14:32
Fraser Trevor
teenager has been shot in the back in east London. The 17-year-old boy was wounded in East India Dock Road, Poplar, in the early hours of the morning. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A 17-year-old male had a gunshot wound to the back and is in hospital in a serious condition." The attack happened just before 01:00 GMT, police said. Any witnesses to the shooting should call the Metropolitan Police.
11:47
Fraser Trevor
Armed guards are to be deployed on British civilian ships for the first time to protect them from pirates, David Cameron announced today.
A legal ban on weapon-toting protection staff will be relaxed so that firms can apply for a licence to have them on board in danger zones.
The Prime Minister said radical action was required because the increasing ability of sea-borne Somali criminals to hijack and ransom ships had become 'a complete stain on our world'.
He unveiled the measure after talks at a Commonwealth summit in Australia with leaders of countries in the Horn of Africa over the escalating problem faced in waters off their shores.
Under the plans, the Home Secretary will be given the power to license vessels to carry armed security, including automatic weapons, currently prohibited under firearms laws.
Officials said around 200 ships were expected to be in line to take up the offer, which would only apply for voyages through particular waters in the affected region.
It is expected to be used by commercial firms, rather than private sailors such as hostage victims Paul and Rachel Chandler.
Pirates: There are around 50 ships currently being held hostage
Asked if he was comfortable with giving private security operatives the right to 'shoot to kill' if necessary, Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'We have to make choices.
'Frankly the extent of the hijack and ransom of ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world.
'The fact that a bunch of pirates in Somalia are managing to hold to ransom the rest of the world and our trading system is a complete insult and the rest of the world needs to come together with much more vigour.
23:59
Fraser Trevor
Dozens of motorbikes lined Pennington Tce, North Adelaide, as more than 100 people gathered for the 1.30pm service for James Sean "Pappa" Petterson. Members of rival motorcycle clubs, including the Finks, also attended the service. A convoy of Rebels members on motorcycles were given a police escort to the service and flanked the hearse as it left the cathedral. Uniformed and plainclothes police kept a watchful eye over proceedings from outside
12:16
Fraser Trevor
NEW appeal has been launched to capture a man wanted in connection with the murder of a Stapeley market trader. Christopher Guest More, 33, of Lymm, near Warrington, is one of 10 individuals wanted in the latest campaign being run by Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). He is suspected to have been part of a gang involved in the torture and murder of market trader and cannabis farmer Brian Waters, who was killed in a barn in Tabley, near Knutsford, in June 2003. Three of his alleged accomplices, Otis Lee Matthews, James Stuart Raven and John Godfrey Wilson, received life sentences for their part in the brutal attack. More is also sought in connection with the attempted murder of Suleman Razak and for the alleged false imprisonment and assault of other victims present during the incident. It is believed he fled to Spain just 24 hours after the incident. The appeal is part of crime charity Crimestoppers’ ‘Operation Captura’ campaign, which is trying to locate wanted criminals abroad. Crimestoppers’ regional manager Gary Murray, said: “This extremely heinous crime saw an individual lose their life and the person responsible needs to be tried for their actions. “I’d urge anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers on our 0800 555 111 number or use our online form on our website – we guarantee your anonymity.” Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Smith said: “Eight years on, we still remain determined and committed to finding and arresting Christopher More for his alleged involvement in the brutal murder of Brian Waters. “Cheshire Police will not close this case until the family of Brian Waters sees justice done.”
00:50
Fraser Trevor
TORONTO - A deadly spat with origins in Halifax has an eastern Canada police dragnet hunting the gangster wanted for a slaying in Toronto. Toronto Police said Wednesday Darnell St. Clair Wright, 32, is wanted for first-degree murder in the Oct. 2 shooting of Jefflin Beals, 25, on Crawford St. at Lobb Ave., near Trinity Bellwoods Park. Homicide Det.-Sgt. Wayne Banks said the two men had an ongoing dispute stretching back at least to 2009, when Beals was a target of a drive-by shooting in Halifax. The father of two wasn’t injured in that attack and he refused to co-operate with police. Banks said he’s still not yet clear about the motive of the murder, whether it was personal or gang-related. Police said Beals, was in a friend’s car when a gunman approached on Crawford St. and opened fire. Beals got out of the car and stumbled to a lane between two homes, but he died by the time emergency crews found him. The victim had been staying with friends in Peel after arriving in the city just a few days before he was gunned down in the usually quiet area of west Toronto. Banks said the gang Wright belongs to — the North Preston Finest — is suspected to be involved in the 2009 drive-by, but it’s unclear if the suspect was involved in that shooting. “We believe he (Beals) was set up — that Wright found out he was in Toronto and that he was set up to be at that location,” Banks alleged. The location of the murder, a residential street, “there’s no way it was a chance meeting, say like a night club or somewhere like that,” Banks said. “He was there for a reason and they were waiting for him.” But Banks doesn’t know yet what lured Beals to the spot. He warns anyone who helped set up the ambush or is now hiding Wright will face charges. “This isn’t just about arresting Darnell, this will be finding out anybody involved in the planning of it and anybody involved in the aiding and abetting after it,” he said. Banks said there’s conflicting street information that Wright is in Halifax, and “we’re hearing information that he’s still in the city.” Wright is considered dangerous, he said.
