Just last week, I broke the story about UBC sex assault suspect David Singh Tucker found dead in his cell at Surrey Pretrial after a suspected drug overdose. While now another inmate has died while in the care of B.C. Corrections.
Homicide investigators are on the case. They’re not releasing the name of the 25-year-old, who died after an altercation with his roommate. If I can get the name, I’ll update my story.
Inmate at Surrey Pretrial jail dies after altercation with cellmate
A 25-year-old inmate at Surrey Pretrial jail died early Thursday after an altercation with his roommate the night before.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is now in charge of the case.
IHIT media officer, Cpl. Meghan Foster, said she won’t release the name of the victim even though his family has been notified about the tragedy.
“At this time, releasing the name of the victim does not further our investigation. Should the circumstances of the investigation change and require the release of the victim’s name, it will be done so at that time,” Foster said.
Surrey RCMP was called just after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday about “an altercation between two cell mates at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre,” she said.
Foster said correctional officers intervened and separated the victim from his 22-year-old cellmate.
“The victim was transported to hospital as he sustained extensive injuries during the altercation. Despite all medical efforts, the 25-year-old male victim succumbed to his injuries just before 1:30 a.m.,” she said. “IHIT has consulted with Crown Counsel regarding charges, but homicide-related charges have not yet been approved.”
There have been rising violence levels in provincial jails over the last few years. B.C. government statistics provided to The Vancouver Sun last fall showed 893 incidents of prisoner violence in 2014 and already 953 by the end of September 2015. More than 90 per cent of the attacks were by inmates on other inmates, with the remaining attacks by inmates against staff.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, which represents guards in the province’s jails, has repeatedly blamed the increasing violence on a combination of overcrowding and more gang inmates being locked up awaiting trial.
Last April, Neil Leslie died in hospital after he was beaten in a living unit at North Fraser Pretrial Centre. In February, Adam Palsson, 27, was beaten to death at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre where he was serving a 13-month sentence for stealing a car and driving dangerously.
There have also been suicides and fatal overdoses among B.C. Corrections inmates this year, including the death last month of David Singh Tucker, the suspect in several University of B.C. sex assaults. He also died in Surrey pretrial.
Foster said both the victim in the latest case and his roommate were awaiting “court appearances on separate matters. Neither of the males knew each other prior to their incarceration.”
Homicide investigators are working with the Surrey RCMP, the forensic identification team, pretrial staff and the B.C. Coroners Service “to help piece together the factors that led up to the altercation, and subsequent death of the male victim,” Foster said.
I am already away on holidays and left without putting a few of my latest stories on The Real Scoop, so I’m doing that now since I haven’t had much internet here on Hornby Island.
Of interest to many readers is the fact that Surrey will soon have a new head Mountie for the detachment. The RCMP and the city are both involved in the selection process.
Here’s my story from Friday:
Surrey’s search for a new police chief is down to three
As drug gang and gun violence continues in Surrey, city officials and Mounties have shortlisted three candidates to lead the country’s largest RCMP detachment.
Mayor Linda Hepner said Thursday that a new top officer is expected to be in place by Sept. 15 to take over from Asst. Commissioner Bill Fordy, who is now the Mountie in charge of the entire Lower Mainland region.
Hepner said three people have been shortlisted for the challenging job.
“We completed last week the panel interviews of potential candidates,” she said in an interview.
The three finalists have been sent now for “psychometric testing,” which involves assessing their personality profiles, critical thinking skills and leadership styles.
Hepner wouldn’t identify those on the shortlist for the job to lead a force of 804 officers and 300 municipal employees.
While the candidates are being asked about how they would respond to ongoing gang and gun violence, that is not the only issue on the table.
“There are many, many factors that you need to consider,” Hepner said. “You want to know municipal police experience. You want to know major crime experience. You want to know media experience, because it all comes into play. I don’t think there’s any of those elements that take precedence over another. They are all equally important.”
She also said Fordy has done great work in the area of community policing and outreach — something she wants his successor to continue.
“I have been very happy with what Bill has brought in relative to community policing,” she said. “So I am also interested in community outreach experience and building on what exists as opposed to starting again.”
Last month, Surrey had three fatal shootings believed to be related to disputes in the drug trade.
On July 31, gangster Sean Christopher Kelly, 27, was shot to death in the 13900-block of Antrim Road. Kelly was once close to gang leader Sukh Dhak, who suffered a similar fate when he was gunned down in Burnaby in November 2012. Kelly had a trafficking conviction and was still involved in the drug trade.
Just a week before, Jatinder (Michael) Johal died after a shooting that police believe was targeting someone else. Johal had no criminal history, nor links to the ongoing gang conflict in Surrey, Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound said at the time.
And on July 4, the body of Brendan Aditya Chand, 27, was found in Surrey’s Bog Park. He had been shot to death two days earlier. Chand also had convictions for trafficking, as well as for shooting a man in the back in Burnaby in 2011.
Surrey RCMP Cpl. Scotty Shumann said that as of Thursday, there have been 51 gunshot files opened in Surrey so far this year.
“Just slightly more than 50 per cent of the 51 reports are known or believed to be associated to the drug trade,” he said.
In July, Surrey Mounties checked 176 vehicles, made eight arrests and seized 25 assorted weapons, Schumann said.
Hepner said she is happy with the work being done by Surrey police to tackle the problem.
“When you’re dealing with gangs, you are also dealing with who’s coming up to the plate when somebody goes down,” she said. “Every time you uncover something under one rock, there’s another rock to look underneath as well. It is always developing.”
I have written a number of stories over the last 18 months about the increasing violence in B.C. jails.
There were two deaths just days apart last week.
Here’s my follow up story which was written for Saturday’s newspaper:
B.C. Corrections officers’ union says jail violence on the rise again
The union representing B.C. Corrections officers says the latest death at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre is part of the escalating violence in the province’s jails.
Dean Purdy, of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, said inmate-on-inmate attacks were up 42 per cent in 2015 over 2014.
And violent incidents by inmates against staff members were also up 39 per cent over the previous year.
Purdy said no 2016 statistics are available yet, “but we know they’ll be higher.”
On Thursday, 25-year old Johnny Murphy died from injuries sustained in an altercation with his cellmate the night before.
Postmedia has learned Murphy was in the segregation unit at Surrey Pretrial, but still shared his cell with another inmate who he had not previously met.
Correctional officers intervened in the fight and the victim was rushed to hospital, where he died early the next morning.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is probing the death. But no charges have yet been laid.
There have been several similar deaths in B.C. jails this year, as well as suicides and fatal overdoses.
Purdy said the increasing number of gangster inmates has made the institutions particularly volatile.
