Black man was killed because of his race by gang members seeking bragging rights, prosecutors contend
THERE IS NO CULTURE IN THIS HEMISPHERE THAT IS MORE RACIST AND VIOLENT THAN THE MEXICANS!
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MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.com
*
Go to http://www.MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.com and read articles and comments from other Americans on what they’ve witnessed in their communities around the country. While most of the population of California is now ILLEGAL, the problems, costs, assault to our culture by Mexico are EVERYWHERE.
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THESE FIGURES ON WELFARE FOR ILLEGALS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY ARE DATED. IT NOT EXCEEDS $600 MILLION PER YEAR!!! (source: Los Angeles County & JUDICIAL WATCH)
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1949085/posts
latimes.com
Black man was killed because of his race by gang members seeking bragging rights, prosecutors contend
By Ann M. Simmons
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:25 AM PDT, April 14, 2011
The killing of a Canoga Park bowling alley employee was a racially motivated crime tied to gang activity, L.A. prosecutors say.
A co-defendant charged with the 2008 murder of James Shamp was seeking bragging rights and earned his gang moniker "Outlaw" when he willfully participated in the racially motivated crime, a prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments Wednesday.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel Akemon of the Hardcore Gang Division told jurors at the Van Nuys Courthouse that Martin Sotelo helped fellow gang member Richard Bordelon gun down Shamp, a black man, "in cold blood because of the color of his skin, in a display of senseless violence and a complete disregard for human life."
Shamp, 48, a husband and father of two children, was taking out the trash at the Canoga Bowl on Dec. 22, 2008, when a car carrying Latino gang members pulled up, prosecutors said.
Sotelo, 26, was behind the wheel. He stopped the vehicle so Bordelon could take aim like a sniper, striking Shamp "right through the heart," Akemon said.
The jurors -- six men and six women -- will be asked to decide whether Sotelo willfully conspired to commit murder and targeted Shamp because he was African American.
In addition, Sotelo is charged with one count of attempted robbery and one count of evading police, with a special gang allegation. He is accused of being a member of the Canoga Park Alabama gang.
In March 2010, Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Martin Herscovitz sentenced Bordelon to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 47 years to life, after he admitted killing Shamp. He was also ordered to pay $14,386 in restitution for burial expenses and mental health costs incurred by the victim's family.
On Wednesday, Akemon told jurors that Sotelo and Bordelon were out that December evening looking to earn their respective nicknames of "Outlaw" and "Psycho." And although they may not have gone to the Canoga Bowl in the 20100 block of Vanowen Street looking for an African American, "they spotted a prize target and that's when they decided to kill," Akemon said.
But defense attorney Robert Schwartz argued that his client, who has African American friends and had even dated a black woman, did not harbor prejudice against blacks and was not on the hunt to kill them.
As far as Sotelo understood, he and his companions "were out to pick up some girls," Schwartz told jurors. "But something switched in the mind of Bordelon."
Bordelon decided he was going to rob somebody to get some spending money, Schwartz said. When the attempted robbery of a young female failed, Bordelon directed Sotelo to the Canoga Bowl, according to Schwartz.
The plan was not to find an African American, but to get some money, Schwartz argued. "How many African Americans would you expect to find at a bowling alley in the San Fernando Valley?" he asked rhetorically.
But Bordelon was not only carrying a gun, he was "carrying a hatred of African Americans," Schwartz said. And "what transpired is not a premeditated killing but a crime of opportunism. All of a sudden the killing of an African American trumps a robbery."
Closing arguments are expected to wrap up Thursday.
*
“In Mexico, a recent Zogby poll declared that the vast majority of Mexican citizens hate Americans. [22.2] Mexico is a country saturated with racism, yet in denial, having never endured the social development of a Civil Rights movement like in the US--Blacks are harshly treated while foreign Whites are often seen as the enemy. [22.3] In fact, racism as workplace discrimination can be seen across the US anywhere the illegal alien Latino works--the vast majority of the workforce is usually strictly Latino, excluding Blacks, Whites, Asians, and others.”
*
206 Most wanted criminals in Los Angeles. Out of 206 criminals--183 are hispanic---171 of those are wanted for Murder.
Why do Americans still protect the illegals??
