Canada: Halifax homicide victim owned chain of cannabis dispensaries
The victim of Halifax’s latest homicide was the owner of a chain of medical cannabis dispensaries in the municipality, one of which was the scene of a suspicious fire this summer.
Ryan Michael Nehiley, 25, was pronounced dead in hospital Friday night. Police said he was shot in his home on Clovis Ave. in Spryfield.
On Saturday morning, police tape surrounded 25 Clovis Ave., a three-storey house on a residential street. Dozens of evidence markers were scattered around the property.
The Nova Scotia Joint Stock Registry lists Nehiley as a partner of the Chronic Releaf Medical Dispensary, though there are no other partners listed. Nehiley’s address is listed as 25B Clovis Ave.
In October, police raided a Chronic Releaf location on Quinpool Rd. Another dispensary, Canna Clinic on Dresden Row, was raided the same day, and police seized cannabis, edibles and cash at both locations and arrested 10 people in total.
In August, a Chronic Releaf location on Joseph Howe Dr. was the scene of a suspicious fire. A caller reported seeing a tall white man wearing all black with his face covered setting the business on fire and fleeing the area on foot.
There’s also an online presence for a location on Herring Cove Rd., about a two-minute drive from Clovis Ave.
A website for the company, chronicreleafcanada.ca, appears to have been taken down.
Halifax police spokesperson Const. John MacLeod said Monday that the suspicious fire is still under investigation.
MacLeod wouldn’t say whether police believe there’s any connection between Nehiley’s business and his killing.
“Our officers are diligently looking into all avenues of information that they have to see what they can do to further the investigation,” MacLeod said in an interview.
“In regard to the victim’s participating in business, we’re not speaking to the specifics in and around the victim. Our focus really is that he was the victim of a homicide.”
Police said over the weekend that they believed there was more than one person involved in Nehiley’s killing and that it was not a random act.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
