CRACK SHACK TORN DOWN

It took a backhoe operator about 30 minutes Monday to tear down a
"house of horrors" in North Surrey where RCMP believe several people
were brutally beaten and at least two were murdered.

As the huge metal claw pulled apart the 1940s-era 600-square-foot
house at 13832 108 Ave., residents of the neighbourhood looked on,
some clapping and cheering as the house collapsed into a tangled mess
of wood, plaster and cheap pressboard siding.

"I'm almost sick with happiness," said a retired woman who lived near
the house.

"It's about time."

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had to place bars
on her windows and upgrade her locks during the two-year-period the
house was rented by Joseph Legassie, 38, and Joanna Larson, 31, the
couple arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the June 2001
death of 28-year-old Surrey resident Annette Allan.

The retired woman believes at least two attempted break-ins at her
home during that time were the work of the drug addicts and hookers
who frequented the home one police officer described as "a little
house of horrors."

Inside, before the wreckers arrived, the interior of the two-bedroom
structure showed signs of a lengthy stay by police forensic experts,
who spent several days taking pictures and DNA samples showing at
least five people were beaten so badly, their attackers left blood
spatters on the wall.

Suspicious dark-brown spots that appear to be dried blood had been
circled with a felt pen for police photos.

In the front bedroom, hooks had been installed in the ceiling, strong
enough to support the weight of an adult.

The room had the most spatter marks, a trail of them about the height
of an adult head, all across the west wall.

In the mildewed, garbage-strewn remnants of the kitchen, someone had
scrawled "when in dowt, (sic) knok (sic) them all out," on the wall
where the phone used to hang.

Investigators believe a still-unidentified male was murdered at the
house, and they are concerned about the disappearance of a third
person, a woman known to hang out at the home.

A crack user who buys from other crack houses in the area told The
Leader that the occupants of the house ripped off an acquaintance for
$50.

"When he came to get (his drugs), a guy with a baseball bat told him
to fS off, or he'd kill him."

"So he came back later (when nobody was around) and stole a ghetto
blaster." The user said the small house appeared to be one of the
larger crack houses operating in North Surrey.

He isn't sure how many crack shacks are in business, but he said he
personally has never had much trouble finding one when he wants to
score. The former heroin addict says he is an occasional user of
crack, and is trying to quit altogether.

"I'm working, right? Lot of people, (using crack) they stop doing
anything, they stop eating, and they get pale and sickly."

As he watched the house collapse in a pile of dust, the man said he
was happy to see it gone, because he could have been one of the
victims. "It was a good feeling (to see it come down)."

The cost of the demolition - $4,000 - was paid for by the owner of the
property, police said.

The public can expect more such houses to come down in the future,
Mounties promise.

Surrey's top police officer is laying plans for an attack on so-called
problem houses in Surrey - the crack shacks, flop houses and hooker
hangouts that contribute to crime rate increases.

"First off, I want them to stop, and second, I want them to move
somewhere else," said Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Jamie Graham.

"Anywhere else but here."

A number of approaches are being considered, Graham
said.

"We're looking at some initiatives to work a little smarter and a
little faster."

Graham said officers already work closely with city bylaw enforcement
officers to control problem houses, but there may be ways the working
relationship can be further improved.

If enough officers can be made available, a task force might be formed
to concentrate on the problem, Graham said.

"We're looking at formulating a specific kind of group - maybe two or
three constables to target nothing but these seedy houses," Graham
said. "It's a question of resources."

Graham said the bulk of telephone complaints to his office come from
residents who are "absolutely at the end of their wits" about a
problem house in their neighbourhood.