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One gang member after another survives a shooting in Ottawa. But make no mistake, says defence lawyer Joseph Addelman, “they are trying to kill each other.”
And how does he know?
“I represent them all. I know who these guys are. I can’t sit here and say names, but I know.”
As Ottawa grows and the addiction to crack cocaine spreads, he says the drug trade is growing more lucrative.
“It is such a scourge, such an addictive substance, that it has taken hold in so many of our neighbourhoods that the stakes have gone up,” he said. “When the stakes go up, the money stakes, so, too, do the violence stakes.”
He also believes the number of illegal guns is growing.
The city isn’t more dangerous for the overall public, he said. “These are targeted shootings,” though still dangerous for passersby in public places.
“Certainly in the last while, the last two or three months, there’s some kind of a dispute going on. There seems to be a group of drug dealers trying to move an established group of drug dealers out. Who they are exactly no one knows.”
He said Ottawa gangs are not well-defined factions.
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“They are not that organized. The real connections, whether you want to call them Crips, Bloods or whatever, are familial. It’s groups of brothers, cousins, relatives from the same originating country or village that are working together. Whether they call themselves Bloods or Crips . . . they’re working together against other familial groups.”
Addelman said the refusal of victims to talk to police isn’t always enough to stall the investigation.
“It’s almost always evidence based on surveillance cameras from a nearby bank, or the (Tanger) outlet mall will have surveillance, or independent witness, or based on recovering the firearm that can be linked to the slug in the guy,” he said.
In fact, today’s police do get co-operation, he says.
“Nowadays the police have cultivated a huge network of informants. There’s less honour among these guys and less abiding by the traditional organized crime ethos. There’s no doubt it was harder decades ago to break down these organizations.”
But he warns that as years pass, “violence is more routine. It seems to me they resort to violence quicker.”
tspears@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
And how does he know?
“I represent them all. I know who these guys are. I can’t sit here and say names, but I know.”
As Ottawa grows and the addiction to crack cocaine spreads, he says the drug trade is growing more lucrative.
“It is such a scourge, such an addictive substance, that it has taken hold in so many of our neighbourhoods that the stakes have gone up,” he said. “When the stakes go up, the money stakes, so, too, do the violence stakes.”
He also believes the number of illegal guns is growing.
The city isn’t more dangerous for the overall public, he said. “These are targeted shootings,” though still dangerous for passersby in public places.
“Certainly in the last while, the last two or three months, there’s some kind of a dispute going on. There seems to be a group of drug dealers trying to move an established group of drug dealers out. Who they are exactly no one knows.”
He said Ottawa gangs are not well-defined factions.
Related
- Police to add detectives to gangs unit after day of two shootings
- The challenges police face when shooting victims won't talk
- Illegal guns in Ottawa smuggled from several U.S. states
- Editorial: Ottawa's year of shootings
- Timeline: Some of the 48 shootings reported in Ottawa this year
“They are not that organized. The real connections, whether you want to call them Crips, Bloods or whatever, are familial. It’s groups of brothers, cousins, relatives from the same originating country or village that are working together. Whether they call themselves Bloods or Crips . . . they’re working together against other familial groups.”
Addelman said the refusal of victims to talk to police isn’t always enough to stall the investigation.
“It’s almost always evidence based on surveillance cameras from a nearby bank, or the (Tanger) outlet mall will have surveillance, or independent witness, or based on recovering the firearm that can be linked to the slug in the guy,” he said.
In fact, today’s police do get co-operation, he says.
“Nowadays the police have cultivated a huge network of informants. There’s less honour among these guys and less abiding by the traditional organized crime ethos. There’s no doubt it was harder decades ago to break down these organizations.”
But he warns that as years pass, “violence is more routine. It seems to me they resort to violence quicker.”
tspears@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
