Gangland, B.C.:
Vancouver struggles with 45 shootings in two months -- 19 of them
fatal
CANADIAN PRESS
April 7, 2009
Police say recent arrests and murder charges against alleged B.C.
gang members are a major step forward for public safety, but one
gang expert believes the violence may get worse as other gangs
fight to grab the criminal market share left behind.
Rob Gordon, director of criminology at Simon Fraser University,
said it's one of the ironies of good police work, that as they
take out gang members others scramble to replace them.
He said every arrest is helpful, but it certainly doesn't cap
the problem that has seen 45 shootings in Metro Vancouver since
late January, 19 of them fatal.
"What they do is they disturb the balance in the industry
and that creates opportunities for new and less disciplined groups
to come in," Gordon said yesterday.
On Friday, Dennis Karbovanec pleaded guilty to three counts of
second-degree murder in connection with the massacre of six people
in a Surrey condominium on Oct. 19, 2007.
Saturday, police announced first-degree murder charges against
Karbovanec's fellow alleged Red Scorpion gang members, James Bacon,
Matthew Johnston and Cody Haevischer.
"Although there is still a great deal of work to do, this
is a major step forward for public safety," Assistant RCMP
Commissioner Peter German told a gathering of media, politicians
and family members of the victims.
INNOCENT
Two of those victims were innocent bystanders. Police believe
Chris Mohan, 22, stepped out into the hallway from his apartment
and was dragged into the nearby unit. Ed Schellenberg, 55, had
been repairing the fireplaces in the building that day.
And as if to flout the police announcement, just before midnight
on Saturday Vancouver police investigating a shots-fired call
found the body of a man slumped over the steering wheel of an
SUV.
Police said it was a "targeted hit," but couldn't say
if there were gang connections.
"The same kind of thing happened when they had sessions
with the Hells Angels a little while ago," Gordon said, adding
police have created a kind of "disturbance in the force."
He said the shootings are the unexpected consequences of tackling
the industry.
"There is a colossal drug industry operating behind these
kinds of individuals who, to my mind, are actually fairly low
down on the pecking order."
Both Gordon and gang expert Julian Sher say the most significant
part of the recent arrests is what police won't talk about yet.
Because Karbovanec pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, both
say it's clear he made a plea bargain with Crown prosecutors.
"It's good news because it's a breach in the wall, a breach
in the fortress of gangs. What's particularly significant (is)
the way gangs fall is by snitching and betrayal," Sher said.
