B.C.’s anti-gang task force says it has raided a Devil’s Army clubhouse in Campbell River in connection with the targeted murder of a Mixed Martial Arts fighter last year.
Investigators with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. and the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit executed a search warrant at the clubhouse on Petersen Road Thursday morning.
The operation was the result of a sweeping investigation into the death of John Dillon Brown, a 30-year-old semi-pro MMA fighter from Saanich who was found dead in his car on a bridge near Sayward on March 12, 2016.
Brown, a father of four children including two born posthumously, is believed to have been slain in a targeted homicide.
It’s unclear what the connection is between Brown’s death and Thursday’s raid, but police said they expected to remain on the scene for several days as they swept the property for evidence.
Search warrant executed @ Devils Army Clubhouse in #CampbellRiver in connection w/ 2016 homicide of John Dillon Brown @CTVNewsVI pic.twitter.com/cR08TmJFnk
— Jessica Lepp (@CTVNewsJess) August 10, 2017
“While the investigation thus far has led us to executing a search warrant this morning at the Devil’s Army Clubhouse, we still believe that there are people who have been reluctant to speak with us who know details about the murder of Dillon Brown,” said Staff-Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, CFSEU-BC spokesman. “We want to speak with you and we urge you to do the right thing and contact us.”
CFSEU-BC said the Devil’s Army clubhouse has been in Campbell River since 2009 and is known to be a support club for the Haney Hells Angels chapter.
The investigation involved more than 100 police officers from around Vancouver Island.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the VIIMCU tip line at 250-380-7740 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
