VANCOUVER – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is probing the suspicious death in Burnaby of an associate of the Hells Angels who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 1999 gangland slaying.
Matthew Mark Rheaume, 39, was found dead in his residence in the 5700-block Camino Court just before 3 p.m. Monday.
Rheaume was well known to police and was regularly in the company of members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, although he was not considered a member.
He was charged in the 1999 murder of Hershal Clark Segal in Surrey and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
At the time Surrey RCMP said Segal was slain shortly after leaving the Oasis Hotel on King George Highway in the early hours of Aug. 14, 1999.
Segal, who was also well known to police, was killed in a "drug-related gang style manner," RCMP said in 1999.
After a two-month investigation, Rheaume and two others were charged with second-degree murder. He later reached a plea bargain on the reduced charge and completed his sentence last July, according to National Parole Board records.
An imposing figure at 193 cm and 122 kilos (6'4" and 270 pounds,) Rheaume had many run-ins with the law over the last decade, according to court records.
He was convicted in Delta of theft over $5,000 in 1997 and sentenced to 18 months' probation and a $1,500 fine. In Vancouver he was found guilty in 1998 of aggravated assault and uttering threats and got 90 days in jail. In Burnaby in 1997, he received a year's suspended sentence for another assault — this time with a weapon — and theft.
He also faced a series of charges in Surrey in 1999, including extortion, robbery and uttering threats, although the charges were stayed in February 2000.
On Tuesday police cars remained on the quiet street where Rheaume rented a house with his partner and a young child.
Neighbours said police have not told them much about the murder, except that the victim appeared to be targeted, meaning others are not at risk.
Jong Hyun Choi lives next door to the house where Rheaume was killed.
He said he was home at the time of the slaying, but did not hear anything.
Choi said Rheaume did not appear to have regular employment. He was often home in the early afternoon when Choi returned from his job.
Choi said Rheaume was already living on the street when Choi moved into his home about a year ago.
"He was next door but I didn't know him," Choi said. "He didn't do anything special in the neighbourhood."
He said the only distinguishing features that set Rheaume apart were the tattoos that covered his body.
Those tattoos were highlighted by Surrey RCMP when investigators issued a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest in October 1999 in the Segal murder.
Burnaby RCMP revealed little. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
"IHIT investigators continue to comb the area for evidence and are aggressively pursuing the investigation. In order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, no further information will be released regarding the cause of death or circumstances related to the homicide," Cpl. Pierre Lemaitre said in a news release.
Lemaitre later confirmed to The Sun that Rheaume was the man charged and convicted in the Segal murder.
He would not comment on the link between the victim and the Hells Angels.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello said he did not recognize Rheaume's name.
"I am not saying he doesn't know anybody in the club but he is not known to us," Ciarniello said. "I don't know him."
He said police use the term associate "loosely" when linking people to the Hells Angels.
