A more than decade-old international manhunt for a B.C. gangster wanted for murder has come to an end.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — B.C.’s police anti-gang unit — has announced Conor D’Monte has been arrested in Puerto Rico.
He is accused of murdering Kevin LeClair in Langley, B.C. in 2009 and was the subject of a $100,000 award posted by CFSEU-BC in 2019.
The agency says in 2008 and 2009, B.C. was in the midst of “some of the worst gang violence in its history.”
The two main rival groups, the Red Scorpions and the United Nations, were openly shooting each other’s members and innocent victims were killed in the crossfire.
In February 2009, Kevin LeClair, a Red Scorpions gang member, was murdered in a brazen daylight shooting at a strip mall in Langley.
“While Kevin LeClair’s murder was one of many, it prompted one of the longest and most involved joint investigations in CFSEU-BC’s history, one that continues to this day,” said Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of CFSEU-BC.
CFSEU-BC and Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) collaborated in the investigation into the gang violence and have made, since 2008, 18 arrests and 12 convictions of UN gang members and associates for serious offences, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Conor D’Monte is described by police as a high-ranking UN gang member.
Canadian authorities will now work with Puerto Rican authorities to confirm that the man arrested in Puerto Rico is Conor D’Monte and then, once confirmed, arrange for D’Monte’s extradition to Canada so court proceedings against him can begin.
“CFSEU-BC, IHIT, and numerous law enforcement partners worldwide, with the support of programs like Crime Stoppers and the BOLO Program, have relentlessly pursued Conor D’Monte to hold him accountable for his alleged involvement in the murder of Kevin LeClair and the gang violence that plagued British Columbia for years.”, says Assistant Commissioner Manny Mann, CFSEU-BC Chief Officer.
“The work to hold those accountable for their involvement in violent gang activity and to bring closure to the families of the victims does not end with someone’s arrest. We always knew this day would come and we will now continue our efforts to support the extradition and prosecution.”
