Courtesy of GlobalIncidentMap.com
ATF Rounds Up Street Gang Members Nationally.
More Than 270 Defendants Arrested for Alleged Acts of Violence
Courtesy www.ATF.Gov
WASHINGTON 06/30/10- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced the culmination of multiple, strategic enforcement operations targeting violent criminals and gang members nationwide. The operations took place in 15 states and involved the arrest and indictment of more than 270 alleged street, prison and motorcycle gang members.
Today, ATF is serving 26 federal arrest warrants in the Miami-Dade and Homestead areas in Florida as part of “Operation Southern Snow.” The alleged local gang members were indicted on various firearms- and drug-related charges and most are multi-convicted felons with violent pasts. At this time, 20 defendants are in custody.
“Our communities are safer because of ATF’s expanded efforts to target and dismantle criminal gangs and organized criminal enterprises that use firearms and violent acts to further their illegal gains,” said ATF Deputy Director Kenneth Melson. “ATF continues to carry out its mission daily by removing individuals who shatter families and destroy lives to ply their illicit trades.” Throughout the month of June, ATF targeted numerous violent offenders across the nation:
•June 29, ATF arrested 31 individuals believed to be members and associates of the “819 Boyz,” a street gang operating in the area of Daytona Beach, Fla. The 18-month, ATF-led investigation resulted in alleged gang members being indicted on numerous federal firearms- and drug-related charges. The investigation included about a 100 undercover transactions that yielded the purchase of 78 firearms, approximately one kilogram of crack cocaine, more than 400 controlled narcotic pills, and body armor.
•June 25, ATF conducted “Operation Ceasefire,” a 10-month investigation into the sale of narcotics and firearms throughout the Waterbury and Naugatuck, Conn., areas by the Crips street gang and the Outlaw motorcycle gang. ATF and local law enforcement served 51 felony arrest warrants for narcotics and firearms violations. Approximately 32 firearms were seized or purchased during ATF undercover operations, many of which had been stolen in local burglaries.
•June 23, ATF and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department arrested 21 members and associates of the violent street gang, known as the Bloods, in Nashville, Tenn. The indictment included charges of conspiracy to participate in Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO), conspiracy to commit murder, assault, conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during crimes of violence, conspiracy to distribute and possess narcotics. To date, 24 defendants have been taken into custody.
•June 23, an ATF-led task force arrested eight people on federal firearms and narcotics charges in the Aurora and Denver, Colo., areas. The arrests were the second phase of a multi-year investigation named “Operation Cripland.”
•June 23, ATF arrested 18 alleged members of a street gang, known as “Tot Lot Posse,” in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Defendants were charged with conspiracy, illegal firearms sales and dealing narcotics, alleging criminal activity dating back to the fall of 2008. Approximately 41 firearms and more than 1,300 grams of crack cocaine were purchased by undercover ATF agents from Tot Lot Posse members.
•June 17, ATF arrested 23 members of the violent local gang “148 Gang” in the Paris, Ky., area. The alleged narcotics trafficking crew was indicted after a two-year investigation on various federal firearms- and drug-related charges.
•June 17, ATF arrested 22 individuals in the Flint, Mich., area, following a three-month, multi-agency law enforcement effort known as the “Flint Initiative for Violent Crime Enforcement Operations” (FIVE-O). Charges included firearms offenses, drug trafficking and witness tampering.
•June 15, ATF’s “Operation Black Diamond” resulted in a 10-state round up of 40 members of the Outlaw motorcycle gang. Among those taken into custody by ATF were the national president and presidents from the Copper, Gray and Red regions. The defendants were charged with participating in a criminal enterprise that engaged in a wide range of crimes, including attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, robbery, extortion, witness intimidation, firearms-related charges and narcotics distribution.
•June 15, the ATF-led Greeley (Colo.) Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Task Force arrested 16 individuals as part of a two-year criminal investigation into drug distribution and gun possession by gang members and associates in the Greeley area. Seizures during the investigation included methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and 21 firearms, including a SKS rifle and three sawed-off shotguns.
•June 8, ATF arrested 23 members and associates of the Nuestra Familia prison gang, in Fresno, Calif., on firearms-related and drug-trafficking charges.
“ATF agents work with other federal, state, and local law enforcement to identify the most violent gang members and target those offenders, using undercover operations, surveillance, wiretaps, and the controlled purchase of guns, explosives and drugs to identify and attack the gang’s hierarchy,” added Melson.
All charges are merely allegations and all those accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If convicted, defendants face years in prison.
