2 men plead guilty in murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik, then fight one another in B.C. court

globalnews.ca:

A shocking scene unfolded in a B.C. courtroom on Monday, as a fistfight broke out after two men pleaded guilty to murdering a man acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing.

Ripudaman Singh Malik was fatally shot in Surrey in July 2022. In 2005, Malik was acquitted in the Air India bombing that killed more than 300 people. He had consistently denied any involvement.

Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez, both of whom have long criminal records, were later charged with first-degree murder.

In B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Monday, both Fox and Lopez pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

The court heard an agreed statement of facts that revealed the two men had been hired to kill Malik.

“What we know from the agreed statement of facts is that there was some type of financial incentive that was involved in the commission of this crime, but in terms of any other specifics, it is another one of those situations where unfortunately it is just something that we as people on the outside will probably never know,” Lopez’ lawyer Gloria Ng told Global News.

“One of the things we certainly have in the forefront of our minds is the youth of our client — Mr. Lopez is a very young man and we are certainly hopeful with prospects for rehabilitation.”

Things took a dramatic turn, however, when moments after the two men entered their guilty pleas, they began fighting.

The two men, both sitting in the prisoners’ box, had been separated on opposite sides of the room. Lopez raced across the prisoners’ box and began punching Fox in the head.

Lopez delivered multiple blows before the sheriffs separated the men, brought them to their knees and handcuffed them.

Based on the agreed statement of facts, the two men were contracted