Churches Come Together For Gun Buyback

At a recent Pocomoke City citizens meeting the Police Chief scoffed at having any type of gun buypack arrangements for the town. And I know that Baltimore is much larger, crime is through the roof there but come on..........Do you really want to wait until crime is WORSE in Pocomoke to try to do anything?

OH, I bet you would be surprised at what some may find in their yards when a weekend is over. And you know what? I just bet there might be a gun or two in that city. Maybe the best thing to do is give it a try........or is it that you don't want to attempt it because it costs money?

Two churches took 42 working firearms off the street Saturday during a gun buyback sponsored by The Catholic Review newspaper in hopes of curbing violence in the city.

"Any weapons we get off the street is a good thing in this time, in this neighborhood," said the Rev. Peter Lyons of St. Wenceslaus Church in the Middle East neighborhood of Baltimore. Violence in the community just east of Johns Hopkins Hospital, he said, erupts "every weekend it seems."

At St. Gregory the Great Church on North Gilmor Street in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, the Rev. Damien Nalepa said 26 guns were collected, "the second-highest" take among the half-dozen or so buybacks the parish has held.

For four hours, the churches accepted automatic and semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles for $100 and any other working gun for $50. Church officials hoped more people would come forward in the coming days.

Those who participated were not asked any questions. The firearms are handed over to police, who check serial numbers against those of weapons that have been used in crimes. Then the guns are destroyed.

"Some people thought they weren't loaded, but in two cases, they were," Lyons said. He hoped the possibility of cash for the holidays would entice people to turn in guns, and said his church would likely hold another such event in the future.

To promote the buyback, fliers were distributed at nearby community centers, including the Oliver Recreation Center and Safe Streets locations. The Safe Streets organization, funded by the city, aims to mediate disputes before they turn violent in troubled neighborhoods.

Gun buybacks have been debated in Baltimore at least since 1974, when Mayor William Donald Schaefer called such programs "innovative."

In 2000, Mayor Martin O'Malley questioned whether such measures were effective, saying the initiatives tended to collect "a lot of garbage guns."

But five years later, the city spent $100,000 on a buyback program.

"If we can save one life or spare one child from being harmed by playing with a gun, then it's worth the effort," O'Malley said at the time.

Since then, several churches have organized buyback initiatives.

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Feds Arrest Members Of Pagan Motorcycle Club

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBS/AP) Federal officials have arrested 19 members of the Pagans motorcycle gang in five states, marking one of the largest roundups of the notorious group since 2002.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that the arrests made during early morning raids in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts were the result of a 21-month investigation by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who infiltrated the biker gang's internal operations.

According to an indictment, several members of the Long Island, N.Y. chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club met with gang members from other divisions last Sunday in New Jersey, where they discussed plans to kill members of the rival motorcycle gang, Hells Angels.

ATF officials say the conspirators drafted a list of potential targets and were told to be prepared to die or go face time in prison for completing their mission. ATF special agent-in-charge Ronald Turk said the arrests interrupted the conspiracy before anyone was hurt.

The deep-rooted rivalry between the Pagans and Hells Angels is one rife with violence. In 2002, one Pagan member was shot and killed and at least 10 other people were injured when a confrontation erupted after Pagans members decided to crash a motorcycle expo sponsored by Hells Angels.

Seventy-three Pagans were convicted of or pleaded guilty to federal charges in that case. Turk noted that this most recent sting was the largest roundup of Pagans members on Long Island since that case eight years ago.

Authorities reportedly confiscated 34 firearms and one improvised explosive device during the raids Wednesday.

Seven of the defendants were based on Long Island, where they were ordered to be held without bail during their arraignments in U.S. District Court. Members face charges of racketeering, murder conspiracy, assault, extortion, drug distribution, witness tampering and firearms offenses.

www.cbsnews.com

Mongols Motorcycle Gang Leader Pleads Guilty To Gun Charge

The head of the Virginia Beach chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty Monday to the illegal sale of a fully automatic machine gun that once belonged to the Iraqi army.

Justin "Itchy" Wilson, 29, of Virginia Beach pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to possession and transfer of a machine gun. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 3.

Wilson admitted in court that he sold the Russian-made machine gun in 2008 to an undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Wilson told an undercover operative that he had taken the machine gun as a "souvenir" during his tour of duty in Iraq several years ago, according to a court document.

At the time, federal agents had infiltrated the gang to obtain evidence of illegal activity. Since then, authorities have made more than two dozen arrests of motorcycle gang members on various charges, including drug distribution, firearms possession and assault.

Wilson has been in the Navy since 1998 and was a petty officer 1st class working as a machinist at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth at the time of his arrest.

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Suspected Drug Lord Captured In Mexico State

Mexico announced the capture Monday of one of its most wanted alleged drug lords, a Texas-born figure accused of unleashing a wave of brutal slayings near Mexico City as part of a ruthless battle with rivals.

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known by the improbable nickname "La Barbie," was seized by federal police in the state of Mexico, the region surrounding Mexico City, the Public Security Ministry said in a statement.

Valdez allegedly served as the top enforcer for Arturo Beltran Leyva, a major kingpin killed by Mexican marines in December. Since Beltran Leyva's death, police say, Valdez had been locked in a vicious war with Beltran Leyva's brother Hector for control of the cartel's business.

The fighting brought gangland-style executions and the hanging of beheaded corpses to Cuernavaca, a once-tranquil playground for the elite outside Mexico City that turned out to be headquarters for part of the Beltran Leyva gang.

The U.S. government had offered a $2-million reward for Valdez's capture after indicting him for allegedly smuggling tons of cocaine into the United States. It is possible Valdez will be extradited to the U.S.

