in Marine

: "= =

Gar-jacking A 21-year-old man was the victim of a violent car-jack-

ging on Aug. 3 at the A&W

@ in the 900-block of Marine Drive in North Vancouver.

The North Vancouver resident had just gone through the drive-thru and was eating in his car when two men approached him at 3.a.m., said North Vancouver RCMP Const. Tom Seaman.

One of the men hit the victim in the face through an open car window, said police. The victim was dragged out of his car. His

q wallet was stolen. The assailants took off in the car.

’ Police say the vehicle was

B found later under the Lions

# Gate Bridge in West Vancouver. ;

‘Fourteen CDs were miss- ing from the car.

} ~— One suspect is described as a 40-year-old Caucasian | weighing 180 lbs, 5°9” with

brown hair. |

The second suspect, who reportedly hit the victim and drove the car away, is described as 21 years old ‘and 160 Ibs. He was wear- ing a white baseball cap.

“ Anyone with information is asked to call North -Vancouver RCMP Const.

‘Jan Daniels at 985-1311 or |

‘CrimeStoppers at 669-8477. — Anna Marie D’Angelo

Hurt hiker rushed tc Lions Gate - A 48-year-old Vancouver - woman used her cell phone to call for help on Monday after severely breaking her ankle on 4 mountain behind Grouse Mountain. - North Shore Rescue - Team (NSRT) members | spent five hours rescuing the woman. The group had to climb 213 metres up a i]. steep mountain. The woman was placed ‘in a helicopter and taken to Cleveland dam where she was transferred to an ambu- _ ance and taken to Lions j| Gate Hospital. NSRT spokesman Gerry Brewer said the woman underwent surgery to her broken limb. ’ She was injured after she ‘slipped while hiking with friends at 3:30 p.m.

Her name was not released to press time.

— Anna Marie D’Angelo

North Van ROMP reenact Mirhad: theatre slaying

By Anna Marie D'Angeto News Reporter dangelo@nsnews.com

A police department that has exhausted its leads in solving a brutal execution-style murder in a North Vancouver movie theatre is turning to the public for assis- tance in solving the crime.

More than five months have passed since the murder of Mohammad (Mo} Mirhadi. And local police, pressing to solve the crime, revisited the murder scene on Tuesday.

Mirhadi, 21, of North Vancouver, was shot in the head on Feb. 28 while he sat in the front seat of a theatre at Esplanade 6 Cinemas, 200 West Esplanade.

The shooter pumped two more bullets, hitting Mirhadi in the neck and abdomen.

Mirhadi was shot while sitting beside his girlfriend. The couple were watching a new gangster movie, Donnie Brasco.

On Tuesday in the same Lower Lonsdale theatre the police reenacted the killing with loud blasts from blanks shor out of a gun.

The reenactment was for a CrimeStoppers segment to air later this month on television.

“Right now, we have almost exhausted all our leads to this point and are hoping for more,” said North Vancouver RCMP Const. Tom Seaman.

During the re-enactment, a police officer of Iranian descent played the part of Mirhadi.

The officer sat in the same spot as Mirhadi while another police officer pointed a gun to his head.

Mirhadi’s actual bioodied theatre chair is locked up in the exhibits room at the North Vancouver RCMP detachment. The exhibits room is where police keep scized items that may be needed for court.

eformers draw sparse NV crowd

By Martin Millerchip

Contributing Writer miller@nsnews.com

THE Reform Party of British Columbia brought its travel- ling leadership show to the North Shore on Tuesday.

It was the main chance for local party members to meet, question and lis- ten to the three nominated candidates set to battle Aug. 30 (ar the Surrey Inn) for Jack Weisgerber’s former role.

But whether it was the sweltering heat of the evening, the Coach House Inn jocation or the time of the year local reformers take their holidays, there were only 50 of the party faithful on hand to greet the candidates.

Yet according to a recent MarkTrend poll, Reform BC has edged out the Liberals as the the most popular party in the province.

Wilf Hanni, John W. Motiuk and Adrian Wade have logged 5,000 kilome- tres across B.C. in the last three weeks as the party seeks, not only to elect a new leader, but to lay the groundwork for a successful election campaign any time in the next three years.