09:21
Fraser Trevor
Mexican police arrest 15-year-old alleged drug-gang operator in murders of 2 women Prosecutors said Saturday that a 15-year-old boy has confessed to running a drug trafficking gang on the Mexican resort island of Isla Mujeres and murdering two women who reportedly worked as drug dealers. It was the second time in less than a year that an extremely young male has been detained as a purported drug gang killer in Mexico. Last November, soldiers arrested a 14-year-old U.S. citizen who confessed to killing four people whose beheaded bodies were found hanging from a bridge. Comments Weigh InCorrections? Mexican officials say the involvement of youths in such crimes reflects the difficulty drug cartels are having in recruiting adults, but it also raise fears that Mexico’s drug violence may have accustomed young people to extreme levels of violence. The Isla Mujeres cases involve a youth who prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo identified only by his nickname, “El Gallito” or “The Little Rooster”. Heavily tattooed, El Gallito appears more mature than his age, prosecutors said. State Attorney General Gaspar Garcia Torres said the boy claimed to have been in charge of the lucrative Isla Mujeres drug market for a local gang known as “Los Pelones,” equivalent to the Bald or Shaved Heads. The gang is reputedly fighting the Zetas cartel for control of the area around the coastal resort of Cancun. A spokesman for the prosecutors office said the boy told investigators that he and two older associates slashed the throats of the two women at a hotel on Isla Mujeres. Their women’s bodies were found before dawn Thursday, and El Gallito was detained Friday. “He confessed to having full participation in carrying out these deeds, and from the start he claimed to have been in charge of drug sales in the area, in this case for the Pelones, and that his duties were to receive the drugs,” said the spokesman, who was not allowed to be quoted by name. The women were purportedly killed after they betrayed the Pelones gang by selling drugs they obtained from other sources. The boy was turned over to a youthful offender facility to face homicide charges. Because of his age, he cannot be identified or tried as an adult. In most parts of Mexico, youths are tried and sentenced in juvenile courts, but cannot be held after they turn 18. Last year’s case involved a 14-year-old U.S. citizen, who was identified by his family as Edgar Jimenez Lugo, known as “El Ponchis.” He was sentenced in July to three years in prison for homicide, kidnapping and drug and weapons possession. It was the maximum sentenced allowed for a minor. Authorities say the teenager confessed to working for the South Pacific cartel, which is allegedly led by Hector Beltran Leyva.
09:13
Fraser Trevor
A man who suffered life-threatening injuries in a gang-related shooting in North Portland Friday night died early Monday morning. An autopsy was planned for Monday for Deandre Clark, 25, according to Lt. Robert King. Police responded just after 10 p.m. to a shots fired call near N Haight Avenue and N Emerson Street, according to King. Officers arrived to find a group gathered in the street around a man who had been shot. Medical crews arrived and took Clark to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police set up a perimeter around the scene and called in a K-9 unit to assist with the search, but did not find any suspects.
09:06
Fraser Trevor
According to the Post, the violence is due to a feud "stemmed from an ongoing beef between two warring factions, the Hoodstars and the Waves. Members of both gangs told The Post that they consider themselves the modern-day Bloods and Crips -- and sources say their violent feud has been raging for several years." Apparently residents are too afraid to call 911 and say the violence is worse at night, when the gangster "do not hesitate" to shoot. While neighbors said that Horton, who had 13 living children (a 14th died of pneumonia a few years ago), was pregnant, but the ME's office said that she was not. Still, the tragedy is huge, as her children will be split up between Horton's mother and her ex-boyfriend, Oniel Vaughn, the father of eight of the children,who told the Daily News, "She gave her life for those kids, and she would have done it all again because that's just the kind of person she was. She was worried about the violence. She said she wanted to move and buy a house for her kids. Those kids were her life." He added, "I didn't tell the younger kids yet. The older ones know. They're devastated."As police try to find the suspect whoseFriday afternoon shooting from a Brooklyn rooftop left a woman dead and another woman and an 11-year-old girl injured, the slain woman's family remains bereft. Zurana Horton, 34, was killed when picking up a child from P.S. 298 in Brownsville, at Pitkin Avenue and Watkins Street, and apparently died trying to shield other youngsters. One of Horton's children told the Post that she actually walked by the crime scene, not realizing her mother was the victim, "I was wondering where my mother was. I found out later [the body] was my mother. My little sister [Alexis] said, ‘Mommy died. She got shot.’"
