Vancouver Police are saying they rescued a 29-year-old man from the clutches of people linked to the Red Scorpions and Independent Soldiers after learning he had been abducted.
The following people have now been charged with one count each of kidnapping and unlawful confinement:
Nazfar Mirhadi, age 28, North Vancouver; Demple Brar, age 42, Richmond; Thomas Crawford, age 30, Kamloops; Robert Carr, age 28, Abbotsford; Edmond Gammel, age 24, Surrey; David Tarrant, age 28, Kamloops
...
I have received three sets of parole board decisions over the last week related to convicted gang kidnappers. All refer to special board conditions imposed on the kidnappers upon their release into the community.
As I have previously reported, Randy Naicker was already out on parole when he was re-arrested a couple of months ago for breaching special conditions imposed on him. His statutory release was briefly suspended, according to the parole board decision I ...
As someone on the Real Scoop noted Saturday, Jesse Margison and Troy McKinnon are back behind bars months after kidnapping and mutilation charges were thrown out against them.
Both men and two associates – Van Van Vu and Derek James Stephens – were arrested Friday night in connection with a Nov. 23, 2011 kidnapping and assault in Vancouver. They are to appear in Vancouver Provincial Court Monday morning.
Margison and McKinnon had kidnapping and aggravated ...
One of the men arrested in the Graham McMynn kidnapping, SamVu, was orignally only convicted of unlawful confinement because he wasn’t with his co-accused who grabbed the UBC student back in April 2006.
But the B.C. Court of Appeal sided with the Crown who argued that the act of kidnapping is a continuing offence until the victim is released and therefore convicted Vu.
Now the Supreme Court of Canada has weighed in, agreeing with the ...
A high profile kidnapping trial ended Wednesday with five men convicted on a series of charges and former North Vancouver realtor Naz Mirhadi acquitted on all counts.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce also acquitted the other female charged, Veronica Moncur, saying that while she was with the kidnappers before and after the abduction of Sulaiman Safi, “there is insufficient evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that she was a principal to kidnapping.”
Bruce ...
The news this week of the kidnapping and murder of teen Nichole Cable ,who was lured by a man using a fake Facebook profile broke on the same day I was meeting AVG’s senior security evangelist Tony Anscombe to talk about family Internet safety.
The story was a tragic reminder of the dangers of the Internet – as if we need any reminders with such stories occurring with more frequency along with news of sexual ...
There are few more heart-wrenching stories than those of parental child abductions. Forget the emotional dynamics that drive ex-wives and ex-husbands to use their children as weapons in an ongoing war. The greatest damage inflicted is on little kids, which is why for the past 35 years all but Japan among the developed countries in the world and dozens of others have signed on to the Hague Convention of Child Abduction.
The convention requires signatory ...
For decades, Japan has been a black hole when it comes to parental child abduction. Children taken from Canada by a Japanese-born parent are almost impossible to recover even if the left-behind parent has sole custody orders from a Canadian court.
I’ve written dozens of columns about some of those left-behind parents going back almost a decade. Most recently, I have written about Masako Suzuki whose son was abducted by his father from their West ...
Long-time gangster Troy Dax McKinnon was sentenced to seven years Tuesday after pleading guilty to playing a “significant leadership role” in a 2011 Vancouver kidnapping thwarted by police.
B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen called the plan to kidnap drug trafficker Eric Low “a coordinated sophisticated scheme involving communication by encrypted cell phone and the use of computers and tracking devices.”
Cullen said McKinnon and his pals had expected a big ransom to be paid for Low.
“The motivation for the crime was entirely profit driven,” he said.
He accepted a joint submission from Crown defence that gives McKinnon almost four years credit for pre-trial custody, meaning he has another three years and four months to serve.
Cullen noted that McKinnon, 31, was directing his associates about when and how to place the tracking devices on Low’s vehicles and where to grab their target.
“The offender was aware that the kidnap plan involved acquisition of a firearm and ammunition,” Cullen said. “He was aware of the probability that bodily harm would be caused to the victim when he was kidnapped.”
Gang cops were watching as McKinnon’s associates grabbed Low outside a Blockbusters’ store in east Vancouver on Nov. 23. 2011, pistol whipping him and throwing him into a van.
When police caught up to the kidnappers minutes later, they found Low tied up with zap straps and covered in blood.
McKinnon stood and addressed the court before learning his fate.
“I wish to apologize for my actions and any harm that I caused Mr. Low and his family or the public in general and anything worse that could have transpired by actions,” McKinnon said.
