Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted for double murder: DOJ

A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder is wanted and another suspect is in custody in connection with a double murder in Ontario last year, United States law enforcement officials say.

The Justice Department said Thursday that Ryan James Wedding, who competed for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and Andrew Clark allegedly orchestrated the Nov. 20, 2023, murders of two family members in Caledon “in retaliation for… “Stolen drug shipment that went through Southern California.

The Canadians living in Mexico are two of 16 defendants identified in a superseding indictment released today. It alleges the group engaged in what officials described as cross-border drug trafficking. Officials say the defendants “routinely” shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Canada and the United States via Mexico and Southern California

Clark was arrested by Mexican law enforcement on Oct. 8, a news release said, but Wedding is pending.

The DOJ said that in addition to ordering the double murder in Caledon, in which another family member was seriously injured, Wedding and Clark also ordered the killing of another victim on May 18, 2024 over a drug debt, but authorities did not say where there was a murder. Clark and another suspect, identified as 23-year-old Canadian Malik Damion Cunningham, are also charged with murder in the April 1, 2024, murder in Mississauga.

Wedding, whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy,” according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is the lead defendant in the indictment and is wanted on eight counts, including three counts of murder in connection with an ongoing criminal enterprise.

The same charges are being brought against Clark, who goes by the pseudonym “The Dictator,” and he is also accused of murder.

CTV News Toronto reported on the Caledon double murder back in March. Peel police at the time said they believed the triple shooting was a case of mistaken identity as they searched for suspects identified as part of a joint investigation with OPP called “Project Midnight.”

Jaspreet Kaur Sidhu, 28, who was shot 13 times, survived. Her parents, Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, and Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, 55, did not.

Police said the shooting was linked to at least five other shootings in just over two weeks.

“I would like to emphasize that the Sidhu family was completely innocent. “Our investigation has determined that these three victims were falsely targeted and were not involved in the suspected human trafficking organization,” said OPP Dep. Commissioner Marty Kearns said at Thursday morning's press conference in Los Angeles, where authorities provided an update on their investigation.

Police allege Ontario residents Hardeep Ratte, 45, and Gurpreet Singh, 30, ran the Canadian transportation operations of the Wedding and Clark drug trafficking network, using long-haul semi-trucks to transport the narcotics into the country after storing them in warehouses were sent by agents in Los Angeles.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Wedding's arrest.

This is breaking news. More will follow.