“The demographics and profile of the inmates in custody has changed dramatically over the past five to 10 years. There are more gang affiliated inmates in our jail than ever before. And 30 per cent of the inmate population have mental health issues,” he said.
Union leaders met with senior WorkSafe officials on June 20 “where we identified these very issues and put them on notice that changes need to be put in place to protect our officers and create a safer environment,” Purdy said.
He said the number of his members filing post-traumatic stress disorder-related claims has also increased.
Wednesday’s fatal altercation “is another example of a traumatic incident that our officers have to view or witness. And we’ve also seen, with the increase in violence, an increase in PTSD claims.”
Purdy said attacks on staff members at Surrey Pretrial have increased this year. There were 24 assaults on officers in all of 2015, while there had already been 25 attacks reported by the end of June 2016.
“That’s a real concern for us. That’s the reason why we’ve met with (WorkSafe)” he said.
The latest death at Surrey Pretrial came just a week after David Singh Tucker, charged with several sex assaults at the University of B.C., was found dead in his cell in the same institution of a suspected drug overdose.
B.C. Corrections official Amy Lapsley said in an emailed statement Friday that “staff and inmate safety are the paramount priorities in our correctional centres.”
“The process of maximizing the safety of each individual inmate begins on admission, and continues through ongoing risk assessments and related decisions about inmate placement. Notably, steps are taken to mitigate any identified risks of self-harm, as well as any known conflicts between inmates,” the statement said.
“Still, the reality is that many in custody have mental health issues, gang affiliations and violent criminal histories. As well the number of violent incidents each year can vary as inmates counts fluctuate — and in fact, our inmate count has been rising since the beginning of 2015.”
This was an interesting story we learned about from an interim ruling by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
A woman identified only as C claims she was discriminated against by VanCity credit union when she was fired because of her then-boyfriend’s criminal links. She had no record and she has since split with the guy, but VanCity investigated her connections to him and let her go back in 2014.
There’s no final ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal. Nor has a hearing date been set.
Here’s what we know so far:
VanCity employee fired for criminal boyfriend, files human rights complaint
A former VanCity employee has filed a human rights complaint against the credit union alleging she was unfairly dismissed because her boyfriend at the time had criminal links.
The woman, identified only as “C” in the case, says VanCity discriminated against her “on the basis of family status and marital status.”
No hearing date has been set.
But the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal recently ordered C to pay $2,500 towards VanCity’s legal costs after her lawyer improperly used documents provided by VanCity for a separate complaint filed by C against the Victoria Police Department.
VanCity sought to have C’s complaint dismissed because of the conduct of her lawyer Terrence Becker.
VanCity would not discuss the case.
‘VanCity takes the protection of all human rights very seriously, including those of our employees, members and the community at large. As this matter is before the Human Rights Tribunal we are unable to comment on the specific details of this case,” vice-president John Allen said in a statement.
In a July 29 ruling, tribunal member Norman Trerise refused to throw out the complaint, but did agree that Becker had “engaged in improper conduct.”
Trerise laid out some details of C’s human rights complaint in the ruling.
“The complaint relates to C’s termination by VanCity on the basis of her common-law association and financial benefits potentially received from a former partner engaged in criminal activity,” Trerise noted.
“VanCity denies that they discriminated against her, submitting that it would have suffered undue hardship if they were required to continue to employ C.”
C claimed that VanCity officials “aggressively interrogated” her on Sept. 25, 2014 “about her knowledge and involvement of the criminal actions of a former partner in life.”
“It is alleged that, at the end of this meeting, VanCity collected C’s access card and escorted her out of the workplace and told her that she was not to return to work indefinitely,” Trerise said.
“It is further alleged that, on October 14th, 2014, VanCity terminated C’s employment based upon her `direct common-law association and financial benefit from a known criminal offender.’”
C’s lawyer received documents from VanCity’s lawyer in November 2015 along with instructions that he was not allowed to pass them on to any third party.
The VanCity lawyer said that if Becker didn’t agree to keep the material confidential, he should return it to the credit union without making any copies.
But Becker turned around and provided the material to the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner to support C’s “complaint filed against members of the Victoria Police Department,” Trerise noted in his ruling.
By handing over the documents, Becker “compromised practice and procedure of the tribunal significantly and did so in the face of clear warnings,” Trerise said.
“The submissions of Mr. Becker reflected no remorse for the aforesaid improper conduct and, indeed, attempted to justify it. Such actions must be dealt with seriously so as to deter others from similar misconduct.”
But Trerise said it wouldn’t be appropriate to dismiss C’s human rights complaint.
He said he would have ordered a larger fine but C “probably has an impaired or non-existent income at this point.”
Trerise also agreed to C’s request to have a ban on her name.
“C has satisfied me that there is a very real potential for interference with future employment arising out of the publication of her information and the information of her ex-partner,” he said. “Given the circumstances that C has, on the information before me, never been charged with complicity in the criminal activity of her ex-partner, I am prepared to grant the application to anonymize her and her ex-partner’s names.”
OPCC deputy commissioner Rollie Woods said Friday that he couldn’t comment on C’s complaint against the Victoria Police “due to confidentiality provisions in the Police Act.”
Several young men have been arrested and charged in connection with the on-going violence in Surrey. As I said, I am out of town on vacation, but thought I would at least post the news release for you as there’s been lots of interest in this issue:
Here it is:
Surrey RCMP News Release – For Immediate Distribution
File: 2016-103687
Date: 2016-08-08
Title: Multiple charges and arrests connected to conflict
Surrey RCMP continues to make progress investigating those involved in the violence that has been occurring in Surrey over the past five months. We have arrested six individuals who allegedly had intentions of discharging a firearm at two houses in the city of Surrey.
Through the course of the investigation into the drug-related conflicts in Surrey, a number of individuals were strategically targeted by police. Recently, information was obtained that individuals had plans to commit an act of violence using a firearm. Together with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-BC) and the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT), the Surrey RCMP was able to prevent multiple shootings and subsequently arrest the individuals.
The following individuals have been arrested as a result of this investigation:
• Manpreet Michael JOHAL, 24 years old from Delta, Conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of reckless discharge of a firearm x 2
Himmat Singh VIRK, 18 years from Surrey, Conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of reckless discharge of a firearm x 2
Baltej Singh GILL, 18 years from Surrey, Conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of reckless discharge of a firearm
Randeep Singh JOHAL, 18 years, from Surrey, Conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of reckless discharge of a firearm
Baltej GILL had been previously arrested and charged with four firearms related offences.
Surrey RCMP have arrested six individuals who allegedly had intentions of discharging a firearm at two houses in the city of Surrey.
