TAKING BACK THEIR COMMUNITY

Hobbema Residents Fed Up With Living In Fear Of Gangs

Hobbema was thrust into the national spotlight last month when a
toddler got caught in the crossfire of a vicious gang war.

The case horrified Canadians, but no one was more outraged than the
people of the Samson Cree Nation, Asia Saddleback's home reserve.

After years of living in fear of drug dealers, they're fighting back.
In a three-part series that begins today, Sun Media's Andrew Hanon
talks to some of the people who are trying to take back their community.

HOBBEMA -- Sam's eyes darken with outrage when he thinks about what
happened to his 23-month-old niece.

His mind turns to thoughts of vengeance against the two teens charged
after Asia Saddleback was hit in the belly during a drive-by shooting
on April 13 in the countryside just east of the Samson Cree Nation's
townsite.

"There's lots of talk about payback," mutters Sam, a former gangster
who asked that his real name not be used for safety reasons. "But
that's what got us here in the first place."

Sam's old crew is one of 13 competing for its piece of the lucrative
drug trade in Hobbema's four reserves. The 230 or so known gangsters
and their followers have enjoyed a reign of terror over the 12,000
people living in the community 87 km south of Edmonton.

But the shooting of Asia (she is recovering and now lives in Edmonton)
is the first time Sam can remember a small child getting caught in the
crossfire, and it's galvanized the community against the thugs who've
wreaked so much misery upon them.

"People are angry," he says. "It's different this time."

Sam got out of gang life a few years ago, when after several stints in
prison he realized he'd be lucky to see his 30th birthday.

"They kept saying they had my back, but I was always on my own," he
says. "There was no protection."

In order to get out, Sam "took his six minutes," where he had to allow
other gang members to beat him without defending himself for six minutes.

"I don't do anything against them now, but I'm not involved, and they
leave me alone," he says.

After a pause, he adds, "It's just as well. These days, it's way
worse."

Guns are common, he says, but he's seen gangsters use other, even more
sinister weapons.

Once he saw a medieval mace fashioned out of a pool ball wrapped in
duct tape and nails, and attached to a chain.

He recalls a scene at Christmas, when members of the Indian Posse shot
up a house in the Samson townsite that belonged to some unaffiliated
drug dealers.

"The guys in the house started shooting back," Sam says. Neighbours
were pinned in their own homes as the gunfight raged. Eventually, he
says, an RCMP tactical team swooped in and miraculously, no one was
seriously hurt.

Drugs and violence have plagued Hobbema for years, but according to
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darrel Bruno, the situation "exploded" into
outright war between rival factions in 2005.

"At one point in the fall, there were four or five drive-by shootings
a night," says the 25-year veteran of the force.

Things died down after a few months. Shootings are no longer a daily
occurrence, he says, but people still live in fear and police have had
a really tough time getting witnesses to co-operate in
investigations.

But the wall of silence abruptly tumbled down after Asia was
shot.

"Now we're getting a lot of calls and tips," Bruno
said.

So far, police have laid more than 50 criminal charges.

Bruno couldn't say exactly how many individuals have had the cuffs
slapped on them, but added the crackdown is achieving encouraging
results. Everyone who gets charged and then let out on bail is kept
under surveillance.

"If they breach their conditions in any way, they're immediately
arrested and brought in again," Bruno says.

Police are getting extra help from the gangsters' neighbours, who are
also keeping an eye on them and reporting anything suspicious.

"It's really encouraging," says Bruno. "We are definitely seeing the
community becoming more proactive in addressing this issue."