Police officers on rooftops (NBC New York)
09:01
Fraser Trevor
POLICE have smashed an alleged black market gun supply ring operating out of a tiny suburban tobacco shop. Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad detectives arrested the alleged leaders of the syndicate last week after a covert buy-up of the weapons and ammunition. The men allegedly used a Lakemba tobacconist shop, King of the Pack, as a front. Detectives are testing three firearms that the police bought to see if they had been used in any crimes, documents tendered in court reveal. George Boulos, 27, and Said Rawdah, 36, charged with numerous offences relating to possessing and supplying illegal firearms, were refused bail in court on Friday. Tobacconist Ayman Said, 50, charged with similar offences, was also refused bail. Instead of an undercover detective, police from Strike Force Snaidero enlisted a "registered source" who was given pre-counted "buy money" to purchase weapons. The court heard that on July 18 the registered police source, known only by a code name, went to the tobacconist and asked the owner, Ayman Said, if he could buy a gun. They negotiated a price of $5000, with Said allegedly telling the buyer the next step would be introducing him to a dealer. The following Monday, police say their source was introduced to Rawdah - the alleged dealer - who handed over a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver for $5000. Police later found it had been in circulation for more than 13 years. It was reported stolen from a break and enter on January 31, 1998. On August 20, the informant went back to the tobacco shop and, after asking for more guns, was introduced to Boulos, of Padstow, who told the informant he had access to plenty more weapons, including military-grade firearms, the court heard. "Those firearms were a 9mm pistol, a .22 calibre pistol, an AK-47 machinegun and numerous SKS assault rifles," police facts state. "Twelve days later, the pair met at Lakemba railway carpark, where for $13,000 the police source allegedly received a .22mm Jennings pistol, a 7.62mm pistol and ammunition. The buyer viewed the guns in a white van which was driven by an unknown man who was summoned with a phone call from Boulos, Burwood Local Court heard. Last Thursday, police arrested the trio at various locations. All three will reappear in court in December.
08:46
Fraser Trevor
2,000 Florida guns last year were linked to crimes committed around the country, and experts say they likely came from the cars and homes of law-abiding Floridians. In 2010, law-enforcement officers around the country traced 2,251 crime guns to Florida, one of the states with the most guns traced in out-of-state crimes. It follows Georgia's 2,568 guns and Texas' 2,301, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Related Top states for crime guns Broward crime rises in first half of 2011 Video: Crimes caught on camera Photos Close calls: Crime artist's sketches Topics Personal Weapon Control Gun Control Interior Policy See more topics » That's because Florida has a huge number of gun owners, and burglars find the weapons when breaking into their homes and cars, authorities said. Video: Mother of pit bull attack victim discusses son's condition "In almost any burglary to a residence, a gun will turn up," Boynton Beach Police Sgt. Sedrick Aiken said. "There's a lot of stolen guns out there." In fact, South Florida last year had the most reported stolen guns in the state. That's 2,310 guns reported stolen in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, according to state records. The number does not include guns reported stolen and then recovered. Typical was the recent arrest of two suspects in Boca Raton, accused of taking $3,750 worth of hunting guns in the burglary of a home in Jupiter. The owner of the guns told police he kept them in a gun safe that was broken into. Richard Sasso, 23, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in connection with the September burglary. The Sun Sentinel is not naming the juvenile because of his age. He told police they traded the guns for marijuana. It's unclear where the guns ended up. Stolen guns often are sold to criminals, who may end up crossing state lines, experts said. Florida guns also end up in the wrong hands in other states when people come to Florida because gun laws here are more relaxed, Aiken said. Unlike New York, for example, Florida does not require gun buyers to get a permit and allows people convicted of violent misdemeanors to own a gun. Florida also prohibits municipalities from enacting their own gun-control measures. New York is where most of Florida's crime guns — 358 — ended up last year. Not all guns used in crimes are traced through ATF, and not all guns traced are directly used in crimes. They could be guns found at a crime scene or in the possession of a suspected criminal. Marion Hammer, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association in Florida, said Florida's laws have nothing to do with guns turning up in out-of-state crimes. Many state laws regulate who can sell a gun and to whom a gun can be sold, she said. "If anything, it's lax law enforcement," Hammer said. "I don't know if it's ATF or [the Florida Department of Law Enforcement] or who isn't enforcing it." In December 2009, Washington, D.C., police and FBI agents arrested dozens of alleged gun traffickers and seized 123 guns in an undercover sting, according to The Washington Post. Authorities posed as gun traffickers interested in buying illegal guns to sell to Mexican cartels. In the end, 44 people were arrested in the sting, and the trafficked weapons were traced to Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky. Federal authorities blamed the out-of-state guns for much of the violent crime in the capital. Gary Kleck, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University, said large-scale, interstate gun trafficking is rare, and often overblown by politicians who want to blame crime on outside factors. Rarely do criminals travel to Florida because they think it's easier to buy guns down South, he said. "This is not about gun trafficking. It's interstate migration," said Kleck, who has interviewed convicted felons and studied the movement of crime guns across state lines. The most common scenario is when someone buys a gun legally in Florida, moves out of state and has his or her weapon stolen in a home burglary. Or a burglar in Florida steals a homeowner's guns and sells it to a someone in another state. "The chances of a burglar coming across a gun here is that much greater than in other states," he said.
