Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jul 2006
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2006, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Shawna Richer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

VIGILANTE VIOLENCE SHAKES SERENE N.B. TOURIST TOWN

Grand Manan, the pretty archipelago in the Bay of Fundy, is typically 
tranquil, best known for its pudgy puffins and mouth-watering lobster.

It's a sleepy tourist destination and, for those who call it home, a 
peaceful place where people are used to leaving the doors unlocked at night.

But residents' anxieties over creeping drug problems in the community 
sparked a violent, vigilante attack against suspected dealers on the 
weekend -- and many are concerned that others will take the law into 
their own hands.

"For the most part Grand Mananers are rational people," Mayor Dennis 
Greene said. "But I believe that people felt they had taken all they 
could take. I hope this was a one-time thing. But I believe it could 
happen again."

What did go down in the midnight hours last Saturday was more fitting 
of the urban jungle or a Martin Scorsese film than of a fishing 
community that lures tourists with its serene seashore.

As many as 50 residents, ranging in age from twentysomething to 
fiftysomething, got together and launched an attack on a group of 
about 10 locals who the vigilantes suspected of dealing drugs from a 
house in the tiny community of Castalia, on the island's eastern shore.

Participants on both sides brandished guns, baseball bats and knives. 
The battle rumbled over four hours into the early morning. Three of 
the island's four RCMP officers were on duty and tried to break up 
what turned into a raging street riot, but they could not stop the 
vigilante gang from setting fire to the suspected drug den. As 
volunteer firefighters worked to douse the flames, the vigilantes 
hurled rocks at them; the house burned to the ground and more than a 
dozen people suffered minor injuries during the fights. Gunshots were 
also fired, though no one was hit.

The RCMP have sent a handful of extra Mounties to the island to help 
with the investigation and keep the peace.

Sergeant Greg MacAvoy said it was too soon to know who among the 
island's 2,700 residents was involved and he wasn't sure whether 
charges would be laid.

"If there are charges we'll deal with it but really we want to help 
the community heal," he said. "It's a lesson in how things can go off 
the rails. You hope that in the clear light of day that people who 
were involved have had time to have a sober second thought and say, 
'Hey, maybe we went a little overboard.'

"It's pretty hard to condone violence of the level that escalated to 
Saturday night. You can understand that people get frustrated and to 
the end of their rope. I'm betting a lot of the people involved in 
this were acting completely out of character. But things don't have 
to get that extreme."

Police said yesterday they took one man who was a resident of the 
targeted house into custody early yesterday on charges not related to 
Saturday's riot or drugs.

"There's some relief with that," Mr. Greene said.

The mayor, who is 63 and moved to Grand Manan from another New 
Brunswick island, Campobello, when he was 10 years old, criticized 
the justice system for handing out lenient sentences to those charged 
with drug offences in the community.

"The police are doing a fine job but we're being let down by the 
justice system, which gives criminals more rights than victims," he 
said. "I've seen drug dealers sentenced to house arrest. Well, what 
do you think happens then?"

The residents, who apparently met to discuss their attack several 
weeks earlier, may have burned an SUV that belonged to one of the 
suspected dealers earlier this month -- "a message that didn't get 
across," Mr. Greene said.

Some members of the vigilante group were parents who suspected their 
children had bought drugs from the targets of the attack. Marijuana, 
crack, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription painkillers are all 
prevalent in the community, said several residents contacted 
yesterday, who also said they were afraid to give their names. One 
man referred to the targeted house as a "crack house."

It has been a rough couple of years for this island that relies 
largely on the fishery and tourism. More than 160 people lost their 
jobs when a sardine plant closed early in 2005, the aquaculture 
industry has been battling a virus, and the spring lobster catch was down.

"I hope people know that this was a one-time thing and that Grand 
Manan is a safe and peaceful place that's open for business," Mr. Greene said.

"This is a way of life we're not used to here. I never locked my door 
at night, but in the last year or so, even if I'm just going a few 
doors away to the hardware store, I will lock my door. With 
unemployment the way it is, sometimes people get into things, like drugs."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman