Police have identified the man who was shot to death on a pathway near Spuraway Avenue in the Ranch Park area of Coquitlam last week.
Members of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said Christopher James Krake of Coquitlam was known to associate with gang members and was with another murder victim, Chris Reddy, when he was shot late last month.
Police believe the 24-year-old's connection to what they called the "criminal lifestyle" was a contributing factor in his death.
IHIT spokesperson Sgt. Jennifer Pound told The Tri-City News that police were in touch with associates of both the men but would not confirm whether more people were in danger of gang violence.
"There haven't been any warnings through the media," she said. "[Investigators] are in touch with associates and speaking with people that know these two individuals. It is something they would be looking into."
Krake had run-ins with police in the past. In 2008 he was sentenced to 12-months in jail and a lifetime firearms prohibition for two counts of possession for the purposes of trafficking. He was supposed to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on Wednesday (July 13) on charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from a peace officer.
His body was found on a wooded trail connecting Spuraway Avenue with Meadowbrook elementary school near the intersection of Ranch Park Way last Wednesday morning.
Several neighbours told IHIT that they had heard shots at about about 9:30 p.m. the night before, but no 911 call was made. According to police Krake was killed in the location where he was found but Pound said none of the nearby homes were impacted by the shooting.
Krake's associate Reddy was killed in a gang-related shooting near 131 Street and 111 Avenue in North Surrey on Friday, June 24, shortly after 3:30 p.m.
Police arrived on the scene to find the victim suffering from several gun shot wounds. Officers began CPR on the victim but he succumbed to his injuries.
Like Krake, Reddy was also well-known to police throughout the Lower Mainland, said RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen.
In 2006, he was charged in a home invasion in Chilliwack, where he assaulted a man and held a gun to his wife. Reddy and two masked accomplices wrongly believed the residence housed a marijuana grow operation and entered the property with handguns and a sawed-off shotgun
After lengthy court delays Reddy was released on bail on the condition that he return to Surrey to live with his mother until his next court date.
Anyone with information regarding this homicide who has not spoken to an investigator is asked to call IHIT's tip line at 1-877-551-4448.
- with files from Kevin Diakiw and Robert Freeman
