Canada, Slain Gangster defended

OFF THE WIRE
BY: CHRIS KITCHING
Source: winnipegsun.com
Kachkan ‘misrepresented’: family

Fed up with inaccurate reports and speculation, loved ones of a former gang member fatally shot this week say his name is being wrongfully dragged through the mud.

Daniel Benjamin Kachkan’s wife and relatives are upset people are writing off his death because of his turbulent past and overlooking the fact he had a family and friends who loved him.

“He loved his family. His family was his everything and he loved us with all he had,” his wife Paddy Kachkan said Wednesday.

Kachkan, a father of two teens, was found dead by a family member — not his wife — in his North Point Douglas home Monday, loved ones said.

He was shot in the back of the head, sources said.

His family declined comment on the investigation. No one has been charged.

Sources said Kachkan, 34, was a former president of the Zig Zag Crew, a street crew for the Hells Angels’ Manitoba chapter, but was kicked out.

Sources believe the homicide is gang-related and said police are exploring whether Kachkan knew and trusted the person or people who killed him, and whether his death has anything to do with several things — including Kachkan being charged and acquitted in a 2005 murder.

Paddy Kachkan said her husband was last in a gang in February 2008.

She was upset by inaccurate reports about their marital status but expected news outlets to dredge up his past, including his gang ties and second-degree murder acquittal.

Kachkan was accused of fatally stabbing Aaron Hannibal, a Zig Zag Crew drug dealer, in 2005 but was acquitted at trial in 2007.

Paddy Kachkan likened coverage of her husband’s death to coverage of his run-in with the law.

“He was misrepresented in 2005, he was misrepresented at trial in 2007 and he’s being misrepresented now,” she said. “He was acquitted of that crime and as far as I’m concerned when you’re acquitted, you’re not guilty.”

Kachkan’s death occurred at a time when Winnipeg police officers are being warned about the potential for a rise in gang-related violence. An internal memo advised officers of the Rock Machine motorcycle club’s arrival in Winnipeg.

Sources said officers were warned the club’s members are likely armed and may target rival Hells Angels members and associates.

Several Winnipeg members of the Rock Machine are former Hells Angels associates, sources said.

“For whatever reason, it didn’t work out for them so they’ve switched criminal allegiances,” a source said.

Daniel Benjamin Kachkan's family members released the following statement Wednesday:

Who was Daniel Benjamin Kachkan?

The family is sad to say due to the grief no statements were given immediately and the media was forced to draw from the past.

We all have a past, just some more colorful (sic) than others.

We would like you to know that Danny was a loving husband, father, son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin.

Danny was greatly loved by his family and his many friends and he will be sadly missed by all who truly knew him.

Police are asking anyone with information about Kachkan’s death to call detectives at 986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 786-8477 (TIPS).