SURREY CRACK HOUSE GOES BUT POLICE CITED FOR DELAY

The north Surrey "house of horrors" that police say was the scene of
murders, torture, extortion and drug deals will be bulldozed today,
six months after the city's bylaw office had legal permission to raze
the "crack shack."

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said yesterday he is "pleased that house is
finally coming down."

"Our bylaw people had done all the legal stuff required to take the
house down several months ago but the police said to back off because
they were into a serious investigation there," McCallum said.

"We backed off, because we have all the confidence in the world in the
RCMP and they have to get all the evidence in place."

But an elderly woman who endured a summer of terror from the nearby
crack shack said: "Thank God that Hellhole will be gone, but I wish
the city had bulldozed it last spring. The police may have needed
evidence but it was hell for us to live near it."

Surrey RCMP arrested five people Friday in connection with two
homicides that allegedly occurred in April and in May at 13832 108th
Ave.

Joseph Legassie, 38, and Joanna Larson 31, were charged Tuesday with
first-degree murder in the April death of Annette Allan, 28.

Surrey Cpl. Pete Ross said a "John Doe" was murdered in May in the
house. Police have no name and no body.

Surrey RCMP executed search warrants at the house May 30 and again
Sept. 11, when the house was left vacant.

"I guess people are trying to get at the question,"Did we purposely
let it go as long as we could to see what was happening at that
house?" said Ross.

He noted that Surrey RCMP's narcotics division had "numerous files" on
the 108th Ave. house but the homicide division did not get involved
until May and the May 30 search warrant proved the need to get more
evidence.