Calling it “clearly not a black tie affair,” Linda Annis prepared to serve a special Valentine’s dinner Tuesday, Feb. 11, to six mannequins clad in bright orange jumpsuits seated around a table covered with a lacy cloth parked in a cold jail cell at Port Moody police headquarters.
Annis is the executive director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers and the tongue-in-cheek photo op had a serious message.
The diners — their sullen mugshots taped to the faces of the mannequins — are British Columbia’s current crop of most wanted fugitives. Their crimes range from murder and escaping prison to assaulting a police officer and fraud.
And they’re all dangerous, said Annis, adding anyone who sees them should call police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Tips can also be submitted online or on its P3 app for Apple and Android phones. The identity of tipsters is kept confidential.
Some of the bad guys have been part of non-profit society’s Valentine’s callout for least desirable guests for a romantic dinner before, said Annis.
“Not surprisingly, not one of our least-wanted valentines is expected to take us up on our offer to surrender to police in time for a jail cell Valentine’s Day dinner,” she said. “We thought we’d show them what they’re missing.”
The six most-wanted fugitives are:
• Rabih Alkhalil, 37, wanted for murder, conspiracy to commit murder and being unlawfully at large after escaping the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam in July, 2022. His capture would come with a special $50,000 reward through the national BOLO (Be on the lookout) program.
• John Norman Mackenzie, 64, wanted for being unlawfully at large after he escaped prison in Mission where he was serving a life sentence for several convictions, including second degree murder and armed robbery.
• Raj Kumar Mehmi, 62, wanted for importation of a controlled substance and possession for the purposes of trafficking.
• Jeffrey Tkatchuk, 38, wanted for drug trafficking in prison and failure to comply with parole conditions.
• Dominic Ethier, 48, wanted for obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and failure to appear.
• Jean-Sebastien Philippe Eric Ferland, 42, wanted for 14 charges, including possession of a prohibited weapon, break and enter, theft, fraud, identity theft, impersonation, possession of a forged credit card and obstruction of a police officer.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelt Linda Annis' name. We apologize for the error.
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