Exiled from South L.A.

The Los Angeles Times has a feature about four siblings who lost their mother and grandmother to gang violence and almost saw their father murdered. Their aunt, basically, decided to exile them from South L.A., where they'd grown up, because she was afraid of what might happen to them. It's a little long, but a good read, regardless.

Deputy's murder leads to massive L.A. gang crackdown

Earlier today, about 1,200 officers -- from LAPD, DEA and other agencies -- started rounding up members of the Avenues gang, a crime group affiliated with the Mexican Mafia. The arrests, which number about 44 at this point, follow a yearlong investigation into the gang. It was inspired by the murder of a sheriff's deputy, Juan Abel Escalante, but later included work on several unsolved homicides.

The Godmother

In Naples, police are seeing more women taking over the leadership of organized crime groups as their husbands are killed or imprisoned.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Mexican drug cartel leaves bodies of tortured federales in a pile by the road

Twelve agents were murdered. They're calling this one of the biggest setbacks yet for President Calderon's crackdown against the cartels.

Wichita police seek help solving homicides that happened hours apart

Police in Wichita are asking for help solving three homicides that appear to have some connections to gangs.

Jeff Chitanavong, 22, and Keo Intavong, 66, were killed shortly before 9:30 p.m. Jan. 24. as they attended a wake in the garage of the home. Eight others were injured. The son of the woman for whom the wake was being held might have been the target of gang members. The son was in a different part of the house and was not injured in the shooting.

Police also seek information for the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Justin Cook that occurred hours later. Cook was at a party in a hotel room when a fight broke out in the stairwell between rival gang members. Cook, who was not in a gang, was trying to flee in a car when he was shot.

| Bob Cronkleton

Defendants want a new trial in Wichita Crips case

They've accused the jurors of not being impartial during the deliberations, The Eagle reports. As evidence, they point to a letter written by the presiding juror to the prosecutors after the verdict. "There was no date on the letter, in which the presiding juror offered to help prosecutors 'rid this cancer from society.'"

Latino street gang targeted black victims, federal prosecutor says

The story is from Los Angeles County -- specifically, the community of Hawaiian Gardens. More than 100 alleged gangstas are facing charges of extortion, murder, gun trafficking, witness intimidation, etc. (Though the Los Angeles Times piece doesn't specifically list "hate crime" as one of the charges.)

Prosecutors say it's one of the country's biggest gang enforcements ever. What's catching the attention of a lot of people, though, is how the gang allegedly went after black victims.

“VHG gang members have expressed a desire to rid the city of Hawaiian Gardens of all African Americans and have engaged in a systematic effort to achieve that result by perpetrating crimes" against them, the document states.

She may have been preaching to the choir

At an NRA convention, Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said she opposes additional gun regulations intended to keep weapons from the violence in Mexico.

From the AZ Republic:

"New gun laws are not the answer to decreasing gun violence in Mexico," Brewer told National Rifle Association members gathered Friday in downtown Phoenix for the gun-rights group's annual convention. "The answer is to secure the border and leave the freedoms of the United States citizen alone. Don't mess with the Second Amendment."

|Meredith Rodriguez

Hells Angels go to Europe

I didn't know they had motorcycles in Sweden and Denmark, much less Hells Angels. Authorities blame the club for an outbreak of gang violence, especially toward ethnic gangs of new immigrants.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Mikeybackwards!

How to catch a white supremacist

Near San Bernardino, Calif., police used an unusual tactic to locate two women wanted in connection with a local white-supremacist gang. Officers kept an eye on the local maternity wards because the woman reportedly wanted to have their babies on Adolf Hitler's birthday.

BTW, the story is a little funny because the police never actually tell you what crimes the white supremacists are accused of committing.

Hat Tip: Saw this via Weird Universe.net

We have a verdict in the Wichita Crips trial

It's a bit of a mixed bag. From the Eagle:

None of the six men charged with racketeering through the Crips street gang in Wichita was found guilty of participating in a pattern of racketeering activity, a federal jury announced this morning.

But five of the men were found guilty of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.

Being a Crip is a lifestyle choice, defense attorneys say

Wait, wait, let them explain!

"Blackhand Strawman"

Tony's Kansas City has an interview with Terence O'Malley about his new documentary, "Blackhand Strawman." It's about organized crime in Kansas City, from the very early days of the Black Hand to the FBI's "Strawman" investigation into mob control of the casinos.