A young offender, who was also previously arrested on four firearms related charges, is co-accused in these matters and cannot be named due to his age at the time of the offences.
A sixth man has been arrested and cannot be named, as charges have not yet been approved.
“I believe that the arrest of these individuals has prevented further violence from occurring in our city,” says Assistant Commissioner Bill Fordy, Lower Mainland District Commander and Acting Officer in Charge of the Surrey RCMP. “Public safety remains our priority and we are fully committed to not only disrupting violent activity, but conducting in-depth investigations that can assist in the advancement of prosecutions.”
Since March, in excess of 30 arrests have been made and 15 firearms, along with thousands of rounds of various ammunition and body armour, have been seized in relation to the conflict and its associated crimes. These arrests are a part of Surrey RCMP’s on-going overt and covert enforcement action to proactively and strategically target those individuals involved in the drug trade and its resulting violence. The combined efforts of the Surrey RCMP and CFSEU-BC have led to a decrease in the number of shots fired incidents in the past four months.
“Effective policing strategies in BC must include law enforcement partnerships across jurisdictions and we continue to support the Surrey RCMP in our collective fight against groups and indidivuals who pose the greatest risk to public safety in British Columbia,” said Chief Superintendent Kevin Hackett, the CFSEU-BC’s Chief Officer. “Those who continue to involve themselves in gang and violent activity need to understand that we will relentlessly pursue you with all our ability until you decide to end your gang life.”
Police are appealing to the public for further information on any criminal activities of those who have been recently arrested. Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.
It has been more than two years since we first heard Abbotsford Police talk publicly about a violent conflict between two groups of young men in the Townline Hill area of West Abbotsford.
Police have held public forums, put up security cameras and worked to gather enough evidence to secure charges against those involved.
So far, no one has been charged in three murders linked to the conflict – the fatal shooting in October 2014 of 18-year-old Harwin Baringh, the murder a year ago of Ping Shun Ao, 74, who was struck by a stray bullet meant for his neighbour and the fatal March 2016 shooting of a 22-year-old man while outside a house on Hawthorne Avenue.
But more charges have been laid against two other men after gang investigators seized guns and drugs while doing bail checks on suspects on Aug. 25.
Here’s my story:
Two Abbotsford men face gun and drug charges
Two Abbotsford men alleged to be involved in the violent Townhill gang conflict are facing new gun and drug charges.
Mini assault rifle seized by CFSEU officers on Aug. 25 in Abbotsford
Gagandeep Singh Sandhu, 23, has been charged with unauthorized possession of prohibited weapon, possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized, possession of a prohibited weapon with ammunition and possession of a controlled substance.
And Sukhvir Singh Sidhu, 24, is facing a single count of possession of a controlled substance.
The latest charges were approved after officers with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit checked up on suspects involved in the conflict to ensure they were adhering to bail conditions on Aug. 25.
“Upon arrival at a residence in the 3200-block Sisken Drive, the uniform team members discovered marijuana in plain view in an open garage,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said in a news release. “While conducting the curfew check, the officers also noticed an assault rifle. The two men in the house were arrested and the residence secured.”
40 calibre handgun seized Aug. 25 by CFSEU
After obtaining a search warrant for the house, police found an AR-15-variant semi-automatic rifle, a .40 calibre handgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, brass knuckles, as well as bags containing pot, heroin and fake oxycodone.
“If individuals show disregard for the law and the safety of the public, our officers will be there to ensure that these individuals are dealt with by disrupting their criminal activities and taking their guns and drugs off the streets,” Houghton said. “Having charges approved against these individuals will now hold them accountable for their actions which have negatively impacted the residents of Abbotsford.”
Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said his department “has utilized a variety of measures to suppress violence and to curtail incidents related to the Townline Hill conflict. We will continue to partner with CFSEU and our citizens to make our city safe.”
He said Monday that so far 35 people have been charged in connection with the investigation into the conflict.
The conflict is named area around Townline Road where two groups involved in the drug trade have been battling since 2014.
MacDonald said there have been 38 acts of violence linked to the conflict, including three fatal shootings.
I have written a few stories now on the Randhawa brothers – three Richmond men who are all longshoremen and members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
He got his job back despite pleading guilty to possessing 107 kilograms of cocaine in California in 2008. Brother Alvin, also a longshoreman, agreed to be extradited to New York several months back, where he was also facing charges that he was part of a cross-border drug ring. He has now pleaded guilty.
And youngest brother Arun, who has no criminal record or charges against him, is fighting the federal government to get security clearance so he’ll have access to more longshore jobs on Vancouver’s waterfront. His case will be in the Federal Court of Canada in January.
Vancouver longshoreman pleads guilty to cocaine conspiracy in New York
Just as his elder brother before him, Vancouver longshoreman Alvin Randhawa has pleaded guilty to being part of a cross-border cocaine smuggling ring.
Randhawa entered the guilty plea on Aug. 15 in Buffalo, New York, to a single count of conspiracy to export cocaine from the U.S.
The 35-year-old faces a mandatory minimum jail term of 10 years. A date for sentencing has not been set.
His brother Alexie, also a Vancouver dockworker, was arrested in California in 2008 with 107 kilograms of cocaine and pleaded guilty. He served four years in prison before returning to Canada and his job at the Port of Vancouver.
A third longshoreman brother, Arun Randhawa, is fighting the Canadian government after he was denied the security clearance needed for some port jobs because of the smuggling allegations against his brothers. His case will be heard in the Federal Court of Canada in January.
In the latest U.S. case, Alvin admitted that from July 2010 until May 2011, he conspired with others to possess and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in the U.S.
A large shipment of cocaine was seized from his Canadian group on Sept. 8, 2010, his plea agreement documents say, after which Alvin Randhawa and two others “began planning future smuggling runs from the United States to Canada.”
“These plans, which included retrofitting a false compartment into a tractor-trailer for the purpose of smuggling cocaine, resulted in a smuggling run in May 2011,” the documents, obtained by PostMedia, say. “Randhawa recruited an individual from Vancouver, British Columbia, to complete the false compartment.”
The person who made the secret compartment is not named in the U.S. court documents and has since died.
U.S. authorities later intercepted the tractor-trailer with 26 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside to be distributed to “customers” of Alvin Randhawa and his associates.
Investigators believe the sophisticated organization used several international bridges, including ones in the Buffalo-Niagara region, to smuggle approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine during the course of the conspiracy. One conspirator had a warehouse rented in California where the cocaine was placed inside the made-in-Vancouver compartment.
