DRUG SUSPECT SLAIN IN SCHOOL PLAYGROUND

Gun Violence Claims Another Young Man

A man described by a justice source as a "low-level coke dealer" was shot
dead near a school play structure late Wednesday night, the latest in a
rising tide of young men claimed by gun violence.

Police say Wilson Martinez, 20, of Winnipeg was shot once in the head just
before midnight on the Heritage Elementary School playground. The school is
located on Heritage Boulevard, near the corner of Ness Avenue and Sturgeon
Road.

Police have made no arrests in Martinez' death.

He becomes the seventh unsolved gang-or-drug-related killing in the
Winnipeg area since early 2001. Three of those happened this summer. All
but one involved guns.

"I am in shock; what can I say," said Martinez' uncle, Oscar Martinez of
Winnipeg. "He was a nice kid when he was young. When he grew up, life
changed for him."

Yesterday morning, children who attend the Heritage school were shepherded
around yellow police tape as investigators combed the area for any clues to
Winnipeg's 20th homicide of the year.

Residents in the area apparently heard a gunshot and called police, who
later discovered Martinez bleeding from a head wound. One woman said she
watched paramedics try to revive the man for several minutes.

A police canine unit and a group of police cadets searched the area without
success.

Sources say Martinez was associated with a drug ring that competed with LHS
- -- Loyalty, Honour, Silence -- a gang associated with the Manitoba chapter
of the Hells Angels. The prolonged turf war between the two sides has
included drive-by shootings, kidnappings and serious assaults.

Martinez was set to go on trial next month following his June 2002 arrest
for alleged involvement in a crack cocaine ring. In a drug crackdown dubbed
"Operation Zipper," members of the Winnipeg police gang unit arrested
Martinez and several others for their alleged participation in a
"dial-a-dealer" operation.

Martinez lived in an apartment on Hamilton Avenue in Assiniboia, at the far
west end of the city.

A resident of the building who knew Martinez, but did not want to be
identified, said Martinez had lived there about a year, at times with his
girlfriend. Martinez seemed like an ordinary tenant but had many visitors
until around Sept. 1, when he reported his apartment had been broken into
and his rent money stolen, the resident said. Both the police and the
building's management were skeptical about the break-in report, he said.
After the reported break-in, there were few visitors, he said.

Police were also called to Martinez's apartment about two months ago,
following a loud argument between Martinez and his girlfriend, he said.

Yesterday morning, one nearby resident said the schoolyard where Martinez's
body was found is a haven for late-night drug activity.

"I see groups of youths going back and forth to their cars, probably
dealing drugs," said Jim Daly, the caretaker of a Carriage Road apartment
block that overlooks the field.

Const. Bob Johnson said investigators did not know whether the victim's
gang affiliation played any part in his death.

According to court documents, Martinez was released on bail in February
2003 under stringent conditions.

He was re-arrested earlier this summer and charged with breaching one of
the conditions by failing to tell court officials he had changed his address.

Martinez was born and raised in Winnipeg and used to live on Home Street
with his parents, Estebana and Manuel, who moved to Canada from Central
America. Manuel Martinez, who has worked as a truck driver, moved to
Calgary with his wife this summer.

Martinez spent two days in custody before he was released on a new bail
order July 9, which allowed him to continue living at the new address.
Dozens of residents on Heritage Boulevard and Carriage Road described
hearing a loud crack between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

Daly said his wife thought someone had smashed a sheet of glass.

"I went out with a spotlight to check it out, but the police officers were
already there," Daly said. "It's a good thing they found (the body) before
the kids started coming to school. That would have been hell on wheels if
some kid had found it."

Police closed off the school playground and parking lot for the day, and
restricted students and staff to the main front door. Staff met the 180
kindergarten to Grade 5 students as they arrived.

Heritage School kept the kids in at recess, said St. James-Assiniboia
School Division superintendent Ron Weston.

"We did phone all the parents in the morning" because many would start
hearing about the murder before their children got home from school, Weston
said. One mother said she was glad her daughter was in class while police
investigated the scene.

"If they were out of school, they'd be right here, looking over the fence
at all the police doing their work," said Wanda Prefontaine, who lives in a
housing complex at the far end of the schoolyard.

Her 10-year-old daughter had to walk around yellow police tape to get to
the front of the school, and she was met at the doors by staff.

"As interesting as it might be to them, it's just too traumatic for them.
It's probably the main hub of conversation in their classrooms right now,
but it has to be scary for them," she said. "At some point, it's going to
start to sink in that something bad happened." Weston said the division's
crisis response team was at the school early yesterday, but counsellors did
not report any children or staff having a tough time dealing with what
happened on the school grounds.

The police identification unit concentrated much of its effort around the
play structure and a portion of the school soccer field. Two officers
bagged pieces of evidence in the area where the man was found. Later in the
morning, a busload of recruits, perhaps as many as 25, from the police
academy formed a line and searched the school yard.