Brother of slain gang member arrested

A reportedly high-ranking Calgary gang member has been arrested for breaching his release conditions after being freed from prison last month.

Roland Yeehung Chin, 25, was arrested Thursday following a traffic stop near his home, police said. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, carrying a folding knife and had a cellphone, which is a breach of his parole conditions.

Acting Staff Sgt. Gord Eiriksson said Calgary police had been closely monitoring Chin since his release from the Bowden Institution on July 13 for drugs and weapons offences.

Chin had served two-thirds of his sentence and was on statutory release, said Darren Caul, a spokesman for the National Parole Board.

Chin was arrested for a blanket violation called "deterioration of behaviour."

"In that, now he's wearing body armour. Perhaps he is rude to the police. There's all these other factors that [the Correctional Service of Canada takes] into account," Eiriksson explained on Friday.

'His brother was murdered last year. He knew that as soon as he was released from prison that he was going to be a target once he hit the city streets.' —Acting Staff Sgt. Gord Eiriksson

"The determining factor in this specifically was the fact that he was interacting with other people known to the gang unit."

Chin's younger brother, Roger, reported also to be a high-ranking member of a gang called Fresh Off the Boat (FOB), was killed in a drive-by shooting last year.

Roger Chin's death was just one of the back-and-forth killings between the FOB and the Fresh Off the Boat Killers (FK) that Calgary has seen in the past several years.

"Gang members understand the fact they're still walking targets," said Eiriksson. "We have said over and over and over again that they're either going to end up back in jail or dead. Obviously Mr. Chin recognizes the danger to his own life.

"His brother was murdered last year. He knew that as soon as he was released from prison that he was going to be a target once he hit the city streets; therefore, he's also a public safety issue for everybody here."

It will now be up to the Correctional Service of Canada to decide whether to return Chin into the community or have the parole board hold a hearing on whether to revoke his parole.

If it is revoked, Eiriksson anticipates Chin would remain behind bars for at least six months.