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul said in a news release after Alvin Randhawa pleaded guilty that the “case represents a success against another major international narcotics trafficking organization — this time operating in Canada.”
“We will continue to work with all of our law enforcement partners to protect the threat posed by these dangerous substances.”
He said U.S. authorities worked with the Canada Border Services Agency, Ontario’s Peel Regional Police and Toronto Police during the investigation.
Government lawyer Michele Charles said Transport Canada was within its rights to deny Arun the special security clearance, even though he has no criminal record and denies any knowledge of his siblings’ criminal activity.
“The applicant was denied a marine transportation security clearance when it was discovered that, among other things, he remains in contact with his two brothers, both of whom are alleged executive members of an Indo-Canadian organized crime group who specialize in the trafficking of drugs across the Canadian-American border,” Charles said in her documents.
“There are some situations where the security of Canadian ports take precedence over an individual’s right to a marine transportation security clearance. This case is such an example.”
The general public may not have heard much of the Murphy twins – David and Ryan – 42-year-old brothers who were involved in the United Nations gang for years. Neither had a criminal record before Tuesday though they both now admit they earned their living as drug traffickers for many years.
Now they are both convicted of knowingly and unlawfully participating in, or contributing to, a criminal organization – the United Nations gang – for the purpose of enhancing the ability of the criminal organization to commit the indictable offence of conspiracy to commit murder.
Obviously it’s a very serious offence. Yet the two former gang members got just two years in jail after voluntarily offering police all the evidence needed to convict them.
B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen was told that Ryan left the UN in 2009 while David was appointed gang leader in 2011 after another Conor D’Monte fled the country. David Murphy also quit about two years later.
The guilty pleas came just four days after another UN gang associate pleaded guilty before the same judge to playing a role in the 2012 murder of Independent Soldier gangster Randy Naicker. He got five years.
UN gang twins sentenced to two years for roles in Metro Vancouver murders
Longtime United Nations gang twins David and Ryan Murphy, 42, admitted in B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday that they helped their criminal organization commit the murders of Jonathan Barber in Burnaby and Kevin LeClair in Langley.
Both twins were handed just two-year sentences, despite being part of the plot to kill the notorious Bacon brothers and their associates over several months in 2008 and 2009.
Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen heard that the twins were nearby when Barzan Tilli-Choli blasted Barber with an AK-47 provided by David Murphy, while Ryan was at the scene of LeClair’s fatal shooting by Cory Vallee using a machine gun that David had been safeguarding.
They each pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and unlawfully participating in a criminal organization — the UN gang — “for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a criminal organization to commit the indictable offence of conspiracy to commit murder.”
Lawyers for the Murphy twins and Crown prosecutor Gordon Matei made a joint submission for the two-year terms, noting there was no evidence against the brothers until they provided incriminating statements to the RCMP earlier this year.
Matei also provided Cullen with two sealed documents that he said were a key part of the recommendation for the light sentences.
Cullen said that normally the twins’ admitted crimes would warrant more serious charges and a tougher penalty.
“It is sufficient to note that although the two offenders played no direct role in the killing of the two victims, they clearly and knowingly played roles supporting the undertaking,” Cullen said. “Ordinarily one would expect a more serious offence and a harsher sentence to be pursued in cases such as this where wanton gang violence has resulted in two deaths.”
But Cullen imposed the two-year sentences, noting there are “exceptional circumstances in this case which have resulted in these proceedings.”
Both Murphys joined the UN gang in the early 2000s and were involved for years in the drug trade before eventually leaving the gang.
Matei read an agreed statement of facts that provided new details about the nights Barber and LeClair were murdered.
It said the UN had been warring with rivals Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon over drug turf since 2003.
“Members of the Bacon group began to plot to kill members of the UN gang, particularly then-leader Clay Roueche,” Matei said. “Members of the UN were also trying to kill the Bacons and their associates.”
The conflict “escalated dramatically” on May 8, 2008 when popular UN member Duane Meyer was gunned down in Abbotsford in a suspected hit by the Bacon side.
“Roueche requested that all UN gang members join together to find and kill the Bacons and or their associates. Both David and Ryan Murphy joined in the hunt on the evening of May 9, 2008,” Matei said.
Clay Roueche in recent photo at Coleman Prison, Florida
“Together with Jesse Adkins, another UN gang member, David and Ryan Murphy went out looking for the Bacons in Adkins’ Tahoe. In the Tahoe were two loaded AK-47 machine guns which belonged to David Murphy.”
The trio met other UN members in Burnaby where they had spotted a Porsche and a Jeep Cherokee that they believed Bacon gang members were driving.
In fact, the Porsche had just been picked up by Barber, who had no gang involvement. He was simply installing a stereo for Bacon. His girlfriend was driving the Jeep.
The UN gangsters took off in pursuit. Adkins and David Murphy were in his Tahoe with Tilli-Choli in the back with the AK-47s.
UN member Troy Tran and Ryan Murphy were following in Tran’s car.
“Tilli-Choli then opened fire first into the passenger side of the Cherokee and then into the Porsche,” Matei said.
Barber was killed and his girlfriend seriously wounded.
On Feb. 6, 2009, UN gangster Cory Vallee and David Murphy “were hunting for the Bacons,” Matei said.
They met up with Ryan and an associate named Nico, before David left to pack drugs. The others spotted LeClair entering a Langley restaurant. Adkins — the driver from the Barber murder — showed up as they awaited their target. When they saw the Bacon pal again, Adkins and Vallee ran up to him and fired, Matei said.
Adkins carried a handgun that jammed. Vallee used a mini AR 15.
Jamie Bacon, left, and Kevin LeClair, in an undated photo
“The mini AR 15 used to kill LeClair was a firearm David Murphy had been storing for another UN gang member in a safe in Adkins’ residence. It was taken without David Murphy’s knowledge,” Matei said.
The Crown also read part of a victim impact statement from Barber’s father Michael.
“The grief and loss experienced since his shocking death, his violent murder, has had a profound effect on so many family members, close friends and work associates that it pierces the very soul of one’s being,” he said. “No parent should experience the death of a child. The loss through unexpected accident of illness is bad enough. The absolute unnecessary lost through a violent killing by others is unfathomable.”
Barzan Tilli-Choli
As for the others mentioned in court Tuesday, Tilli-Choli earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kill the Bacons and was sentenced to 14 years. Vallee is awaiting trial for two counts of murder, while Tran has also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Adkins is believed to have been killed in Mexico. Roueche is serving a 30-year sentence in the U.S. for drug trafficking and money laundering.
I just received parole board documents for two people who’ve had United Nations gang links over the years. Both are getting out of prison. And both have had special conditions imposed by the Parole Board of Canada.
