A British Columbia court has heard that the gangland murder of Sandip Duhre at Vancouver's Sheraton Wall Centre in 2012 stemmed from a feud that began as a conflict between schoolchildren, according to emotional victim impact statements presented during sentencing.
Schoolyard Conflict Turns Deadly
The shocking revelation came from Dave Duhre, the victim's father, whose written statement was read in court despite his own death on November 4. The elder Duhre described how what started as a simple school kids' fight between a young tenant living in their basement and the Alkhalil boys escalated into years of violence that ultimately claimed his son's life.
Dave Duhre wrote that writing the statement was extremely difficult because it brought back the entire trauma of Sandip's death. The most poignant grief for anybody is the death of their children, he stated. This loss is irreversible. It has long-term effects on our lives.
Hitman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charges
The sentencing hearing on Friday focused on Dean Michael Wiwchar, now 40, who admitted last month to being the hitman who killed Sandip Duhre. Wiwchar pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit murder - one for the Duhre hit and another for a plot to kill Sukhveer Dhak, who was shot to death by an unknown killer in November 2012.
Crown prosecutor Sandra Dworkin told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker that the Duhre family specifically requested the father's letter be read at Wiwchar's sentencing. The court heard that prosecutors and Wiwchar, who is representing himself, agreed to a joint sentencing submission of 20 years for the Duhre conspiracy plot, with another 18 years to run concurrently for the Dhak conspiracy.
Gang Connections and Previous Convictions
The court learned that Wiwchar's two co-accused - Wolfpack gangsters Rabih Alkhalil and Larry Amero - were previously convicted and sentenced for their roles in the murder plot. The Wolfpack gang targeted both Duhre and Dhak because of their connection to UN gangsters behind an August 2011 Kelowna shooting that left gangster Jonathan Bacon dead and Amero plus two women injured.
Wiwchar is already serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of John Raposo in Toronto in June 2012 - another hit he carried out alongside Alkhalil and others. The January 2012 murder at the upscale Sheraton Wall Centre shocked Vancouver residents and highlighted the ongoing gang violence in the region.
Dave Duhre's statement poignantly noted that the family could not do anything to stop this unnecessary and unwanted feud that began with children and ultimately led to tragedy. The sentencing brings partial closure to a case that has stretched over a decade, revealing how personal conflicts can escalate into deadly gang violence affecting multiple families across Canada.
