Double murder suspect from Mississauga remains in U.S. custody pending return to Canada
Published April 3, 2024 at 11:42 am
A Mississauga man considered one of Canada’s most-wanted fugitives before his arrest last week in the U.S. in connection with a double murder at a Vaughan nightclub might not be back on Canadian soil to face charges for a while.
A York Regional Police spokesperson told insauga.com on Wednesday Kensworth Alton Francis, 29, has not yet been returned to Canada and that there is no set date for his return.
“He will have a series of (court) appearances in the U.S. before he is extradited to us,” the spokesperson said.
It’s not yet known what, if any, additional charges Francis is facing in the U.S.
The Mississauga man was put on Canada’s most-wanted list after the July 2022 murder of two security guards at the ATL Lounge on Highway 7 West in Vaughan.
Authorities south of the border said last week United States Marshals in Hartford, Connecticut arrested Francis on March 26 and he’s in the process of being returned to Canada and into the custody of York Regional Police.
Videos
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson said in an email to insauga.com last week that Francis appeared in federal court there the day of his arrest and waived extradition. Once back on Canadian soil, he’ll face two charges of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Francis, believed to be originally from the Bahamas, was being sought by police here on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with the July 23, 2022 shooting deaths of Tosin Amos-Arowoshegbe, 25, and Chibueze Momah, 22. They were working at the club when they were fatally shot during an altercation at about 3:30 a.m.
Kensworth Francis, 29, of Mississauga.
A third person, a 20-year-old woman who was a patron at the club, was also shot, but she survived.
Soon after the shooting, police in York identified the Mississauga man as a suspect. Detectives believe his image was caught on security video footage.
“An altercation took place in the lounge that led to the shooting,” York police said at the time of the incident.
Last May, Canadian authorities placed Francis at No. 7 on Canada’s 25 Most Wanted list.
Compiled periodically by the BOLO Program, which takes its name from the popular police term “be on the lookout,” the list names those considered by police to be the most dangerous.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising