Morning police blotter -- June 13, 2007
This morning I thought I'd try something different. I'm doing a round-up of all the crime and cop related stories locally, then taking a look at gang stories from around the world to give you a sense of just how widespread this issue is.
Click below for the stories.
- My colleague Rick Coca writes a moving account of a teen who worried that he wouldn't see his 16th birthday because gang members lived in his neighborhood and was gunned down much too young.
- A 17-year-old boy is shot in a market in South Los Angeles.
- The LAPD is working on a system that will allow users to text message and send photos on 911 calls.
- Celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon is charged with sexually assaulting women and girls. He's also wanted for similar crimes in Dallas.
- Charges are thrown out against a USC student accused of killing her newborn son who was found in a trash bin. She faces charges of child abuse resulting in death.
- Police are looking for gangsters who carried out an unprovoked attack on a 35-year-old man out walking his dog.
- In Cicero, Ill, the gang intervention group CeaseFire aims to foster new perspectives this year by organizing a softball tournament between police and inner city youth and hosting a week of community events, among other things.
- In Haiti, a gang member wanted by both the Haitian National Police and the French authorities for serious crimes died this morning after he opened fire on U.N. forces trying to arrest him.
- In South Carolina, with 340 gangs and more and more gang-related arrests, a new anti-gang law has been signed by governor Mark Sanford. The law gives the state grand jury the ability to subpoena gang members, among other things.
- In Buffalo, NY, a company that developed an "urban chic" style and aligned itself with hip-hop culture, pulled about 100 hats with gang logos from shelves in Cleveland after complaints from neighborhood activists and residents.
- In Toronto, Canada, officers are cracking down on gang activity, seeking suspects at some 150 locations, primarily in a north-end Toronto neighbourhood known for gang activity.