The young brother of the powerful boss Jean-Philippe Célestin, victim of a resounding murder three weeks ago in Montreal, was taken to his final rest, Tuesday noon, during a funeral celebrated under heavy police surveillance.
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More than a hundred family members, relatives, but also members of organized crime were seen during the funeral, which took place at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, in the heart of Plateau Mont-Royal .
Jean Brandon Célestin was murdered on the night of February 17, while leaving a family party in Little Italy.
A suspect in a moving vehicle fired a burst of shots at the 28-year-old who was walking toward his Mercedes. According to our information, nearly thirty shots were fired in his direction and three of them hit him.
He was shot in the heart, killing him instantly.
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More than a hundred people attended the funeral and several family members wore a sweater designed especially for the occasion and on which we saw the face of Brandon Jean Célestin with the inscription “Rest in peace”.
MAXIME DELAND/AGENCE QMI
Among the people present, we could see several individuals linked to the world of street gangs, others well known to the police for their involvement in drug trafficking and a few close to the Hells Angels.
Even fallen lawyer Loris Cavaliere – who was once known as the Rizzutos’ lawyer – was present at the funeral.
During the ceremony, three members of the Marauders, the main school club of the Montreal chapter of the Hells Angels, stood guard in front of the church.
MAXIME DELAND/AGENCE QMI
The event was held under heavy police surveillance. Plainclothes police officers from the SPVM, the Sûreté du Québec, the Longueuil police and the Laval police were seen on the scene, video camera and camera in hand.
To this day, it is still unknown whether Brandon Jean Célestin was indeed the target of this attack. The authorities do not exclude the hypothesis that the real target was Jean-Philippe Célestin.
Brandon Jean Célestin was murdered a stone’s throw from a restaurant where his brother would have established his “headquarters” to hold his business meetings, according to police sources.
Brandon Jean Célestin was murdered on the night of February 17, in Little Italy, in Montreal.
MAXIME DELAND/AGENCE QMI
Without being a big player in organized crime, Brandon Jean Célestin was very well known to Montreal police officers, particularly those from the Éclipse group.
According to our information, the victim was, however, becoming increasingly influential in the management of the operations of a major drug trafficking network in Montreal and Châteauguay managed by his brother Jean-Philippe.