Saskatoon StarPhoenix Staff
A Quebec man who was named the 10th most-wanted fugitive in Canada for a murder in Saskatoon appeared in provincial court Friday morning after being arrested at Montreal’s airport last week.
Besides first-degree murder, Jonathan Ouellet-Gendron, 36, is facing more than a dozen other gun, drug and identity fraud charges dating back five years, according to a police news release.
He was identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Brandon Baxandall, whose body was found outside an apartment in the 700 block of Melrose Avenue on May 19, 2022.
A warrant was issued for Ouellet-Gendron’s arrest, and he was added to the BOLO Program — a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives — in May 2023. He was the first person on the list for a crime committed in Saskatchewan.
Saskatoon police say major crimes investigators learned that Ouellet-Gendron was in Mexico. In coordination with RCMP, he was returned to Canada.
On Aug. 9, officers from the Surete du Quebec Airport Unit, the Mascouche Major Crime Investigation Division and the Canada Border Services Agency arrested him in Montreal.
He’s charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime, careless storage of a restricted firearm, careless storage of a loaded firearm, possession of a restricted firearm, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a loaded restricted firearm without a license, possession of a firearm knowing it was obtained by the commission of an offence, three counts of possession of forged identity documents, and three counts of possession of identity documents.
“We are appreciative of all the efforts of not only our own investigators and staff, but those from partnering agencies that helped us to secure Ouellet-Gendron in custody,” acting Saskatoon police Chief Dale Solie said in a statement.
“When agencies and organizations work together toward a common goal, we are able to ensure that those who are wanted in connection to serious matters are held accountable and face the justice system.”
On May 19, 2022, police said they responded to a report of an injured man, followed by multiple reports of shots being fired in Saskatoon’s Nutana neighbourhood. Another injured person was taken to hospital.
That man was Mohamed Abdula Ali, who was sentenced last year to six years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for his role in Baxandall’s death.
Court heard Ali was also shot in the crossfire after he, Ouelette-Gendron and two other men lured Baxandall to an apartment during a planned drug robbery that ended in a shootout.
