JUDGE ORDERS CRIME HOUSE FORFEITED

Proceeds Of Sale Will Fund Forfeiture Office And Crime Prevention
Programs

An East Side house at the centre of a crime wave is the first to be
forfeited in Vancouver under the provincial government's Civil
Forfeiture Act.

The provincial government announced the forfeiture in a news release
Nov. 27--the same day the Courier featured the house and detailed the
mayhem associated with it in a cover story.

"We're very happy with the outcome," said Insp. Brad Desmarais of the
Vancouver Police Department's drug and gangs sections.

The two-storey house at 2780 East 22nd Ave., near Kaslo Street,
generated more than 500 police calls over five years until it was shut
down in September.

Drug dealing, prostitution and serious assaults were crimes committed
inside the house. It was also used as a staging point for robberies.

The four-bedroom house went on the market over the weekend for
$499,000. An online ad at Realtor.ca says the house is being sold "as
is" and the price is based mainly on land value. In addition, there is
a no occupancy permit and the sale is subject to court approval.

The owner, [name redacted], has 30 days to appeal the
sale. The Courier attempted to contact her but was unsuccessful.
Police allege Sullivan is a drug-addicted prostitute.

A man who lives across the street from the house said Monday that he
was glad the property was on the market. The man didn't want his name
published for fear of being targeted by criminals associated with the
house.

"Everything is so quiet now," said the 30-year resident. "As I was
saying to my daughter, 'What a change.' I kept saying to people I
guess the police didn't have enough evidence and it was going to take
awhile. So I guess they got [the evidence]."

A B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered the house forfeited after reviewing
a detailed package of information gathered by constables Mike Drummond
and John Gibbons.

The officers reviewed the call load to the house and met with
neighbours to encourage them to phone police when they noticed
suspicious activity at or around the house.

Police were unable to recommend the house be prosecuted in a criminal
court because Crown prosecutors didn't believe there was enough
evidence to seize it under the Criminal Code.

The file was referred to the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office, where staff
decide "on a balance of probabilities" whether the house was used as
an instrument of unlawful activity.

The house on East 22nd Avenue is one of 31 the VPD has before the
forfeiture office. Most of them are tied to marijuana growing operations.

According to Rob Kroeker, executive director of the forfeiture office,
a forfeiture case can take two months to two years to conclude.

Money from the sale of the house on East 22nd will be used to pay back
the lender of the $220,000 mortgage and the remainder will help fund
the forfeiture office and various crime prevention programs.