Two Calgary men have been apprehended by police in Montreal in connection with Saturday morning’s shooting death of a 23-year-old man in a home in southeast Calgary.
According to Calgary Police Service officials, the body of 23-year-old Mvemba Eriq Afonso, a.k.a. Eriq Afonso Mvemba, was found in a residence in the 3400 block of 31A Avenue S.E. in the early morning hours of October 28. Investigators identified a suspect vehicle, a black Dodge truck that was seen fleeing the neighbourhood, and determined the vehicle had been stolen.
An autopsy confirmed the identity of the deceased and determined his death was the result of a shooting.
On October 31, members of the Sûreté du Québec, Quebec’s provincial police agency, stopped the suspect vehicle at an undisclosed location in Montreal and notified the Calgary Police Service. Two men were arrested in connection with the homicide in Calgary.
CPS Acting Inspector Paul Wozney says the arrests were the result of some 'good old-fashioned police work' by a member of the Sûreté du Québec. “You have a young patrol member who queries a licence plate and learns very quickly the plate is from a stolen vehicle associated to something in Alberta and does a very good job of safely taking those people into custody."
Mourad Gasmi, 21, and Shannoh Jabet, 22, remain in police custody in Montreal and will be transported to Calgary in the near future to face second-degree murder charges in connection with Afonso’s death. Two Calgary Police Service investigators travelled to Montreal to conduct interviews.
Wozney says it's believed the accused made their way to Quebec in the stolen truck in the days following Afonso's death.
“We know Canada is a big country. It takes a long time to drive across it,” said Wozney. “Some deductive reasoning would very quickly indicate these two suspects got into that truck and took off very shortly after the time of this offence.”
Investigators believe Afonso had been visiting a friend at the home in Dover but was alone when the shooting occurred.
“We believe this to be, what we classify as, a drug rip where somebody attended another residence to try to steal or take drugs that don’t belong to them,” said CPS A/Insp. Paul Wozney. “We also believe the victim (Afonso) and the two accused do have a relationship with one another but the actual nuances of that relationship I certainly can’t speak to in this forum but this is not a random offence.”
The court date for Gasmi and Jabet has not been confirmed and the investigation into Afonso’s death continues. Anyone with information regarding the fatal shooting is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service, 403-266-1234, or anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers.
