Owner of problematic Kamloops house raided Monday by police says he will evict tenants if charged

Photo: Tim Petruk

The half-duplex at 990 13th St. was the site of a police raid on Monday night and has been the centre of neighbours' frustrations for years.

The owner of a Brocklehurst home that was raided Monday by heavily-armed police — a property that has bothered neighbours for years — says he will evict the tenants if they’re charged with a crime.

Gurmal Sangha’s pledge to get rid of trouble tenants is little comfort to neighbours in the area of 990 13th St., though, who say they have been dealing with problems related to the half-duplex for nearly a decade.

An RCMP emergency response team surrounded and then raided the home just before 7 p.m. on Monday. Police said they seized drugs, weapons, cash and stolen items. Three people were arrested and later released pending the outcome of the investigation.

“If the police charge them, then I will deal with those people,” Sangha told Castanet Kamloops on Tuesday morning.

“If they are doing something bad, then I will evict them. I’d have to.”

Some neighbours along 13th Street say they have been frustrated by the property for years.

“From kids almost getting hit by cars with seemingly intoxicated bizarre driver incidents, shootings related to the home, people passing out/doing drugs in front lawns less than a block from an elementary school, drug dealing, bike chop shops and more,” one neighbour told Castanet Kamloops.

“This craziness has been going on for more than eight years.”

Another neighbour called the house “a crack house.”

“That’s how we refer to it,” she said.

Kamloops Coun. Bill Sarai said 990 13th St. has been on the city’s radar for years.

“I feel for the neighbours,” he said.

“I get the frustration they’re facing when you see multiple individuals coming with bikes and foot traffic and car traffic, and it’s obvious there’s drug dealing and criminal activity going on at the house.”

Castanet Kamloops asked the city whether the duplex has been deemed a nuisance property. The city has not responded to the query.

Sarai said the city’s good neighbour bylaw, under which properties are declared to be a nuisance, can be an effective tool in dealing with owners of problematic residences. He said bylaws and police can bill the owner directly for calls for service once the nuisance tag has been placed on a property.

“It can be quite the hammer,” Sarai said.

Sangha said he is hoping to get more information about the goings on at the duplex.

“I just heard five to 10 minutes ago that police had a raid on those people,” he said.

“That’s all I know. I’d like to find out what’s going on there.”

The police investigation following Monday’s raid is ongoing. No charges have been laid.