ON February 6, 2009, during the height of the 2008 and 2009 gang conflict between the United Nations and Red Scorpions gangs, Kevin LeClair was murdered outside a strip mall in Langley. In the time since that murder the investigation has aggressively continued, with several people being arrested, charged, and convicted for connected and peripheral investigations.
In late 2017, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC), the province’s integrated anti-gang police unit, transitioned into the lead role of continuing the investigation into the murder of Kevin LeClair from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) with their continued support and collaboration.
Throughout the investigation, several people have been identified as allegedly playing a role in Kevin LeClair’s murder and early last week Crown prosecutors provided charge approval against another person.
Charged with one count of first-degree murder is 37-year-old Kreshnik Ismailaj of Whitby, Ontario.
CFSEU-BC investigators travelled to Whitby and, with the assistance of the local police, Ismailaj was arrested without incident on Friday, July 27. He was then transported back to the Lower Mainland. Ismailaj has no criminal record and had recently moved to Ontario from British Columbia.
He has been remanded and there is currently no future court date that has been set.
The investigation into the murder of Kevin LeClair remains active and ongoing despite this latest arrest and charge, with the final person alleged to have participated being Conor Vinent D’Monte, who is wanted for murder.
The hunt for fugitive D’Monte continues and it is believed that he left Canada in about 2011 to escape arrest. He has remained on the run since. The CFSEU-BC says it is committed to the search for D’Monte and is encouraging anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers or their local police.
“This investigation, and all those investigations connected to it and the gang conflict in the late 2000’s, has involved hundreds of officers from dozens of police agencies and units. The officers and support staff have remained determined and committed over the years to ensuring that justice is obtained for the many victims,” says Staff-Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, CFSEU-BC Advisory NCO. “Time does not dampen our resolve and we are confident that we will eventually find and arrest the last remaining suspect in Kevin LeClair’s murder, no matter where he might be hiding.”
