Pubdate: Sat, 03 May 2003
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Shane Holladay

GROUPS VIE FOR A PIECE OF DRUG PIE: COP

Twenty groups with shifting, divided loyalties vying for a share of the 
illegal drug market are behind Edmonton's ongoing gang violence, says a cop 
with the city's gang unit.

The arrest of alleged members of the Trang family drug gang in September 
1999 and the subsequent death of Long Duy Hoang, a.k.a. 'Crazy Jimmy,' in a 
January 2000 shootout with police, left no dominant power on the streets, 
said Sgt. Warren Ottenbreit.

"When they got taken down, it sort of opened up the market for everybody 
and anybody to come in," he told The Sun yesterday. "The 20 groups that we 
have now, it's some of those ones that were around previously. Some of 
those have split away and formed their own groups."

In Edmonton, cops aren't seeing an escalating series of retaliatory 
shootings, he said.

While there sometimes appears to be patterns of inactivity followed by 
violent bursts of gang violence, Ottenbreit said the attacks happen randomly.

On April 26, Mounties found the shot and burned body of 26-year-old Vincent 
Gamboa - an identified gang member - near Stony Plain, and believe he was 
killed in Edmonton.

Days earlier, Terry Whitford, 19, was gunned down in a gang-related 
shooting on Walterdale Hill. As yet, there are no links between the cases, 
Ottenbreit said.

And on Feb. 2, Alan Luan Chung, 23, who police say also had gang 
affiliations, died in an Edmonton drive-by shooting.

Some of these are attacks of opportunity, said Ottenbreit.

"Some of the stuff that we're seeing, and some of the stuff that we're 
hearing, is that some of these are long-standing battles, things that 
happened three, four, five or 10 years ago."

Gangs in Edmonton, he added, do not battle over turf. "Sometimes it's 
customers."

With membership no longer strictly divided along ethnic lines, he 
explained, there exists fairly fluid allegiance among drug "runners," who 
have no loyalty when it comes to which gang they'll work for, Ottenbreit said.

"If one of these runners leaves his group and goes to another group or 
gang, you'll find that they are also taking the customers with them."

Gang members then target runners who've defected to intimidate others with 
similar plans, Ottenbreit said.

"Sometimes it's been the runner, and sometimes it's been whoever on that 
side, just to send a message.

"It's a crime of opportunity with them, because they basically work 24-7 in 
that type of thing."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Alex