Two men are in custody and charged with second-degree murder in the death of a New Westminster resident whose body was found in his car trunk in April, police said Tuesday.
They said the arrests followed a nationwide manhunt by four different police forces, and that one of the suspects knew the man who was killed, Patrick Alexander LeBlanc, 67.
On the morning of April 9, New Westminster police were informed of an abandoned vehicle in a parking lot on the corner of 3rd Street and Royal Avenue. Mr. Leblanc's lifeless body was found stuffed in the trunk of his red Cadillac.
Although police are saying the slaying is not related to drugs, gangs or organized crime, they said Mr. LeBlanc had been convicted multiple times of drug-trafficking offences from as early as 1999.
Police are not revealing how Mr. Leblanc was killed. But Corporal Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said: "It is believed to be over a relationship between one of the suspects that led to this level of violence. They were loosely known to each other." Cpl. Carr did not offer more information on the nature of the relationship.
Police said their initial investigation in April led them to a warehouse in Vancouver, which they identified as the location where Mr. LeBlanc was slain. A subsequent search led them to issue a Canada-wide warrant for Russell Brian Benson, 38, and Glen Roberts Anhert, 28.
IHIT investigators, working with local authorities, arrested Mr. Anhert in Brandon, Man. and Mr. Benson in Ontario's Niagara on Sept. 1. They were brought back to British Columbia and appeared in court the following day in New Westminster.
"We believe they are from this (B.C.) region. They went there to be away from the police here," Cpl. Carr said.
Police said the men were arrested without incident. They remain in custody.