Man on Canada’s most wanted list caught living in state

A Canadian fugitive has been extradited to Ontario to face murder charges after he was caught living under an alias in Hartford in March, officials said.

Kensworth Alton Francis, 29, of the Bahamas, is facing two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with a 2022 shooting incident at an Ontario nightclub which left two men dead, according to Deputy Matthew Duffy of the U.S. Marshals Service.

On July 23, 2022, an argument occurred at the ATL Lounge in Vaughn, Ontario, around 3:30 a.m., officials said. Following the argument, a man allegedly took out a handgun and began shooting, according to officials.

As officers arrived at the scene, they located two security guards — Tosin Amos-Arowoshegbe and Chibueze Momah — suffering from gunshot wounds, officials said. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.

A woman was also shot at the lounge but was transported to a hospital and survived, officials said.

York Regional Police Homicide Unit detectives identified Francis as the suspect but were unable to locate him, according to officials.

The York Regional Police, in partnership with Canadian authorities, U.S. Marshals, the Hartford Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were able to develop information that led them to Hartford, according to Duffy.

“On March 26, pursuant to an arrest warrant obtained in response to a provisional arrest request from Canada, the U.S. Marshals District of Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force, along with marshals from the District of Maine, Hartford police officers and Hartford SWAT, apprehended Francis, who was living under the alias John Johnson, at a residence in the 60 block of Magnolia Street,” Duffy said.

During the arrest, law enforcement officials allegedly seized a short-barrel assault rifle fixed with an extended magazine, 20 rounds of 5.56 ammunition, a .45-caliber Glock handgun, a .45-caliber Glock handgun converted with a fully automatic switch, three extended pistol magazines and 89 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition, according to Duffy.

Francis was detained and transported to the federal courthouse in Hartford for arraignment and charged with being a fugitive from Canada, Duffy said.

Francis waived extradition at his initial hearing, according to Duffy.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut handled the extradition proceedings.