| | |  News from Around Banderas Bay | September 2009 
Reports of 2 Canadian Men Killed in Puerto Vallarta
 Canadian Newswires
September 28, 2009
Two Canadian men have been killed by gunmen at a Puerto Vallarta condominium. Reports say both men were shot to death at close range early Sunday morning. Witnesses believed the two Canadians knew the men who shot them.
Related: Little Likelihood of Arrests in Local Murders: Journalist
Official Version of Dept. of Public Safety: "Unknown Subjects Riddle Two Foreigners" - posted on September 27, 2009
2 Canadians Slain in Mexico Tied to Drug Trade: Police
CBC News
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September 28, 2009
Gang investigators in British Columbia say two men gunned down in Mexico were involved in the drug trade, and had been on the radar of gang investigators before they were found shot to death in a Puerto Vallarta condo complex.
Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the RCMP's Integrated Gang Task Force said Monday that Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans, who were found shot to death in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, were known to police in British Columbia.
"We have been aware of them for some time now," Kirk told The Canadian Press. "We also knew of some of their recent activities in Mexico as well, centring around the drug trade."
Mexican police confirmed Monday that gunmen killed the two Canadian men.
Jalisco state prosecutor Guillermo Diaz said Kendall and Ivans were killed Sunday at the apartment building where they were staying.
Witnesses told police that a lone gunman approached the men outside the building and shot Kendall, then chased Ivans to the pool area and shot him. Diaz said Ivans was carrying a gun but was not able to use it.
Diaz said witnesses told police that two other gunmen then arrived and repeatedly shot the dead or dying Canadians.
Diaz said Monday that investigators have not determined a motive for the killing, and no arrests have been made.
But Kirk said the men's activities were far-reaching.
"Certainly Mexico and the exporting of drugs from Mexico and into the United States and then from there at any point up into Canada or across the United States," Kirk said.
At this point, he said police don't have any information about whether Ivans and Kendall were affiliated with any specific gang or organized crime group.
"[But] if you're going to get involved in this type of activity it's not glamorous and violence is not that far behind."
Friends lament on Facebook
Ivans pleaded guilty in Kamloops on Dec. 13, 2002, to one charge of trafficking. He was fined $1,000.
On a Facebook memorial page, friends lamented the loss of two men they remembered as witty, charming and nice. One also warned other friends not to go to the Mexican news site, which featured graphic photos of the men lying in pools of blood.
Nicole Mason, who posted her condolences on a Facebook memorial page, said she went to high school with the two men in Kamloops.
Mason, who now lives in Calgary, said in a telephone interview she dated Ivans for about four years back then.
She said she felt "empty" when she heard both men had been shot dead.
"They were just two guys always living for today and living life to the fullest and they'll be missed by many, many, many people."
Kirk said Mexico still appears to be a source country for cocaine coming into the United States and then into Canada.
"We still see quantities of synthetic drugs and marijuana that is ultimately shipped into the United States either exchanged for cocaine or weapons or both."
Last summer, two Vancouver-area men involved in the drug trade were also gunned down in Mexico.
Elliott Castaneda and Ahmet Kaawach, who were members of the United Nations gang, were killed in a hail of bullets while they were dining at a restaurant.
According to reports on a Mexican news website, the gunmen in the latest shooting fled in two cars after gunning down the Canadian men.
Police later found three vehicles registered to the victims, a pickup truck with Canadian plates, a Hummer and a Mercedes-Benz with Mexican plates.
Sunday's deaths come less than two weeks after a Montreal woman, Ren้e Wathelet, was found stabbed to death in her apartment on an island off the Cancun coast.
Mexican police said they have a man in custody who claims to have killed Wathelet.
Mexican Website Reports 2 Canadian Men Killed at Puerto Vallarta Condo
Canadian Press
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September 28, 2009
Toronto Two Canadian men have been killed by gunmen at a Puerto Vallarta condominium, a Mexican news website reported Monday.
