Man convicted in Little Italy murder of Johnny Raposo escapes B.C. prison: RCMP

One of four men convicted in the brazen murder of Johnny Raposo as he watched soccer on a patio in Toronto’s Little Italy in 2012 has escaped from a B.C. prison.

Coquitlam RCMP was informed by staff at 7:30 p.m. that 35-year-old Rabih “Robby” Alkhalil had “escaped from lawful custody.”

“Alkhalil is confirmed to have left in a White Econoline Van with two others who were posing or employed as contractors.

“The van left North Fraser Pre-trial at approximately 6:48 p.m. and travelled westbound on Kingsway Avenue,” police said in a statement.

Photo credit: Coquitlam RCMP

Alkhalil was found guilty of planning Raposo’s murder along with Nicola Nero and Martino Caputo — members of the so-called Wolfpack Alliance that were smuggling cocaine into Canada from Mexico.

Dean Wiwchar, who carried out the killing as Raposo watched a Euro Cup soccer game on the patio of the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe, was also convicted.

All four men received life sentences without parole for 25 years.

Alkhalil is described as five foot ten, 166 lbs., with short black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a jumpsuit and a high-visibility vest.

“Alkhalil is considered dangerous, so if you see Alkhalil, police ask that you not approach him and instead call 911 immediately,” said the statement.

Photo credit: Coquitlam RCMP

During the murder trial, the court heard that Nero believed Raposo was a “rat,” and along with Caputo and Alkhalil, they planned to steal a 200-kilogram shipment of cocaine from him and have him murdered.

Text messages were used to corroborate the scheme after Nero left a post-it note inside his apartment with a password to encrypted messages.

With files from The Canadian Press

Editor’s note: CityNews has removed images that were previously released by the RCMP of the two individuals they suspected of helping Alkhalil escape. In an update Saturday, the RCMP confirms those photos were “stock images that do not represent the suspects themselves.”
“It is believed that the suspects who helped ALKHALIL escape bear a close resemblance to the photos they left behind, but those images are not them,” Const. Deanna Law said.
Mounties have not provided updated descriptions of the two additional suspects.