A man accused of fatally shooting Tim Vallee of Abbotsford while he was vacationing in Honduras a year ago has been arrested and charged.
The Bay Islands Voice – on the island of Roatan – is reporting that Roger Natividad Ruiz Avila (in photo at left), 23, was arrested on the mainland last week after having been at large since the killing on Oct. 17, 2012.
He is now being held in prison awaiting trial on charges of aggravated robbery and “simple homicide.” The homicide charge carries a sentence of 15 to 20 years.
Co-accused Eon Carter Stewart (photo below), 30, of Roatan was arrested the day after the murder and was charged with having driven the vehicle used in the fatal armed robbery.
He has reportedly been in custody ever since, awaiting trial.
Vallee, whose full name is Themy Alexandre Vallee-Apostolakis, 34, was nearing the end of a 10-day vacation on Roatan at the time of the murder.
He had been drinking in a bar and, when the establishment closed at midnight, he and a group of people he had befriended went in search of an after-hours facility.
A cab driver told them about a spot known as La Cueva, located in Coxen Hole, an isolated area not frequented by tourists.
Vallee did not like the place after they arrived, and the group decided to leave.
It is alleged that Avila had been drinking in the same bar and followed Vallee and his companions out to the parking lot. There, he and Stewart allegedly boarded a white pickup and drove up beside Vallee.
Avila allegedly got out of the vehicle, pointed a gun at Vallee and demanded his iPhone and cash. He is then accused of shooting Vallee in the head.
Vallee was taken to hospital, where he died about two hours later.
A warrant was issued for Avila’s arrest.
Vallee, who was a conservation officer with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, has been mourned by family and friends in Abbotsford and Quebec.
Vallee had moved to Abbotsford from Montreal about two years before the killing.
Shortly after the murder, his teammates from the close-knit Sports Zone Boltz men’s hockey team in Abbotsford sported patches with Vallee’s intials, “TV,” in memory of their friend.
