The “right arm” of the kingpin Gregory Woolley, murdered last fallwas arrested in possession of two firearms at his home Friday morning.
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Jean Winsing Barthelus, 45, was charged Saturday morning at the Montreal courthouse with having possessed two firearms, a Glock 26 and a Kahr CW9, while doing so was prohibited.
“The two prohibited weapons were loaded,” said Crown prosecutor M.e Simon Lacoste during the appearance.
According to the denunciation, the seized weapons were found in a GMC Yukon SUV and in his residence in Sainte-Julie, on the South Shore of Montreal.
The serial numbers of the two weapons were also allegedly modified, disguised or erased.
The search was carried out as part of an investigation by the multi-sectoral team dedicated to firearms of the Montreal City Police Department.
The accused, represented by Me Anthony El-Haddad remains detained for the moment. He will return in a few days to the Longueuil courthouse for further proceedings.
Close to Woolley
Barthelus, nicknamed Zing, was considered Woolley’s “right-hand man,” according to an analysis report from the Quebec Criminal Intelligence Service obtained by the Bureau of Investigation in 2021.
Remember that Gregory Woolley was murdered last November in front of his wife and their newborn baby in the crowded parking lot of a CLSC in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. No arrests have yet been made in this case.
Gregory Woolley was close to both the leaders of the Italian mafia and the Hells Angels. Over the years, he ordered or himself committed several murders on Quebec soil, according to our information.
Several backgrounds
Barthelus was arrested in 2015 as part of Operation Magot-Mastiff, which helped undermine an alliance between the mafia, bikers and gangs in the Montreal region.
He had pleaded guilty to charges of gangsterism, cocaine trafficking conspiracy and cocaine trafficking. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison in 2019, but was able to be released in the following days due to the preventive detention he had already served.
His boss Gregory Woolley, also accused in this case, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Barthelus was sentenced to 30 days in prison in 2012 for possession of a weapon, even though he was prohibited from doing so.
He had previously received sentences of 17 months in prison in 2010 and 30 months in 2006, on various charges, including gangsterism.
– With Valérie Gonthier