Pubdate: Fri, 02 Oct 2009
Source: Kelowna Capital News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009, West Partners Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294
Author: Mike Simmons, Staff Writer

DRUG GANG HIT LEAVES A FORMER KELOWNA RESIDENT DEAD

A  former Kelowna resident was one of the men killed in a violent
shooting in Mexico.

B.C. men Jeffrey Ronald Ivans and Gordon Douglas Kendall were shot at
the Gloria Sun Condominiums in Puerto Vallarta on Sept. 27, according
to the Mexican publication Noticias Puerto Vallarta. Witnesses said a
group of armed men arrived at the building.

Ivans was shot five times by a 9 mm handgun.

Witnesses confirmed that a young man shot Kendall and then pursued
Ivans out to the pool area of the building, where Ivans' body was found.

A 25-calibre pistol with six bullets in it was found at his side.

Both men were shot again after receiving fatal wounds, a style that
Mexican authorities suspect involved "the adjustment of accounts."

Both Kendall and Ivans were pronounced dead at the scene by medical
personnel.

Witnesses indicated that the suspects arrived and left in a light
Nissan truck and a black compact car.

A Ford F-350 Super Duty belonging to Kendall, a black Mercedes and a
white Hummer rented by the pair were all found with their driver's
side front tire flattened.

RCMP Sgt. Bill Whelan of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit
said any murder investigation remains in the hands of the Mexican
police, who can ask for assistance from the Canadian government.

He added that the RCMP were aware of the two and their travels.

"These guys were involved in drug trafficking."

Whelan said RCMP have no firm information on the pair having any
connections to organized crime groups.

He pointed out that if a person is living in Mexico and somehow
involved in drug trafficking, they are operating at a high level and
co-operation with organized crime is a possibility. He said police are
aware this was not the pair's first trip south, and there are
indications Kendall and Ivans would travel back and forth between
Canada and Mexico.

In 2002, Ivans was found guilty in Kamloops Law Courts on counts of
possession of a controlled substance and possession for the purposes
of trafficking. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr