Presenting at 11the Annual Tennessee Gang Investigators Association conference

Hosted by the Middle Tennessee Region in Nashville, TN
iGangs -- High Tech Gang Communications

The younger generation in our country cannot remember life without cell phones, CD’s or an email address, and many don’t even use CD’s and email anymore. Many gang members are a part of this generation. Do we know how they communicate? As gangs evolve, they take on more of a business model than they had when they started. How does this affect the way we should investigate them? Do we include the right information on our search warrants? Do we know what our crime labs are capable of finding? In this session, we will review the past, examine the present, and look into the future to see how gangs make contact with each other, what they can talk about without us knowing, and why we need to know how to intercept or at least discover what was said after the fact.

US soldier charged in Mexican cartel killing

August 11, 2009 12:13 PM EDT
EL PASO, Texas - A Fort Bliss soldier and two other men have been charged in the shooting death of a mid-level Mexican drug cartel member who was also a U.S. informant.

El Paso, Texas, police said Tuesday that the soldier, 18-year-old Michael Jackson Apodaca, 30-year-old Ruben Rodriguez Dorado and 17-year-old Christopher Duran have been charged with capital murder in the May 15 slaying of Jose Daniel Gonzalez Galeana.

Gonzalez, a lieutenant in the Juarez cartel who multiple government officials told The Associated Press was a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informant, was shot eight times outside his El Paso home.

Police say the military handed over Apodaca to them on Monday, when the other two men were also arrested.

A Fort Bliss spokeswoman did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment.

(This version CORRECTS the second reference to Gonzalez to use his preferred last name.)
KOLO-TV http://www.kolotv.com/nationalnews/headlines/52967032.html

Upcoming presentations at the National Gang Crime Research Center

“Gangs and the Military: What’s the Problem? Why is it a Problem? What’s the solution?”

Contemporary gangs have been strategically infiltrating military communities around the world since the late 1980's. When gang members are allowed to join the military (armed forces, air force, army, navy, marines, coast guard), they are treated just like other service members – no debriefings, no watch list, and no warnings to local military law enforcement. Is “Don’t Ask / Don’t Tell” the right policy for gangs in the military? How can we ensure gang members are not able to use military urban warfare tactics on our city streets?

This session will provide an overview of the issues associated with the enlistment of past and present gang members in the U.S. Armed Forces and provide recommendations for local, state and federal law enforcement and communities. We will examine the myths and truths associated with dual (gang and military) service, and discuss recommendations for the communities where these individuals go after they are discharged.

A Threat Analysis of MSTA: Gang, STG, Hate Group, Organized Crime — And More

The MSTA has been identified on the top three list of Islamic gangs/STGs operating in the USA. Most police encounter them as a gang, but some of their operations have all the earmarks of organized rime. Most in corrections regard them as a local security threat group, but they have been evolving into a national organization. Most in academia regard them as a cult or deviant spiritual group, but their “MSTA university” sells college courses to their prison inmate members today. Come and learn about the MSTA and how it operates in your jurisdiction.

Gangs and Hi-Tech Communication: How Gang Members Can and Will Communicate Using Tomorrow’s Technology

The younger generation in our country cannot remember life without cell phones, CD’s or an email address, and many don’t even use CD’s and email anymore. Many gang members are a part of this generation. Do we know how they communicate? As gangs evolve, they take on more of a business model than they had when they started. How does this affect the way we should investigate them? Do we include the right information on our search warrants? Do we know what our crime labs are capable of finding? In this session, we will review the past, examine the present, and look into the future to see how gangs make contact with each other, what they can talk about without us knowing, and why we need to know how to intercept or at least discover what was said after the fact.

How to Qualify and Testify as an Expert Witness on Gangs

In this session, you will learn the mechanics of how to become an expert witness in gang crime investigation cases. You will learn how to provide an expert opinion on matters such as gang identification, the relevance of gang threats, gang motivation, gang rivalries, and gang trends. You will learn a number of important “do’s” and “don’ts” about expertise from the prosecution perspective, and will see some of the strategies of defense. Whether in court or not, there are many ways to strengthen your credibility and expertise – this session may be the first step in that direction.

Schedule here.

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