A 37-year-old fugitive on Canada’s most-wanted list has been nabbed in Mexico and returned to B.C. to face multiple murder charges.
Alleged United Nations gang founder and hit man Cory Vallee was arrested Thursday in Guadalajara, a region with deep drug ties for the gang and a believed hideout for absconded members.
He was deported over the weekend and made a brief appearance in B.C. Supreme Court Monday.
Among Vallee’s alleged crimes is the murder of Jonathan Barber, an innocent man who was gunned down while driving a Porsche SUV associated with the rival Red Scorpions gang in 2008.
Barber had just installed a custom stereo in the vehicle and had no ties to crime, according to police.
Vallee is also accused of shooting Scorpions member Kevin LeClair to death in a crowded Langley parking lot the following year, and of posting a $300,000 bounty on the gang’s leaders, the notorious Bacon brothers.
The RCMP said Vallee, who sometimes went by the aliases “Frankie,” “Specs,” and “Panther,” was last seen in October 2009. His alleged crimes also landed him on Interpol’s most-wanted list.
Outside court on Monday, Crown prosecutors said Vallee faces two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
His hearing was adjourned until Thursday so his lead defence counsel could appear. The defence team said it’s seeking a full publication ban in the case.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Tom Popyk