Ion Kroitoru, aka Johnny K-9, was denied parole last year when he applied to be released. He was of course pleaded guilty, along with several UN members and associates, in July 2013 to conspiracy to kill the Bacons and their associates.
But now Kroitoru is getting out, but with some special conditions imposed.
And Roy Kenshin Lee, a convicted killer and admitted friend of UN founder Clay Roueche, was granted day parole with special conditions.
I wrote about Lee’s earlier application to attend a special trauma course a few months back. I learned from his latest parole documents that he never got to attend the course. I also learned that he requested that a certain reporter (unnamed but I think it’s me) not be allowed to attend his parole hearing.
Two UN gang associates released from jail with special conditions
Two men with links to the United Nations gang will be released from prison, but with special conditions imposed by the Parole Board of Canada.
Ion Kroitoru, also known as Johnny K-9, has been ordered to live in a halfway house and not to have any contact with gangsters or criminals.
The colourful former wrestler, biker and bit actor pleaded guilty in 2013 to conspiracy to murder the Bacon brothers and their Red Scorpion associates, and was was sentenced to 13 years minus time spent in pretrial custody. He was up for statutory release in August.
The Parole Board said in an Aug. 16 decision that Correctional Service of Canada staff requested the special conditions for Kroitoru, who was a close associate of UN gang founder Clay Roueche.
The board said Kroitoru, 53, needed to be in a “community correctional centre” or “community residential facility” approved by the Correctional Service.
“The board is satisfied that, in the absence of a residency condition, you will present an undue risk to society,” the written decision says.
The written decision details Kroitoru’s lengthy criminal history even before he was charged in the B.C. murder conspiracy.
United Nations gang associate Ion Kroitoru
“Your file clearly documents the history of assault, extortion and drugs. File information notes that you have worked as an enforcer and debt collector for an organized crime family and that you were the subject of a criminal investigation in a double homicide. Charges were withdrawn in that case. You were also the president of a notorious motorcycle gang,” the ruling says.
“Your file reveals a man that engaged in a criminal lifestyle for over 20 years, associating with like-minded individuals that possessed entrenched criminal attitudes and pose a very real risk to public safety.”
Kroitoru has completed programs to aid his reintegration, the board said.
“You indicate you are a changed man and you ask for a chance to prove it.”
And convicted killer Roy Kenshin Lee, also a friend of Roueche, has been granted day parole after almost 28 years in prison.
But Lee, 51, will also be required to live in a halfway house and follow other special conditions including “not to associate with any person you know or have reason to believe is involved in criminal activity.”
Lee was convicted of the1987 murder of a criminal associate in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Earlier this year, the Parole Board granted Lee permission to take a two-month trauma program at a Metro Vancouver halfway house.
But his most recent parole documents indicate he was later denied access to the program after The Vancouver Sun reported details of his March hearing – including that Lee’s mother refers to Roueche as her “godson.”
In the board’s most recent ruling, it said Lee’s “risk is not undue on day parole” and that he had demonstrated good behavior in prison in recent years and had taken counseling programs.
But board members also said they were “very concerned about the extreme gravity of the murder and your criminal history including your involvement with sophisticated criminals and organized crime.”
“The Board further notes that in the most recent psychological risk assessment, you are assessed high risk for violent and general reoffending.”
While on day parole, Lee must also abstain from drugs and alcohol, continue counseling and provide details of his finances to his parole officer.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announce Thursday that a murder charged had been laid in a fatal shooting from last April.
The accused Daniel Fabas has a criminal history and knew the victim Dave Williams.
Here’s my story: Murder charge laid in fatal Fraser Valley shooting earlier this year
A Chilliwack man has been charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his associate earlier this year.
Daniel Joseph Fabas, 34, was already facing firearms charges after Dave Williams was found dead in a residence on Princess Avenue on April 18.
But Fabas was also identified by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team as a suspect in the murder, Cpl. Meghan Foster said Thursday.
“In the four months that followed, investigators pursued leads and followed up on the tips and information received from the public to further the investigation. On Aug. 16, 2016 Crown Counsel approved a second-degree murder charge against Mr. Fabas,” Foster said.
She said tips from the public helped the investigation move forward. And she credited other agencies for their assistance in the murder case.
“This investigation highlights the importance of evidence retrieval and the commitment from IHIT to stay on course even long after a suspect has been arrested,” she said.
Fabas has a criminal history in the Fraser Valley.
He was convicted of two breaches of court-ordered conditions in May 2009 and got 10 days in jail. In June that year, he was convicted of possession of stolen property and resisting a police officer. He got a month-long sentence. Then in September, 2009, he was convicted of escape from lawful custody and break and enter and got another 10-day sentence.
He will appear in court on Sept. 6 on both the murder charge and the firearms counts.
Williams, 33, was also known to police.
He had convictions for assault and breaching court-ordered conditions.
At the time of his murder, he was facing charges of uttering threats, using a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm related, possession of stolen property and break and enter. A warrant was issued for his arrest just four days before his murder.
The 27-year-old was facing one count of occupying a vehicle knowing a firearm is present. That charge is still on the books but will no doubt be “abated” – which is the term used for suspending charges when someone has been killed or died.
Mojica was found fatally wounded just after midnight on Aug. 12 in the driver’s seat of his girlfriend’s white Dodge Charger. He was a few blocks from his home in Northwest Calgary.
In other court news, my colleague Keith Fraser was at B.C. Supreme Court Friday where Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen ordered Glenn Sheck released on $500,000 bail pending his extradition hearing in January.
Chris Iser was arrested in Vancouver’s Kensington Park in October 2010 as Gang Task Force members descended on him and several other gangsters in the Knight Street park that day. They had all just been to a memorial service for Gurmit Dhak, gunned down a few days earlier.
And police believed they were plotting to take revenge. They seized firearms and both Iser and a man named Mike Shirazi were charged and later convicted in separate trials of possessing prohibited firearms. Iser got a five-year term.
He was in Matsqui Institution for less than a day when he was jumped in the prison yard, sustaining life-altering injuries. His mother is now caring for him full-time. Interestingly, the attack happened on the first anniversary of the slaying of rival gangster Jonathan Bacon.
B.C. Supreme Court released a ruling Wednesday allowing his lawyers to get more disclosure from the Correctional Service of Canada for the case.
My story is below:
I also suggest you read this one by my colleague Keith Fraser on Justin Haevischer getting just 20 months in jail for helping dispose of evidence for the Surrey Six killers:
Prison must provide more documents in suit by injured gangster
Officials with the Correctional Service of Canada must provide more information to lawyers for a gang-linked inmate permanently injured in a 2012 prison attack.
