Pubdate: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66 Author: Calgary Herald archives CRIME IN THE EAST VILLAGE: HOW BAD IS IT? Despite some high-profile homicides -- usually drug-related -- violent crime in the area has actually fallen since 2005. Calgary Herald archives April 2008: Michael Hopkins was killed during a confrontation near the Salvation Army's Centre of Hope in a grassy area frequented by drug dealers and users. Hopkins, a 40-year-old father of two teenagers, came to Calgary seeking a better life after construction jobs dried up in his hometown of Windsor. Some witnesses to the mid-afternoon brawl said the fight was over a $20 piece of crack cocaine. March 2007: Christian Blake Blondeau and Alfons Daniel Kunz both died of stab wounds after an attack underneath the Langevin Bridge. At the time of their death, friends of the victims said they were street-level dealers of marijuana and crack cocaine in the notorious 4th Avenue and 4th Street S.E. area near the Calgary Drop-In Centre. The case remains unsolved. August 2007: Police in a patrol car found Martin Arop Manyiel bleeding from a single stab wound at 5th Avenue and 6th Street S.E. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The 31-year old, who worked laying seismic cable, moved to Calgary from Sudan about a decade earlier. Police weren't able to determine a motive in his death. December 2006: Kelly Clarke Gaudek, 38, was attacked and stabbed once in the chest on the night of Dec. 7 in an area known as "crack cul-de-sac." He stumbled to the City Hall LRT station and was rushed to hospital, but ultimately died from his injuries. Gaudek was a drug addict who couldn't shake the habit. Two local men were charged with second-degree murder in his death. September 2005: Henry Addai, 22, died after being stabbed during a fight with a group of other men on an East Village street notorious for violence and drugs. Henry was out with his younger brother, Jeff, and two friends when the altercation began in the 400 block of 8th Avenue S.E. Jeff, 20, survived with a minor stab wound to his chest. One man has been charged with manslaughter for Addai's death and aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing two others in the altercation. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart