GANG BOSS GETS 7 YEARS

Admits Drug, Gun Offences

A one-time leader of the notorious Malvern Crew street gang was
sentenced to seven years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to
gang-, drug- and gun-related charges.

David Francis was one of 65 people arrested in the Toronto Police
force's Project Impact raid on the Malvern gang in May 2004.

Francis pleaded guilty in a downtown court yesterday to conspiracy to
commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault, conspiracy to traffic
marijuana, participating in a criminal organization, possession of
methamphetamine and conspiracy to traffic firearms.

3 More Years

Because he has already served 27 months, which was deemed the
equivalent of four years, Francis faces a maximum of three more years
in jail.

According to an agreed statement of facts released in court yesterday,
the Malvern Crew, aka The Juice Mob, dealt pot, cocaine, crack, and
ecstasy. The gang also sold guns, and resorted to assaults and
shootings to protect their turf from rival thugs, the Galloway Boyz.

Drawing on conversations monitored by police, which were included in
the statement of fact, Francis and another man talked about how the
Galloway Boyz would shoot innocent civilians because they couldn't get
any of the "big men" in Malvern.

Ruthless

The statement of facts also sheds light on the inner workings of a
seemingly ruthless gang hell-bent on keeping their drug territory free
of competition.

In a Jan. 27, 2004, police-intercepted conversation, Francis and a
friend discussed the then-recent shooting death of Omar Hortley, a
21-year-old high school grad who had nothing to do with gang life. The
friend told Francis that the Galloway Boyz shot Hortley, and that they
were just shooting anyone in the area.

The conversations, which police received authorization to listen to in
the months leading up to Project Impact, show the simmering war
between the Malvern and Galloway gangs.