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11255121?appSession=934140935651450&RecordID=&PageID=2&PrevPageID=&cpipage=1&CPISortType=&CPIorderBy=
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TEN MOST WANTED CRIMINALS IN CALIFORNIA ARE MEXICANS!
http://ag.ca.gov/wanted/mostwanted.php?fid=mostWantedFugitives_2010-01
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53103 Did you know illegals kill 12 Americans a day?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/1738432/posts FBI Crime Statistics - Crimes committed by illegals.
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Sheriff: L.A. gang killed to 'cleanse' turf of blacks
• STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Florencia 13 gang, also known as F13, targeted blacks, officials say
• Latino gangs' increasing numbers reflect population shift
• Indictment: F13 leader Arturo Castellanos ordered 'cleansing' from prison
• 20 murders, 80 shootings linked to gang's rampage
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- In a murderous quest aimed at "cleansing" their turf of snitches and rival gangsters, members of one of Los Angeles County's most vicious Latino gangs sometimes killed people just because of their race, an investigation found.
Florence 13 gang members are questioned by Los Angeles Sheriff's detective Adam Torres.
There were even instances in which Florencia 13 leaders ordered killings of black gangsters and then, when the intended victim couldn't be located, said "Well, shoot any black you see," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said.
"In certain cases some murders were just purely motivated on killing a black person," Baca said.
Authorities say there were 20 murders among more than 80 shootings documented during the gang's rampage in the hardscrabble Florence-Firestone neighborhood, exceptional even in an area where gang violence has been commonplace for decades. They don't specify the time frame or how many of the killings were racial.
Los Angeles has struggled with gang violence for years, especially during the wars in the late 1980s and early '90s between the Crips and the Bloods -- both black gangs. Latino gangs have gained influence since then as the Hispanic population surged.
Evidence of Florencia 13, or F13, is easy to find in Florence-Firestone. Arrows spray-painted on the wall of a liquor store mark the gang's boundary and graffiti warns rivals to steer clear.
The gang's name comes from the neighborhood that is its stronghold and the 13th letter of the alphabet -- M -- representing the gang's ties to the Mexican Mafia.
Federal, state and local officials worked together to charge 102 men linked to F13 with racketeering, conspiracy to murder, weapons possession, drug dealing and other crimes. In terms of people charged, it's the largest-ever federal case involving a Southern California gang, prosecutors say. More than 80 of those indicted are in custody.
But eliminating the gang won't be easy. It's survived for decades and is believed to have about 2,000 members. Its reach extends to Nevada, Arizona and into prisons, where prosecutors say incarcerated gang leaders were able to order hits on black gangsters.
According to the indictment, F13's leader, Arturo Castellanos, sent word in 2004 from California's fortress-like Pelican Bay State Prison that he wanted his street soldiers to begin "cleansing" Florence-Firestone of black gangsters, notably the East Coast Crips, and snitches.
His followers eagerly obeyed, according to federal prosecutors.
In one case, F13 members came across a black man at a bus stop, shouted "Cheese toast!" and fired. "Cheese toast" is a derogatory name for East Coast Crips, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin S. Rosenberg said.
The victim, apparently targeted only because of his skin color, survived being shot several times, Rosenberg said.
F13 isn't the only Latino gang linked to racial killings. Last year, four members of The Avenues, a gang from the Highland Park area east of downtown Los Angeles, were convicted of hate crimes for killing a black man in what prosecutors called a campaign to drive blacks from that neighborhood.
And last January, authorities announced a crackdown on the 204th Street gang following the killing of a 14-year-old black girl.
The violence goes both ways, said Adam Torres, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department gang detective whose beat includes Florence-Firestone.
During a recent patrol on the east side of the neighborhood, he pointed to a cinderblock wall peppered with bullet holes. Torres said the Crips still control that area and any Hispanic there is at risk of being shot.
Despite the wave of violence, George Tita, a criminologist with the University of California, Irvine, said racially motivated gang killings are an exception. Latinos and blacks are far more likely to be murdered by one of their own.
"You don't see these major black-brown wars, either within the context of gangs or outside the context of gangs," Tita said.
Residents of Florence-Firestone are loath to discuss gangs, fearful they might end up as targets, but there are signs of change. Murders in the neighborhood dropped from 43 in 2005 to 19 in 2006, Baca said. For 2007, there were 19 murders as of December 24.
Jose Garcia sees the difference. The security doors on the store where he works aren't covered with graffiti as often and he hasn't heard a gunshot in two months.
"It used to be at least once or twice a week," he said.