11:46
Fraser Trevor
The full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions. And the fallen dictatorship's former foreign minister, Musa Kusa - who was released by the British authorities six months ago after he defected to the UK in March - is facing fresh allegations that he was directly involved in the beating of political prisoners. The footage - obtained by the BBC's Panorama programme - was reportedly shot at the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli. It shows crouching inmates, blindfolded and wearing blue uniforms, being repeatedly whipped and kicked by interrogators. Brutal: A still from footage of a prisoner being whipped inside the Abu Salim prison during Gaddafi's rule Last month the remains of more than 1,200 prisoners were found in a mass grave outside the prison's walls. The Panorama team tracked down Kusa to a luxury resort in Qatar during its investigation into his role in alleged war crimes. He declined to be interviewed for the programme. Kusa was head of Gaddafi's intelligence agency from 1994 and a senior intelligence agent when PanAm flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie. Inhumane: An inmate is kicked in the head by one official as a prison guard looks on Back in the spotlight: Torture suspect Musa Kusa defected to Britain in April but moved to Qatar just weeks later The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route from London to New York when it exploded over the Dumfriesshire town, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents. There have also been calls for Kusa to be quizzed in relation to the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot during a protest outside London's Libyan Embassy in 1984. Kusa made a high-profile defection to Britain in March and was interviewed by police and Scottish prosecutors investigating the Lockerbie attack. But within weeks he was allowed to leave the UK following an EU decision to lift sanctions against him, meaning he no longer faces travel restrictions or an asset freeze. No comment: Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon is blocked by a bodyguard while attempting to question Kusa The Foreign Office said Kusa was a 'private individual' who had been interviewed voluntarily. But the ruling was condemned by one Tory MP who said Britain had become 'a transit lounge for alleged war criminals'. And Britain is now under fresh pressure to interview Kusa in relation to the allegations. Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing, said that if anyone could offer any insight into the 'huge questions still unanswered' on Libya's role in Lockerbie, it would be Mr Kusa. High profile: Kusa was less reluctant about speaking to the press following his defection to London earlier this year He said: 'When I met Musa Kusa in Libya in 1991 it was clear to me he was the guy who was central to the Gaddafi administration. 'He could tell us just as much as Gaddafi about Lockerbie as he was at the core of the regime. 'He was a very, very key figure and we need answers as to why he was allowed to fly back. Any probing over his crimes should be done by the International Criminal Court.' Pamela Dix, who lost her 35-year-old brother Peter in the atrocity, said she was 'incensed' after Mr Kusa was allowed to leave Britain in the first place. She said: 'We cannot turn a politically pragmatic blind eye. 'I do not know what Musa Kusa knows or does not know about Lockerbie but he needs to come back to answer those questions. 'I condemn the attitude of the UK Government in the strongest possible terms. A political hands-off attitude is inappropriate.'
00:25
Fraser Trevor
A paratransit bus driver intentionally rammed a Hells Angels biker on Interstate 580, and then dragged him about a mile, killing him, a CHP spokesman said. The biker, who has not been identified, was traveling eastbound on I-580 in San Leandro near Grand Avenue with a small group of Hells Angels members before 4 p.m. when an altercation began, said CHP Sgt. Trent Cross. After being hit, the motorcyclist and his bike were dragged for about a mile, said San Leandro police Lt. Greg Lemmon. Eventually, the biker was released from under the East Bay Paratransit bus, but the driver kept dragging the motorcycle, which was wedged underneath the front grill, until the vehicle stopped on the shoulder just east of the 150th Avenue onramp. The Hells Angels biker was flown to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was pronounced dead, Lemmon said. The bus driver has been arrested, Lemmon said. Police are interviewing four witnesses who saw the incident. "The preliminary information they are providing was that it wasn't an accident, it was an intentional ramming," Lemmon said. All eastbound lanes were closed from Grand Avenue to 150th Avenue so police could conduct a homicide investigation over a large swath of freeway, Cross said. The lanes were expected to remain closed until 10 or 11 p.m., he said, and there were significant traffic delays in the area. An East Bay Paratransit manager referred calls to First Transit, a Advertisement contract agency that operates the bus. The First Transit representative did not return calls. No passengers were on board the bus during the collision, said San Leandro police Sgt. Doug Calcagno. The paratransit bus provides door-to-door service for people unable to ride regular public transit because of disabilities. It has been a tragic autumn for the Hells Angels motorcycle club. San Jose chapter President Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew was killed outside a Nevada casino last month. At his packed funeral Oct. 15, Steve Tausan, a 52-year-old Hells Angels enforcer and friend of Pettigrew's, was shot dead.
