Red Scorpion gangster facing new gun and drug charges was a Hells Angels associate when he was arrested and charged in July 2005 as part of the massive police undercover probe that targeted the notorious biker gang.
Abbotsford police are now looking for Jason William Brown, 35, after he was formally charged Tuesday with two counts of possession for the trafficking of both cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as possession of a restricted weapon and possession of a firearm while prohibited.
Brown was convicted in 2007 of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and handed a four-year sentence. He also got a 10-year ban on owning a firearm, which was still in effect when police found a 9 mm handgun and ammunition at his Aldergrove residence during a raid last week.
Brown was described by police after his arrest in the "E-Pandora" biker investigation as "an associate of the East End Hells Angels."
But his current affiliation is with the Red Scorpions, a mid-level drug gang involved in a deadly war that has seen eight of its associates killed since May 2008.
Also charged with Brown Tuesday is 24-year-old Terra Lynn George. Neither has surrendered into custody though police have heard from their lawyer.
George was charged in Kelowna in August with refusing to provide a breath sample.
Brown has a lengthy history with police, according to the provincial court data-base. He has several convictions for driving while prohibited and impersonation, as well as his E-Pandora conviction.
Abbotsford Const. Ian MacDonald said that during the search on Nov. 12, police found two kilograms of cocaine with a value of $80,000, about a kilo of methamphetamine with a value of $25,000, a 9 mm handgun, a loaded magazine, boxes of ammunition, two bullet-proof vests, Red Scorpion paraphernalia and approximately $12,000 cash.
The fact that someone once associated to the Hells Angels is now a Red Scorpion is not surprising, Sgt. Shinder Kirk, of the Integrated Gang Task Force, said Tuesday.
"The allegiances often shift within the gangs," Kirk said.
And those involved in organized crime are usually willing to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, regardless of gang affiliation.
Despite some high-profile arrests last spring, including charges against five Red Scorpions in the Surrey Six slayings, police say the gang is still active.
In September, two others with links to the Scorpions -- Michael O'Brien and Mohamed Amarhoun -- were charged with trafficking after a police raid on their Mission house.
Police found a jacket with a huge Red Scorpion logo on the back over a map of the world -- the same logo was discovered on clothing in Brown's house last week.
The Red Scorpion gang was founded in 2000 by a number of teens in a youth detention centre. It has evolved as a mid-level gang running crack cocaine lines across Metro Vancouver.
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