Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos ( a.k.a., Pistoleros Latinos, or, HPL) is a Hispanic prison gang founded by Joe Mendoza and Alberto Rodriguez in Texas

The Pistoleros Latinos began to multiply in the 1990’s after the gang began recruiting members from cities out side of the Rio Grande Valley. The original HPL members from the Rio Grande Valley resented the new members being recruited from San Antonio and Houston, Texas. A power struggle within the prison gang’s ranks ensued causing the group to splinter into two separate chapters. The original HPL members decided to call themselves the HPL 45’s, while the San Antonio and Houston members were known as the 16/12’s. The two factions went to war and finally reunited under the name HPL in 1998Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos ( a.k.a., Pistoleros Latinos, or, HPL) is a Hispanic prison gang founded by Joe Mendoza and Alberto Rodriguez in Texas during the late 1980s. The Spanish translation of the gang's name is "Brotherhood of Latin Gunmen." It operates in most prisons and on the streets in many communities in Texas, particularly Laredo. HPL is also active in several cities in Mexico, and its largest contingent in that country is located in Nuevo Laredo. The gang is structured and is estimated to have 1,000 members. Members maintain close ties to several Mexican DTOs (Drug Trafficking Organizations) and are involved in the trafficking of large quantities of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States for distribution.

Three New York police officers who killed an unarmed man in a 50-shot barrage outside a seedy strip club hours before his wedding

Three New York police officers who killed an unarmed man in a 50-shot barrage outside a seedy strip club hours before his wedding will not face civil rights charges, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The parents and former fiancee of Sean Bell, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton, had lobbied federal prosecutors in Brooklyn to charge the officers with violating Bell's civil rights.
"After a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced federal prosecutors and FBI agents determined that the evidence was insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the law enforcement personnel who fired at Bell (and two friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield) acted willfully," the Justice Department said in statement. "Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed."
U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell met with Bell's family members Tuesday to tell them. Guzman, Benefield and Bell's fiance, Nicole Paultre Bell, were to appear at a news conference later Tuesday.
The family "will not stop our pursuit of justice in this matter until every measure in the criminal and civil arena has been exhausted," Sharpton said in a statement. "Fifty shots on an unarmed man who engaged in no crime is intolerable."
An attorney for one of the New York Police Department officers called it "the right decision."
Accusing the officers of federal crimes after a state court acquittal "would have been a real stretch," said the lawyer, James Culleton. "Everyone should move on."
Bell, a 23-year-old black man, was killed and his friends were seriously injured outside Kalua Cabaret in Queens in 2006 as they were leaving his bachelor party by car. The officers, all undercover detectives, had been investigating reports of prostitution at the club.
No weapon was found in Bell's blood-splattered, bullet-riddled car.
The shooting sparked community outrage and accusations that the New York Police Department was too quick to use excessive force against minorities.
At a non-jury trial in 2008, prosecutors portrayed the officers as trigger-happy cowboys. They accused one of the shooters, undercover detective Michael Oliver, of firing 31 of the 50 total shots — even pausing to reload.
An undercover working with the accused officers testified that they became alarmed after witnessing a heated argument outside the club between Bell's friends and another patron who appeared to have a gun. He claimed they overheard Guzman, say, "Yo, go get my gun."
In grand jury testimony, Detective Gescard Isnora said that he decided to follow Bell, Guzman and Benefield to their car because he believed they were going to commit a drive-by shooting.
Guzman denied saying anything about a gun; other witnesses also testified that the dispute ended peacefully. He and Benefield also testified that they never heard the officers yell warnings before opening fire and tried to drive away because they feared for their lives.
Isnora gave a different account: When he confronted the men, he only resorted to deadly force after Bell bumped him with the car and smashed into an unmarked police van, and after he spotted Guzman make a sudden move as though he were going for a gun.
A judge ended up acquitting the three shooters of state charges that included manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. The Justice Department said afterward it would review the incident, though a civil rights case was always considered a long shot.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday that the decision clears the way for the NYPD to pursue administrative charges against the three detectives and one other shooter who wasn't charged in the criminal case. He declined to comment further.
The family also has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

Samuel Isael Ayala, 21, of Corning, had removed a firearm from his vehicle and fired the handgun into the air

Samuel Isael Ayala, 21, of Corning, had removed a firearm from his vehicle and fired the handgun into the air while standing in a crowd of people in the parking lot, an RBPD release said.The gun was later found in Ayala's vehicle with his passenger Everardo Barragan, 28, of Red Bluff, who had reportedly been involved in a fight in the parking lot. Officers found several packages of cocaine along with ammunition for the firearm found in Ayala's vehicle.Ayala was booked into Tehama County Jail on the charges of discharging a firearm in a gross negligent manner, possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine for sale transportation of cocaine for sale, possession of a loaded firearm with a controlled substance and concealed firearm in a vehicle. Bail was set at $90,000.Barragan was booked on the charges of concealed firearm in a vehicle, possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine for sale and possession of a loaded firearm with a controlled substance. Bail was set at $55,000.

