One of B.C.'s most wanted for more than a decade, Conor D'Monte has been arrested, police say

Conor Vincent D'Monte is seen in this image provided by CFSEU-BC.

An alleged B.C. gang member who has been wanted for more than a decade has been arrested in Puerto Rico, police announced Friday.

The province's gang task force said in a news release that it had been advised of the arrest of Conor D'Monte, one of the men charged with the 2009 murder of Kevin LeClair.

D'Monte was a high-ranking member of the United Nations gang at the time of the slaying, according to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia.

LeClair was a member of the Red Scorpions gang, according to the CFSEU-BC, and one of many people killed in 2008 and 2009 in the Lower Mainland during the conflict between the two groups.

LeClair was shot in broad daylight at a strip mall in Langley in February 2009, police said.

"While Kevin LeClair’s murder was one of many, it prompted one of the longest and most involved joint investigations in CFSEU-BC’s history, one that continues to this day," the agency said in its news release.

To date, the CFSEU-BC says it has arrested 18 members of the UN gang, 12 of whom have been convicted.

D'Monte had so far eluded the gang task force's grasp, however. Police have previously said they believe he fled Canada in 2011 to avoid prosecution.

In 2019, authorities announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to D'Monte's arrest. 

Police renewed their appeal for information in the case as recently as this month, including D'Monte in their list of Metro Vancouver's "Least Wanted Valentines." 

The CFSEU-BC said Friday that it is now working with the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and the Canadian government to verify with Puerto Rican authorities that the man arrested is, indeed, Conor D'Monte and arrange for his extradition to Canada.

“The work to hold those accountable for their involvement in violent gang activity and to bring closure to the families of the victims does not end with someone’s arrest," said Asst. Comm. Manny Mann, CFSEU-BC's chief officer, in the release.

"We always knew this day would come and we will now continue our efforts to support the extradition and prosecution."