00:19
Fraser Trevor
A man suspected of fatally shooting a member of the Hells Angels at a recent funeral in San Jose was not holed up in a Stockton home Saturday as police had believed. Steve Ruiz, 38, of San Jose is being sought for allegedly shooting and killing fellow Hells Angels member Steve Tausan, 52, after the two fought Oct. 15 at a funeral for a slain motorcycle club member, according to police. Police had received information that Ruiz had been hiding out at the three-bedroom home on the 3700 block of McDougald Boulevard in Stockton, said San Jose police Sgt Jason Dwyer. Investigators asked Stockton police and the San Joaquin County sheriff's office to serve a search warrant for the home, but both agencies were unavailable, Dwyer said. As a result, San Jose police drove tactical vehicles to the scene. Neighbors said they had seen San Jose police at the scene, calling out to someone in the home to surrender. But after storming the home and firing tear gas at about 8 p.m. Saturday, police came up empty-handed and left. The occupants of the home "are new to the area or they're new to the house" after moving in several months ago, said Noelia Trelles, whose sister-in-law lives next door. "I think we live in a pretty crazy world, but it's still crazy that it's happening in the neighborhood," Trelles said. Ruiz and Tausan were among thousands of Hells Angels members who attended a funeral for Jeffrey Pettigrew, president of the San Jose chapter of the motorcycle club, at the Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park on Curtner Avenue. After the shooting, Ruiz, 38, of San Jose disappeared and one or more people tampered with the crime scene, washing away bloodstains and removing evidence of the shooting, police said. Police found Ruiz's motorcycle at the funeral, Lt. Alan Cavallo said. Ruiz has not come to claim it. Authorities initially speculated that it was possible Ruiz had been killed and possibly buried along with Pettigrew. Investigators obtained a search warrant to dig up Pettigrew's grave, but Ruiz's remains were not found, Cavallo said. But now investigators say they have proof that Ruiz is alive and "actively evading law enforcement," Dwyer said. Ruiz is believed to have two black eyes "and other facial injuries consistent with being in a fight," Dwyer said. Police said Ruiz is in the company of Christel Renee Trujillo, 42, also known as Christel Renee Ferguson, and that her life "is now in danger." The two are possibly traveling in a gold or pewter Chevrolet Suburban. No year of the vehicle or license plate number was available. Ruiz has family and associates in Arizona and New York and may try to contact them, Dwyer said. Police said Pettigrew was shot and killed Sept. 23 by Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, an alleged member of the rival Vagos motorcycle gang, at John Ascuaga's Nugget casino in Sparks, Nev. Gonzalez, 53, of San Jose was arrested by a UCSF police officer in San Francisco six days later. Tausan and the manager of the Pink Poodle, a strip club west of San Jose, were tried for murder in 1999 in the beating death of a club customer two years earlier. They were acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
07:58
Fraser Trevor
identified a suspect in the slaying of a high-ranking member of the Hells Angels who was shot and killed at a funeral for another member in Northern California. San Jose police say Steven Ruiz, also a member of the motorcycle gang, shot and killed 52-year-old Steve Tausan on Saturday during a fight at the funeral for Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew. About 3,000 people attended the ceremony at Oak Hill Memorial Park. On Tuesday, police said Ruiz was fighting with a member of the gang when he was knocked to the ground. Tausan apparently became involved and Ruiz drew a handgun and shot Tausan. Ruiz is now missing. Investigators say they dug up Pettigrew's grave to see if Ruiz may have been killed and buried there, but didn't find anything.
07:54
Fraser Trevor
A man associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle club was found guilty Monday of vehicle theft, Ventura County prosecutors said. Aaron McIntosh, 39, of Ventura stole the motorcycle of a former Hells Angels member from the backyard of his home, authorities said. He committed the theft on behalf of the Hells Angels to punish the former member, authorities said. McIntosh also was convicted of a count of committing a criminal felony while participating in a criminal street gang, authorities said. McIntosh faces a maximum sentence of 13 years and eight months in prison. A sentencing date has yet to be set.
07:51
Fraser Trevor
Authorities who feared quick justice among bikers dug up the grave of a Hells Angels member to look for the body of a Northern California man suspected of killing another gang member during a shootout at a weekend funeral, a police spokesman said Tuesday. San Jose police have an arrest warrant for Steven Ruiz, a member of the Hells Angels' Santa Cruz chapter. He's suspected of fatally shooting Steve Tausan after a fight broke out at Saturday's funeral for Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, who had been the president of the gang's San Jose chapter. Ruiz and Tausan disappeared from the Oak Hill Memorial Park cemetery shortly after the Saturday afternoon shooting, which sent thousands of mourners fleeing in panic AP San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore, right, and... View Full Caption Tausan was taken by a private vehicle to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Witnesses saw Ruiz bundled into a car and driven away from the cemetery, but police haven't been able to locate him and his Harley Davidson motorcycle was left behind hours after the last mourner left the cemetery, San Jose police spokesman Jose Garcia said. Police obtained a warrant to dig up Pettigrew's grave in search of Ruiz's body and other evidence, Garcia said. A backhoe was used to remove a large cement fixture over the grave and the soil above the coffin was removed, he said. When nothing was found, the grave was refilled and the cement slab affixed over the site. "The grave was not desecrated," Garcia said. Police felt it necessary to search the grave because Hells Angels members, relatives and others poured dirt over the casket rather than the cemetery staff, which is the usual custom, Garcia said. The investigation was hindered even more by the scrubbing of the crime scene of blood. In addition, no bullet casings were found. "The crime scene was washed down with water," Garcia said. Authorities named Ruiz a suspect on Tuesday and said they would continue searching for him. Pettigrew was shot and killed last month during a brawl with a rival biker gang at a Nevada casino.