The capture of Valdez is an important victory for beleaguered President Felipe Calderon, whose offensive against drug cartels has suffered a string of setbacks in recent weeks, including the slaying of two mayors, a rash of car bombings and the massacre of 72 immigrants, apparently because they refused to work for the traffickers who kidnapped them.

But arresting Valdez will not necessarily quell the violence since others may rise to fight for control of the Beltran Leyva operations.

Authorities released a photograph of Valdez, plumper than he appeared in earlier pictures and surrounded by police officers, some with their guns drawn. He was wearing a green shirt emblazoned with a large logo of a polo player, a coat of arms and the word "London." He appeared to be kneeling, a police agent's hand planted on his shoulder.

Valdez has been linked to numerous heinous crimes, including the mutilation of enemies in Cuernavaca and the slaughter of the family of a Mexican marine who was slain in the operation that killed Beltran Leyva.

His alleged battle with Hector Beltran Leyva pushed the bloodletting from Morelos state, where Cuernavaca is located, westward through Guerrero state to Acapulco. Bodies and body parts now turn up regularly in the popular resort city, often with messages scrawled in warning to one faction or another.

The Public Security Ministry announcement said Valdez was pursued in an intelligence operation that began in June 2009. In major operations, such as the killing of Beltran Leyva, Mexican authorities have been buoyed by intelligence from U.S. law enforcement authorities. It was not clear what role the U.S. might have played in Monday's capture.

Security forces are believed to have been close to trapping him in the affluent Bosques de las Lomas neighborhood of Mexico City a couple of months ago, but came up empty.

Valdez, who turned 37 this month, was known as "La Barbie" because of his blondish hair and what some considered good looks, plus his reputation as a party boy who frequented the bars, discos and nightclubs of Mexico City and Acapulco.

"This is positive for Calderon and a blow to the trafficking organization," security expert Raul Benitez said. However, "there well could be a backlash of violence."

Calderon confirmed the arrest in a Twitter message, announcing that Mexico had "trapped LaBarbie, one of the most wanted criminals in Mexico and abroad."

Valdez's capture also has value for Mexican and U.S. authorities because of the tactical knowledge of trafficking operations they believe he has. He is the third major figure taken down in the last nine months. But the other two, Beltran Leyva and Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal, a major leader of the Sinaloa cartel, were killed.

www.latimes.com

14 Year Old Girl Charged With Murder In Suspected Gang Initiation

A 14-year-old girl was being charged Tuesday night with first-degree murder for a shooting in East Baltimore earlier this month, a spokesman said.

Arteesha Holt was processed at the Central Booking Intake Center late Tuesday and would be charged in the shooting death of Jose Gonzales, Agent Donny Moses, a department spokesman, said late Tuesday.

Police said the incident was an attempted robbery and may have been part of a gang initiation.

Holt tried to rob two men Aug. 13 in the 100 block of N. Linwood Ave, about a block north of Patterson Park, police said. When the men resisted, police say the girl shot them both.

One man survived, but Gonzales died Saturday from a gunshot wound to his head. The survivor's name has not been released.
www.baltimoresun.com

Lakers Win And The Crowd Goes Wild In The Streets

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A jubilant celebration over the Los Angeles Lakers dramatic win in the NBA championship turned rowdy in scattered sections of the city, with raucous revelers hurling rocks and bottles at officers, setting fires and jumping on vehicles.

Hundreds of police officers massed around the Staples Center before Game 7 of the NBA finals on Thursday night, aiming to prevent a repeat of the violence that accompanied the Lakers' victory last year. But despite their massive presence, scattered pockets of violence erupted in neighborhoods near the arena. No major incidents were reported in the rest of the city, police said.

At least 20 people had been arrested late Thursday and that number was expected to rise, Los Angeles police Lt. John Romero said. Most of the arrests were for public intoxication, while others were for vandalism and inciting a riot.

Television news footage showed several people jumping on a taxi as it attempted to leave the area near the arena after the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 83-79. Someone opened a rear door of the vehicle, while others rocked it back and forth. The taxi eventually made its way through the crowd and out of the area.

Television footage also showed a man being beaten and a car set on fire. And there were scattered reports of windows being broken at several businesses.

Some men ran shirtless in the street, while other people revved car engines and honked their horns in celebration. Broken glass and burnt debris lined the roads.

Jazmine Rodriguez, 24, lives in an apartment building not far from Staples Center. She said every car on her street had its windows smashed.

"When we came down here, only one window was smashed. The cops told us to go back inside, and they (revelers) smashed the other one," Rodriguez said.

Delmi Ramos tried to salvage what she could from her car, which was filled with shards of broken glass.

"We just wanted to see the celebration and be part of the Lakers' win. We never thought this would happen," she said. "It's these young people who don't know how to behave. They cause damage to people, to the community, because they don't know how to celebrate in a healthy way."

Los Angeles city firefighters responded to 37 incidents within a half-mile radius of Staples Center in a three-hour period following the game, spokesman Brian Humphrey said. There were 15 rubbish fires, one vegetation fire, three vehicle fires and 18 medical aid requests for people ill or injured, Humphrey said. Eight people were transported by ambulance to hospitals. Humphrey didn't know the nature or extent of the injuries, but said some were "quite serious."

One police officer suffered a broken nose after someone threw an object at him, Police Chief Charlie Beck said.

Shortly after the game, police declared an unlawful assembly, urging people to immediately disperse.

Revelers honked horns and yelled while emergency vehicles and police cars with sirens going moved through the area. Some people set off fireworks.

Hundreds of Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were deployed to East Los Angeles, where crowds were growing, but no major problems were reported, sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said.

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