Three men charged in gangland murder plot
Three Metro Vancouver men linked to the Downtown Eastside drug trade have been charged with conspiracy to murder a rival, Vancouver police announced Wednesday.
Sgt. Steve Addison said the arrests of Vancouver residents Brian Kiraly-Miller and Cameron Oppenheim, and Stefan Janic of New Westminster, are part of police efforts “to stem the tide of gang violence in the Downtown Eastside.”
The VPD’s organized crime section began its investigation, dubbed Project Thunder, last month, after learning of a plot to target a known drug trafficker by rival gang members.
“The alleged conspiracy involved members of the Redd Alert and Independent Soldiers — organized crime groups that are active in drugs, weapons and violence in the Downtown Eastside,” Addison said. “This is a major break in the VPD’s ongoing efforts to reduce gang violence and protect vulnerable people who live in the Downtown Eastside.”
Miller, 26, and Janic, 25, were charged Sunday with conspiracy to commit murder. Oppenheim, 26, appeared in court Wednesday on the same charge. He is also under investigation for his alleged role in a home invasion on Oct. 3 in Vancouver’s West End, Addison said.
For weeks, the VPD has been warning about escalating gang violence in the DTES and around Oppenheimer Park. A number of probes were launched to target organized-crime groups. There have been several shootings in the neighbourhood as well.
“These three arrests have made the Downtown Eastside a safer place, and should serve as a warning to others intent on committing violence in our city,” Addison said. “We are still concerned about the proliferation of gun violence and brazen public shootings that have occurred in the Downtown Eastside. We will continue to focus our efforts on disrupting criminals that perpetuate violence in the neighbourhood.”
Postmedia has learned that the accused also have connections to the Wolf Pack, a coalition that involves some Independent Soldiers, some Red Scorpions and some Hells Angels.
Oppenheim has previous convictions for breaching a court order, uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm and assault.
Kiraly-Miller is scheduled to go to trial in Chilliwack today on aggravated-assault and assault-witha-weapon charges laid after a 2017 incident. Kiraly-Miller was convicted of robbery in B.C. Supreme Court in November 2015 for his role in a Burnaby home invasion during which the victim was held at knifepoint. He was sentenced to just over seven years in prison.
While incarcerated at Ontario’s Collins Bay prison last year, he was convicted of carrying a homemade knife on two occasions and had three months added to his sentence. His lawyer told a judge that he was carrying the weapons only because he believed he was in danger from other inmates. He was later attacked in jail.
Janic has no convictions in B.C., according to the online court database.
In the current case, Janic and Kiraly-Miller also face one count of possession of property obtained by crime.