B.C. Supreme Court Judge Peter Voith said in a ruling released Wednesday that Christopher Iser’s lawyers were entitled to more information for their lawsuit against the Attorney General of Canada and officials at Matsqui Institution.
Iser, an associate of the United Nations gang, remains brain damaged in a wheelchair after the Aug. 14, 2012 beating in the yard at Matsqui. No one was ever charged in the attack.
Iser’s sister filed the suit, citing the ongoing care he will need because of his injuries.
The case is set for trial at the Vancouver Law Courts next June.
But both sides have been battling over what should be disclosed by the other party before the trial.
Voith ordered Matsqui officials to provide details of what they knew about Iser’s gang links and those of his associates prior to the beating and “whether Corrections was aware in 2012 that there had been a number of assaults on UN gang members or affiliates by other gangs.”
“Within a day of being transferred to Matsqui, he was severely beaten by other inmates while he was in the day yard and he suffered various serious injuries,” Voith noted. “It is central to the theory of the plaintiff’s case that Mr. Iser was a gang member and that Matsqui was, at the time, an institution populated and controlled by members or associates of rival gangs.”
He also ordered CSC to provide any list of gang inmates that existed in Matsqui around the time of the assault.
Iser’s lawyers were also looking for the identity of the 20 or so inmates that were in the yard at the time of the beating.
CSC lawyers had argued those inmates’ names could not be provided because they had protection similar to that of confidential informants “on the basis that the safety of those individuals, if it were known that they had communicated with the prison authorities, would be at risk. They would be ‘rats,’ ” Voith said.
But Voith pointed to a video from the day of the attack provided by the government to Iser that shows the faces of the inmates who were in the prison yard. He ordered the CSC to provide the names requested.
Government lawyers are also entitled to more information from Iser, Voith ruled.
They must be provided with details about his family court proceedings, as well as a full list of doctors and specialists he’s seen since the attack.
Iser, 32, was attacked on the first anniversary of a Kelowna shooting that killed Red Scorpion boss Jon Bacon.
Iser was sentenced in April 2012 to five and a half years in jail after he was caught in Vancouver’s Kensington Park in October 2010 with a loaded, semi-cocked Ruger handgun. Police were watching him and others who gathered there after a memorial service for slain gangster Gurmit Dhak.
The Crown asserted at Iser‘s trial that the meeting was to plot a retaliatory hit on an enemy gangster linked to the Dhak’s execution days earlier.
Homicide investigators told us Sept. 2 about a double shooting in Chilliwack that left a 52-year-old woman dead and a young man fighting for his life.
Now we have the identity of the woman and police want to know where she was in the hours and days before the shooting.
I have talked to at people who know the young man, who has gang links and is from Abbotsford. He is still in critical condition. I will write more about him later.
Abbotsford Police are also reporting today that they’re investigating another suspicious death in the Valley.
Const. Ian MacDonald said in a news release this evening that Abby PD got called about 10:40 a.m. about a dead male in an outbuilding of a rural property in the 35000-block of Fore Road.
“APD Patrol Division officers and Major Crime Unit detectives arrived on scene. The initial indications suggested the death to be suspicious in nature and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) was contacted,” MacDonald said,
“APD investigators will be working with the coroner and will continue to consult with IHIT until a cause of death is determined. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225, text us at 222973 (abbypd) or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.”
Police looking for information on Chilliwack murder victim
Homicide investigators want the public’s help in determining what a Chilliwack murder victim was doing before her fatal Sept. 2 shooting.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed that the 52-year-old woman who died as Diane Kathleen Johner.
Cpl. Meghan Foster said investigators want to track her movements in the hours and days before her death.
Joyner was in the 48000-block Chilliwack Central Road with a 23-year-old male when the shots rang out.
He was taken to hospital in critical condition and she died at the scene.
Diane Kathleen Johner
“While investigators believe Miss Johner was an acquaintance of the surviving victim, the relationship, or motive for her shooting, is not clear,” Foster said.
The other victim, a former MMA fighter from Abbotsford, has gang links though no criminal convictions.
“Investigators believe that Miss Johner frequented the Chilliwack area in the days leading up to her death,” Foster said, describing Johner as white, 5 foot 7 and 120 pounds.
“She had long, curly blond hair and hazel eyes and on the day she was shot, was wearing blue jeans, white shoes and a dark coloured zip up sweater.”
“IHIT is asking anyone who saw Miss Johner in the area preceding her death, or on the day of the shooting, to contact the IHIT tip line at 1-877-551-4448.”
A lot has been written over the years about the former “little house of horrors” crack shack that police believe was the scene of much violence over several years.
The house, which has since been torn down, is where Annette Allan was tortured and fatally wounded in April 2001.
Her killer? Joanna Lee Larson – another addict – who lived on and off again in the Surrey crack shack.
In 2011 Larson told my colleague Jennifer Saltman that she had turned her life around and was looking forward to a new way of life helping people in Vancouver’s downtown east side.
Surrey crack shack killer getting day parole — again
A convicted killer who pledged to turn her life around has been granted day parole for a third time — after violating conditions on two previous releases from prison.
Joanna Larson, now 45, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the brutal 2001 slaying of Annette Allan in a Surrey crack shack that police has dubbed “the little house of horrors.”
The Parole Board of Canada ruled Aug. 26 that Larson’s risk in the community could be managed as long as she was on strict conditions.
The Surrey crack shack in the 13000-block of 108th Avenue, pictured in January 2002, that was described by police as a ‘house of horrors.’ This building where Annette Allan was tortured has since been demolished.
“Given the lack of violence for many years and your overall progress, improved compliance and strong motivation, the board concludes your risk is not undue on day parole,” the board said in a written ruling released Monday.
Larson let Allan into the notorious crack shack in the 13000-block of 108th Avenue on April 21, 2001.
She stuck her in a chair and accused the Surrey prostitute of “being a rat.”
Victim Annette Allan, who was stabbed multiple times, bludgeoned on the head with a hammer, gagged, weighed down with rocks and dumped in the Fraser River in 2001.
Larson and her co-accused then put Allan in the trunk of a car, pretending to take her to the hospital.
Instead, as Allan tried to escape, they drove her to the Fraser River and “used rocks to weigh the victim’s body down, gagged her mouth and bound her hands behind her back before tossing her in.”
Allan’s body was found six weeks later. The house where she was tortured has since been demolished.
Larson was handed a 13-year sentence after time served, which she began on June 2, 2005.
