One of the two men convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting of a Surrey businessman B次元官网网址� alleged to have been involved in the 1985 Air India bombing B次元官网网址� was sentenced in Kelowna court for unrelated charges on March 14.
Jose Lopez entered guilty pleas for seven of the nine charges he was facing relating to an incident that unfolded in downtown Kelowna in the early hours of July 17, 2021, and was sentenced to four years and nine months, to be served concurrently with the life sentence he is serving.
In a statement read to the court by Crown prosecutor David Grabavac, a man, who is now believed to be Lopez pointed a gun at the head of another man who had attempted to diffuse an altercation involving firearms in the parking lot behind Kelowna's Earls at approximately 1:30 a.m.
The identity of the witnesses is protected under a publication ban for fear of retaliation. The witnesses say they watched a man with dreadlocks become surrounded by approximately seven men and one woman behind Earls. They allege that several of the people involved pulled out guns and the others had their hands on their hips over a protruding item. Believing the man with the dreadlocks was in danger, one of the witnesses intervened and Lopez pointed a gun at his head for 45 seconds. The incident was not reported to police.
A few hours later, another witness was approached by Lopez also in downtown Kelowna. Lopez allegedly asked the witnesses if they knew of any gangs, and told them he was a member of the BIBO (Blood in Blood Out) gang. He then threatened the witnesses with bear spray and told them he "was looking to snatch a body," also stating that he was in possession of a firearm.
Lopez then apologized to the witnesses and left the scene.
The witnesses called the police.
The RCMP found Lopez, who was driving a white BMW. After being followed, Lopez exited his vehicle and was chased by police on foot, eventually being apprehended in a tackle-take down by an RCMP officer near the Queensway bus loop. According to police testimony, he told the arresting officers that they had the wrong guy as he was simply "out for a late-night jog."
Lopez was then charged with nine criminal offences relating to possession of firearms, uttering threats, possession of bear spray and flight from police, and was held in custody until he perfected bail and was released on conditions on July 30.
Approximately one year after the incident in Kelowna, Lopez and his accomplice Tanner Fox, shot and killed Surrey businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik. Lopez and Fox have not disclosed who hired them for the murder.
Malik was shot multiple times while sitting in his car outside his business, Papillon Eastern Imports, in a business complex at 8236 128 St. in Newton. A stolen white Honda CR-V they used, which was captured on CCTV hours before the shooting, was later found burning in the 12200 block of 82 Avenue.
Malik had been acquitted in 2005 for his alleged role in the 1985 Air India Bombing following a lengthy trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. He was found not guilty of eight criminal counts, including bomb-related and first-degree murder charges.
The bombing killed 329 people. Seven Surrey families lost loved ones in the Air India explosion off the coast of Ireland.
