KELOWNA SHOOTING REMINDER OF 2009

After a violent 2009, the level of violence in Langley has receded,
but not ended

The furious gang violence of 2009 claimed five lives in or directly
linked to Langley.

Sunday afternoon's daylight shooting in Kelowna threatened to bring
the gang wars back to the Lower Mainland. A member of the
Langley-based Hells Angels chapter was wounded, and Abbotsford's
Jonathan Bacon, a leader of the Red Scorpions gang, was killed.

The 2009 murders were all linked to gangs, gang members, or the drug
trade. Police have made progress on all of them, including a
conviction and several charges.

Those killed in or near Langley in 2009 were: . Robert LeClair, 26,
gunned down on Feb. 6 outside the IGA in Walnut Grove. This year,
Conor D'Monte and Cory "Frankie" Vallee, both members of the UN Gang,
were charged with the slaying. They remain on the run from police.

Laura Lynn Lamoureux, 36, shot on 50th Avenue near Sendall Gardens
on March 14, and Marc Bontkes, 33, a Langley housing developer, shot
on March 19 in Hi-Knoll Park in Surrey, about 100 metres from the
Langley City border.

Originally, the murders seemed unconnected, but Roy Michael Thielen
and Robert David Bradshaw have both been charged with murder in both
deaths. A 19-year-old woman, who was a juvenile at the time of the
slaying, was also charged in the death of Bontkes.

Kyle Llewellyn Barber, 24, stabbed to death in a home in the Otter
area on March 28. This summer, Albert Jackman was convicted of first
degree murder and received life in prison; he won't be even considered
for parole until 2034. Gregory Barrett was convicted of
manslaughter.

The man found in a burned-out car left on rail tracks near 208th
Street and 96th Avenue in Walnut Grove on Sept. 23. While there have
been no charges or arrests, police did identify the victim as Stephen
Robert Guzzo, an American citizen originally from Chicago.

In 2010, in contrast, there were no murders in Langley. However, a
young local woman was killed in Abbotsford in an attack linked to the
drug trade.

In the early morning of July 28, 22-year-old Mandy Astin Johnson was
shot and killed in a rural neighbourhood near Poplar Avenue and
Townline Road.

Her boyfriend, who was not injured, was known for many contacts with
police, investigators said.

In addition, Matthew Sherwin faces an aggravated assault charge after
a home invasion in Fort Langley on April 6. The victim later died in
hospital. Sherwin goes on trial in September.

In 2011, the Kwantlen First Nation and Fort Langley was shocked by the
murder of George Antone, a 71-yearold elder who lived on the band's
reserve. He was found March 7, shot to death in his Glover Road home.
No arrests have been made.