The victim has a history of criminal charges and convictions dating back a decade, including for the early 2017 kidnapping of two men
A man killed in an apparent targeted shooting in the city’s northeast last week had connections to organized crime that included a conviction for kidnapping.
Police say they were called to a residence at around 7:20 p.m. where they found Ochelo dead. He’s the city’s 15th homicide victim of the year.
No one has been arrested for the crime.
Ochelo has a history of criminal charges and convictions dating back a decade, including for the early 2017 kidnapping of two men.
In July 2019, Justice Pat Sullivan found Ochelo, Simon Lugela and Dhia Al-Hage Mohammed guilty on charges including kidnapping while armed with a prohibited 9-mm handgun, with intent to hold Calgary men Harsimran Minhas and Buta Bains for ransom.
Court heard that Lugela, Mohammed and Ochelo went to an Erin Woods home the evening of Jan. 28, 2017, and brought two men with them — each with masks covering their heads and armed with handguns. Testimony stated phone calls were made in which the victims were instructed to ask friends to put money together to pay a ransom.
A witness eventually escaped from the home and contacted police, but court heard nearly $20,000 was collected to secure Minhas’ release.
But after being sentenced to 10-year prison terms, an Alberta Court of Appeal panel ordered a new trial for the three men, ruling Sullivan hadn’t properly considered the possibility the kidnapping might actually have been an elaborate ruse to scam cash from the victims’ friends.
In 2014, city police said Ochelo was wanted in connection to drug trafficking in Calgary’s downtown following a five-week investigation that led to 190 charges against 35 people.
They said the activity that involved the sale of cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine had fostered an escalation of associated violence in the downtown.
In November 2020, Ochelo and two other men were charged with drug and firearms offences after guns, cash and illicit substances were found in a vehicle.
On the night of Nov. 17, 2020, a black 2006 Infiniti FX vehicle struck a concrete pillar beside the merge lane from 16th Avenue and 10th Street N.W., according to Calgary police.
The three men in the Infiniti then got out of the vehicle. A witness saw them take unknown items out of it before leaving on foot, heading toward the SAIT campus, police said.
After the witness called police, officers arrived at the scene and saw a rifle case in the vehicle. Police found the men a short while later near 12th Street and 16th Avenue N.W. All three were taken into custody.
After searching the Infiniti, police found two loaded handguns, Xanax pills valued at $1,425, fentanyl valued at $18,025 and $985 in cash.
And in August 2022, Ochelo was among four men charged with 83 offences after police seized four loaded firearms and one unloaded firearm, a high-capacity magazine, body armour and drugs.