His guilty plea to conspiracy and kidnapping came more than a year after his trial began at the Vancouver Law Courts.
Last month, co-accused Derek James Stephens, 31, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years minus time served.
The trial for three other accused is set to resume in April.
Also named on the indictment is Independent Soldier Jesse Margison who was found unfit to stand trial after he suffered brain damage in a jailhouse beating.
The gang task force had been watching Margison when officers learned of the kidnapping plot.
As the gangsters tracked Low, police were tracking them.
Crown Mark Sheardown said an aggravating factor in the case is the “brazen nature of the kidnapping.”
“It occurred in a public place in the middle of the day when other citizens would be expected to be present, putting a significant risk to public safety,” he said.
“Clearly there is a high degree of planning and premeditation involved in this kidnapping and Mr. McKinnon occupied a central role with respect to that.”
He said McKinnon has had no break in his criminal history over the last 16 years, noting he had even been convicted of assaulting a fellow inmate.
“This illustrates Mr. McKinnon poses a danger whether he is in custody or out of custody,” Sheardown said.
Defence lawyer Darcy Lawrence said that despite McKinnon’s lengthy criminal history, he hopes to work on a business degree while in jail and to turn his life around once released.
“He is an intelligent man and he does have goals and aspirations,” Lawrence said.
A gang associate convicted in a dramatic 2011 Vancouver kidnapping was sentenced to just over six years Friday after pleading guilty to several charges in March.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen credited Cody Alexander Sleigh with more than five years for time served since his November 2011 arrest, meaning a net sentence of a year for the violent kidnapping of Eric Low.
That term is on top of a six-year sentence handed to Sleigh earlier this month for his role in an August 2011 home invasion in North Delta.
“Although the accused has pleaded guilty, he did so in the face of being caught red-handed,” Cullen noted.
Sleigh, then 23, was out on bail in the North Delta case when he agreed to participate with several gangsters in the Low abduction.
The gang followed Low for weeks using a tracker hidden on his car and monitored on laptop computers they carried in rental vehicles. They believed Low was involved in the drug trade and they would be able to get a big payout in product or cash, Cullen heard.
What the gangsters didn’t know was that gang cops were watching and listening as they grabbed Low outside a Blockbusters store in east Vancouver on Nov. 23. 2011, smashing him in the head and throwing him into a van.
When police caught up to the kidnappers minutes later, they found Low tied up with zap straps and covered in blood.
Cullen noted that Sleigh was caught with a firearm and ammunition involved “in the infliction of violence to the victim.”
“He was on bail for a very serious offence at the time of his involvement in the commission of this offence and in breach of his bail conditions,” Cullen said.
Crown Mark Sheardown said earlier Friday that Sleigh was captured on a police intercept right before Low was grabbed reminding an associate to “make sure you have the gun.”
Sheardown said aggravating factors in the case were the brazen nature of the kidnapping in daylight on a busy Vancouver street.
And he said the plot was sophisticated with weeks of preparation and planning.
At the time of the arrests, police said the accused had links to the Independent Soldiers gang.
Sleigh’s lawyer Lisa Jean Helps argued for a sentence of time served in the kidnapping, saying her client was relatively young and addicted to steroids and oxycodone when he committed his crimes in both August and November of 2011.
She said he met one of his criminal associates in the local gym and got caught up in the life.
She said that his role in the Low kidnapping “is in essence hired muscle.”
Four out of six men charged in the kidnapping have now pleaded guilty.
In February, mastermind Troy Dax McKinnon was sentenced to seven years minus time-served. In January, Derek James Stephens pleaded guilty to a lesser role and was handed a four-year term minus time in pre-trial custody.
Troy Dax McKinnon
John Powers, who grabbed Low with Sleigh, pleaded guilty last month and will be sentenced in June.
Accused Van Van Vu is awaiting a verdict after his trial concluded in April.
Also named on the indictment is Independent Soldier Jesse Margison, who was found unfit to stand trial after he suffered brain damage in a jailhouse beating.
Four young men have been charged with kidnapping and indignity to a body in connection with the man found slain on North Vancouver Tuesday.
None of the four – Tian Yi Zhang, 23, Casey Hiscoe, 21, Dyllan James Green, 20, and Jacob Michael Gorelik, 18 – are facing a murder charge in connection with the death of the man, whose identity is not being released by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
IHIT Sgt. Stephanie Ashton said North Vancouver RCMP arrived on Wellington Drive just after 3 a.m. Tuesday after reports of an alleged kidnapping.
