Domenyk Noonan transfered into hospital from Frankland Prison

Domenyk Noonan transfered into hospital from Frankland Prison in Durham last week because of problems with his pancreas.
In September last year he was rushed to hospital after collapsing in his cell with the same illness. Friends say he is a sick man who has lost more than six stone in less than six months and has a cyst on his pancreas which requires surgery.
Noonan, whose brother Desmond was stabbed to death on a Chorlton housing estate in 2005, was jailed for nine-and-a-half years in the same year after a gun and ammunition were found in his car. The gangster - who changed his surname to Lattlay-Fottfoy - is a category A prisoner which means he is among the highest-risk, most closely guarded prisoners.In 1993, while on remand accused of having a dangerous dog, Noonan escaped from custody when being transported by taxi from Manchester Crown Court to Preston jail.
In an attempt to disguise the escape as a kidnap, Noonan was sprung by two masked men who threatened prison guards with a gun when the taxi stopped at traffic lights in Salford. He also rang the Manchester Evening News saying he had been abducted by captors demanding payment of a £50,000 debt.But following a police investigation it was revealed the 'abduction' had been staged and that Noonan had arranged the escape so that he could take part in a £1.5m robbery.Close friends and ex-girlfriend Debbie Roberts say that on both occasions Noonan was taken to hospital the prison failed to inform them or tell them his condition despite numerous calls and letters.They said the gangster is now seeking legal advice with a view to suing the Prison Service over claims there was a delay in getting him to hospital. Debbie said that on the first occasion he was taken to hospital she had asked the resident priest to visit him and let his family know how he was, but the priest was denied access and nursing staff said they could not pass on any information about his condition over the telephone.She said relatives had only discovered he was in hospital through lawyers who had been told by prison staff they would have a wasted trip if they went to the jail for a pre-planned visit. She said: "I wrote to the governor of the prison to ask why they had not informed me when he had been taken to hospital and they wrote back saying they were not obliged to unless it was life threatening."I went to see him a week ago before he was taken into hospital again. He had lost about six stone and looked so ill that if I could have taken him to A&E myself there and then I would have done."

Read More

Axel Danilo Ramirez Espinoza, known as “El Smiley” and the reputed leader of the Mara 18 gang

Axel Danilo Ramirez Espinoza, known as “El Smiley” and the reputed leader of the Mara 18 gang, was arrested after a gunfight that left another suspected criminal dead, deputy police director Rember Larios said.The 22-year-old Ramirez was identified publicly last month by Interior Minister Salvador Gandara as the person behind this year’s wave of killings of bus drivers who resisted the extortion.Eighty-five drivers were murdered last year, more than double the 37 slain in 2007, according to police statistics, while the 2009 toll is already nearing 100, including drivers, drivers’ assistants, passengers, mechanics and even a government inspector.
More than 1 million people in greater Guatemala City depend on buses to get around.The unidentified gang member killed in the shootout with police was one of Ramirez’s bodyguards, Larios said.Police are looking for three other suspects who managed to get away.Officers found two automatic pistols, ammunition, two grenades, drugs and “documentary evidence” linking the gang leader to the extortion racket, Larios said.Ramirez’s arrest was “a small achievement” by the security forces,” Interior Minister Gandara said, adding that the suspect’s capture was made possible by intelligence work and the cooperation of citizens.The gang leader, for his part, said he had nothing to do with the extortion rackets and killings of drivers, but he acknowledged involvement in the deaths of several members of the rival Mara Salvatrucha gang.Ramirez was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the August 2005 slayings of two underage Salvatrucha members, but he was released last December for good behavior.Since then, Ramirez managed to regain the leadership of the Mara 18 in the western section of the capital, overseeing extortion rackets and ordering the killings of drivers.Earlier this month, the government said it planned to spend about $35 million in 2009-2011 to install a new payment system on Guatemala’s public buses that officials hope will prevent robberies and extortion of drivers.Under the new system, riders will no longer pay their fares in cash, instead purchasing cards that can be used to travel on the buses.The new system, which will require that the nearly 3,000 buses operating in the capital be equipped with machines to read the cards, is expected to start operating in six months.Street gangs are blamed for much of the violence plaguing this Central American nation.
The Mara Salvatrucha, one of several gangs operating in Guatemala, is a particularly violent criminal organization that evolved on the streets of Los Angeles during the 1980s.Most of the gang’s members were young Salvadorans whose parents fled their nation’s civil war for the United States.Because many of the gang members were born in El Salvador, they were subject to deportation when rounded up during crackdowns in California in the 1990s.Sent back “home” to a land they barely knew, they formed gangs in San Salvador that spread throughout the small nation and to neighboring countries in Central America, where membership is now counted in the tens, or even hundreds of thousands, and gang members are engaged in murder, drug dealing, kidnapping and people smuggling.