16:53
Fraser Trevor
POLICE are scratching their heads as to why a mother and her three daughters were targeted in a drive-by shooting in Sydney's south. Police rushed to a rented house in Walker Street, Turrella, in Sydney's south, about 12.30am (AEDT) after reports of gunshots. They found three .45 calibre shell casings at the edge of the driveway and a bullet hole in the garage at the rear of the premises. Two other shots had struck a neighbouring fence. A mother and her three daughters were inside the home but were uninjured. The family were initially reluctant to speak to police, but the mother and one daughter gave interviews this afternoon. Detective Inspector Gary Ballard, from St George Local Area Command, urged neighbours to remain calm and report anything to police about the incident. He said police were frustrated by an apparent "cone of silence" surrounding the incident. "It's frustrating when a serious incident like this occurs and the police have little to go on," Det Insp Ballard told reporters in Sydney. "And we believe that there's persons out there that obviously are aware of what happened. "However, if you could call it a cone of silence, it doesn't assist us at all." The owner of the home arrived at the scene and spoke briefly to his tenants. "They're pretty shaken up," the man, identified only as Ross, told AAP. "Nothing like this has ever happened (in the neighbourhood)." He said the occupants were upset over the presence of the media. A news crew was filming in front of the home when a young man approached and starting yelling at a cameraman and a woman reporter. He appeared to throw down a camera tripod and approached the car in which the news team had taken refuge. Det-Insp Ballard said the news crew rang police, who revisited the home and told the residents not to approach the media. "If there was some hostility down there, then we'd rather people come forward to the police," Det-Insp Ballard told reporters. The mother of the family also has twin 25-year-old sons, police said. One of them is known to police, but Det-Insp Ballard later told AAP that detectives were still trying to determine a motive. "One of them has been in trouble before," he said, adding there was nothing to link the man to the shooting. "Whether it was thrill-shooting, a joy-shooting or just to get their kicks, we have no information whatsoever."
05:11
Fraser Trevor
A gunman opened fire on Wednesday in a busy hair salon, killing eight people and critically wounding another while leaving bodies scattered throughout the business in a normally sedate Southern California beach community. The gunman got into a truck and drove away from Salon Meritage after opening fire. He was stopped by officers about a half-mile (kilometer) away and surrendered without incident while saying he had multiple weapons with him, police Sgt. Steve Bowles said. His name and those of the victims were not immediately released. Bowles initially said, "There may be something to the motive as to a relationship with somebody in the salon, that is our assumption." Later, he said he couldn't comment further about the motive. Kimberly Criswell, who owns a salon just two doors down from the scene of the shootings, said she and her customers and employees heard gunshots, and her receptionist saw a man through a window as he was shot in a parking lot. "There was like a pop, pop and my receptionist screamed, 'he just shot that man' and we all ran into the bathroom and locked the door,"' Criswell said. Glenn Zachman, who owns a video news-gathering service, said he arrived at the scene of the arrest shortly after police and saw they had placed plastic bags over the man's hands to preserve possible gunshot residue. He also saw a bulletproof vest on the back of a patrol car but didn't know if the man, dressed in a button-down shirt and pants, had been wearing it. The suspect was cooperative when officers, working from a description of the shooter, stopped him near the salon, Bowles said. TV news video showed the man, in handcuffs, being placed in a patrol car and taken away about two-and-a-half hours after the shooting. A new white pickup truck that was believed to be his was parked on the modest residential street with its doors open. Earlier, police responding to a report of shots fired found six people dead and three wounded. Two of the wounded died at a hospital. The other person was listed in critical condition. Bowles said the victims were scattered throughout the salon. One wounded person, a man, was found outside the building. It wasn't known if he was the one person who survived. Bowles said the salon was busy at the time, with every hair-dressing station in operation. He didn't know what type of weapon was used or if the man used more than one. Salon employee Lorainne Bruielle, who wasn't working Wednesday, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram the gunman was the husband of another employee. Bruielle said she talked to the husband of one of the employees involved, who said one worker locked herself in the salon's facial room and was unharmed while another man locked himself in a bathroom but was wounded. Relatives of victims were taken to a nearby spiritual center. Seal Beach has seen just one other homicide in the past four years. The killings on Wednesday stunned the normally quiet community of about 25,000 that boasts on its website that it has "retained its quaint, small-town atmosphere" since it was founded in 1915.
