Evergreen homicide victim had ties to organized crime, sources say
CBC News | Posted: October 8, 2015 12:05 PM | Last Updated: October 8, 2015
Joel Gary Geddes, 31, found dead late Wednesday night outside house in southwest Calgary
A man who found dead late Wednesday night outside a southwest Calgary home has been identified as 31-year-old Joel Gary Geddes.
Police were called to the 500 block of Evermeadow Road S.W. at about 11:15 p.m. MT when gunshots were reported.
Geddes, who was declared dead at the scene when officers arrived, had connections to organized crime, sources say.
Police say it's not believed the shooting was random.
Geddes had a lengthy history of criminal court proceedings against him, Manitoba documents reveal. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail in 2005 for manslaughter and given a lifetime weapons ban.
Corey Tungpalan, who lives one house down, says he got down on the floor and called 911 when he heard six to eight gunshots fired, followed by screams.
Tungpalan says the neighbourhood is normally very quiet.
"It's really confusing", he said. "I have no words for it."
Kyana Ryan, who lives nearby with her baby girl, says she knew the victim of a homicide in September, and with this latest event so close to home, she's losing faith that Calgary is a safe city.
"I don't want to have violence on my doorstep and I'm worried that if we don't start making better laws about guns and knives it's going to keep happening."
Investigators are still looking for suspects and any vehicles involved in the attack.
Anyone who was in the area at the time is asked to call the homicide unit's tip line at 403-428-8877.
The autopsy is ongoing and an official cause of death will be confirmed by the chief medical examiner's office, police say.