Read More

Jihad Murad, 23, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon during a raid

Jihad Murad, 23, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon during a raid on his Prospect home, in western Sydney, over the fight early on Sunday morning.The brawl allegedly began after Murad was refused entry to Kings Cross' Vegas Hotel.Murad, whom detectives allege is a member of the Notorious outlaw motorcycle gang, was later charged with affray.Magistrate Vivien Swain granted Murad bail during an appearance at Blacktown Local Court on Wednesday, on condition he report to police daily, stay away from Kings Cross, and not approach or contact any employee of the Vegas Hotel.He is due to reappear at Blacktown Local Court on April 21.Murad is the latest arrest by Strike Force Raptor, set up after a fatal bikie brawl at Sydney airport last month.More than 20 bikie gang members have been arrested and charged over various drugs, weapons and assault charges in the past three weeks.

Read More

Drug dealer associated with murdered crime figure Sean Cloherty remained in custody

Drug dealer associated with murdered crime figure Sean Cloherty remained in custody today over a €900,000 drugs seizure in north Dublin.The man (35) is believed to be a key player in a drugs gang supplying heroin and cocaine on Dublin's south quays and north inner city. A garda operation which saw heroin and cocaine seized in Santry and Balbriggan last Monday is the second major blow to the man's gang in the past eight months. The outfit is run from a base in the Sean McDermott Street area of the north inner city.
Members of the gang are suspected of shooting their former associate Cloherty last November in an internal row that followed the seizure of €323,000 of drugs in Balbriggan last August. Mr Cloherty had been arrested by gardai over that seizure. Officers from Pearse Street, who made the seizure on Easter Monday, have targeted the gang for the past two years, and had arrested Mr Cloherty in 2007 as part of an operation then. They also carried out the Balbriggan seizure last August. The gang are suspected of supplying drugs to users on the north and south quays, and also have sold to drug addicts in treatment at inner-city clinics.
They operate from a base in Santry and a separate distribution address in the north inner city, gardai believe. This week's seizure was made after gardai, acting on a tip off, mounted a surveillance operation at an underground car park in Santry. They swooped and arrested one of the men as he opened the door of a car, which was later found to contain the heroin. Officers seized the drugs, the car, and three other vehicles that they suspect the man of using. The vehicles have undergone forensic examination and will be held pending the outcome of the investigation. Gardai believe that the vehicles were being used to transport the drugs into the city centre for distribution there.

Read More

Popular dance hall entertainer Ninja Man was arrested last month in connection with the fatal shooting of Ricardo Johnson, 20,

Popular dance hall entertainer Ninja Man was again remanded when he appeared before the Half-Way Tree Gun Court in St. Andrew Tuesday morning to answer to murder charges. The entertainer, whose given name is Desmond Balentine, is to return on May 7 when his attorneys are expected to make another application for bail.He was arrested last month in connection with the fatal shooting of Ricardo Johnson, 20, also known as “Ricky Trooper”.The police say on the March 17, Ninja Man and a group of men went to a section of Marl Road in Olympic Gardens, Sr. Andrew where they were involved in a dispute with a man.The men reportedly fired shots at the man, however, the bullets missed and hit Mr. Johnson.After his death, the police issued a bulletin for Ninja Man to turn himself in for questioning.A day later, the entertainer went to the police accompanied by his lawyer. He was questioned and later charged with murder.And the police are continuing their search for four other suspects said to be involved in the shooting death of Mr. Johnson.
They include Ninja Man’s teenage son.

Read More

George Clifford Mims,life in prison with no chance of parole, plus 50 years

A Sacramento judge today sentenced a career criminal with a street gang history to life in prison with no chance of parole, plus 50 years, for last year's murder of a man in Meadowview.George Clifford Mims, 41, received the term from Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley for the Sept. 1 shooting death of Floyd Deshawn Wormley, 33, outside a home on 69th Avenue where a group of people had gathered at 4 o'clock in the morning.According to Mims' probation report, the defendant was sitting in his car when he made a remark to a woman that offended Wormley.The report said that Wormley then told Mims, "Don't disrespect my wife like that." Mims responded by shooting Wormley to death, according to the report.
Mims, a one-time reputed member of the 29th Street Crips street gang, has previous convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, being an ex-convict with a gun, driving under the influence and felony evasion.