“This response was directly related to an active investigation taking place in multiple jurisdictions throughout the Lower Mainland and involved numerous RCMP detachments, specialized units, and municipal police forces,” she said.
“One male was found deceased at the scene. His identity and the cause of his death will not be released for investigative reasons.”
Ashton said police were holding back details of the case “in an effort to protect the integrity of this investigation.”
“At this point there has been a great deal of speculation regarding the circumstances of this investigation,” she said. “We want to reassure the public and particularly the residents living near Wellington Avenue that this was a targeted incident.”
Anyone with information regarding this investigation can call the IHIT tipline by calling 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or email at ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Zhang and Hiscoe are charged with kidnapping and indignity to a body, while Green and Gorelik are only facing a charge of indignity to a body. The kidnapping is alleged to have taken place Sept. 27, according to court services online. That’s two days before the indignity to the body is alleged to have been committed.
Hiscoe was convicted last year of assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon for dangerous purposes. He got a 12 month conditional sentence. He has other convictions for breaching court-ordered conditions.
The other three don’t appear to have any charges or convictions as adults in B.C.
Chilliwack RCMP are looking for a suspect in the alleged abduction Thursday of a Yarrow woman.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Montgomery James Ash, 21, on charges of break and enter with intent to commit an offence, assault with a weapon, attempting to choke to overcome resistance, kidnapping, assault causing bodily harm and uttering death threats
Ash, of Surrey, is white, 5’9″ and 170 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair.
Police were called to a Yarrow house about 4:15 a.m. Thursday after a report that a woman in the home had been kidnapped.
A man in the house told officers he had been assaulted by the suspect “who had forced his way into the home and abducted a female from the house,” Cpl. Mike Rail said in a news release.
He said the woman was found about an hour later
“Both victims were examined for non-life threatening injuries and released from hospital,” he said.
“The suspect is known to the victims and the incident was targeted. Police caution anyone who thinks they have seen Ash not to approach him and urge you call police or 911.”
Filed under: The Real Scoop Tagged: Breaking News, Chilliwack, Crime and Law, kidnapping, Kim Bolan, Mike Rail, Montgomery Ash, Real Scoop, Vancouver Sun 
DAWSON CREEK — Mounties in Dawson Creek are trying to determine if two violent incidents in the northeastern B.C. city are connected.
RCMP say no one was hurt Wednesday when three shotgun rounds were fired into a home, which has been seized while police conduct an investigation.
Three men were inside and insist the house was targeted in error, but they are not co-operating with officers and Mounties say they have since learned of drug activity in the neighbourhood.
Cpl. Dave Tyreman says police are trying to determine if the shooting is linked to a kidnapping and assault on Oct. 24 that ended with the victim beaten, bear sprayed and stabbed in the legs.
The man survived but Tyreman says he is not co-operating and that is hampering the investigation.
Officers are urging anyone with information to speak to police, either directly or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
METRO VANCOUVER — Port Moody Police are investigating the abduction and release of a local 14-year-old girl on Tuesday.
Police said that at 3:20 p.m., the girl was walking home alone in the 1300-block of David Avenue when she was allegedly grabbed and pulled into a van with three men inside.
She was kept in the van as it drove around for one-and-one-half hours before being released, unharmed, in the 3000-block of Lougheed Highway in Coquitlam. None of her property was stolen.
The van was described as a white newer model Mercedes Sprinter van.
The first abductor was described as Caucasian, between 25 and 30 years of age with possibly olive skin, six feet, four inches (193 cm.) tall, weighing over 200 pounds (91 kg.), with long brown hair and a muscular athletic build, wearing a white sweatshirt with a red maple leaf on the left arm, black pants and black shoes.
The second abductor was described as Caucasian, between 25 and 30 years of age with possibly olive skin, five feet, seven inches (170 cm.) to five feet, eight inches (173 cm.) tall, weighing over 200 pounds (91 kg.), short light brown hair and a muscular athletic build (possibly a bodybuilder), short dirty blonde beard and a black mark on the right side of his neck (possibly a tattoo), wearing black pants and a greyish/white sweatshirt.
The driver of the van was described as wearing a blue Toronto Blue Jays baseball cap, his ethnicity unknown.
Police and School District 43 are working together on the matter and police presences have been increased around schools.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 604-461-3456 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Metro Vancouver — Two people have been charged after allegedly kidnapping a man over a debt, Langley RCMP say.
