Police appeal to violent drug enforcer's victims

With a violent drug dealer behind bars on charges of manslaughter and assault, Vancouver police are asking the man's other potential victims to come forward.

Jermaine Anthony Carby, 30, is charged in the stabbing death of Gerald Haakmat, 50, who was found June 1 in Oppenheimer Park. Carby is also charged with assaulting two women in the Downtown Eastside last month.

Police link Carby to a group dealing drugs and retribution off the streets surrounding the park where he's better known as "J.C."

Police believe there are more victims who are too afraid to come forward, so they took the "extraordinary step" of releasing Carby's photo during a press conference Wednesday.

Carby uses several different street names, said Vancouver police Insp. Brad Desmarais. "By releasing his photograph we will have a better chance of learning valuable information that will help move forward additional ongoing investigations."

Carby, who lives in Surrey, has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2000 in Toronto. Desmarais said the man has had 110 "contacts" with the Vancouver force and charged 28 times.

''Cause if I talk, next thing you know, you won't see me no more.' —Johnny Gulbrandsen

"He is one of the most well known street-level enforcers in the Downtown Eastside, with a long history of violence, drug trafficking and drug possession," said Desmarais.

The inspector highlighted the fact that people in the Downtown Eastside fear reprisal for talking to the police and that many are "suffering at the hands of ruthless drug dealers."

With Carby locked up, Desmarais added: "Now is the time for the community to have a voice, and fight back against the fear and intimidation that these drug dealers thrive on."

Johnny Gulbrandsen, who sat on his bike listening to the police news conference, said Carby is not the kind of man people like to talk about: "'Cause if I talk, next thing you know, you won't see me no more."