My new favorite word: "Cripnics"

At the Crips RICO trial in Wichita, a former member testified that gang members really enjoyed conducting their business meetings as cookouts at local parks, what they called "Cripnics." Sometimes, with a jump-in as entertainment.

The way out

The Seattle Times has a good read here about a teenager doing his best to leave his old gang behind -- and everything that comes with that. It's a little long, but a good read ...

Meanwhile, at the Wichita Crips trial

It's been a while since we checked on this case, where the feds are pursuing RICO charges against six men who are allegedly part of the Crips street gang.

KSHB: More gang members moving to the burbs

Because their families are trying to get them into safer schools. Only some of the kids bring bad influences with them, KSHB reports. (Apparently, there was some kind of conference yesterday in Olathe.)

Gangs are trying to increase drug territory, hide from police and escape other gangs.

Sgt. Grant Allen of Olathe's police department says, "You see of lot of the younger gang members migrating in to the city of Olathe because of the schools, and they're trying to get away from the violence of the bigger cities."

Another local blog, State of the Line, weighs in here:

When even gang members are abandoning the urban core, who will be left to revitalize such areas? If the criminals don’t have a stake in decaying neighborhoods, then what hope is there for revival?

5 hurt in shooting at West Side basketball game

From Meredith Rodriguez:

A Friday night basketball game at a West Side community center ended abruptly when a fight escalated into a shootout, leaving five people wounded.

Rival gangs in the stands began fighting around 7:30 p.m. when one of those groups, about seven or eight strong, pulled out handguns and automatic weapons. The gangs were not related directly to either of the teams competing, according to Capt. Donna Greenwell of the Kansas City Police Department.

They began shooting randomly inside the Tony Aguirre Community Center on West Pennway, which was packed with 300 people at the time.

None of the five people hit suffered serious injuries.

“It’s a miracle that somebody wasn’t killed,” Greenwell said.

Two people were transported to a hospital, including a pregnant woman who began complaining of abdominal pains. She had been grazed in the head by a bullet, and authorities thought the stress may have induced labor.

Report: U.S. has 1 million gangstas

And they're responsible for approximately 80 percent of the nation's crime, USA Today reports. The number of gang members has increased by 200K since 2005. More here.

What do sneakers hanging from power lines mean?

A good question -- with more than one answer. The Chicago Tribune explains.

Al Capone's home for sale

It can be yours for just $450,000. The current owner, a retired special education teacher, knew and cared little about the home's history when she bought it for $29,500 in 1963. Snip:

The home features a large basement with a crumbling wine cellar that, on the day Hogsette moved in, contained one of the few relics from the Capone days: a long table and two old phones believed to have been part of the gangster's bookmaking operation.

| Sara Shepherd

Hat tip: Thank you, Keith G!

Cali man flashes gang sign in photo with Santa -- goes to jail

And an unnamed juvenile got pinched, too. I'm not sure if you remember, but California authorities have tried using an injunction against gangs. Suspected gang members aren't allowed to congregate together or flash their signs.

Our man got busted during a probation check, the Orange County Register reports. Police saw the Santa photo in a keychain. Yeah, son, you're hard.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Los Angeles files suit to seize gangstas' homes, businesses, properties

This is the first time that L.A. has tried this. Any money made will be put back into the community, though the story is a little vague on that point. Snip:

A state law passed earlier this year allows cities to sue for the financial damage gangs cause communities. Only gangs already targeted with restraining orders declaring their behavior a nuisance can be sued.

3 men convicted in Wichita for being Crips

Remember this? A while back, Wichita authorities put together a slew of RICO indictments going after 28 people -- all accused of being Crips or Crips associates. Now? Three of those defendants were convicted yesterday.

Hitting a motorcycle gang where it hurts

In California, the feds have arrested several members of the Mongols motorcycle gang, accusing them of racketeering.

But the meanest thing that authorities want to do? They want the federal government to own the trademark to the Mongols' name and logo. Any LEO could seize those patches whenever they felt like. Snip from the L.A. Times:

"Not only are we going after the Mongols' motorcycles, we're going after their very identity," O'Brien said in a telephone interview early this morning. "We are using all the tools at our disposal to crush this violent gang."

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

(AP Photo/Ric Francis)