Conor D’Monte, who evaded police for more than a decade, pleads guilty to conspiracy

Conor Vincent D'Monte is seen in this image provided by CFSEU-BC.

Conor Vincent D’Monte, the alleged gang member who eluded capture for more than a decade after the 2009 killing of Kevin LeClair, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

D’Monte entered his plea in a Vancouver courtroom Tuesday morning, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed in an email to CTV News.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 12, to schedule a date for a sentencing hearing, according to the BCPS.

D’Monte was one of several people charged in connection to LeClair’s murder.

Cory Vallee was found guilty of first-degree murder in June 2018 for his involvement in the fatal shooting, which took place in broad daylight at a Langley strip mall in February 2009.

In September 2019, Kreshnik Ismailaj pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in connection to the case.

D’Monte fled Canada in 2011 to avoid prosecution, according to police. He evaded capture for more than a decade, becoming one of Canada’s most wanted fugitives and prompting officials to offer a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

He was located and arrested in Puerto Rico in 2022, and returned to B.C. last year.

At the time of LeClair’s murder, D’Monte was allegedly a high-ranking member of the United Nations gang.

LeClair, a member of the Red Scorpions gang, was one of many people killed in the Lower Mainland in 2008 and 2009 during a conflict between the two groups.

• Read more: ‘It’s like a Netflix story’: Arrest of longtime B.C. fugitive stuns Puerto Rico

While living in Puerto Rico, D’Monte, apparently went by “Johnny Williams.” Authorities said shortly after D’Monte’s arrest they didn’t know when he arrived on the Caribbean island, but said he settled into a rural, eastern mountain community near El Yunque rainforest on a street with no name.

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