorts' implied malice."They just accidentally killed one of their own guys," Ortiz said.Ortiz's argument ran until the lunch hour and was expected to continue afterward.Collins' lawyer, William R. White, will then give his argument before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin J. McCormick sends the case to the jury.

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Alessandro Marciano and his son, Giuseppe, were found guilty of ordering the killing, Salvatore Ritorto was found guilty of being the gunman

Francesco Fortugno, a former doctor, was investigating the awarding of hospital contracts in the Calabrian healthcare system at the time of his murder, which happened on 16 October 2005. In court on Monday, Alessandro Marciano and his son, Giuseppe, were found guilty of ordering the killing, Salvatore Ritorto was found guilty of being the gunman, while Domenico Audino was judged to have been an accomplice. Today many offences are committed in Calabria often go unpunished because people are scared to file a complaint Three other men were given sentences ranging from four to 12 years for offences including mafia association.
"This sentence is important because people in Calabria can conclude there is a genuine will to denounce these crimes," said Agazio Loiero, president of the Calabria region, after the verdict. "Today many offences are committed in Calabria often go unpunished because people are scared to file a complaint," he added.
Giuseppe Lumia, the former head of the Italian parliament's anti-mafia commission and member of Mr Fortugno's Democratic Party, said he hoped the "system of collusion" built by the 'Ndrangheta could finally be uncovered. In 2007, a key informant in the case who helped identify the four convicted men committed suicide.
Despite being given police protection, Bruno Piccolo was said to have been fearful for his life and felt ostracised by the local community.

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Paul Fontaine, Hells Angels leader 41, guilty of the murder of Pierre Rondeau.

Paul Fontaine, 41, guilty of the murder of Pierre Rondeau. On Sept. 8, 1997, the provincial prison guard was shot while behind the wheel of an inmate transport bus as he approached the Riviere des Prairies detention centre. His partner Robert Corriveau was not injured in the ambush by Fontaine was also convicted of attempted murder as well.In this and other previous trials, Stephane Gagne, the other gunman in the ambush, testified that the murder and an earlier one the same year were carried out on the orders of Maurice Boucher, a Hells Angels leader. Boucher was convicted of the murders in 2002.

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Bloods v Crips gang members from Central Islip and Bay Shore have been charged in connection with a bloody attack at a Suffolk mall early this month

Three gang members from Central Islip and Bay Shore have been charged in connection with a bloody attack at a Suffolk mall early this month that left another teen, who they believed was a member of a rival gang, with several stab wounds, Suffolk police said Saturday.Third Squad detectives arrested Wayne Booker, 17, at his home in Central Islip on Saturday morning and charged him with wielding a knife against Christopher Findley, 19, at the South Shore Mall in Bay Shore on Jan. 8.Booker and two men who police said were his associates in the Bloods gang, Edward Burgos, 19, and Gabriel Matos, 19, both of Bay Shore, were charged with first-degree assault and gang assault.Findley, who police said has no known gang affiliations, was inside the mall when a verbal altercation started between him and the three men, who believed from Findley's clothing that he was a Crips gang member, according to Det. Sgt. William Rand.Findley "went outside and they started punching him, and at one point Wayne Booker took out a knife and stabbed him five times," Rand said.The Bay Shore teen ran bleeding through the mall before collapsing near the entrance to Macy's. He was admitted in critical condition to Southside Hospital with a punctured, collapsed lung and a lacerated liver. Findley was just released from the hospital on Thursday, police said.Booker was located at his home Saturday morning and arrested without incident, Rand said. Burgos was arrested Jan. 19. Matos also was charged Jan. 19 in the attack on Findley after Matos was arrested on a weapons charge when he was found in a car with several other people and a gun, police said.Booker was to be arraigned Sunday in First District Court in Central Islip. Matos and Burgos were previously arraigned; each pleaded not guilty.

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Bloods set called Sex Money Murder raided in Essex County this week netted 20 alleged gang members who are part of a drug trafficing net

Raids in Essex County this week netted 20 alleged gang members and their associates who are part of a sophisticated narcotics ring, authorities said.In the latest busts yesterday morning in Newark, law enforcement officials detained five people who were part of an elaborate operation that sold about 100 bricks of heroin and several hundred grams of cocaine per week to gang members in Newark, Orange, South Orange, Irvington and Elizabeth, said Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow.The drug raids, named "Operation Trifecta," began Sunday by targeting upper-level dealers in Orange, Irvington, Elizabeth and Newark. Yesterday's bust focused on Newark apartment buildings on Spruce Street, Johnson Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Hood Barbershop on Washington Avenue, which served as a central hub for the drug ring, according to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly.A worker at the barbershop said yesterday there were no drug dealers at the location and declined to talk further.Of those arrested, 16 are men and four are women, according to a list provided by Dow. All of them are accused of having ties or being members of a Bloods set called Sex Money Murder, Dow said.
In all, 17 of them are Newark residents. The rest are from Orange, Irvington and Elizabeth. Most of them have been charged with possessing and distributing drugs and with conspiracy.
During the investigation, officials focused on "the main players of this drug ring": Newark residents Terrell Horton, 34; Tirik Jackson, 36; Stephon Johnson, 35; and Jamal Wiley, 34, said Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. The investigation, which started in August, initially focused on three of these men - which led to the name "Operation Trifecta."
"We believe these are the worst of the worst," Dow said in a news conference attended by state Attorney General Anne Milgram; Jose Cordero, the state director of gangs, guns and violent crime control strategies; representatives from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and members of the Newark, Orange, South Orange, and Maplewood police departments.
During the raids, officials also confiscated three loaded semiautomatic handguns, more than a pound of cocaine and 100 grams of heroin, Loriquet said. In addition, authorities seized three vehicles and about $50,000 in cash.
The drug raids are part of the Governor's Strategy for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods initiative that started in April. In Essex County, more than 100 suspected gang members and associates were arrested as part of the program, Loriquet said. Authorities also confiscated about 13 pounds of heroin, 2.2 pounds of cocaine, 12 loaded handguns, and six vehicles.After the anti-crime plan began last summer, 1,844 people arrested in the operations have been charged with crimes including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and drug trafficking. Prosecutors from 19 of the 21 counties, working with State Police, seized 162 guns, including 22 assault weapons.

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