Escaped prisoner and Hells Angels member Rene Charlebois has been found dead on an island northeast of Montreal.
Quebec police confirmed that the body of a man was found early Thursday morning at a residence in the municipality of Ste-Anne-de-Sorel. CTV Montreal has confirmed from sources that the body is that of Charlebois.
Investigators have not ruled out suicide as the cause of death.
Provincial police officers surrounded the waterfront cottage, ready to serve an arrest warrant, at around 1:15 a.m. Thursday, CTV Montreal's Stephane Giroux reported.
Neighbours said they heard gunshots moments later.
Because Charlebois’ death took place during a police operation, an outside force was required to take over the investigation. In this case, the Montreal force has taken the lead.
Preliminary reports suggest officers did not fire their guns.
“At this point, there’s no information pertaining to that,” Const. Laurent Dyke said.
The cottage was located on a small island off the shore of Ste-Anne-de-Sorel that is not accessible by car.
Charlebois, 48, was discovered missing from the minimum-security Montée Saint-François prison in Laval, Que., on Sept. 14 during a routine headcount.
He was serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in 2003 to a number of charges, including second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and participating in a criminal organization.
The Hells Angel was already eligible for day parole, and was three years away from reaching full parole. Charlebois was described as a model prisoner, Giroux said.
Charlebois rose to power within the Hells Angels organization during the 1990s, eventually becoming a trusted member of leader Maurice “Mom” Boucher’s inner circle.
Charlebois was picked up in a massive police operation in 2001 that sent dozens of his accomplices to jail.
