Ruling clears way for gangster to be extradited to Canada
United Nations member accused of killing rival in B.C.
After more than 12 years away from home — most of it on the run — a United Nations gangster has been ordered extradited to face murder and conspiracy charges in B.C.
Conor D'Monte was charged in January 2011 with the first-degree murder of Red Scorpion gangster Kevin LeClair as well as conspiracy to kill brothers Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon and others in their gang.
But before he could be arrested, D'Monte vanished. He was finally tracked down in February 2022 hiding out in Puerto Rico, where he had built a new life under a fake name.
On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marshal D. Morgan said in a 41-page ruling that the summary of the evidence supplied by Canada against D'Monte met the threshold for extradition based on a treaty between the two countries.
“The Government of Canada's extradition request contains sufficient evidence of probable cause on each of the criminal charges for which the Government of Canada seeks D'Monte's extradition,” Morgan said. “The court finds that all of the requirements for certification of extradition have been satisfied”
He highlighted details of the evidence Canada says it has against D'Monte, much of which has already been heard during B.C. Supreme Court proceedings involving other UN gangsters.
Morgan noted former UN gang members later co-operated with police and testified against co-accused who have been convicted.
One of the witnesses said D'Monte had recruited LeClair into the UN gang, but that LeClair later switched sides to the Red Scorpions.
“LeClair became a threat to the UN gang and was referred to by other members of the gang as `Traitor',” Morgan noted. “Because of his intimate knowledge of the UN gang's activities, LeClair became a high-priority target for murder by members of the UN gang. Those UN gang members who became witnesses for law enforcement said that the UN Gang offered a monetary reward for LeClair's murder.”
LeClair was gunned down outside a Langley strip mall on Feb. 6, 2009.
UN hitman Cory Vallee was convicted of first-degree murder in the case in 2018. Other UN gangsters pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kill Red Scorpion targets over several months in 2008 and 2009.
“Witnesses saw two males attack LeClair with firearms. One shooter had an AR-15 assault-style rifle, while the other shooter had a semi-automatic pistol. Both firearms were recovered at the scene,” Morgan said.
The Canadian summary of evidence also stated D'Monte “acted as the coordinator who ran all the hit teams and dispensed all the information by encrypted messages on a BlackBerry device to enable attacks on the Bacon Brothers and their associates,” Morgan's ruling said.
He said the co-operating witnesses described attending meetings during the murder conspiracy period. In one of the meetings, “D'Monte was chosen as the new leader of the UN gang.” In others, “the gang discussed organizing itself
into smaller cells which were to operate separately from each other when actions impacted the entire gang. This reorganization was purportedly done with D'Monte's permission.”
Morgan said that while D'Monte told the court he rejected the facts in the evidence package, he did not provide any evidence of his own.
“D'Monte's attempts to poke holes at the evidence — including in the extradition package — are ineffective and, at best, would constitute inadmissible contradictory material,” Morgan said.
“Having reviewed the record and the evidence before this court, and after hearing from the parties during the extradition hearing, the court accepts as true the facts as they were presented by the Government of Canada, as the court must,” Morgan said.
If no appeal is filed, D'Monte is expected to be back in Vancouver within 60 days.