Two arrested for 2022 Montreal shooting; third suspect at large

Lee Van Smath Germain, 35, is also wanted on a murder warrant in connection with the case. (SPVM)

Police have arrested two men wanted for murder in connection with a 2022 shooting in Montreal, as part of a major joint investigation targeting organized crime.

The Montreal police and Quebec provincial police said Pedro Kela, 38, and Nicko Bélisle, 27, were arrested Thursday evening in Montreal and Laval following a significant police operation. Both were taken into custody on arrest warrants.

Police allege the two men were involved in a homicide committed in May 2022 in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough.

Victim was set for sentencing

At the time, sources confirmed to CTV News the victim was 36-year-old Sébastien Giroux, who was set to be sentenced that week after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact in a May 2017 murder in N.D.G.

The Thursday arrests were made as part of Project Alliance, a large-scale joint investigation aimed at solving several organized crime–related murders in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec.

Since June 2025, the operation has led to about a dozen arrests, police said.

According to investigators, emergency services received multiple 911 calls shortly before the end of the afternoon on May 11, 2022, reporting sounds resembling gunfire near the intersection of Shelley Avenue and Crémazie Boulevard West.

Officers arriving at the scene found a man in his 30s lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Third suspect

Police say a third suspect remains at large. Lee Van Smath Germain, 35, is also wanted on a murder warrant in connection with the case.

Authorities are asking anyone with information that could help locate Germain to contact Info-Crime Montréal anonymously at 514-393-1133 or the Criminal Intelligence Centre at 1-800-659-4264.