For more information on ATF and its programs go to www.atf.gov.
Six Alleged Members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation
Indicted for Racketeering And Conspiracy
Courtesy www.FBI.gov
WASHINGTON—06/30/10- Six alleged members of the gang known as Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) have been indicted for their alleged roles in a racketeering conspiracy in Hammond, Indiana and elsewhere, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Capp of the Northern District of Indiana.
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on June 17, 2010, and unsealed today in Hammond, Ind., charges Alexander Vargas, aka “Pacman,” 33, of Highland, Ind.; Sisto Bernal, aka “Cisco,” aka “Shug,” 44, of Chicago; Jose Zambrano, aka “Speedy,” 30, of Sauk Village, Ill.; Jason Ortiz, aka “Creeper,” 27, of Chicago; Brandon Clay, aka “Cheddar,” aka “Swiss,” aka “Slick,” 23, of Chicago; and Jermaine Ellis, aka “J-Dog,” aka “Donnie Brosco,” of Chicago, with conspiracy to engage in racketeering activity. Ortiz and Clay are also each charged with two counts of murder, one count of using and carrying a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, two counts of murder resulting from the use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, one count of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony, and one count of possessing stolen firearms.
The indictment alleges the defendants engaged in a series of acts in furtherance and in promotion of the Latin Kings. As alleged in the indictment, Vargas, Bernal, and Zambrano traveled from the Chicago/northwest Indiana area to Texas to meet with the Texas Latin Kings hierarchy on May 29, 2005. As alleged in the indictment, Bernal threatened to “smash” the Texas Latin Kings leadership if they did not comply with the rules established by the Chicago-area Latin Kings hierarchy. During the meeting, Bernal allegedly designated the Texas Latin Kings state enforcer as the person who should communicate between the Texas and Chicago Latin Kings hierarchy.
The indictment also alleges that Ortiz, Clay, and Ellis participated in the murder of rival gang members James Walsh and Gonzalo Diaz. The murders took place outside of a bar in Griffith, Ind., in the early morning of Feb. 25, 2007.
Upon conviction, Ortiz and Clay face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison or the death penalty. The remaining defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Vargas, Bernal, Zambrano, Clay, and Ortiz were arrested today. Zambrano made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich on Monday, and Vargas, Bernal, Clay, and Ortiz made their initial appearance before Judge Rodovich today. Ellis is currently being held in custody in Chicago and will be scheduled for an initial appearance on a later date.
According to the indictment, the Latin Kings is a nationwide gang that originated in Chicago and has spread throughout the United States. The Latin Kings is a well organized street gang that has specific leadership and is comprised of regions that include multiple chapters.
As alleged in the indictment, the Latin Kings enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the Latin Kings. Members are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, including taking on assignments often referred to as “missions.” As alleged in the indictment, missions can range from a leader ordering the assault of a rival gang member or a Latin Kings member who had committed a violation of the rules, to the murder of a rival gang member or a Latin Kings member who may have committed an egregious violation of the rules.
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We like this video, which comes to us courtesy of Tippecanoe County Project Safe neighborhoods' YouTubePage.
It is entitled; Gangs On FaceBook -Recruiting Our Youth
The Home-Front
Reversing Juvenile Offender Rates On The Front End
An Opinion From M.A.S.T. Cyber Team
Do you know what music your kid listens to or what they watch on television? Youngsters are very impressionable and can be easily dazzled by the illusion that rappers project of being rich, powerful and desired. The mainstream media props those characters up like they're golden treasure, recklessly disregarding the messages and imagery that their music and videos convey. Did you know that many of the most influential and popular rappers have current affiliations with criminal street gang enterprises? Do you think that M.T.V. cares when those artists flash gang signs on awards shows or get arrested for gun possession?
Another truth is that there's not a lot of kids buying Captain America comic books anymore. Instead, they're playing video games that require you to steal cars, shoot it out and flee the law in order to win. Well that's not our idea of winning! That's an exercise in being a loser and it's those mainstream influences that desensitize our kids to real life violent behavior.
There's a lot to be said about corporal punishment. When we were growing up, it was understood that if you were caught doing wrong, you could expect to feel it. Nowadays, kids have no fear. Not even fear of the cops. Juveniles think nothing of swinging on an officer or drawing a weapon on them. What changed? Where did they lose their respect for the law and for their parents? We feel that the change came when butt-tanning was replaced by time-outs and then after the time-out was served they resumed playing Grand Theft Auto while their new Snoop Dog CD played in the background.
Parents, we can take back America, but the first front for this effort is the home front.