Investigators from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal may have averted the worst on Wednesday morning by arresting two armed individuals in Terrebonne, learned The Press.
Posted at 6:12 p.m.
According to our information, the two suspects, McLee Charles, 37, and Gahens-Lee Souverain, 22, have been prowling in recent weeks around the residence of an individual formerly linked to the bikers.
According to our sources, Souverain was intercepted early Wednesday morning, driving a stolen vehicle, not far from the former biker’s house in Terrebonne.
In the vehicle, the police reportedly found a handgun fitted with a silencer, a balaclava and gloves.
Charles was reportedly apprehended shortly afterwards, in the same area. A firearm was reportedly found in a backpack that was in his vehicle.
Charles was charged with possession of a restricted firearm, possession of a magazine and possession of a stolen Toyota RAV4 SUV Wednesday afternoon at the Laval courthouse.
For his part, Sovereign faces counts of possession of a restricted weapon, possession of a silencer and possession of the stolen RAV4.
The Prosecution opposed their release and they remain detained pending a possible bail hearing.
An innocent victim
McLee Charles has a long criminal record.
In October 2013, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for his part in the murder of a young man, Raymond Ellis, who had been mistaken for a member of an opposing gang. Raymond Ellis was beaten and stabbed in a downtown Montreal bar in 2005.
In addition to McLee Charles, four other individuals were charged and convicted in this case which made headlines at the time. Charles was initially charged with first degree murder but he pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter, and was acquitted of premeditated murder.
In March 2012, McLee Charles was also sentenced to 70 months for possession of a weapon and drug trafficking from 2009.
In March 2010, the late gang leader Ducarme Joseph was arrested by police who feared a violent aftershock following the attack in the caïd’s clothing store in Old Montreal a few days earlier.
During the investigation into Joseph’s release, former SPVM investigator and street gang specialist, Jean-Claude Gauthier, said that once at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention facility, Joseph asked to be held in Sector S-3, a blue allegiance sector, saying that all his friends were there, including McLee Charles.
Gahens-Lee Sovereign was sentenced to 14 months in prison for counts of drug trafficking, obstructing a peace officer, mischief and breach of conditions in 2018 and a 20-day sentence for another count of hindrance in 2019.
The investigation, which led to the arrest of the two men, was carried out by a team of narcotics investigators from the eastern and northern regions of the SPVM’s Organized Crime Division.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.