Read More

Eric Charles Sanford, 21, faces up to 10 years in prison

Eric Charles Sanford, 21, faces up to 10 years in prison on the charge, which was supported by video posted online showing him holding a pistol. In a statement, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman said Sanford was arrested following a Nov. 15 traffic stop. Officers examining his car spotted a gun on the seat where he'd been sitting. An alleged member of the Deuce 8 street gang, Sanford had been convicted seven months earlier on a felony cocaine possession charge. That felony conviction bars him from possessing a firearm.Online, Sanford referred to himself as "the general."
In a story on Sanford published in January, former Seattle P-I reporter Claudia Rowe was told that the young man often hung out directly across the street from Garfield High School. Ted Howard, principal of the school, said he'd seen a student rush to shake Sanfords hand "like he'd won the lottery."At the time the Rowe's piece ran, Sanford's defense attorney asserted his client was "being tarred for his associations."Sanford faces a maximum 10-year prison term.

Read More

Antonio Meza is a Sureno gang member who killed a suspected Norteno gang member.

Antonio Meza is a Sureno gang member who killed a suspected Norteno gang member. Meza did not enter a plea and will appear in court April 17. “The victim had some Norteno gang affiliations,” Waner said. Santa Rosa police are investigating the possible gang connection to the shooting at Grand Avenue and Pressley Street but police stopped short of saying Meza and Suarez were gang members. Waner said the South Park neighborhood is considered Norteno turf and that Meza drove or was driven there “looking for trouble.” Suarez lived in the neighborhood where he was shot around 9:30 p.m. Police said the suspect’s red car had chrome rims and square tail lights. Meza, a Kelseyville resident, and parolee Fernando Mendoza, 20, were arrested Wednesday afternoon after their vehicle was stopped at Santa Rosa Avenue and Court Street. Mendoza was arrested for a parole violation. Waner said he has a weapons conviction. He has not been charged in connection with the murder but Waner said the case is still under investigation. Meza is also charged with a separate count of being a criminal street gang member. Enhancements to the murder charge allege he intentionally discharged a firearm and committed the murder in furtherance of a street gang. Waner said Meza faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Meza’s attorney Jonathan Steele said he also heard allegations his client is a Sureno gang member. He said Meza’s family is moving from Lake County to Sonoma County. Meza worked at farm jobs with his father and in a maintenance position at a Lake County casino, Steele said. He is being prosecuted as an adult but is being held in the Los Guilicos Juvenile Justice Center under no bail.

Read More

Dennis Karbovanec sentence is life with the possibility of parole after 15 years

Dennis Karbovanec has pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree murder after confessing to shooting and killing numerous people in the Surrey Six massacre in October 2007. Dennis admitted to shooting dead innocent victim Chris Mohan and drug dealers Ryan Bartolomeo and Michael Lal. His sentence is life with the possibility of parole after 15 years and he can thank his light sentence to his conscience as well as his desire to assist the police with the Surrey 6 shootings.Even though we don’t know exactly what sort of deal Dennis Karbovanec made with the police and the Crown due a heavily contested publication ban, the consensus is that he told the police everything he knew about the Surrey Six murders and as a result, got some sort of considerations when it came to sentencing. We’re not sure if life in jail can be considered a “consideration” but it is what it is. Some people are pleased that even though Dennis Karbovanec could be back on the streets(under “monitoring” for the rest of his life) in 15 years, many other members of the Red Scorpion gang are going to be locked away as a result of Dennis’ information. Others can’t fathom that the so called “serial killer” and “contract killer” might get out on good behaviour while the families of the murdered are going to suffer for life. There is even a debate as some people express sympathy only for the innocent victims of the Surrey 6 murders versus the people that believe that all the victims should receive equal respect, regardless if they were drug dealers or people in the wrong place at the wrong time.Not only will Dennis’ testimony help lock up other Vancouver gangsters, but it will enable others up and down the line to start weighing their options with a realistic view after the police come knocking. Especially the younger gangsters.

Read More

Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi's time as king of the outlaws may be coming to an end

Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi's time as king of the outlaws may be coming to an end, with the Queensland meeting that voted on a new code of conduct also deciding his day was over.Hawi, the Comanchero national president, has been widely condemned following his alleged involvement in last month's Sydney Airport brawl, in which Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas was killed.Senior members of more than a dozen clubs have voted to oust the 28-year-old Bexley man.

Read More