Halifax Regional Police have arrested a suspect in connection with two homicides that happened in 2016.
Investigators arrested a 27-year-old Halifax man on Friday morning at the Atlantic Institution correctional facility in Renous, N.B.
READ: Police divers back in Dartmouth pond searching for weapon in Tyler Richards’ homicide
Police say they are questioning the man in relation to the homicides of Tyler Richards and Naricho Clayton, as well as the shooting of a 31-year-old man.
Former Halifax Rainmen player Tyler Richards, 29, was found dead at a home on Cook Avenue on April 17, 2016. His death was later ruled a homicide.
WATCH: Former Halifax Rainmen player identified as homicide victim
Two days later on April 19, 2016, Naricho Clayton, 23, was killed in a shooting on Gottingen Street. Police were called to the 2000-block at around 11 p.m. and where they found two men in a vehicle who had been shot. Clayton was pronounced dead at the scene and a 31-year-old man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
WATCH: Exclusive video shows police and EHS responding to a late night fatal shooting on Gottingen Street in Halifax on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
Police made the arrest at 8:37 a.m. on Friday morning. They have up to 24 hours where they can hold and question the person. After that, they either have to lay a charge or release him.
“We can’t identify anybody until the charges have been laid,” said Const. Carol McIsaac.
“Investigations such as this are very complex. There’s a lot of information to gather, witnesses to speak to, evidence to be analyzed but we do have somebody in custody and our investigators’ goal is to bring somebody before the courts in relation to these matters.”
READ: A year after Naricho Clayton’s death police continue to investigate
Person of interest arrested on Canada-wide arrest warrant
Tyrell Peter Dechamp, who was 26 at the time, had been serving a federal sentence for second-degree murder and aggravated assault. In February 2016, he was granted statutory release.
He missed his curfew and failed to return to a halfway house on the night of Clayton’s death, April 19, 2016.
That prompted a Canada-wide arrest warrant, and he was arrested on April 29, 2016 in Ontario.
According to a Parole Board of Canada documents, Dechamp is considered a “person of interest in criminal activities.”
“File information indicates you are a person of interest in two shootings that occurred on April 17th and 19th, just before you went UAL (Unlawfully At Large),” it reads.
READ: Man wanted on Canada-wide warrant has past murder, assault convictions
Just last month, RCMP divers were in the water of Red Bridge Pond off Waverley Road in Dartmouth searching for a weapon in the Richards’ homicide.
Police say evidence directly related to the homicide had previously been found in a wooded area near the pond.
‘People are still grieving’
Quentrel Provo, who knew both Richards and Clayton, says the arrest is a “start.”
“I know a couple people are still grieving and people that miss Tyler and miss Naricho. Those are lifetime things that even justice can’t fix.”
With files from Natasha Pace