She first got day parole in 2009 but was sent back to prison for drinking, going unlawfully at large and other parole violations. Victim Annette Allan, who was stabbed multiple times, bludgeoned on the head with a hammer, gagged, weighed down with rocks and dumped in the Fraser River in 2001.PNG FILES
Allan’s family opposed Larson’s release this time around, as did officials from the Correctional Service of Canada who told the parole board her “risk is not manageable on the proposed release plan.”
“They note your problematic history on conditional release … and your ongoing problematic behaviours in the institution,” the parole ruling said.
But the board also reviewed support letters for Larson, as well as her own submission highlighting “the positive changes you have made, your work with the Elders and your release plan.”
Larson has taken responsibility for her criminal history, including the vicious slaying of Allan, the board said.
“You have participated in institutional and community programming to develop an understanding of the factors that led to your offending and how to manage your risk,” the board said.
Larson will not be allowed to drink alcohol, take illicit drugs or associate with anyone she knows is involved “criminal activity and/or substance misuse.” She must follow a treatment plan to deal with her substance abuse issues and past traumas, the board ruled.
And Larson must stay away from Allan’s relatives who live in Winnipeg and on Vancouver Island.
The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office has been open for 10 years, going after the illicit property of criminals through suits filed in B.C. Supreme Court.
To mark the anniversary Thursday, Public Safety Minister Mike Morris staged a photo op in Surrey to crush a bullet-riddled 2003 BMW X5 that was involved in a 2013 shooting.
In the last decade, more than 4,000 cases have been referred to the office, resulting in more than 2,600 forfeitures totalling $65.8 million.
Most of those have been uncontested court challenges. There are still 202 cases before the courts, including the big one involving B.C. Hells Angels from the Nanaimo, Kelowna and East Vancouver chapters. The bikers are challenging the constitutionality of the B.C. law.
“Civil forfeiture continues to have a direct impact on gangs and organized crime,” Morris said. “It detracts from their ability and motivation to pursue drug manufacturing and distribution, as well as related violence that threatens innocent bystanders. But its value to law enforcement and public safety is also in its legacy, as millions of dollars in grants each year support grassroots efforts to keep kids out of gangs, as well as other violence prevention priorities.”
I wasn’t at the Surrey announcement today, but did file this story on an international report assessing Canada’s anti-money laundering efforts.
Police in Canada not ‘following the money’ of crime groups, international report says
Police in Canada are not doing enough to investigate money laundering by more than 650 organized crime groups trying to hide their illicit cash, an international oversight agency says in a new report.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a body that creates standards to tackle money laundering globally, said “Canada is exposed to a very high money laundering threat of both local and foreign origin.”
While various types of fraud were cited as major sources of laundered money, the report said “the proceeds of drug trafficking laundered in Canada are also significant and derive predominantly from domestic activity controlled by organized crime groups.”
“Organized criminal groups pose the greatest domestic money laundering risk, as they are involved in multiple criminal activities generating large amounts of proceeds of crime,” FATF said.
Money laundering is supposed to be a law enforcement priority in Canada.
“But in practice, most of the attention is focused on securing evidence in relation to the (related, more serious) offence and little attention is given to money laundering,” the report says. “Insufficient efforts are deployed in pursuing the money laundering element of (more serious) offences and pursuing money laundering without a direct link to (that) offence.”
FATF says Canadian law enforcement agencies don’t take a “follow the money” approach to investigating organized crime.
“Nor do they initiate a parallel financial investigation, notably because of resource constraints,” the report says.
Those wanting to launder drug proceeds use “businesses that handle high volumes of cash.”
“These include brick and mortar casinos, convenience stores, gas stations, bars, restaurants, food-related wholesalers and retailers and dealers in precious metals and stones.”
And it said that organized crime groups also use some of Canada’s 43,000 no-name ATM machines — known as white-label ATMs — to launder drug money.
“According to the RCMP, organized crime groups use white-label ATMs to launder proceeds of crime in Canada. The money withdrawn has previously been deposited in bank accounts controlled by organized crime groups through third parties.”
These ATMs, located in stores, restaurants, bars and other community locations, are not owned by banks or credit unions and are not subject to regulation under Canadian law, the report says.
Another vulnerability that criminal organization can exploit is “the virtual currency sector” such as online casinos and open-loop prepaid cards.
FATF praised Canadian law enforcement agencies for their close working relationship with police in other countries — particularly the United States, “which is very important in light notably of the extensive border between the two countries, the illicit flows of criminal money, as well as the linkages between organized crime groups active in both countries.”
“Organized crime groups in Canada and the U.S. actively exploit the border for criminal gain, both countries endeavour to tackle this vulnerability through close cooperation and careful monitoring of threats,” the report says. “Illicit proceeds from cocaine sales in Canada are often smuggled into the U.S.”
For the second time in a week, charges have been laid in B.C. based on evidence gathered by controversial community activists targeting suspected child predators.
On Friday, charges were approved against Surrey RCMP Const. Dario Devic. He is facing two counts – one count of communicating with a person under the age of 16 for the purpose of sexual interference or sexual touching, and one count of breach of trust related to this duties. He’ll be in court next month.
The group Creep Catchers claimed last week that a man they filmed was attempting to meet an underage girl. They broadcast their meeting with the man live online.
Given that people want to comment on this, I am posting it.
Earlier in the week, charges were approved against a former B.C. deputy sheriff after a similar sting in Kamloops. Kevin Johnston is facing three counts of communicating with a person believed to be underage for the purpose of facilitating a sexual offence, and one count of invitation to sexual touching.
Courtenay resident Bryce McDonald is going to be sentenced Nov. 7 on firearms charges laid after police raided three locations linked to him almost three years ago.
And while officers found 19 firearms – both restricted and unrestricted – in McDonald’s house and a storage locker he rented, more than 30 other restricted guns he purchased were missing (see the full list below.)
McDonald claimed during his trial that the missing guns might have been stolen after his arrest because police forgot to lock his door when they finished the search. But Justice Robin Baird found that to be ridiculous and untrue.
Interesting though that all McDonald’s convictions are related to the guns police found and how they were stored, but NOT the firearms that disappeared.
‘Strange, and probably sinister’: Dozens of Island man’s guns still missing
Dozens of restricted guns purchased by a Courtenay man are still missing, even though he was convicted of several firearms charges almost six months ago.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robin Baird noted how disturbing it is that so many firearms purchased by Bryce Cameron McDonald between 2009 and 2013 have disappeared without a trace.
“Upwards of 30 restricted weapons from Mr. McDonald’s arsenal seem to have vanished,” Baird said in his ruling in April, in which he convicted McDonald of 12 charges. The ruling was released this week.
