Police say a suspect wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Rexdale last month has been picked up in British Columbia after being stopped for riding a bicycle without a helmet.
In a news release, RCMP said that officers with the bike patrol unit stopped a man on a mountain bike near Barsby Park in Nanaimo on Friday afternoon. Police noticed that the bike appeared to be similar to one that was recently reported stolen.
When police confirmed the bike was stolen, the man was arrested for possession of stolen property.
According to police, he provided several different names and an Ontario driver’s license that appeared to be fake.
Police eventually determined the man’s identity and discovered that he was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old man outside a townhouse complex in Rexdale.
Tesfa Welsh-Hope, 27, was fatally gunned down on Bergamot Avenue on Feb. 13.
Toronto police said at the time that they were looking for a suspect who fled the scene. On Feb. 26, they announced that 19-year-old Kyle Dias of Toronto was wanted for second-degree murder in the case.
RCMP said Tuesday that Dias is being held in Victoria following his arrest Friday. Toronto police officers are expected to escort him back to Toronto to face a murder charge on Wednesday.
RCMP noted that they are not pursuing a bike helmet charge.
