SAFETY LAW CLOSES UP VIOLENT DRUG HOUSE

POLICE and provincial officials armed with a court order boarded up a house
on Selkirk Avenue yesterday after evicting its owner and seven other
members or associates of a street gang. It's the first time a court has
issued a community safety order under the Safer Communities and
Neighbourhoods Act, which became law three years ago.

The house at 126 Selkirk was the scene of frequent shootings inside and
out, said Glen Lewis, director of public safety for Manitoba Justice.

Lewis said the home was the centre of a drug trade involving marijuana,
cocaine and crack cocaine.

"This house had an extensive history of police involvement," Lewis said as
carpenters boarded up the property. "There's been multiple complaints."

He said the owner and seven others named in the court order are members or
associates of a street gang. Not all of them were permanent residents, he said.

Under the court order, the house will be closed for 90 days and the
occupants will be barred from returning to it for 12 months. Lewis said he
was unsure if the owner could return after 90 days, but noted he was free
to sell the house and move elsewhere.

He said he didn't know where the eight men had gone, adding the province is
not responsible for finding them places to live.

The province has shut down other homes that have been centres of criminal
activity, but this is the first time a court order was issued because the
eviction and closure involved the property's owner.

The other closures involved tenants only, Lewis said.

Police Insp. Gary Simpson said the house was occupied and frequented by
"low-lifes" who caused numerous problems in the neighbourhood and were
regularly involved in illegal activities.