The executive director of Genesis House is calling last week’s targeted shooting near the halfway house “pretty stunning” and a “complete surprise.”
On June 30, cops were called out to the 300 block of Carnarvon Street, where an injured man was found. The victim, Steven Porsch, was known to police and had been residing at the halfway house since April, according to the organization’s Robert Chesterman.
“I think this was a very random event and we don’t have all the facts in yet, so we’ll definitely look at if there’s something we can do to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” he told the Record, adding Porch was on his way to work at the time of the shooting.
Porsch’s criminal record involves commissioning a string of arsons, some targeting the properties of Abbotsford businessman Paul Esposito, whose property losses were in excess of $9 million, according to court documents. A third party had hired Porsch to carry out the arsons for “business purposes,” and he was to be paid between $5,000 and $7,500 for each blaze.
As part of a sting operation in 2005, police recovered 40 firearms from Porsch, including six machine guns, one assault rifle and nine silencers. Police paid $138,400 for the lot, money that was never recovered.
Court records reveal Porch’s mother described him as “perfect” and as a role model for youth to emulate.
“However, Porsch admittedly led a double life that shielded his family from his criminal activities that began when he was about 15,” states a court of appeal document.
Chesterman said if Genesis House had known someone was trying to kill him, he would have never been accepted into the facility.
“(We) had no idea,” he said. “The thing is, people with gang affiliations, they do go to prison and then they come out. The community residential facility we operate, the idea is we transition offenders back into the community, we monitor the conditions the Parole Board of Canada sets and try to make a successful reintegration into the community.
“We try to be very good neighbours here, so it’s obviously a pretty stunning, awful thing to happen and like I said, if there’s anything we can do to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again, we will.”
Meanwhile, Coun. Bill Harper said residents shouldn’t feel unsafe, noting the neighbourhood is a stone’s throw away from the police department.
“(Residents are) not in jeopardy,” he added. “This person was probably in jeopardy given the past circumstances of his life.”
Harper said a similar incident like this has never happened in the Royal City. He said he trusts the National Parole Board to do its job and work with agencies like Genesis House.
Police continue their investigation into the Carnarvon Street shooting and are asking any witnesses to come forward by calling 604-525-5411. The last update on Porsch was that he was in critical condition in hospital.