Anthony D. Singh ties to the Rollin’ 60 Crips street gang

Anthony D. Singh, 21, fired a bullet through a man’s right shoe after a confrontation in a downtown parking lot that police said stemmed from a dangerous culture of retaliation and intimidation common in gang life.
A jury convicted Singh of several felonies after a trial in December that included unusual testimony about Singh’s ties to the Rollin’ 60 Crips street gang.
Gang affiliations generally are considered inadmissible in trials, but prosecutors argued that Singh’s membership in the violent gang provided motive for the seemingly random shooting, which occurred near a downtown night club in July 2008.
“He has chosen this way of life, and it finally caught up with him,” said Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor on Wednesday.Singh’s father, Elvis Anthony Singh, urged O’Connor to show his son leniency in a letter mailed from a federal prison, where he’s been since 2002. He was sentenced to 10 years after federal drug agents busted a crack cocaine ring the quadriplegic was operating out of his Spokane home with his caregiver.“We missed those important teenage years,” Elvis Singh’s letter reads. “I regret that I was not there to be a positive influence on him.”O’Connor approved an exceptionally high sentence for Singh, ordering him to serve sentences for second-degree assault, drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm before serving sentences for witness tampering and conspiracy to commit assault, instead of serving the sentences at the same time.Singh’s court-appointed lawyer, Thomas Cooney, has said he’ll appeal the verdict, partly based on a Spokane police detective’s admission to jurors that Singh had previous convictions.Jurors were ordered to disregard Detective Michael Roberge’s statement, but Cooney said that made little difference.Singh, Cooney argued in court documents, “was convicted on his propensity to commit crime and for being a bad person who is a gang member, rather than on admissible character evidence.”Singh denies firing the bullet that hit Alex Tauala in his right shoe in a parking lot near Sprague Avenue and Stevens Street on July 26, 2008. Tauala didn’t identify Singh as the gunman during trial.
But police witnesses and Deputy Prosecutor Larry Haskell argued Singh shot at Tauala after Tauala confronted Singh and his brother, 25-year-old Jamal R. Singh, by saying “anyone else got any problems?”The brothers, prosecutors said, were driven to retaliate because of their ties to a gang where “respect is the center of the universe,” according to court documents.
Jamal Singh pleaded guilty to riot in August 2008 and was given a year probation and credit for 24 days served in jail.But police argued Anthony Singh was the shooter, and his extensive criminal history contributed to his lengthy prison sentence.That prison sentence was exactly what Singh’s imprisoned father hoped his son, a father of two, could avoid.“As he is now able to see, the greatest price for his mistakes will be paid by his children,” the letter says.

Stephen ‘Aki’ Akinyemi, 44,‘King of the Hill’ found shot dead

‘King of the Hill’ found shot dead in the Cheshire mansion of a controversial businessman Arran Coghlan.Stephen ‘Aki’ Akinyemi, 44, was said to be a prominent member of the notorious Cheetham Hill gang, which is believed to be behind major crime and the supply of drugs in Manchester.He was known for enjoying champagne and cruising Manchester’s clubland in his silver Porsche, with the private registration AKI.He had a string of previous convictions and most recently had been jailed for 13 months in 2006 for violent disorder.At the time of his death, he was on bail for allegedly attacking someone with a baseball bat outside the Lounge 31 nightclub in the city centre in November.He was found with serious stab injuries at Mr Coghlan’s Alderley Edge home on Tuesday afternoon. He was wearing a stab vest.But a post-mortem examination revealed he had died of a gunshot wound, not knife injuries.Mr Coghlan was also discovered with stab injuries at the scene and he was taken to hospital under police guard. He was later discharged although he remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder.Last night a tribute page to Mr Akinyemi on social networking website Facebook, titled ‘RIP AKI’, had more than 600 members.
Mr Coghlan was cleared in 1996 of murdering Stockport ‘Mr Big’ Chris Little, who was shot dead at the wheel of his Mercedes.In 2003, Mr Coghlan stood trial for the murder of drug dealer David Barnshaw, who was kidnapped and forced to drink petrol before being burned alive in the back of a car in Stockport in 2001.But the case collapsed when it was revealed police had failed to pass on important information about another possible suspect.

Julian Jose Garza, 28 reportedly a member of Caldwell’s East Side Locos gang

Julian Jose Garza, 28, of Notus was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, the United States Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.Garza pleaded guilty to the charge in September, admitting that he had a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun during a confrontation with two men in Caldwell on May 14, 2008. Because Garza had been previously convicted of firing a gun into an occupied dwelling, he was prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.Garza is reportedly a member of Caldwell’s East Side Locos gang and was prosecuted by the special assistant U.S. attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and Idaho State Police to address gang crimes. His sentencing on Tuesday concluded a string of successful prosecutions of Garza’s family and girlfriend, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports.His father, Gabriel Garza, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 12 months of prison last March. His mother, Maria Garza, . was convicted as an accessory to a felony in April, charged with assisting Gabriel, in possession with intent to distribute marijuana. And his brother, Alex Garza, was sentenced to five years in state prison last month for aiding and abetting witness intimidation in Canyon County District Court on January 7, 2010.

Julian Garza’s girlfriend, Chelsea Robbins-Gonzalez was convicted of perjury and sentenced in June to two years of probation for lying to the federal grand jury about Julian’s possession of a firearm.

Tacoma Hilltop Crips gang

gang sweep by local and federal agents in Tacoma.
Twenty-nine men, suspected members of the Tacoma Hilltop Crips gang, have been arrested in a series of raid since Tuesday morning.
One of the men arrested, Manuel Jose Hernandez, pleaded guilty to the Toews murder in 2000. Hernandez was 12 at the time. He was sentenced to state custody until he turned 21 in October of 2008.
Since then, prosecutors say, Hernandez has been an active gang member. He was arraigned Wednesday on charges including: conspiracy, robbery, auto theft and trafficking stolen property.
Cornell hopes Hernandez gets a longer sentence this time, but she said it won't do any good for her or Hernandez.
"I don't have any great hopes that prison's going to improve somebody's outlook on life," said Cornell.
Thirty-two men have been charged in connection with the investigation.
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