Bryce McDonald
B.C.’s anti-gang squad — the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — raided McDonald’s Courtenay house, as well as a storage locker he rented, in December 2013.
Officers found just 19 firearms, both restricted and unrestricted, even though records showed McDonald had purchased 49 restricted guns since getting his licence in the fall of 2009.
Police began investigating the Courtenay man after homicide investigators were tipped off to the location of a bag of guns near 76th Avenue in Surrey on Sept. 17, 2013.
“The RCMP located this bag and one of the three firearms inside it was traced back to Mr. McDonald. He had purchased it, the police discovered, sometime in 2011,” Baird noted in his ruling.
McDonald had never reported the guns lost or stolen, even though it’s mandatory to do so, Baird noted.
“Unsurprisingly, the police began to wonder what sort of gun owner Mr. McDonald might be and started making inquiries about him.”
When McDonald testified in his own defence at his trial, he told Baird that all the missing firearms were in fact in his home when the police searched it.
He suggested that police either took the guns without documenting them or that his house was robbed while he was still in custody because police had left the door unlocked.
“I am afraid that I must reject these implications,” Baird said. “First of all, neither of Mr. McDonald’s theories was put to the various police officers who testified about the search. Secondly, I cannot think of a single reason why the police might have seized the firearms in question and not accounted for them or recommended additional charges.”
Baird also pointed to a comment that McDonald made in a videotaped interview after he was first arrested.
When asked about the missing guns, McDonald said “I know” and appeared to agree it was disturbing the guns were gone.
“I find as a fact that the police did not find the vast majority of firearms registered to Mr. McDonald because they were no longer in his possession. Mr. McDonald alone knows what really happened to them,” Baird said. “Mr. McDonald’s evidence on this subject is an after-the-fact fabrication.”
Baird said it was “strange, and probably sinister” that McDonald claimed to purchase so many firearms “to experience the challenge and exhilaration of learning to handle and fire different makes and models” when so many of the guns are now missing.
“I have already said that Mr. McDonald’s explanation for their absence is nonsense, and frankly I shudder to think where these firearms are likely to have gone,” Baird said.
Baird convicted McDonald in April on 12 charges – including careless storage of a firearm, possession of a loaded restricted firearm and storing a firearm contrary to regulations – all related to a loaded Boberg handgun found in a dresser drawer at his house.
He was also convicted of seven counts of storing other firearms in locations that weren’t authorized by his licence, as well as a single count each of possessing brass knuckles and possessing cocaine.
McDonald is scheduled to be back in court Nov. 7 for sentencing.
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Agency said police were happy to take so many guns off the street during the investigation.
“We seized not only potentially deadly drugs and drug trafficking paraphernalia, but also thousands of rounds of ammunition and various firearms and firearms parts, including a loaded 9mm handgun and sawed-off shotgun,” Houghton said.
“These guns, in the hands of those bent on committing crimes and being involved in or associated to organized crime, put innocent lives at risk. One less gun — let alone 19, as was the case in this investigation — off the streets is a very good thing.”
Houghton wouldn’t comment on the missing 30 restricted firearms, given that McDonald is still before the courts.
At the time of McDonald’s arrest, police said he had affiliations to at least one organized crime group. On Facebook, some of his friends say they are members of the Hells Angels and are wearing colours of the biker gang.
Vancouver Police have determined that a man and a woman found dead in an East Vancouver home Saturday were murdered.
Sgt. Randy Fincham said the pair were discovered just before 10:00 p.m. Saturday police were called to a home on Dieppe Place near Dieppe Drive just off Grandview Highway.
“Upon entering the house, officers found a deceased man and a deceased woman inside,” he said in a release. “Police now believe that the man and woman were murdered and their death is being treated as a homicide investigation.”
Anyone with information about these murders is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
UPDATED MONDAY: Charges have been laid against James Thomas Kreitewolf in connection with the incident at Abbotsford Airport Sunday afternoon.
James Kreitewolf
Charges laid against James Kreitewolf
Kreitewolf faces five counts – three firearms charges and one each of causing a disturbance and possession of a controlled substance. He remains in custody until his next court date Sept. 21.
He has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database. But he was charged in Abbotsford last month with theft under $5,000 and mischief under $5,000. One of his Facebook friends has several photos of himself wearing Hells Angels support gear.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Abbotsford Police were called to the airport there about 3:30 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports about a man with a possible firearm.
Ian MacDonald said in a news release that “the man was observed with a rifle bag when he interacted with airport staff and management.”
Police found the 28-year-old man in an airport washroom, MacDonald said.
“He was taken into custody without incident. Located in his possession was a loaded SKS rifle and ammunition,” MacDonald said. “The investigation into this incident is continuing. Updates will be provided.”
He thanked airport staff, patrons and management for their patience and cooperation during our response to the incident.
We still don’t know if the man had a licence or why he was there in the first place. If I get more details, I’ll post them.
I have been off-line for a couple of days watching the Blue Jays in Seattle (which was very fun!)
But I’m back now and wanted to update you on the arrest of three suspects in connection to a kidnapping and the double murder of a man and a woman in the house on Dieppe Place in East Vancouver Saturday,
Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, Shamil Amir Ali, 22, and Gopal Figueredo, 24, have now been charged with kidnapping without the use of a firearm, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, extortion and aggravated assault.
The three, who have histories with police prior to their most recent arrest, have not been charged with murder.
The VPD released the names of the victims of Saturday’s slaying. They are 24-year-old Xuan Vanvy Bacao and 29-year-old Samantha Le. A four-year-old child was found hiding and physically unharmed in the house.
The VPD also confirmed that there had been a kidnapping from the Dieppe Place house.
“Evidence gathered by police showed that along with the two murders, a man had also been kidnapped from the home. Police believed the murders and abduction were targeted incidents,” Sgt. Brian Montague said in a news release. “Yesterday (Monday) afternoon, across multiple municipalities in the Lower Mainland, police rescued the kidnap victim and took several people into custody.”
The arrests took place in New Westminster.
Unfortunately two bystanders were injured – one seriously – when a police dog bit him. The other bystander, a woman, was injured when the suspect car hit the bystanders’ car.
The Independent Investigation Office is looking into the case of the police dog bite. The other injury was not considered serious enough to warrant an IIO investigation.
Anyone with information about these murders is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
![One of the two photos "Officer Dan" sent to a Creep Catchers decoy who was posing as a 15 year old girl. ORG XMIT: 9hzpIUACi_gSv8Nw9Lf1 [PNG Merlin Archive]](http://wpmedia.vancouversun.com/2016/09/ryan-laforge-the-president-of-the-surrey-chapter-of-creep-c1.jpeg?w=200&h=300)
