close
close

Le-verdict

News with a Local Lens

Photo exhibits of guns and getaway car released in infamous Surrey murder
minsta

Photo exhibits of guns and getaway car released in infamous Surrey murder

Items on display include the guns used to shoot Surrey businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik, as well as masks and gloves bearing the DNA of his killers, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez.

Get Kim Bolan’s latest news delivered straight to your inbox

Article content

The guns used in the Surrey shooting at Ripudaman Singh Malik. Masks and gloves with the DNA of his killers – Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez. Clothes the couple wore on the day of the murder on July 14, 2022, including a t-shirt saying Just Do It.

These are just some of the exhibits seized by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team that led Fox and Lopez to plead guilty on Oct. 21 to the murder of the former bombing suspect of Air India.

Advertisement 2

Article content

Postmedia and Global TV obtained copies of the exhibits Wednesday after a joint application to British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster.

Fox and Tanner are expected to appear by video Thursday to set a date for sentencing. When they were in court 10 days agoLopez attacked Fox, punching him in the head several times before sheriffs arrested him. New Westminster police are still investigating the assault.

The released exhibits show the volume of evidence collected against the two young killers who prosecutor Matthew Stacey said were hired to shoot Malik.

“There was no prior association between Mr. Malik and the two offenders, Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez,” Stacey told Judge Terence Schultes. “Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez were hired and paid to commit the murder of Mr. Malik, and they did kill Mr. Malik.

Malik
Surveillance footage of Tanner Fox and José Lopez in a gray Infiniti the day before Malik’s murder Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Fox and Lopez left a trail of evidence before and after shooting Malik seven times outside his clothing business at 8236 128th Street around 9:24 a.m.

They were captured on CCTV video July 13 in a friend’s rented suite on 108th Avenue in Surrey. Both arrived in an Infiniti that Lopez was driving at the time. Lopez was wearing the Nike jersey he would also wear the next morning during the fatal shooting. Fox was filmed changing the car’s license plate.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

The two then headed to monitor Malik’s business, where CCTV cameras caught them watching the area for around 17 minutes before leaving at 3:09 p.m.

Malik
The crime scene outside Ripudaman Singh Malik’s Surrey business at 8236 128th St. on July 14, 2022. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Fox was seen carrying a Puma backpack in which police would later find the most incriminating evidence: the firearms used as well as the masks and gloves containing the DNA of both suspects.

The preparations for the murder seem to last for weeks. The Honda CRV that Fox and Lopez drove to kill Malik was stolen in Coquitlam on June 22, 2022. The plate on it had been stolen from another CRV on June 23.

On July 13, around 4 p.m., the killers rode in tandem to a dead end street on 123rd Street in Surrey. Fox was in the stolen Honda and Lopez was in the Infiniti. They parked the CRV and left together in the Infiniti.

Malik
José Lopez carrying the Puma backpack seized by police on July 26 Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

On the morning of the murder, Lopez picked Fox up from his Abbotsford home at 6:05 a.m. He was driving the Infiniti. They went to their friend’s house in the 108th. Both were wearing the same clothes as the day before.

Fox collected the Puma backpack from the suite and carried it into the Infiniti at 6:45 a.m. They left to complete their contract, stopping at the cul-de-sac to change vehicles. Lopez was driving and Fox was in the passenger seat.

Advertisement 4

Article content

They were on site, ready to greet Malik at 7:10 a.m., but the 75-year-old had a morning appointment that left him nearly 90 minutes late to the office. At 8:26 a.m., Fox was captured exiting the passenger side of the CRV and walking east toward the crime scene.

Malik arrived at his business at 9:23 a.m. in his red Tesla and parked. He was killed before getting out of the car.

Malik
The red Tesla belonging to Ripudaman Singh Malik, shot dead in Surrey on July 14, 2022 Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

The killers fled in the CRV, parking it in an alley behind 8169 123rd Street before setting it on fire. They took off in the Infiniti and returned to the 108th suite where Fox was captured dropping off the Puma backpack.

Just 12 days later, police executed search warrants in the 108th suite and seized the backpack. They also searched Fox’s home in Abbotsford and Lopez’s residence in New Westminster and seized clothing each was wearing, as well as phones with photos of thousands of dollars in cash.

Each killer should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for 20 years.

[email protected]

x.com/kbolan

Recommended by the editorial

Malik
Items recovered by police from the Puma backpack included black Mizuno gloves, a white surgical mask, a black surgical mask, blue latex gloves, a black bandana mask and two handguns. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
Items seized from Lopez’s New West residence included a black Nike T-shirt with “JUST DO IT” in bold white letters on the front and $16,485 in cash. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
The photograph, dated July 15, 2022, shows a large quantity of $100 bills bunched up on Mr Fox’s lap as he wears black shorts with white trim. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
Items seized from Tanner Fox’s Abbotsford home included a pair of red Nike sneakers on a shoe rack next to the suite’s front door. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
Items seized from Tanner Fox’s Abbotsford home included a black Champion brand t-shirt with one red sleeve and one white sleeve. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
Fox and Lopez were captured on surveillance video July 13 in a friend’s rented suite on 108th Avenue in Surrey. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
Two firearms, one loaded and one unloaded, were among the items seized during the investigation into the murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Malik
Masks and gloves seized as part of the investigation into the murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com And TheProvince.com to your favorites and subscribe to our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. With a subscription, you’ll receive unlimited access to the Vancouver Sun online, as well as ePaper and our app. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun.

Article content

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *