One of the Trudeau government's stated policy goals for ending marijuana prohibition is to divert the profits reaped by gangsters toward legitimate shareholders. But an investigation by Greg McArthur and Molly Hayes offers a glimpse into the insidious nature of organized crime, finding that criminal groups easily exploited loopholes in the federal government's old medical-marijuana licensing regimes In the late afternoon of March 14 in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge, a masked gunman jumped out of the passenger side of a black Jeep Cherokee, darted across a snow-dusted parking lot and unleashed a flurry of bullets into a black BMW. Thirty seconds later, he was back in the car, leaving Saverio Serrano - the son of a notorious Canadian Mafia figure and cocaine importer - wounded, and Mr. Serrano's 28-year-old girlfriend dead. [continues 3221 words]
With battering rams and flash-bang grenades, SWAT teams fuel the risk of violence as they forcibly enter suspects' homes. Five months and 85 miles apart, two cases took starkly divergent legal paths. SOMERVILLE, Tex. - Joshua Aaron Hall had been a resident of the Burleson County Jail for about a week when he requested a meeting with Gene Hermes, the sheriff's investigator who had locked him up for violating probation. The stocky lawman arrived in the featureless interview room on the morning of Dec. 13, 2013, placed his soda cup on the table and apologized for not getting there sooner. He asked in his gravelly drawl if they would be talking about Mr. Hall's own case. [continues 6445 words]
A Crawford County man was shot and killed Monday after he allegedly fired a shotgun at police officers who were serving a search warrant in a drug case. About eight officers working with the Peach County Drug Task Force were dressed in protective gear as they went to the home of Rainer Tyler Smith, 31, at 6750 Ga. 42 South shortly after 2 a.m., said J.T. Ricketson, of the GBI. "No one came to the door, so they made entry, and as soon as they made it inside, one of the occupants started shooting," said Ricketson, special agent in charge of the GBI's Perry office. [continues 688 words]
If not for stepping out for a coffee, my oldest nephew, Jay, would have been among the nearly 100 arrested in the coordinated police raids of 43 storefront Toronto pot dispensaries at the end of May. Instead, he got grainy smartphone footage of the takedown of the dispensary where he works as a clerk - footage taken from across the street of police with guns drawn, of his co-workers in handcuffs, and even a "patient" in a wheelchair being cuffed as well. [continues 507 words]
If not for stepping out for a coffee, my oldest nephew, Jay, would have been among the nearly 100 arrested in the coordinated police raids of 43 storefront Toronto pot dispensaries at the end of May. Instead, he got grainy smartphone footage of the takedown of the dispensary where he works as a clerk - footage taken from across the street of police with guns drawn, of his co-workers in handcuffs, and even a "patient" in a wheelchair being cuffed as well. [continues 508 words]
A 29-Year-Old Man Was Killed In A Raid That Was Later Deemed Justified. Police Found $2 Worth of pot. TAMPA - The mother of a man who was shot and killed by Tampa police officers during a raid on his home in 2014 has sued the city, its former police chief and the officers involved over her son's death. The lawsuit, filed late last week in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, accuses the police of negligence for acting on the word of an informer with a history of heavy drug use and criminal activity. It also says that officers used excessive force against 29-year-old Jason Westcott, who was killed, and his boyfriend Israel 'Izzy' Reyes, who was 22 and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. [continues 603 words]
TRENTON - Two charges filed by a city police officer against Edward Forchion, aka NJ Weedman, may go up in smoke. The criminal activity allegedly occurred when Forchion appeared in a video that was shot outside his restaurant on May 10 and was subsequently posted to social media. In the clip, Trenton cops are at his restaurant when the weed advocate repeatedly calls officer Herbert Flowers a "pedophile" and a "big boy who (expletive) with little girls." In the video, Flowers appears to laugh off the verbal assault and at one point puts his arms in the arm with a smile, responding "Yep, you said it." [continues 952 words]
Projet Montreal Candidate Appeals for Calm As Demonstrations Planned Why Jean-Pierre Bony was in a Montreal North apartment that was raided by police last week, or what exactly his role in the alleged drug ring bust was, isn't what matters most, said Projet Montreal borough mayor candidate Kerlande Mibel on Tuesday. What matters, Mibel said, is knowing why the 46-year-old was reportedly shot in the head with a rubber bullet while he was trying to run away. [continues 556 words]
Pre-dawn police raids on suspected drug houses make for dramatic television. Too often in real life, however, these SWAT-like raids turn out to be mistakes, or, to put it more diplomatically, not exactly what the police had in mind. The News Journal published a disturbing article about a lawsuit this week that raises questions about the police strategy when it comes to fighting the war on drugs. Delawareans should look at closely at the articles implications. The article reports on a lawsuit filed by Rehoboth Beach couple against the Delaware State Police over their treatment during a drug raid on a Claymont house they were staying in. The wife is a quadriplegic. Her husband is a disabled veteran. They were not the subjects of the police raid, but they claim they were terrorized and mishandled by the police raiders. [continues 369 words]
It Is Very Unlikely That the RCMP Would Invade Vancouver Police Turf, Criminologist Says Vancouver will push ahead with its plan to license some marijuana dispensaries and force others to close, despite a threat from Health Canada to have the RCMP raid 13 dispensaries it has singled out for attention. Health Canada's threats, which come in the middle of an election in which the Harper Conservatives are pitted against Liberal promises to decriminalize marijuana, sets up another showdown between Ottawa and Vancouver over health issues versus enforcement. [continues 942 words]
False Witness Ronnie Coogle said he didn't mind snitching for the Tampa Police Department, even when it meant lying and faking drug deals. But his life changed forever when one of his targets wound up dead. The scene beaming from the bedroom television wasn't special, another drug bust in a decaying north Tampa neighborhood. Ronnie 'Bodie' Coogle squinted at the screen. He recognized that street, lit by ghostly pulses of red and blue. 'Bodie,' his wife said, lying beside him. 'You see this?' Coogle turned up the volume as the 11 o'clock news cut to cops in black ballistic vests, standing amid the inky silhouettes of sabal palms. After a minute he sat up and grabbed his cellphone. [continues 4657 words]
Contrary to what you may have heard, the armored vehicles that appeared on the streets of Ferguson, Mo., during the unrest that followed the police shooting of Michael Brown did not come from the Pentagon. "Most of the stuff you are seeing in video coming out of Ferguson is not military," Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Defense Department's press secretary, told reporters last week. "The military is not the only source of tactical gear in this country." In other words: Don't blame the military for militarizing the police. [continues 587 words]
TAMPA - Before the sirens and stretcher arrived on a hot night in May, there had been only one call to police about 906 W Knollwood St. It came from the house's renter, Jason Westcott, and he was looking for help. A man who had partied at Westcott's home was plotting to rob him. An itinerant motorcycle mechanic, Westcott didn't have much - two televisions and a handgun that once belonged to his brother were perhaps the most valuable possessions in his 600-square-foot house in Seminole Heights - but he was terrified by his would-be intruder's threats to kill him. [continues 2645 words]
Police make 'significant dent' in gang violence, guns and drugs seized Police arrested 50 people early Wednesday morning in a raid which targeted two rival gangs. Acting Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders said two operations, known as Project RX and Project Battery, have been ongoing for nearly a year. Officers focused on the Sic Thugs and Asian Assassinz, he said. "Both gangs are allegedly rival gangs and each have been involved in a series of shootings that have occurred in the city of Toronto," Saunders said. [continues 450 words]
Weapons, illegal drugs and large sums of cash confiscated in wide sweep One is linked to the shooting that had bullets flying inside the bustling Eaton Centre food court in June 2012, killing two men and injuring six, including a 13-year-old boy. The other is connected to an execution-style killing outside Yorkdale Shopping Centre last spring, in which a killer waited in the parking lot for his intended targets. Both gangs - known as Sic Thugs and Asian Assassinz - are "incredibly ruthless" and "sophisticated" rivals whose reach across Toronto is atypical of street-level crews, which usually have a small "criminal footprint," according to police. [continues 806 words]
Probe gives rare look at how group operated - and how it terrorized Dixon neighbourhood Anthony Smith is lying on the pavement, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. It's the early morning of March 28, 2013, and Smith, nicknamed Bucks, has been murdered during a brawl outside Loki Lounge, a busy King St. W. nightclub. He has been gunned down by a young man from a rival group, an act of violence powered by a toxic mix of rage, neighbourhood warfare, cough syrup and alcohol. [continues 2775 words]
CHICAGO - If Radley Balko is right, it may be the dog lovers of America who touched off a movement to rein in the strongarm tactics that have accompanied the militarization of the country's police forces. Balko, who writes The Washington Post's "The Watch" blog on criminal justice issues, says that police these days too frequently shoot people's pets when making a raid, and people are becoming fed up. I recently read Balko's book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces," after spending some time in a firearms class. In that class was a retired policeman who firmly subscribed to the "us vs. them" mentality Balko so vividly illustrates. [continues 648 words]
Citizenry's Ire From Killing of Pets Could Help Stifle Collateral Damage in Violent Raids If Radley Balko is right, it may be the dog lovers of America who touched off a movement to rein in the strong-arm tactics that have accompanied the militarization of the country's police forces. Balko, who writes The Washington Post's "The Watch" blog on criminal justice issues, says that police these days too frequently shoot people's pets when making a raid, and people are becoming fed up. [continues 689 words]
CHICAGO - If Radley Balko is right, it may be the dog lovers of America who touched off a movement to rein in the strong-arm tactics that have accompanied the militarization of the country's police forces. Balko, who writes The Washington Post's "The Watch" blog on criminal justice issues, says that police these days too frequently shoot people's pets when making a raid and people are becoming fed up. I recently read Balko's book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces," after spending some time in a firearms class. In that class was a retired policeman who firmly subscribed to the "us vs. them" mentality Balko so vividly illustrates. [continues 646 words]
Drug Raids
