POLICE: MEN HELD IN KILLINGS PART OF 'POSSE'

The arrest of two men in connection with the murder of a Fort Lauderdale
auto repair shop owner has cast a spotlight on a gang that police say
muscled in on drug dealers to steal their loot.

Police say both men are members of a New York-based "posse" linked to at
least two Fort Lauderdale murders and untold numbers of home invasion
robberies.

"They make a living by setting up and robbing who they suspect are other
drug dealers," said Fort Lauderdale homicide detective Mike Walley. "They
are very vicious."

Posse members stake out the homes of suspected drug dealers for a day or
two before deciding when to strike, police said. They elude police because
they have numerous street names and identities. And police aren't notified
every time they strike.

Police aren't sure how big the posse is or how and why it branched out from
New York to Fort Lauderdale. But they say it has left a bloody trail here.

Last week, detectives charged Andre Andrew Hall -- already in jail in
connection with the May 12 slaying of Fort Lauderdale auto body shop owner
Spurgeon Bowen -- with the murder of Dwight Brown.

Brown, 22, a member of the posse, was killed execution-style on April 24
for refusing to share marijuana he had stolen during a home invasion
robbery, said Fort Lauderdale homicide detective Mike Walley.

"All the members aren't involved in the home invasions," Walley said. "But
the proceeds are shared among the entire group."

Detectives linked the group to the posse -- and to the Brown murder --
while investigating the botched robbery at Bowen's Auto Shop, 717 NW First St.

Police said Hall and two partners walked into the shop and started a fight
with Spurgeon Bowen, the 47-year-old owner.

Hall later told detectives a drug deal was supposed to take place at the
shop. They were there to intercept it.

But things didn't go smoothly.

Bowen fought back, biting the thumb off one of the attackers. Police said
Hall shot Bowen in the chest with a .45 Smith & Wesson. He was mortally
wounded.

The attackers fled, leaving behind the severed thumb.

After hearing from a Drug Enforcement Administration informant, police
began piecing together the puzzle. The tipster supplied the name of one of
the shooting suspects and the spot in the Intracoastal Waterway in
Hollywood where guns used in the crime were dumped.

Divers found a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson and a 9mm Beretta.

Detectives arrested Hall and Oliver Jones -- both 22 and posse members
according to police -- for the Bowen slaying. The two men are being held
without bond at the Broward County Jail.

Investigators also made another connection: The recovered .45 Smith &
Wesson that police said Hall used to shoot Bowen belonged to Brown, who was
found dead a month earlier in the trunk of his car parked under the
Interstate 95 overpass at Sunrise Boulevard.

Armed with that information, police said Hall confessed to both the Bowen
and Brown slayings.

Police said Allen told them Brown was a member of the posse who was killed
for betraying it.

Hall called Brown and told him posse members had committed a home invasion
and were ready to give him his cut, investigators say. Allen and two other
posse members met Brown at a parking lot on West Broward Boulevard where
they tied him up and stole his jewelry and gun.

Then, the men forced Brown into the trunk of his Acura and shot him
numerous times, according to police.

Two other posse members are being sought in connection with the slayings:

Bobby Winer, who is wanted in connection with the Brown slaying.

Douglas O'Neil Hannam, 26, is wanted in connection with the Bowen case. He
is the man who left his thumb behind at the murder scene.

Anyone with information about the incident or the whereabouts of the
suspects is asked to call Walley at 954-761-5541, Detective John Curcio at
954-761-5529 or Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. email: cpiloto@herald.com