A notorious gang leader from Los Angeles who has been accused and linked to nine separate murders — three that he was found guilty of carrying out — had his convictions and death sentence overturned last week by the California Supreme Court.

Timothy McGhee, 51, was originally convicted and sentenced in 2009 for three murders and the attempted murders of two police officers. He was once on the U.S. Marshals most-wanted list after disappearing in 2001. Police captured him in 2003 in Arizona.

The three murder convictions that McGhee had overturned were reported between 1997 and 2001, with authorities suspecting that McGhee used violence and his influence as a leader for the Toonerville gang — which has existed in LA since the 1950s, according to the Los Angeles Times — to control the drug trade and intimidate people in neighborhoods surrounding Los Feliz Boulevard between the Los Angeles River and San Fernando Boulevard.

One of the victims, Ronnie Martin, 25, was allegedly shot 28 times by McGhee and several other members of the Toonerville gang. Another victim named Ryan Gonzalez, 17, was gunned down in 2000. The third was killed in 2001.

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Paul Weiss leader cites potential ‘existential crisis’ as 1 reason for Trump deal; critics include 141 firm alumni

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 24, 2025, 1:49 pm CDT

An executive order targeting Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison “could easily have destroyed our firm,” the law firm’s chairman, Brad Karp, told employees in a March 23 statement defending the deal that he reached with President Donald Trump.

Karp’s message, printed by Original Jurisdiction, said Paul Weiss was facing an “existential crisis” as a result of a March 14 executive order by Trump. The order had suspended security clearances held by people at the firm, restricted their access to government buildings, required government contractors to disclose whether they do business with the firm, and required agencies to take steps to terminate contracts with Paul Weiss or its clients.

The executive order is being revoked as a result of the deal, Trump announced in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, March 20. According to Trump, the deal provides that Paul Weiss:

  • Will not deny representation to clients because of lawyers’ personal political views.

  • Will take on a wide variety of pro bono matters that represent the full spectrum of political viewpoints.

  • Will dedicate $40 million in pro bono legal services “to support the administration’s initiatives, including: assisting our nation’s veterans, fairness in the justice system, the president’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and other mutually agreed projects.”

  • “Affirms its commitment to merit-based hiring, promotion and retention and will not adopt, use or pursue any DEI policies.”

Karp sent a copy of the agreement to firm employees that differs from Trump’s description, the New York Times reports. Karp’s version does not mention DEI, but it did affirm a commitment to merits-based employment practices and to hire an outside expert to audit those practices.

Karp also said under the agreement, “the administration is not dictating what matters we take on, approving our matters or anything like that.”

The Truth Social post also quoted a White House statement that said Karp had “acknowledged the wrongdoing of former Paul Weiss partner Mark Pomerantz,” who worked on a criminal case against Trump while he was with the New York district attorney’s office. But Karp’s copy of the agreement did not mention Pomerantz, who has denied doing anything wrong, according to the New York Times.

Karp negotiated the agreement just a few months after suffering a heart attack, the New York Times reports in another article. The deal was supported by “the vast majority” of the firm’s partners, the New York Times said, which relied on anonymous sources.

Karp said he was initially “hopeful that the legal industry would rally to our side” after Trump issued the executive order. Instead “certain other firms were seeking to exploit our vulnerabilities by aggressively soliciting our clients and recruiting our attorneys,” he said.

Paul Weiss initially planned to challenge the executive order in a lawsuit, but it soon became clear that a successful legal challenge “would not solve the fundamental problem, which was that clients perceived our firm as being persona non grata with the administration,” Karp said. In reaching a deal, Karp said, “we were guided by our obligation to protect our clients’ interests” and the need to ensure that the firm would survive.

Critics of the deal include 141 Paul Weiss alumni who signed a March 24 letter protesting the firm’s decision, according to a March 24 press release.

“We expected the firm to be a leader in standing up for the legal profession, the adversary system and the right to counsel,” the letter said. “Instead of a ringing defense of the values of democracy, we witnessed a craven surrender to, and thus complicity in, what is perhaps the gravest threat to the independence of the legal profession since at least the days of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.”

Taking the other side is Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law, who told Law.com that Paul Weiss “had no obligation to fight Trump in court.”

The firm “has obligations to its clients, who must deal with the federal government regularly as an adversary or a regulator, and to its thousands of employees, including lawyers,” he said.

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WASHINGTON – Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning today announced that veteran land manager Joe Stout has been named the new BLM California State Director, where he will oversee 15 million acres of public lands and 42 million acres of minerals and energy resources in California, as well as 1.6 million surface acres in northwestern Nevada. Stout will begin his new role on August 11, 2024.

Stout is returning to BLM California, where he previously served for over seven years as the Associate State Director and Acting State Director. Most recently, Stout has served as the Forest Supervisor of the Eldorado National Forest in the Central Sierras of California, overseeing four ranger districts and managing programs in natural resources, fire and aviation, public services, and engineering.

“Joe brings nearly 25 years of experience in natural resources, conservation, and business management to his new role,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “He is highly respected for his inclusive approach to management, his ability to build strong relationships on the ground, and his knack for finding solutions to tough issues. His expertise will benefit the BLM and the communities we serve.”

Before his tenure with the United States Forest Service, Stout held leadership positions at all levels of the BLM. At the Bureau’s Headquarters, he served as the Acting Chief of Staff for the Director’s Office and Division Chief for the Decision Support, Planning, and NEPA programs. At the Regional level, he served as the Acting Associate State Director of BLM Colorado, and at the field level he led a land use plan revision for the Kremmling and Glenwood Springs Field Offices in Colorado.

As BLM California State Director, Stout will lead a team of 1,100 permanent staff who oversee public lands across the rangelands, forests, high mountains, and deserts that make California one of the most diverse states in the nation. The BLM manages an abundance of resources for multiple use in California, supporting generations of families and local communities, and providing important economic benefits to Californians and the nation.

Stout holds a master’s degree in public administration (Environmental Policy, Management, and Law) from the University of Colorado in Denver, and he completed his undergraduate studies in sociology and environmental studies at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Stout and his family love spending time outdoors, including backpacking, fly fishing and skiing.

A church youth group leader said he did not intend on “hurting anybody” when touching a little girl’s private parts, but later told investigators that he “gave in to temptation,” according to a press statement and an affidavit viewed by Law&Crime.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida announced on Wednesday that Richard Scott Shaw, 69, was charged with lewd molestation and awaits extradition from Wyoming.

Deputies said that law enforcement counterparts in the defendant’s home state are investigating whether he might have abused other kids. He had access to them as a worship and church youth group leader for “Under Command Ministries” in Freemont County.