Convicted drug trafficker launches website highlighting criminal exploits

A well-known convicted drug trafficker in Halifax hasset upa website centred around his own criminal notoriety.

Jimmy Melvin Jr., whose family has been linked to a series of drug-related violent incidents, includingshootings, has launched a website called RealLiveStreetShit.com.

The website features YouTube clips of television news stories about Melvin, 26, and his family set to music.

One of the videos shows Melvin shouting twice to reporters "There are no rats in the Melvin family" minutes after his father was shot at outside of a pizzeria in November 2008.

One video on the site was taken down by YouTube.com for content violation shortly after it was uploaded on Tuesday.

That particular video showed Melvin sitting in a recliner chair and swearing while he held a large amount of cash and dropped bills on the floor one at a time.

At one point in the video, Melvin walks up to the camera wearing only his underwear, turns his backside to the camera to show his scars from gunshot wounds and apart of his colostomy bag.

Family at centre of drug turf war

Police in Halifaxallege the Melvin family is at the centre of a drug turf war in Halifax.

Melvin was released from prison in May 2006 after serving a five-year sentence for assault, conspiracy and drug trafficking.

A year later, Melvin wascharged with a series of crimesrelated to ahome invasion that happened in March2007 in Spryfield, N.S., but the charges were withdrawn after two Crown witnesses recanted their statements.

Melvin remained in jail for nearly two years awaiting trial before he was releasedlast November when the Crown withdrew the charges. He still faces break and enter charges inconnection to a different incident.

Three days after Melvins release, his father, Jimmy Melvin Sr., 48, was injured when he jumped to avoid gunfire outside of Jessys Pizza on the Herring Cove Road. Melvin Sr. was paroled in 2006 after serving nearly half of a 22-year sentence for drug trafficking and assaulting a peace officer.

A day later, someone shot a man in the wrist as he walked in front of an IWK Health Centre hospital in downtown Halifax. Police said the shooting was connected to the pizza shop shooting.

In early December 2008, Melvin Jr. was shot outside an apartment building just off Cowie Hill Road.

Melvin Jr. refused to talk about his website to CBC News. His lawyer, Josh Arnold,said he knew nothing about his clients website.