22:01
Fraser Trevor
former chief of the National Police in Ronda claims that he was accused in the police corruption case because people wanted to “bring him down”. Nine people are accused in the case which is currently being tried in Malaga. They include three other National Police officers and a Guardia Civil. The hearing was initially planned in March last year but was suspended after the defence for one of the accused asked to know the identity of some of the protected witnesses to carry out tests. This was agreed, but the trial was postponed on two other occasions. There are 60 witnesses, many whose identities are protected. Malaga Public Prosecutor is asking for a total of 39 years for the five officers who allegedly failed to investigate prostitution and drugs sales at brothels in the area from which they are accused of demanding money and sex in exchange for not going ahead with deportation orders for the illegal immigrants working there between 2003 and 2007. Three club managers were charged with prostitution, and another man who allegedly accompanied the officer with influence peddling. He is said to have boasted about his relationship with the police and an affair with the local judge. The Internal Affairs investigation led to the arrests of the officers and the other people between February and May 2007. The former National Police chief visited the brothels and, like the others, allegedly had drinks and sexual favours which he never paid for, and was also accused of helping an illegal immigrant who worked in a care home in exchange for sex. The prosecution believes that another one of the National Police rented a house to one of the brothel owners for the girls to stay in and tipped them off about possible raids. The former police chief claims in court that the whole case is a set-up organized by people he had arrested or had problems with in the past, including other officers, and says he never failed in his duty, nor abused his position to obtain sex or anything else. He does admit to having had a consenting relationship with a protected witness who he claims demanded money from him and went to his wife after they split up. He says he regrets this, but that it was the only thing he has done wrong.
10:34
Fraser Trevor
In this courtroom sketch, James "Whitey" Bulger stands during his initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Boston in June. Source:AP Bulger, who is charged with 19 murders in the 1970s and '80s in Boston, was arrested in June in Santa Monica, California, where he had been living under an assumed name with long-term girlfriend Catherine Greig. The FBI has steadfastly refused to disclose the identity of the tipster, again declining to comment to AFP, but the Boston Globe says it was Anna Bjornsdottir, a 57-year-old graphic designer and yoga instructor. Bjornsdottir, who was crowned Miss Iceland in 1974 and starred in that year's Miss Universe competition, tipped off police after recognising Bulger, 81, on the television news, reports said. She is said to have befriended Greig, 60, in Santa Monica after the two women took a shared interest in a local stray cat. The Boston Globe reported that Bjornsdottir, star of B-movies More American Graffiti and The Sword and the Sorcerer, moved to the LA area in the late 1970s with her first husband, rock star Jakob Magnusson. Bulger, an Irish-American whose life inspired a gritty Hollywood movie, pleaded not guilty to the string of murder charges at a court appearance in July. Police found some $A823,000 in cash and a "fairly big arsenal" of weapons in Bulger's modest apartment after his arrest, law enforcement sources said. Greig, who is accused of helping to shield Bulger during his time on the run, was indicted by a federal grand jury and faces up to five years in prison and a $US250,000 fine if convicted. Bulger was the inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed, the 2006 crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and also starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. Bulger and Greig had lived for years under the pseudonyms Charles and Carol Gasko. In addition to accusations that Bulger murdered mob rivals, potential witnesses and others who threatened him, prosecutors accuse him of a crime spree spanning into the 1990s that included extortion, money laundering and, at one point, running guns to Northern Ireland's IRA militants.
10:24
Fraser Trevor
Firearms, drugs, cash and fireworks have been seized during a raid on the Sydney home of a bikie member, police say. Officers from the NSW Gangs Squad allegedly found three rifles, a shotgun, fireworks, more than $17,000 in cash and a variety of drugs and drug paraphernalia when the they raided the Mt Druitt house in Sydney's west on Monday. A 51-year-old man, who police believe to be a high-ranking member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, was questioned on Tuesday night.
10:15
Fraser Trevor
Adam Lee Hall, 34, of Peru, andCaius Veiovis, 31, of Pittsfield, each denied all charges at separate arraignments. Hall, Veiovis and a third man, former Springfield resident David Chalue, 44, of North Adams, were indicted by a Berkshire grand juryon three counts each of murder and kidnapping, and four counts of intimidating a witness. The three are charged with kidnapping and then killing three Pittsfield men, David Glasser, 44, Edward Frampton, 58, and Robert Chadwell, 47. The three were last seen Aug. 28 at the Pittsfield apartment where Glasser and Frampton lived. Police allege that Hall, considered a sergeant at arms with the local Hells Angels branch, plotted to kill Glasser to prevent him from testifying against him in another case. Police said they believe Frampton and Chadwell were killed because they were present when Glasser was taken. At Tuesday’s arraignment, Judge John Agnosti ordered each to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without the right to bail. They are each due back in court for pre-trial hearings on March 28. 
Two of the three men indicted last week in a triple kidnapping and murder case involving the Pittsfield chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club entered innocent pleas at their arraignments Tuesday in Berkshire Superior Court.
A fourth man, David Casey, 62, of Canaan, N.Y., was charged with three counts of being an accessory to murder, accessory to kidnapping, and accessory to intimidating a witness. Each of those charges are considered after the fact. Prosecutors allege that Casey used construction equipment to help bury the three bodies in Becket.
Chalue and Casey are expected to be in court for arraignments later this week.