On March 28, a man walked into a Willowbrook-area retail store asking for help. He had escaped after allegedly being held overnight, said Cpl. Holly Largy, spokesperson for the Langley RCMP.
The victim sustained minor injuries during his ordeal.
Police responded quickly and took two suspects into custody, Largy said.
The Serious Crime Unit investigated and has searched several vehicles since the arrests.
Largy would not say where the victim was held.
The incident is believed to have been a targeted kidnapping and related to an allegedly unpaid debt.
Alyssa Cappon of Langley is charged with unlawful confinement, kidnapping, and assault. She has been released from custody and is due back for a court appearance on April 22.
Justin Kooyman of Surrey has been charged with unlawful confinement and remains in custody. He will be back in court on April 19.
Click here to read more stories from The Langley Advance.
A man accused in a high-profile murder and kidnapping in North Vancouver has been denied bail.
In October, Tian Yi Eddie Zhang, 23, was charged with first-degree murder after the body of a Chinese man was found on a quiet residential street in North Vancouver a month earlier.
Zhang, who was also charged with kidnapping, applied to be released on bail, but B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen has dismissed the application following a hearing in a Vancouver courtroom this week.
The reasons for the judge declining bail for Zhang cannot be reported due to a publication ban that is routinely imposed at bail hearings in Canada.
At bail hearings, the Crown can seek the detention of an accused on one or more of three grounds. Judges consider whether an accused is a flight risk and a risk to re-offend. They also look at whether the release of the accused would bring the justice system into disrepute.
The body of Peng Sun, 22, was found after the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team arrived at the 900-block Wellington Drive in North Vancouver.
Neighbours said at the time that they believed the dead man was found inside a white Bentley that was towed from the scene along with two other vehicles.
A second man, Casey James Hiscoe, 21, has also been charged with kidnapping but was ordered released on bail. Two others were charged with interfering with a dead body but have had their charges stayed.
After the murder charge was laid, Zhang was charged with additional offences relating to an incident in Richmond two weeks before the murder. Zhang is charted with forcible confinement, assault and uttering threats in connection with the Richmond incident. He has not yet had a bail hearing on those charges.
Three men have been arrested in relation to a grisly double murder in East Vancouver and the abduction of a third person.
When members of Vancouver police’s emergency response team arrived at the house in the 100-block of Dieppe Place just before 10 p.m. Saturday in response to an abduction call, they saw the lights were on, yet no one appeared to be home.
“As there was no movement discovered, they made the decision to go in,” said Vancouver Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian Montague.
Inside, they found two bodies, a terrified four-year-old child, and evidence of a kidnapping.
Police initially said little about the incident, revealing only that a man and a woman were found dead inside the house in the quiet cul-de-sac near Boundary Road and Grandview Highway.
Police announced the arrest of the three suspects at a news conference Tuesday, a day after a dramatic takedown on East 8th Avenue near Blair Avenue in New Westminster that ended with the rescue of the kidnap victim and the arrest of three men, all in their 20s.
The homicide victims were identified as Samantha Le, 29, and Xuan Vanvy Bacao, 24. Le, Bacao, the child and the unidentified kidnap victim all lived in the house.
Montague remained mum on the cause of death or the motivation behind the homicides and abduction, and refused to elaborate on the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspects, saying only that “police believe the murders and abductions were targeted incidents.”
The four-year-old child was unharmed, but “obviously terrified,” he said. “We found the child hiding in the house from a fairly violent scene.”
The investigation remains ongoing and police are still hunting for other suspects. The arrests on Monday were a result of co-ordinated operations with other municipalities, including New Westminster, added Montague.
Two innocent bystanders were injured during the police operation, including a man who started running away when he heard the flash bangs and was bitten by a police dog, and a woman who was injured when her vehicle was struck.
“We were dealing with an active kidnapping and we had an opportunity to rescue the kidnap victim,” said Montague, who apologized on behalf of the department for the injuries sustained by the two caught up in the takedown. “Sometimes we can’t wait. We took that opportunity.”
Police are recommending charges against the three men. Charges have not yet been laid.
Anyone with information about the homicides is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday.
Two bystanders were injured during the arrest in New Westminster, including a man who started running away when he heard the flash bangs and was bitten by a police dog, and a woman who was injured when her vehicle was struck. The man reportedly had his ear bitten off by the police dog.
The IIO has confirmed that it will investigate, but only the circumstances involving the police and the injuries to the innocent bystanders. The IIO is not involved in the homicide or kidnapping aspect of the investigation and is expected to release a statement later Wednesday.
