Man shot in Langley was sent back to prison because of gang affiliation

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A year before he was shot in Langley last month, Edmonton gangster Johnathan Hebrada-Walters was sent back to prison for violating the conditions of his legal release.

Parole board decisions obtained by Postmedia show Hebrada-Walters was involved with a gangster despite having “no association with negative people.”

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Parole board documents say Hebrada-Walters was an “active member” of a “security threat group” – a term Correctional Service Canada uses to describe gang members.

“Your release was suspended … when it became known that you were involved in organized criminal activity,” said the ruling, signed by board member Laura Pun-Cook.

Hebrada-Walters, 38, was shot Sept. 21 on 83rd Avenue near 196th Street in Langley following a shootout that injured Brothers Keepers gangster Barinder (Shrek) Dhaliwal. He is expected to recover.

No one has been charged and police have not said whether they believe there were other suspects at the scene.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said the shooting was linked to gang conflict across British Columbia. As part of the conflict, hired assassins from other provinces sometimes traveled to British Columbia to shoot their targets.

Last week, Mission RCMP confirmed that Hebrada-Walters was also one of the suspects in a brutal, unprovoked baseball bat attack on a young couple. His then partner, Amber Jenelle Toews, 35, is now wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant.

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Hebrada-Walters was sentenced to six years in prison in April 2018 after multiple firearms convictions in Winnipeg four years earlier. He owned a Glock pistol with a filed serial number. His employee also had a gun that was reported stolen.

The parole board’s 2023 decision said Hebrada-Walters was later convicted for his role in an “organized attack on another inmate in May 2020.”

Offenders in Canada are eligible for statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence, unless there is concern that they would “pose an unreasonable risk to society.”

Three parole rulings shared with Postmedia show Hebrada-Walters was legally released in May 2022, but with special conditions, including avoiding “negative peers.” He was sent back to prison 13 months later, but his legal release was revoked in September 2023.

His full sentence was served on July 7, 2024.

Hebrada-Walters’ criminal history began in 2005 with “drug offenses,” Pun-Cook explained.

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In 2009, he attacked an ex-girlfriend by slamming her wrist against a door and then kicking and punching her.

“As she fell to the ground, you continued to kick her, causing her injury,” the board said. “It is clear that you have issues with both women and men and demonstrate a willingness to hurt them and cause serious harm if you feel it is necessary.”

In 2010 he was convicted of attempted obstruction of justice. He was also convicted of cocaine possession in Saskatchewan in 2012.

“The panel sees no significant gaps since the beginning of your crimes, indicating a criminally rooted attitude and lifestyle,” Pun-Cook wrote.

The latest ruling also states that Hebrada-Walters was arrested on June 13, 2023 after his probation officer was “informed by police that you were heavily involved in gang and criminal activity.”

“The files indicate that one of these negative employees has been involved in assault, firearms and drug offenses and was recently arrested, and that you attempted to take over his lease on the property. “Police determined that you were frequently associated with this individual and that you had served your federal sentence together,” Pun-Cook said.

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“It also emerged that you had communicated with him by telephone and brought some of his belongings to your home. A case review was held on the same day and it was decided to suspend your release as your risk in the community was deemed no longer manageable.”

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