An arrest has been made in relation to the 2013 gangland shooting that killed Craig Widdifield in South Surrey.
In a news conference with Surrey RCMP and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) Friday afternoon, it was announced that 20-year-old Brody Robert Paterson had been arrested, and charged with first-degree murder.
Widdifield, 28, was gunned down in what police describe as a targeted shooting on April 24, 2013, in the 15700-block of Croydon Drive, at approximately 7 p.m.
Multiple 911 calls were made after shots rang out.
Widdifield’s body was found in a parking lot, near a toy store and coffee shop, by a walkway leading to the Steve Nash Sports Club and overhead condominiums.
At the time, police told media that Widdifield was known to police “for this lifestyle” and that fact was re-iterated Friday. The shooting was targeted, police said, due to Widdifield’s association with those in the gang world.
Shortly after Widdifield’s death, RCMP recovered a Jeep Cherokee. Friday, IHIT Asst. Supt. Dwayne McDonald said that “valuable evidence” had been recovered from the vehicle that helped lead to Paterson’s arrest. More arrests are expected, he added.
“Evidence has identified others that played a significant role in this murder conspiracy,” he told media Friday, adding that it is believed there are others with valuable information that have yet to come forward.
Paterson was known to police, said Surrey office-in-charge Bill Fordy, who vowed Friday that both Surrey RCMP and IHIT would continue working towards further arrests in the case.
“Every murder is a tragedy and unacceptable,” he said.
McDonald noted that it is a common misconception that police will not be able to bring high-profile cases, like Widdifield’s, to the charges stage.
In the days following his son’s death, Widdifield’s father, Jim, spoke to Peace Arch News about how his son had been characterized as a gangster.
“He made some mistakes in his life – mistakes in judgment – and paid for them,” Jim said at the time.
“I’m not saying he was an angel, but he was not how he’s been portrayed at all.”
