A former member of one of British Columbia's most notorious street gangs has been handed a 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder — the culmination of a case that stretched across more than a decade, two countries, and a remarkable double life lived in the Caribbean.
Conor D'Monte, identified by police as a member of the United Nations gang, was sentenced Wednesday in connection with a plot to kill the Bacon brothers — Jonathan, James, and Jarrod Bacon — who led the rival Red Scorpions gang during a brutal gang war that gripped B.C.'s Lower Mainland between 2008 and 2009.
A Violent Chapter in B.C. History
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), the anti-gang unit that led the investigation, described the gang conflict as "one of B.C.'s most violent periods of organized crime conflict," with violence spilling into neighbourhoods across the Lower Mainland and putting countless civilians at risk.
D'Monte was first charged with conspiracy to commit murder in 2011, but fled Canada before he could face trial. For years, authorities were unable to locate him — until February 2022, when police announced he had been arrested in Puerto Rico after being named one of Canada's most wanted fugitives. He was extradited back to Canada in March 2024 and pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge last October.
"This sentence reflects the serious and calculated nature of the violence that occurred during one of the most turbulent periods of gang conflict in British Columbia's history. The actions of those involved put countless lives at risk and contributed to significant harm in our communities."
— Sgt. Sarbjit Sangha, CFSEU spokesperson
A Double Life in the Caribbean
What made D'Monte's arrest particularly striking was the life he had built in Puerto Rico. To those around him, he was a charismatic community organizer — someone who ran Christmas gift drives for children in need, helped renovate a local elementary school, and worked with a non-profit called the Karma Honey Project to protect honeybee populations in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. He had even been invited to the Puerto Rican governor's mansion and met with the island's agriculture secretary.
The revelation that this apparent do-gooder was a wanted Canadian fugitive came as a significant shock to those who had known him there.
Murder Charge Stayed
In addition to the conspiracy charge, D'Monte had also faced a first-degree murder charge in connection with the February 2009 killing of Kevin LeClair, a Red Scorpions gang member shot dead in a Langley shopping centre parking lot. Following Wednesday's sentencing, a spokesperson for the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed that prosecutors moved to stay the first-degree murder charge.
CFSEU's Sgt. Sarbjit Sangha said the outcome was the result of years of relentless investigative work and a reminder that Canadian authorities do not abandon pursuit of those who flee justice.
With files from CBC British Columbia, The Canadian Press, and The Associated Press. Original reporting by Sarah Mitchell for CBC British Columbia.