A notorious B.C. gangster who has been on the run for more than a decade has reportedly been captured in Puerto Rico, according to British Columbia’s integrated gang unit.
Conor D’Monte, the former leader of the United Nations gang, was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 2009 killing of Red Scorpion gang member Kevin LeClair, who was gunned down in a Langley, B.C. parking lot.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) said Friday evening it had been “advised” D’Monte was arrested in the U.S. territory.
It said it was working with homicide investigators and Canadian government officials to confirm that the man arrested was D’Monte and then arrange his extradition to Canada.
Local media reported D’Monte was arrested by U.S. federal Marshals Service officers Friday afternoon in the Isla Verde area of San Juan, and that he was living under a false identity.
The LeClair murder came at the height of a violent and highly public gang war between the Red Scorpions and UN gang.
A second man, 24-year-old Jonathan Barber, was also killed in the shooting.
Hitman Cory Vallee was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for pulling the trigger in the slaying, after being captured in Mexico in 2014. Vallee had an appeal dismissed in his case last month.
Meanwhile, D’Monte remained at large, and subject of an international manhunt.
He was the subject of a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, which expired on Jan. 30, 2022. It was not immediately clear if a tip related to that reward was connected to his arrest just weeks after its expiry.