The Associated Press.
THERE IS NO CULTURE IN THIS HEMISPHERE THAT IS MORE RACIST AND VIOLENT THAN THE MEXICANS!
*
MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.com
*
Go to http://www.MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.com and read articles and comments from other Americans on what they’ve witnessed in their communities around the country. While most of the population of California is now ILLEGAL, the problems, costs, assault to our culture by Mexico are EVERYWHERE.
*
THESE FIGURES ON WELFARE FOR ILLEGALS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY ARE DATED. IT NOT EXCEEDS $600 MILLION PER YEAR!!! (source: Los Angeles County & JUDICIAL WATCH)
*
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1949085/posts
latimes.com
Black man was killed because of his race by gang members seeking bragging rights, prosecutors contend
By Ann M. Simmons
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:25 AM PDT, April 14, 2011
The killing of a Canoga Park bowling alley employee was a racially motivated crime tied to gang activity, L.A. prosecutors say.
A co-defendant charged with the 2008 murder of James Shamp was seeking bragging rights and earned his gang moniker "Outlaw" when he willfully participated in the racially motivated crime, a prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments Wednesday.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel Akemon of the Hardcore Gang Division told jurors at the Van Nuys Courthouse that Martin Sotelo helped fellow gang member Richard Bordelon gun down Shamp, a black man, "in cold blood because of the color of his skin, in a display of senseless violence and a complete disregard for human life."
Shamp, 48, a husband and father of two children, was taking out the trash at the Canoga Bowl on Dec. 22, 2008, when a car carrying Latino gang members pulled up, prosecutors said.
Sotelo, 26, was behind the wheel. He stopped the vehicle so Bordelon could take aim like a sniper, striking Shamp "right through the heart," Akemon said.
The jurors -- six men and six women -- will be asked to decide whether Sotelo willfully conspired to commit murder and targeted Shamp because he was African American.
In addition, Sotelo is charged with one count of attempted robbery and one count of evading police, with a special gang allegation. He is accused of being a member of the Canoga Park Alabama gang.
In March 2010, Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Martin Herscovitz sentenced Bordelon to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 47 years to life, after he admitted killing Shamp. He was also ordered to pay $14,386 in restitution for burial expenses and mental health costs incurred by the victim's family.
On Wednesday, Akemon told jurors that Sotelo and Bordelon were out that December evening looking to earn their respective nicknames of "Outlaw" and "Psycho." And although they may not have gone to the Canoga Bowl in the 20100 block of Vanowen Street looking for an African American, "they spotted a prize target and that's when they decided to kill," Akemon said.
But defense attorney Robert Schwartz argued that his client, who has African American friends and had even dated a black woman, did not harbor prejudice against blacks and was not on the hunt to kill them.
As far as Sotelo understood, he and his companions "were out to pick up some girls," Schwartz told jurors. "But something switched in the mind of Bordelon."
Bordelon decided he was going to rob somebody to get some spending money, Schwartz said. When the attempted robbery of a young female failed, Bordelon directed Sotelo to the Canoga Bowl, according to Schwartz.
The plan was not to find an African American, but to get some money, Schwartz argued. "How many African Americans would you expect to find at a bowling alley in the San Fernando Valley?" he asked rhetorically.
But Bordelon was not only carrying a gun, he was "carrying a hatred of African Americans," Schwartz said. And "what transpired is not a premeditated killing but a crime of opportunism. All of a sudden the killing of an African American trumps a robbery."
Closing arguments are expected to wrap up Thursday.
*
“In Mexico, a recent Zogby poll declared that the vast majority of Mexican citizens hate Americans. [22.2] Mexico is a country saturated with racism, yet in denial, having never endured the social development of a Civil Rights movement like in the US--Blacks are harshly treated while foreign Whites are often seen as the enemy. [22.3] In fact, racism as workplace discrimination can be seen across the US anywhere the illegal alien Latino works--the vast majority of the workforce is usually strictly Latino, excluding Blacks, Whites, Asians, and others.”
*
206 Most wanted criminals in Los Angeles. Out of 206 criminals--183 are hispanic---171 of those are wanted for Murder.
Why do Americans still protect the illegals??