All three candidates pledged themselves to rebuilding party fortunes, clos- er ties with the federal Reform party, and addressing the issue of vote splitting, which they say cost the province the opportunity of replacing socialism with free enterprise in the last provincial election.

But while some questions from the floor dealt with land claims settlement and responsive health care, others zeroed in on how the party could capture media attention and whether any of the candidates would step aside in favor of Gordon Wilson.

Wilson, former provincial Liberal leader and currently head of his one-seat

arty the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA), had been reported to have been discussing election strategies or even mergers with Reform BC.

Noting that Reform had been “to two elections and not won two clec- tions” one questioner asked each candidate point blank “Will you move over?”

Responded Hanni: “I'll take a real long time to answer this. The answer is ‘No.’ ”

Said Wade: “People in this room elect the leader.”

Even more forceful was Motiuk who answered: “I can’t support anyone who has violated one of the 10 Commandments.”

In a private interview with the News Motiuk lived up to his public pledge to be blunt and outspoken.

“{ didn’t come to run for leader to anoint Gordon Wilson as leader six months from now. Anyway, I don’t think he can do it because of the political baggage. You can’t convince the people of this province, particularly the female vote, that he’s honest.”

Meanwhile the sober-suited Wade, the only candidate with election sign- boards at the meeting, appeared the most likely candidate to offer some form of accommodation to Wilson.

“I think Mr. Wilson has a lot to offer. ’ve spoken with him twice,” Wade told the News. Any arrangement we have will not be on the basis of sacrific- ing our principles, but the people of B.C. are asking for the non-socialist groups to get together and we will continue our discussions over a period.”

Wade said he had been discussing the possibility of a riding-by-riding place- ment of candidates to oppose the NDP.

“Perhaps he (Wilson) might not run a candidate in one riding where we

POLICE officers conduct a dramatic reenactment of an unsolved executicn-style CrimeStoppers television segment.

Mirhadi’s planned killing took place in a theatre packed with more than 200 people.

“Someone there has to know what was taking place. Ir was obviously a planned killing,” said Seaman.

Const. Seaman said there are five offi- cers currently working full-time on the Mirhadi murder investigation.

The tips line set up by the North Vancouver Mounties shortly after the mur- der received 100 calls.

Seaman said many of the tips were repeat information and “a lor” of the tps were unfounded.

Mirhadi’s slaying marked at least the fifth violent incident in eight months relat- ing to a loose group of North Vancouver men in their early 20s, some of whom were associated with the Persian Pride gang. The incidents involved gunplay and a car bomb- ing.

Persian Pride member Mani Rezaci was in Vancouver provincial court recenu,' for a preliminary hearing in which he is charged with the artempted murder of Siamak Zahedi.

Zahedi was shot and paralyzed on June 25, 1996, after two men wearing masks entered Zahedi’s home in the 300-block of West 21st Street.

The preliminary hearing for the attempted murder charge began in June in Vancouver provincial court. The hearing has thus far spanned over a four week period of time. It is slated to continue on Sept. 8 for four more days. An additional two weeks of court time have been booked in January.

Information presented at the preliminary hearing is banned from pubii- cation.

Rezaei is charged along with Kamran Gafarghorbani in connection with the Zahedi incident.

Rezaei himself was shot in the head on Nov. 30, 1996, in Vancouver. He was in a coma and on life support. He survived the shooting. Rezaci now experiences muscle and nerve problems.

No one was been charged with Rezaci's shooting.

During the Vancouver preliminary hearing, Rezaci used a wheelchair on occasion and also a walker. Rezaei is in police custody when not in court.

Anyone with information about the Mirbadi murder is asked to call the North Vancouver RCMP at 985-1311 or CrimeStoppers at 669-TIPS.

HEWS photo Paul McGrath

slaying fer a

NEWS photo Cindy Good

REFORM leadership candidates John Motiuk (left), Adrian Wade and Wilf Hanni (right) drew a smail crowd to the Coach House.

might not run a candidate in another riding. “This is more like a date than a marriage. A marriage is more like a merger.”

Wace promised no backroom deal to allow takeover of the party leadership but also offered an intriguing off-the-cuff remark: “Between you and I, two weeks is a long time in politics.”