Police have arrested a suspect and a murder charge has been laid in a 12-year-old Surrey homicide.
David Fitzpatrick, 36, has been charged with second-degree murder in the 2008 shooting death of James Groves, 31, in Brownsville.
The shooting happened on Oct. 7, at a house in the 10900-block of Timberland Road, a short distance south of the Pattullo Bridge. The Surrey RCMP found Groves after receiving a report of a shooting shortly after 6 p.m. and he was taken to hospital, where he died of his injury.
Fitzpatrick is expected to appear in Surrey provincial court on Thursday, Nov. 26.
“Today’s outcome is the result of years of hard work, discipline, and steadfast pursuit of evidence on the part of our investigators,” said Sergeant Frank Jang, of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Unit. “We believe there are still those with important information about the case who have yet to come forward and we urge them to please reach out to us.”
Police ask anyone with information that could further this investigation to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448), or contact investigators by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or, if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Since IHIT took over investigating homicides from the Surrey RCMP’s serious crimes section in June 2003 it has to date cleared 138 of the total 236 homicide cases it has investigated in Surrey.
These cases, Jang told the Now-Leader, “have been cleared by charge, recommended charge, or cleared otherwise.
“That is a clearance rate of 58 per cent,” he noted.
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