www.newsday.com

Gang-related crimes on LI


November 2, 2005

Crime on Long Island has not increased over the past several years, but police in Nassau and Suffolk estimate there are between 4,000 and 5,000 gang members on the Island. Here are five recent gang-related crimes:

July 12, 2005: William Ramirez, 22, and Ramiro Pineda, 20, both of Flushing and members of MS-13, are arrested for fatally shooting a Woodside girl at a party in College Point, police said. Police said they killed Maria Rubio, who was in her 20s, for no reason. After one of the men shot Rubio in the head, the other said "No, this is how you do it," then shot her again, police said. Ramirez and Pineda are charged with second-degree murder.

June 16, 2005: Crips member Ibrahim Gyang, 18, of Hempstead, is charged with gunning down two suspected Bloods. Police said Gyang shot Kyree Newkirk, 19, of Levittown, Pa., on April 26, then gunned down Dewayne O. Day, 22, of Uniondale, on May 5. Gyang is awaiting trial.

Sept. 21, 2004: Hempstead teen Olivia Isabel Melendez Mendoza is found dead in Old Westbury with a single bullet hole through the head. Mendoza, 16, had turned to street gangs not long before her death, police said. She had a large MS-13 tattoo across her back. One month later, six MS-13 members are charged with her murder.

April 26, 2004: Olvin Ortiz, 18, of Brentwood, is arrested for fatally stabbing Jose Umanzor, 21, of Bay Shore, outside a bar in Brentwood. Both are members of MS-13, police said. Ortiz, who is nicknamed "El Crazy," is later found guilty of second-degree murder.

Oct. 25, 2000: Shatoya Lofton, 16, from Islip, carries a razor blade into a mall and slices a 17-year-old girl from her temple to her chin to gain entry into the Crips gang. Lofton, who had never met the girl, chose her simply because she was wearing red. Lofton pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.