10:07
Fraser Trevor
The suspects offered $1.5 million and “multi-ton” quantities of opium as payment. This case illustrates that we live in a world where borders and boundaries are increasingly irrelevant. According to the criminal complaint the Iranian suspect wanted to hire the Zetas because the cartel had access to military grade weaponry including explosives. "I think the Zetas have the reputation of being the most ferocious and violent drug cartel in Mexico and so this Iranian agent may have thought the Zetas will do anything, that they’re cold blooded killers, and they’re capable of pulling something like this off." said Howard Campbell, author of the "Drug War Zone. The Zetas are behind some of the most brutal and brazen killings in Mexico including grenade attacks in public places, a casino fire in Monterrey that killed dozens of people and the murder of a U.S. federal agent working in San Luis Potosi. His partner was wounded. The suspect named in the criminal complaint traveled to Mexico on several occasions to work out the details of the terrorist attack. A source says one meeting happened in Reynosa on the Texas border. In the end, he was not dealing with the violent Zetas but a drug trafficker who is paid informant for the US government.
10:03
Fraser Trevor
Los Zetas is depleted, after the capture of four of its top leaders and the dismantling of about 40 cells in that organization in the state of Veracruz in less than four months, officials in this port said.
It is said most of the Zetas are hiding and are not operating, so there is clearly a drop in kidnappings, "levantones" and derecho de pizo or cuota charges in Veracruz and Boca del Rio, mainly.
Military sources also believed that Los Zetas do not have enough people so their operations and finances are being depleted.
But officials warn a reinforcement of assassins may come from Tabasco, Chiapas and Oaxaca.
The dismantling of various cells of the criminal group, it was mainly due to the arrest of leaders and local police commanders who assure safety to the Zetas.
Sense August the Navy has arrested at least 30 members of various local corporations.
In July, seven police officers were arrested Tuxpan by the Navy, and presumed to be involved in the death of a sailor. Among them was a second in command.
A month later in Veracruz, the arrest of Francisco Bautista Carballo, "The Shark" and two of his accomplices, weakened the actions carried out by Los Zetas in the port and Boca del Rio in kidnapping and collecting derecho de pizo or cuotas.
Another cell was dismantled on August 14, when the Navy arrested five members of the cartel involved in the death of four sailors in retaliation for the Navy operating in the state.
In September, six Intermunicipal police officers from Veracruz-Boca del Rio were arrested for carrying out murders and kidnappings for Los Zetas.
In addition, 74 members of this criminal group were also arrested, among them Karim Muñoz Castillo, the plaza boss from Tuxpan.
At the end of the month Angel Manuel Mora, "Commander Devil," was arrested after a clash in Las Brisas, in the port of Veracruz.
Mora served as an alleged chief hitmen in the urban area of Veracruz-Boca del Rio, as well as the alleged person in charge to assure the safety of that criminal group in Ciudad Mendoza, Veracruz route.
On Thursday, the Navy arrested 12 alleged members of the criminal organization Los Zetas, including the alleged new leader in Veracruz.
In recent days, federal forces have killed seven suspected members of Los Zetas who have attacked military convoys.
In the port of Veracruz, the patrols of the Army, Navy and state police are frequent.
But the "hawks", are also in the look out.
10:00
Fraser Trevor
The United States on Tuesday accused Iranian officials of plotting to murder Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in a bizarre scheme involving an Iranian-American used-car salesman who believed he was hiring assassins from a Mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million. The alleged plot also included plans to pay the cartel, Los Zetas, to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, according to a law enforcement official. The plotters also discussed a side deal between the Quds Force, part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Los Zetas to funnel tons of opium from the Middle East to Mexico, the official said. * The plot evidently was discovered at a very early stage. One wonders: How? Through intercepts of phone conversations or emails? Eric Holder, widely believed to be a dead man walking in Washington as a result of Fast and Furious, was front and center at today’s news conference. Holder was a prominent critic of essentially everything the Bush administration did to discover and combat terrorist plots. It would be interesting to know whether the intelligence triumph that Holder celebrated today was yet another example of the wisdom of the Bush administration policies that Obama, Holder and their ilk endlessly demagogued before they found it expedient to adopt them. * One remembers liberal assurances, when a Republican administration was trying to keep us safe from terrorist attacks, that diverse anti-American groups could never cooperate. Democrats went so far as to claim that Shia and Sunni Muslims–who in fact work together in furtherance of terrorist plots all the time, as, to take just one example, when Iran supports Hamas–could never cooperate against America or our allies. Today, assuming the Obama administration is being truthful, we have the spectacle of Iran’s mullahcracy paying a Mexican drug cartel to carry out terrorist attacks. Do radical Muslims really care about technicalities like drug dealing when it comes time to advance their interests? Of course not! On the contrary, this plot represented an alliance of the world’s two major proponents of beheading. * Assuming that the administration’s account is correct, Iran had little doubt that a Mexican drug cartel would be able to get men and weapons across the border to carry out a terrorist attack in Washington. Presumably they were right. One wonders what it will take to get liberals to take border security seriously. If the Mexicans had blown up a D.C. restaurant and killed 100 Americans along with the Saudi ambassador, would liberals finally have started paying attention to the border? I doubt it. * One little detail has gotten lost in most reporting: The alleged plot also included plans to pay the cartel, Los Zetas, to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, according to a law enforcement official.
