gangs

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By Day, He Was a Deputy. After Hours, a 'Double Life'

California sheriff's deputy accused of participating in local biker gang, possessing illegal firearms

(Newser) - Christopher Bingham's day job was punching in as a deputy for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. For years, he also moonlighted as a gun shop owner in the city of Twentynine Palms. But authorities now say his daily activities stretched beyond both of those, and that he...

As Crisis Envelops Haiti, PM Steps Down

Ariel Henry will make way for a transitional presidential council amid gang violence

(Newser) - Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced early Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, bowing to international pressure to save the country overwhelmed by violent gangs that some experts say have unleashed a low-scale civil war. Henry made the announcement hours after officials, including Caribbean...

Hundreds of Inmates Escape as Gangs Raid Prison in Haiti

Post from inside said people were being killed in their cells

(Newser) - At least three people have been killed and hundreds of inmates have fled Haiti's main prison after armed gangs stormed it overnight. The jailbreak marks a new low in Haiti's downward spiral of violence. Gangs are asserting greater control on the capital while embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry...

Tattoos Sank His Green Card, and SCOTUS May Step In

High court to review case of Salvadoran man who says he was wrongly pegged as gang member

(Newser) - For nearly a decade, a Salvadoran man has missed Christmas after Christmas in the United States with his wife—not because he doesn't want to spend it in California with her, but because he can't. Luis Asencio-Cordero has long been denied a visa from the American government, partly...

Farmers Killed 10 Gang Members, Won't Be Charged

Prosecutors find Texcapilla's farmers were defending themselves from murderous extortionists

(Newser) - Mexican villagers who killed gang members with sickles, machetes, and shotguns won't face charges after prosecutors concluded they acted in self-defense. Residents of Texcapilla had been "under constant threat" from members of the Familia Michoacana gang, according to prosecutors. The gang, which had long taken "protection money"...

Inmate's 'Relentless' Meth Operation Gets Him 27 More Years

Mexican gang member David 'Toro' Zavala is busted for running drug distribution from prison

(Newser) - A Mexican gang member already serving time in Georgia just got hit with a lot more time for distributing methamphetamine from behind bars. The Athens Banner-Herald reports that 30-year-old David "Toro" Zavala, who federal agents say is a known member of the Surenos 13 gang, received his additional prison...

Final Juvenile Suspect in Murder of 3 Teens Arrested

3 young suspects all now in custody

(Newser) - The final juvenile suspected in the murder of three other teens in Florida was arrested Saturday, the AP reports. US Marshals located the 16-year-old and took him into custody. He faces charges of carjacking with a firearm, aggravated assault, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude...

Troops Seal Off Town, Looking for Gang Members

El Salvador granted president emergency powers

(Newser) - The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off a town on the outskirts of the nation's capital Saturday to search for gang members. The operation was one of the largest mobilizations yet in President Nayib Bukele's nine-month-old crackdown on street gangs that...

Drug Gang Storms Mexican City Hall, Guns Down 20

Mayor and his father among the dead in ambush in San Miguel Totolapan, in Guerrero state

(Newser) - A drug gang shot to death 20 people, including a mayor and his father, in the mountains of southern Mexico, officials said Thursday. A video posted on social media showed men who identified themselves as the Tequileros gang claiming responsibility for the mass shooting in the state of Guerrero. The...

Prosecutors: Gang Targeting Celebs Set Its Sights on Mariah

26 are now facing charges related to the 'Drug Rich' gang

(Newser) - A violent street gang has been targeting the homes of the wealthy and famous in Atlanta, including pop star Mariah Carey, prosecutors said Monday. They announced a 220-count indictment alleging attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings, home invasions, armed robberies, and carjackings by 26 members of the "Drug Rich" gang, some...

Haiti in 'Grim' State a Year After President's Murder

Extreme gang violence, broken economy, kids out of school plague Caribbean island after Moise killing

(Newser) - It's been exactly a year since Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his private residence, and the state of things in the Caribbean nation has only gotten worse, with a proliferation of gang violence, a despairing populace, and a "seeming state of lawlessness" in parts. That's...

El Salvador Has Deadliest Day in 30 Years

After 62 murders on Saturday, nation declares a state of emergency

(Newser) - El Salvador is now under a state of emergency after racking up a staggering 62 murders in a single day on Saturday. The killings are blamed on gangs, particularly MS-13 and Barrio 18, but the victims weren't necessarily gang members: The New York Times reports that gunmen were "...

Her Body Was Found in California Wilderness in 2001. Now, Justice

3 MS-13 gang members convicted of murder in death of 13-year-old girl

(Newser) - Justice was finally served Thursday in the case of a young California teen murdered more than two decades ago by MS-13 gang members. The Whittier Daily News reports that Santos Grimaldi, 39, and Melvin Sandoval, 42, were convicted of first-degree murder in the case of 13-year-old Jacqueline Piazza, who was...

Gangs' Tough Message: Get the Shots

Leaders make video to help New Zealand campaign for hard-to-reach communities

(Newser) - A government minister was talking with leaders of New Zealand's gangs about how to persuade reluctant people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The result is a four-minute video in which members of the Head Hunters, Black Power, King Cobras, and Mongrel Mob gangs encourage everyone to receive the...

Harrowing Message Reported During Americans' Kidnapping in Haiti

'Pray for us!' said WhatsApp message during abduction of 17 missionaries in Haiti

(Newser) - US officials are working with Haitian authorities to secure the release of 12 adults and five children with a US-based missionary group who were abducted over the weekend by a gang notorious for killings, kidnappings, and extortion. The group was snatched by the 400 Mawozo gang, which controls the Croix-des-Bouquets...

Haiti Gang Kidnaps 17 US Missionaries, Including Kids

The Christian group was on a bus headed to the airport

(Newser) - A group of up to 17 US missionaries from a Christian group was kidnapped by a gang in Haiti while en route to the airport in Port-au-Prince. Per the New York Times , Haiti officials confirmed the kidnapping, with few details, after Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries sent a voice message about...

Chicago Mayor Wants to Fight Gangs by Seizing Assets

Lori Lightfoot wants to 'take away the profit motive'

(Newser) - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city is going to fight the gangs "wreaking havoc" in the city by seizing their assets. Under a new ordinance introduced this week, the city's law department would be able to sue gang members and fine them up to $10,000 per...

13-Year-Old Fatally Shot in Bronx Gang Dispute

Police say Jaryan Elliot, who was standing outside a cafe, was the intended target

(Newser) - Police say a gang dispute resulted in a fatal shooting in the Bronx on Sunday afternoon, with the victim's age causing double-takes. Jaryan Elliot was only 13, reports WABC-TV . NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison tweeted that Jaryan was the "intended target." Police and witnesses say a gunman emerged...

Mexican Politician Killed After Sharing Location on Facebook

Alma Barragan is reportedly the 34th candidate killed ahead of June 6 elections

(Newser) - A woman campaigning to be mayor of a city in Mexico's Guanajuato state invited voters to meet with her Tuesday, only to be murdered. Alma Barragan, a candidate for the Citizen's Movement party who hoped to lead the city of Moroleon, had posted a Facebook Live video from...

Trump on Report of Smugglers Sawing Wall: 'It's Easily Fixed'

'Virtually impenetrable' wall is apparently no match for a $100 reciprocating saw, per reports

(Newser) - President Trump has boasted that new sections of border wall are "virtually impossible" to climb—a claim that one engineer recently put to the test , with the results not exactly backing up the president . Now, a new issue has cropped up, with US agents and current and former administration...

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