*** MS-13 member Edwin Ramos convicted for the murder of a father and his two sons in a case of mistaken identity in San Francisco, CA:
The case first drew widespread attention for its random brutality. It became a national story when The Chronicle reported that city juvenile-justice officials relying on San Francisco's sanctuary-city policy had twice shielded Ramos, a suspected illegal immigrant from El Salvador, from possible deportation after he committed gang-related crimes as a minor.
*** A West Coast Crips member gets 20 years in prison for pimping out a 15-year-old girl in San Diego, CA.
*** In Los Angeles, CA four defendants convicted on federal racketeering charges for their roles in the Columbia Lil Cycos clique from the 18th Street gang "which prosecutors said was an operation spanning a decade of extortion, intimidation, money laundering, drug dealing and murder, terrorizing and poisoning a neighborhood."
*** After law enforcement hobbled the Avenues gang in a northeast Los Angeles, CA neighborhood rival gangs now are seeking their revenge on the once-powerful enemy.
*** The feds bust a suspected housing projects gang in Flint, MI known as the Howard Boys a/k/a Hot Boys a/k/a Howard Block a/k/a Murda Ville: "the gangs, per court records, carried out crimes of all sorts, everything from murder and drug dealing to gun possession and racketeering.
*** Street gangs increasingly turning to white collar crimes:
Law enforcement officials nationwide indicate that many gangs in their jurisdictions are involved in mortgage fraud, identity theft, counterfeiting and bank fraud. These financial crimes have higher profitability and lower risk of detection from authorities than the more common criminal acts of drug dealing and weapons trafficking.
*** A night with the Miami-Dade Police Department's Gang Unit in South Florida:
On this night in March, the county's north end was in the midst of one of its bloodiest months in recent memory. At least 30 individuals would be shot — almost all of it attributable to street gangs. Of course not all of the victims were gang members – some, like 5-year-old Mckayla Bazile – were caught in the crossfire.
*** In Dodge City, KS the feds indict 23 suspected members of the Nortenos on various charges including targeting Guatemalan immigrants for robbery "because the victims often did not use banks and tried to avoid contact with law enforcement."
*** Three federal agents shot during raid against the 500 Block/C Street gang in San Francisco, CA: "the 500 Block/C-Street gang members identify as Nortenos and are at war with Sureno gangs as well as with rival Nortenos."
