gang violence in our communities - ubcm | homedocuments/mo… · • mid-level gangs began taking...

Gang Violence in Our Communities

Wayne BaldwinMayor, City of White Rock

Gang Violence in Our CommunitiesPresentation to the Union of B.C. Municipalities

Sept. 26, 2016 Victoria, B.C.

No B.C. Community is immune• Gangs enjoy the perks of living in B.C. just like the

rest of us.• Increased mobility has seen Lower Mainland

gangs migrate to the Okanagan, Vancouver Island and Interior for both pleasure and business

• As a result, gangsters like Jon Bacon can end up dead in Kelowna with accused killers from the Lower Mainland going to trial in the Okanagan

Public fears the violence and the headlines

Organized Crime and Gangs in B.C.• There have always been organized

criminals and gangs in B.C.• As a port city, opium, heroin and

later cocaine had no trouble making their way to Vancouver and the rest of B.C.

• Counter-culture acceptance of drugs here created market and gangs moved in.

• Street gangs go back decades but became more entrenched in the drug trade in 1980s

Youth Gangs of 70s and 80s• Often evolved from tensions in neighbourhoods

and school• Weren’t seriously criminalized• Met for fights in parks like the Riley Park Gang,

Clark Park Boys, Los Diablos, Lotus and Red Eagles• Some gang kids went on to become serious

gangsters like Bindy Johal

Riley Park “Gang”1974 Sun Photo

Suspects in Vancouver Gang Shooting – December 1989

Evolution of Gangs in B.C.First Hells Angels chapters formed in July 1983 in Vancouver and Nanaimo. With 100 or so members, HA still considered top-level organized crime in B.C.

Increasing Power of Street Gangs• • Street gangs and charismatic

leaders like Bindy Johalchallenged the HA

• • He was linked to the Los Diablos gang in the mid-1980s and by the early-1990s had formed a group he called the “Indo-Canadian Mafia” which had a hit squad called the “Elite.”

Failed prosecutions• When murder charges

were laid against Bindy Johal, Peter Gill, Raj Benji, Michael Budai, Phil Kim, and Sun News Lal in 1995, it was the biggest gangland trial to date in BC

They were charged with killing two brothers in Vancouver

Ron Dosanjh Jimsher Dosanjh

Ron Dosanjh’s bullet-ridden truck on Kingsway

Controversial `not guilty’ verdict• The trial began on

February 27, 1995 and lasted eight months. The jury acquitted all five –but it was later learned that juror Gillian Guess was sleeping with accused Gill.

• She was convicted of obstruction of justice

Bindy Johal was murdered in 1998• And in a familiar

pattern, police know who killed him but no charges were ever laid

• Sadly, Johal remains a hero to many teens who want to follow him into gang life

Johal’s right-hand man• Bal Buttar confessed to

ordering the hit on Johal, as well as several other murders, to me in 2004

• He never faced prosecution for any of them

• He died in 2011, from injuries sustained 10 years earlier in a targeted shooting

Cycle of Violence• Johal trained Buttar and

the Duhre brothers, who later influenced the Bacon brothers

• Bal Buttar then had Johalkilled and suspected his own associates of trying to kill him

Associates one day, enemies the next

Mid-Level Gangs 2000-2010• Mid-level gangs began taking on

identities in the early 2000s to mimic the Hells Angels.

• United Nations Gang was among the first – started in 1997 by Fraser Valley boy Clay Roueche, who had ties to Triads

• Independent Soldiers began using that moniker by 2004 in South Vancouver

• Red Scorpions started in mid-2000s

UN gang members at 2005 funeral

Some of the UN’s cocaine with logo, grave of UN member who ODed

These gangs have spread across BC• IS has been involved in

drug trade in Okanagan, Vancouver Island & Prince George

• UN linked to drug lines into northern BC, Alberta and aligned with Fresh Off the Boat Killers in Calgary

Gangs form alliances (HA & IS)

Both HA and IS targeted in shootingsLarry Amero injured in Kelowna shooting Randy Naicker shot dead in Port Moody

Despite the threat of death…

.

And the arrest of major gangsters like Clay Roueche:

Too many young guys still see this life as a reasonable choice

They see the bling like Roueche’s $100,000 ring

- But they don’t know what it’s like when you’re handed a 30-year sentence in a US courtroom

- Roueche continues to promote himself through Facebook and Twitter and boast of his accomplishments

He recently started a twitter account

He posts photos of himself with new jail friends like Anthony Shea

Roueche, centre, in jail with members of Outlaws MC

Some still support the HA despite many convictions in BC

Young BC gangsters/wannabes post support for HA online

This is on the Facebook page of a BC Wolfpack member

Courtenay man’s missing firearms• Courtenay man convicted

on firearms charges close to Hells Angels, according to his own online profile

• More than 30 restricted firearms he purchased are missing and presumed to be in criminal hands

So why choose the gang lifestyle?• Some BC gangsters, like

James Riach, had very marginalized upbringings

• His father is a criminal whose been in and out of jail for decades

• He went on to be IS, then Wolf Pack and is now said to be HA after stint in jail in Philippines

Some get involved very young• Jacobi Farrell, former

GTS member, was abused as a child, joined gang at 13

• Arrested in Prince George with loaded guns

• Now turned life around

The middle-class gangster• Unique B.C. phenomenon • Many mid-level gangsters

involved in violence of last decade from middle-class families, grew up playing soccer, having sleep –overs

• Bacon brothers key example of that

Jarrod Bacon, left, is in jail. Jon Bacon, right is dead

And Jamie Bacon, is awaiting trial, in the Surrey Six case

- So how does this happen?- Evidence at Jarrod Bacon’s

gun trial showed parental support continued even while he was working on major drug deal

- Siblings felt harassed by police, justified their existence

Many regret their choices, but can’t get out

• A longtime gangster recently told me how much he regrets his life but sees no way out

• “I've realized alot in the last 3 months. Shoulda woulda coulda syndrome. I swear if I didn't have my kids I think I woulda been weak enough to end it. 41 and I've waistedmost of my life and hurt alot of people.”

What can we do?• Comprehensive B.C.-wide anti-gang curriculum in

schools• More exit strategies• And maybe something dramatic like a specialized

court, similar to drug court, that helps younger gangsters get out and stay out of the life

• And now we turn to our panel for their thoughts

Honorable Mike MorrisMinister of Public Safety and Solicitor General,

Ministry of PublicSafety and Solicitor General

Kevin HackettChief Superintendent, RCMP

Walter CobbMayor, City of Williams Lake

Mike StarchukCouncillor, City of Surrey

In appreciation of today’sspeakers, UBCM hasdonated to Silver ThreadsService for Seniors.

Operating two seniors’ centres in Greater Victoria, they offer programs and services for seniors to stay active, healthy and connected.

gang violence in our communities - ubcm | homedocuments/mo… · • mid-level gangs began taking...

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