VPD Sgt. Brian Montague has apologized on behalf of officers involved in the takedown, saying that police were dealing with an active kidnapping and had an opportunity to rescue the kidnap victim.
Three men, all in their 20s, were arrested in relation to a grisly double murder in East Vancouver and the abduction of a third person on the weekend.
On Saturday, Vancouver police found two bodies at an East Vancouver house in the 100-block of Dieppe Place just before 10 p.m. They also found a terrified four-year-old child, and evidence of a kidnapping.
The homicide victims were identified as Samantha Le, 29, and Xuan Vanvy Bacao, 24. Le, Bacao, the child and the unidentified kidnap victim all lived in the house.
Police have not revealed the cause of death or the motivation behind the homicides and abduction.
ticrawford@postmedia.com
With files from Cheryl Chan
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
I have been off-line for a couple of days watching the Blue Jays in Seattle (which was very fun!)
But I’m back now and wanted to update you on the arrest of three suspects in connection to a kidnapping and the double murder of a man and a woman in the house on Dieppe Place in East Vancouver Saturday,
Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, Shamil Amir Ali, 22, and Gopal Figueredo, 24, have now been charged with kidnapping without the use of a firearm, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, extortion and aggravated assault.
Vancouver Police announced the arrests Tuesday, but did not release the suspects’ names nor the fact that charges have now been laid. My colleague Jennifer Saltman confirmed the arrests at the court registry.
The three, who have histories with police prior to their most recent arrest, have not been charged with murder.
The VPD released the names of the victims of Saturday’s slaying. They are 24-year-old Xuan Vanvy Bacao and 29-year-old Samantha Le. A four-year-old child was found hiding and physically unharmed in the house.
The VPD also confirmed that there had been a kidnapping from the Dieppe Place house.
“Evidence gathered by police showed that along with the two murders, a man had also been kidnapped from the home. Police believed the murders and abduction were targeted incidents,” Sgt. Brian Montague said in a news release. “Yesterday (Monday) afternoon, across multiple municipalities in the Lower Mainland, police rescued the kidnap victim and took several people into custody.”
The arrests took place in New Westminster.
Unfortunately two bystanders were injured – one seriously – when a police dog bit him. The other bystander, a woman, was injured when the suspect car hit the bystanders’ car.
The Independent Investigation Office is looking into the case of the police dog bite. The other injury was not considered serious enough to warrant an IIO investigation.
Anyone with information about these murders is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Three men have been charged in connection with a double homicide and kidnapping in East Vancouver on the weekend.
According to information obtained from the court registry, Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, Shamil Amir Ali, 22, and Gopal Figueredo, 24, have been charged with four offences. The offences are kidnapping without the use of a firearm, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, extortion and aggravated assault.
Vancouver police’s emergency response team was called to a home in the 100-block Dieppe Place shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday to respond to an abduction call. When officers saw that the lights were on but no one appeared to be home, they decided to enter the house. Inside, they found the bodies of 29-year-old Samantha Le and 24-year-old Xuan Vanvy Bacao, a terrified four-year-old child and evidence of a kidnapping.
On Monday afternoon, in a dramatic takedown on East 8th Avenue near Blair Avenue in New Westminster, police rescued the kidnap victim and arrested three men. During the arrest, two innocent bystanders were injured.
Police believe the murders and abduction were targeted incidents. The homicide victims, the child and the kidnap victim all lived in the house where Le and Bacao were found dead.
The investigation remains ongoing and police are still hunting for other suspects.
Court records show people matching the names of Ali and Figueredo have lengthy records. Ali’s previous charges include assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, theft of motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, assaulting a peace officer, robbery and mischief. Figueredo’s record includes aggravated assault, possession of a firearm, robbery with the use of a restricted or prohibited weapon and break and enter to steal a firearm.
On Wednesday, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. announced that it was investigating Monday’s arrest because a male bystander suffered serious injuries. According to police, the man started running away when he heard the flash bangs and was bitten by a police dog.
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
The IIO investigates all police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death and its job is to determine if any officer may have committed an offence that resulted in the bystander being injured. IIO investigators will be interviewing any civilian witnesses and involved officers.
The Vancouver Police Department is responsible for any concurrent investigation.
A female bystander was also injured when her vehicle was struck, but the IIO is not investigating that incident because her injuries do not meet the criteria for serious harm.
Police apologized to both of the bystanders during a news conference on Tuesday.
Anyone with information about the homicides is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
— With files from Cheryl Chan
B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
