Skip to main content

Jackie Tran, who has been fighting deportation since 2004, is free in Calgary

Jackie Tran, who has been fighting deportation since 2004, is free in Calgary after an immigration official again ruled that he did not break his release conditions.The Canada Border Services Agency argued on Friday that Tran, 26, was a flight risk and a danger to the public, and so should remain in custody until a decision is rendered in his deportation appeal.However, Geoff Rempel of the Immigration and Refugee Board ordered Tran, whose birth name is Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen, released from custody."Your mother's decision to move can't be held against you. You did not breach the terms and conditions," Rempel said on Friday.Calgary police allege that Tran broke the condition of his original release that required him to live with his mother in McKenzie Towne. He was arrested on Wednesday.The detention proceeding heard that Tran's mother, Laura, moved to an apartment subsidized by the Calgary Housing Company because she was preparing for the possibility her son could be deported.Jackie Tran told the board that his mother could not afford the current home they were living in if he left, so she applied for housing with the Calgary Housing Co. After months on a waiting list, she was approved for a subsidized apartment and moved to the northeast.Laura Tran also moved so she could take care of her daughter, 9. Child protection services officials had told her the girl was not allowed to live in the same residence as Jackie Tran.Tran is awaiting a decision on an appeal of a deportation order that was originally issued in 2004, after he collected two convictions for drug trafficking and one for assault with a weapon. He is a permanent resident who moved to Canada in 1993.Calgary police allege that Tran is a gang member and poses a risk to the public because of previous attempts on his life by rival gangs.
Gang investigators have testified that Tran is linked to several people who have been killed or hurt in gang-related attacks. Police believe at least 12 homicides in the city since 2002 are linked to the gang feud.Tran, who denies being part of a gang, was arrested in October for allegedly breaking his curfew at a Kensington bar, but the IRB ruled that a Calgary police officer misidentified him on the night of the supposed breach.On Friday, border services officials asked the IRB to impose extra terms and conditions on Tran's release, including:Random searches of his person, vehicle and home. Prohibition on possession of knives, unless Tran is in his home or a restaurant. A phone landline that Tran must answer if police call during his curfew of 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. However, Rempel rejected that request, saying that Tran's current conditions are working well."I'm unwilling to add any more terms and conditions including ones that would have him waiving fundamental charter rights," Rempel said. He also amended the terms so Tran no longer has to live with his mother.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club compound,Ronald B. Campbell,Andrea G. Reeder,Dylan C. Grose,William C. Casteel.arrested

Four people were arrested on suspected drug charges, including the group's leader.Methamphetamine was found at the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club compound at West 19th Avenue and South Gum Street. Benton County Undersheriff Paul Hart said they needed so many officers as a "precautionary" step because the Gypsy Jokers are known to be connected to drugs and other criminal activities."It is an outlaw motorcycle gang with convicted felons who reside there," Hart said. "We gear up to meet that threat."Some stolen property and a couple of weapons also were seized, he said. The Violent Crimes Task Force, made up of federal agents and local police detectives, raided the club house and two homes at 5 a.m.The Benton County Regional SWAT team and the Yakima SWAT team were used to help search all the buildings."Because of the large site ... it makes it difficult to secure and make sure everybody is safe," Hart said. "The Violent Crimes Task Force ... ...

William (Billy) Bowden pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom today to carrying a firearm in a careless manner in January 2007

William (Billy) Bowden, 33, pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom today to carrying a firearm in a careless manner in January 2007 and skipping out on his preliminary hearing about a year later. Other drug and weapons charges related to the 2007 incident were stayed as part of a plea bargain securing the two convictions. Bowden remains in custody though, charged with manslaughter in relation to the November 2007 killing of Jeff Engen, who was fatally stabbed at the Empire Cabaret, prompting the club to close. That charge remains before the courts. Bowden has been in custody since he was arrested Feb. 14 in Whistler, B.C., and returned to Manitoba. The Crown and defence jointly recommended that time be noted in his sentence for carrying the firearm. That crime occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 20, 2007, as Bowden was leaving the NV lounge in a truck with friend Ken Houston, court heard. Police discovered a Glock 9mm handgun loaded with 18 bullets in a pile of garbage close to where the...

Oak Park gang member charged in the shooting death of one of his homeboys while they were out on a retaliation attack in rival territory.

Closing arguments began today in the murder trial of a reputed Oak Park gang member charged in the shooting death of one of his homeboys while they were out on a retaliation attack in rival territory.Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz said as many as 30 shots were fired in the June 27, 2005, broad-daylight shooting on Della Circle in the Florin area. One of the shots fired by defendant Denishio Demmitrius Collins, 26, killed David Perkins, 22, one of the eight gang members from the Oak Park Bloods who filled three cars in the assault on a rival Crip set, according to Ortiz."This wasn't an in-the-dark sneak attack," Ortiz said. "These were people who said 'screw it' - this is our war and we're going to bring it to your streets." After the shooting, the Oak Park gang members dumped the dying Perkins out of one of their vehicles and left him to die, Ortiz said."He was left on a sidewalk to die by his homeboys," the prosecutor said. Their m...