BURST
B.C. homicide detectives say two men have now been charged in a fatal shooting that investigators have called a targeted hit linked to the local drug trade.
Cory William Thomas, 33, was shot and killed in the 11900-block of 216th Street in Maple Ridge on Aug. 12, 2022. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) took over.
After a nearly four-year investigation, IHIT arrested 26-year-old Richard Angelo Pignatelli of Maple Ridge and prosecutors laid charges of manslaughter with a firearm and break and enter in relation to Thomas’s homicide.
Pignatelli is in custody until a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday.
Then last week, 27-year-old Kyle Raymond Edlund, also of Maple Ridge, was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, break and enter, and possession of a loaded and prohibited or restricted firearm.
He is in custody until his next court appearance.
“Murder is the most serious offence, which is why every step in the investigation must be informed, measured, and conducted with the utmost care,” said Sgt. Freda Fong of IHIT in a news release. “Achieving charge approval is a significant milestone as this case moves forward.”