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11255121?appSession=934140935651450&RecordID=&PageID=2&PrevPageID=&cpipage=1&CPISortType=&CPIorderBy=
*
TEN MOST WANTED CRIMINALS IN CALIFORNIA ARE MEXICANS!
http://ag.ca.gov/wanted/mostwanted.php?fid=mostWantedFugitives_2010-01
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53103 Did you know illegals kill 12 Americans a day?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/1738432/posts FBI Crime Statistics - Crimes committed by illegals.
*
Sheriff: L.A. gang killed to 'cleanse' turf of blacks
• STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Florencia 13 gang, also known as F13, targeted blacks, officials say
• Latino gangs' increasing numbers reflect population shift
• Indictment: F13 leader Arturo Castellanos ordered 'cleansing' from prison
• 20 murders, 80 shootings linked to gang's rampage
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- In a murderous quest aimed at "cleansing" their turf of snitches and rival gangsters, members of one of Los Angeles County's most vicious Latino gangs sometimes killed people just because of their race, an investigation found.
Florence 13 gang members are questioned by Los Angeles Sheriff's detective Adam Torres.
There were even instances in which Florencia 13 leaders ordered killings of black gangsters and then, when the intended victim couldn't be located, said "Well, shoot any black you see," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said.
"In certain cases some murders were just purely motivated on killing a black person," Baca said.
Authorities say there were 20 murders among more than 80 shootings documented during the gang's rampage in the hardscrabble Florence-Firestone neighborhood, exceptional even in an area where gang violence has been commonplace for decades. They don't specify the time frame or how many of the killings were racial.
Los Angeles has struggled with gang violence for years, especially during the wars in the late 1980s and early '90s between the Crips and the Bloods -- both black gangs. Latino gangs have gained influence since then as the Hispanic population surged.
Evidence of Florencia 13, or F13, is easy to find in Florence-Firestone. Arrows spray-painted on the wall of a liquor store mark the gang's boundary and graffiti warns rivals to steer clear.
The gang's name comes from the neighborhood that is its stronghold and the 13th letter of the alphabet -- M -- representing the gang's ties to the Mexican Mafia.
Federal, state and local officials worked together to charge 102 men linked to F13 with racketeering, conspiracy to murder, weapons possession, drug dealing and other crimes. In terms of people charged, it's the largest-ever federal case involving a Southern California gang, prosecutors say. More than 80 of those indicted are in custody.
But eliminating the gang won't be easy. It's survived for decades and is believed to have about 2,000 members. Its reach extends to Nevada, Arizona and into prisons, where prosecutors say incarcerated gang leaders were able to order hits on black gangsters.
According to the indictment, F13's leader, Arturo Castellanos, sent word in 2004 from California's fortress-like Pelican Bay State Prison that he wanted his street soldiers to begin "cleansing" Florence-Firestone of black gangsters, notably the East Coast Crips, and snitches.
His followers eagerly obeyed, according to federal prosecutors.
In one case, F13 members came across a black man at a bus stop, shouted "Cheese toast!" and fired. "Cheese toast" is a derogatory name for East Coast Crips, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin S. Rosenberg said.
The victim, apparently targeted only because of his skin color, survived being shot several times, Rosenberg said.
F13 isn't the only Latino gang linked to racial killings. Last year, four members of The Avenues, a gang from the Highland Park area east of downtown Los Angeles, were convicted of hate crimes for killing a black man in what prosecutors called a campaign to drive blacks from that neighborhood.
And last January, authorities announced a crackdown on the 204th Street gang following the killing of a 14-year-old black girl.
The violence goes both ways, said Adam Torres, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department gang detective whose beat includes Florence-Firestone.
During a recent patrol on the east side of the neighborhood, he pointed to a cinderblock wall peppered with bullet holes. Torres said the Crips still control that area and any Hispanic there is at risk of being shot.
Despite the wave of violence, George Tita, a criminologist with the University of California, Irvine, said racially motivated gang killings are an exception. Latinos and blacks are far more likely to be murdered by one of their own.
"You don't see these major black-brown wars, either within the context of gangs or outside the context of gangs," Tita said.
Residents of Florence-Firestone are loath to discuss gangs, fearful they might end up as targets, but there are signs of change. Murders in the neighborhood dropped from 43 in 2005 to 19 in 2006, Baca said. For 2007, there were 19 murders as of December 24.
Jose Garcia sees the difference. The security doors on the store where he works aren't covered with graffiti as often and he hasn't heard a gunshot in two months.
"It used to be at least once or twice a week," he said.
The Associated Press.
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