Canadian fugitive Jordan Bacchus, the prime suspect in the murder of islander resident Melvin, was arrested in Ontario, Canada on Friday, February 2nd. Bacchus was detained along with a woman during a drug bust at a residence in northern Ontario by the Greater Sudbury Police. After being processed for the drug offense, Sudbury Police stated that he can then be extradited to Belize to face murder charges.
According to an article printed by the Toronto Sun on February 3rd, Drug Squad Det.-Sgt. James Killeen stated that Officers had issued a search warrant at a Toronto residence where a man and a woman from Toronto were arrested. During the raid, he alleged that officers seized 384.45 grams of cocaine and 10.46 grams of “purple heroin,” which is heroin mixed with the extremely potent opioid fentanyl, with a total street value of about $45,000. Cops also seized $25,000 in cash along with other evidence, including digital scales, detailed debt lists, and a money counting machine. Although Drug Squad Det.-Sgt. James Killeen has not released the accused man’s name, Toronto Sun sources confirm the man to be 28-year-old Jordan Bacchus, who has been sought by Toronto Police for robbery and extortion since February 2017.
According to Officer in Charge of the Coastal Executive Unit Superintendent Henry Jemmott, he cannot confirm if indeed Bacchus is the person that was arrested by Canadian authorities. “We have already contacted them and provided all the necessary information. However, I cannot confirm that he has been detained. Extradition is a long process, so people need to understand that it doesn’t take overnight to confirm if someone has been arrested, especially when the fugitives are detained in foreign countries,” said Jemmott.
Bacchus is wanted by the San Pedro Police for the brutal murder of 31-year-old local athlete Almendarez that occurred on May 6, 2016. Almendarez was found dead at a feeder road in Southern Ambergris Caye. During the initial investigations, Bacchus was detained as the prime person of interest since he was the last person seen with Almendarez. However, he was only charged with Possession of Controlled Drugs and later released on bail.
According to Jemmott, it was not until the end of the investigation, that the prosecutors were able to tie Bacchus to the murder, with overwhelming evidence. “We were able to find clothing with blood at his residence; his golf cart had blood underneath as well. Hair specimens from the victim were also found on his belongings,” said Jemmott. Bacchus also tested positive for gunpowder residuals on his hands, confirming that he had fired the gun used in the murder. The evidence also tied in with the results of the post-mortem on Almendarez, which stated the cause of death to be from acute pulmonary edema, face trauma as a consequence of blunt instrument type and a gunshot wound to the abdomen. This led to the speculation that he was run over by a golf cart after he was murdered.
The motive of the murder is yet to be established, but the chain of events that led to Almendarez’s death as reported by the police, remain the same.
Belizean authorities now await a positive identification through Interpol before proceeding with the extradition process.