Noticias Puerto Vallarta said both men, identified as Gordon Douglas Kendall and Ivand Ronald Jeffrey, were shot to death at close range early Sunday morning. The report said one of the men was shot in the pool area of the condo while the second was shot near his room.
Both were shot several times, first by one gunman and then by a second who fired at close range as they lay wounded on the ground.
The gunmen fled in two cars.
Police later found three vehicles registered to the victims, a pickup truck with Canadian plates, a Hummer and a Mercedes Benz with Mexican plates.
Canadians have been at the centre of several violent incidents in Mexico over the past few years.
Earlier this month, Renee Wathelet, 60, of Montreal was found stabbed to death in her apartment on an island off the tourist haven of Cancun. Police later arrested a 24-year-old boatman.
In 2006, Dominic and Nancy Ianiero of Woodbridge, Ont., were found dead at a five-star resort near Cancun in a case that remains unsolved.
Mexican authorities named two women from Thunder Bay, Ont., as suspects in the killings, but they were later cleared.
In January 2007, Adam DePrisco, 19, was killed outside an Acapulco nightclub.
A Mexican doctor blamed the teen's death on a hit-and-run, but his family and friends believe he was beaten to death.
In May 2007, Jeff Toews, 34, of Grande Prairie, Alta., died from severe injuries in Cancun.
His family accused officials of covering up a brutal beating, while prosecutors claimed the man fell off a balcony at a resort.
B.C. Men Gunned Down at Mexican Condo
Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun
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September 28, 2009
Two B.C. men living in Mexico have been gunned down poolside in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, according to news reports on Sunday.
Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans were executed at dawn Sunday, according to local publications, outside the condo where they were staying in the seaside city.
Graphic photos of the two lying in pools of blood beside a vehicle and a gun were displayed in the news website Noticias Puerto Vallarta.
Friends of the former Kamloops, B.C., residents confirmed Sunday they had been called with the news of the slayings.
But none wanted to be quoted, or knew exactly what had transpired early Sunday.
They said Ivans, 37, and Kendall, who has a Facebook page with friends from B.C. and Mexico, had moved to Mexico about a year ago.
They could not say what they did for a living.
Mexican news reports said the two were shot to death outside the Glory Sun condo they were renting.
Police found a Ford pickup truck with Canadian plates that was registered to Kendall.
Witnesses reportedly told police several gunmen were involved in the hit and that one of the Canadians is believed to have exchanged fire with the killers.
Ivans was inside the condo when the shooting started and came out to see what was going on, "but his executioner overtook him and delivered several bullet holes in the skull," the Puerto Vallarta News reported.
The report said that while Kendall and Ivans lay wounded, one of the gunmen walked over and shot each of them "for the second time."
The gunmen fled in two vehicles a van and a Nissan.
The news report said witnesses believed the two Canadians knew the men who shot them.
kbolan(at)vancouversun.com
2 Canadian Men Shot Dead in Mexico: Report
CBC News
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September 28, 2009
Two Canadian men have been killed by gunmen at a condominium in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, according to a Mexican news website 'Noticias Puerto Vallarta.'
The two men were shot to death at close range early Sunday morning, according to the website Noticias Puerto Vallarta.
The two men were from Kamloops, B.C., according to a report in the Vancouver Sun.
The report from Mexico said one man was shot in the pool area of the condo while the other was shot near his room.
The gunmen fled in two cars, according to the report.
Police later found two vehicles registered to the victims.
The report comes less than two weeks after a Montreal woman, Ren้e Wathelet, was found stabbed to death in her apartment on an island off the Cancun coast. Mexican police said they have a man in custody who claims to have killed Wathelet.
Ioan Grillo, a freelance journalist based in Mexico, told CBC News the high-powered weaponry and method of the killing on Sunday suggest it was more than an armed robbery.
Canadian officials are working with Mexican officials to confirm the identities of the two men.
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