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Gangsters charged in shootings of rivals, bystanders: Feds

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 14:22:13 +0000

One of the crime scenes that left one person dead and wounded three in Minnesota in February 2024 (KSTP).

Eleven suspected members of a Minnesota street gang have been charged in a federal racketeering case alleging murders and attempted murders in bloody gang violence that killed rivals and bystanders alike.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy indictment names leaders, organizers, and members of the Lows street gang and alleges “a pattern of unthinkable and reprehensible violence,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday when the case was unsealed.

“The charges we announced today against the Lows allege a pattern of unthinkable and reprehensible violence by the Lows from 2021 into 2024,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota announced in a press conference. “Seven shootings, 10 victims, five murders. By charging these 11 Lows members under RICO, we are once again addressing the gang as a whole.”

At the press conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara addressed the defendants directly.

“To the 11 violent offenders that have been indicted, we told you that we were coming for you,” he said. “Not only did you devalue human life in our city by hunting and killing rival gang members and celebrating those deaths on social media.”

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said the defendants are leaders, organizers, and members of the Lows street gang responsible for bloodshed and gun and drug trafficking.

“Violent gangs that engage in bloody street wars and peddle deadly drugs endanger our communities,” Argentieri said. “The Criminal Division, along with our local, state, and federal partners, is committed to holding violent criminals accountable, including by bringing racketeering charges.”

Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office said the gang has long had a hold on the community.

“For too long, the Lows have inflicted pain and spread fear in north Minneapolis,” Winston said. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we are determined to remove this threat from our communities and help restore a sense of security to all who call this city home.”

The indictment outlines the bloodshed from May 2021 and February 2024, including deadly shootings at gas stations, a fatal shooting near a food truck, and a shooting on Feb. 27, 2024, in a high crime area of Minneapolis that left one person dead and wounded three.

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Judge accused in drive-by shootings has progressive brain disease, court filing says

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:28:29 +0000

Judiciary

Judge accused in drive-by shootings has progressive brain disease, court filing says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 3, 2024, 10:14 am CDT

An Oklahoma judge accused in two drive-by shootings has frontotemporal dementia, a disease that can cause “bizarre out-of-character behavior” changes, his lawyers said in an Aug. 28 court filing. (Image from Shutterstock)

An Oklahoma judge accused in two drive-by shootings has frontotemporal dementia, a disease that can cause “bizarre out-of-character behavior” changes, his lawyers said in an Aug. 28 court filing.

Judge Brian Lovell, 59, of Garfield County, Oklahoma, is seeking medical retirement, according to the court filing by his lawyers, Stephen Jones and William Jewell.

The Enid News & Eagle, the Oklahoman and KWTV News 9 have coverage.

Lovell faces criminal charges in drive-by shootings in Texas and Oklahoma.

Lovell was arrested in an alleged shooting spree in Austin, Texas, in September. He was accused of shooting at eight parked cars from his vehicle and twice rear-ending another driver. Lovell acknowledged rear-ending another car but said he couldn’t remember the alleged shootings and doesn’t know why he would have fired his gun. Two handguns were found in his car.

Lovell is also accused of shooting at his brother-in-law’s home in Bison, Oklahoma, in February 2023. He became a suspect after his Texas arrest. Police say the same gun was used in both shootings, according to the Enid News & Eagle.

The frontotemporal diagnosis was revealed in a court filing seeking to avoid Lovell’s removal from office without a hearing. The removal petition accuses Lovell of bias in his courtroom and affairs with two bailiffs that included courthouse sex, according to the articles.

After Lovell’s September arrest, Jones told the Oklahoman that he remembers the judge as “always congenial, reasonable.”

The court filing said frontotemporal dementia “is progressive until death, and there is no known treatment or cure,” according to the Enid News & Eagle.

The court filing said symptoms of the disease include “loss of memory, irritability, bizarre out-of-character behavior, sudden inappropriate impulses, impaired judgment, … a change in personality, decreased inhibitions, and subtle episodes of apathy.”

According to information cited by the Oklahoman from the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of frontotemporal dementia depend of the portion of the brain affected.

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