Skip to content

Maple Ridge realtor recovering after shooting

Franz Prokop was shot in the head at a property in Maple Ridge listed for sale
24692mapleridgeMVI_7260s
Police detour drivers off Lougheed Highway a few blocks away from a property where a Maple Ridge realtor was shot in the head on Saturday.

A realtor and former Maple Ridge councillor who was shot on a rural Maple Ridge property Saturday is recovering following surgery.

Franz Prokop, who works for Macdonald Realty, remains in stable condition after being shot multiple times in the head just after 12:30 p.m. on a property on Lougheed Highway, east of 240th Street.

Ridge Meadows RCMP said a man called 911 to report he had been shot.

The former municipal councillor also managed to flag down a passing car, and an off-duty paramedic was one of the first people on scene.

Prokop was airlifted to hospital as police rushed to shut down a long stretch of Lougheed Hwy., from 240th Street towards Mission.

Investigators with Ridge Meadows RCMP serious crime unit and police dogs combed the large rural property and railway tracks below the highway looking for the shooter, but were unable to locate anyone.

Police say the shooting was not random.

The 19-acre property where Prokop was shot is one of his listings and currently on the market for $1.88 million. The property is owned by Haney Bingoplex Ltd.

Justin Jarry was driving past the property on his way to hike Golden Ears Mountain when he noticed a stream of police cars speeding towards him.

As he slowed down to let the police cars pass, he saw a man lying by the side of the road and second person flagging down police cars. Two black SUVs were parked nearby.

"We first thought someone had had a heart attack," said Jarry, from Kamloops.

The westbound lanes of the highway were still closed when Jarry and his girlfriend were heading back home and the black SUVs were still parked by the side of the road.

"What I found odd was their license plates were covered in cardboard," said Jarry.

Macdonald Realty would not confirmed if Prokop was showing the property to a potential buyer when he was shot.

"Macdonald Realty at this time is making no comment about Mr. Prokop," said managing broker Harvey Exner. "A police investigation is underway and we do not want to compromise the investigation."

The property in question has been connected to several police search warrants in the past few years.

It has previously housed a marijuana grow operation and a methampethamime lab. In 2010, a semi-trailer filled with a million dollars worth of brand name merchandise was torched on the property and eight people were arrested.

Prokop is a well-known realtor in Maple Ridge and served on council in the 1980s.

 

Suing for millions

Franz Prokop has filed a lawsuit against another realtor over a $3.6 million lottery ticket.

The civil suit, filed in New Wesminster Supreme Court, alleges Peter Dushop, who was the son of Prokop's common-law wife Angelika Dushop, took a lottery ticket Prokop purchased and cashed it just prior to the one year expiry date in July 2008.

Dushop's $3.6 million windfall was covered by the media.

He said then that he kept his winning ticket safely tucked away in a bank vault for 12 months, while he has decided what to do with the money.

Filed five months later, in December 2008, the lawsuit claims Peter Dushop was living with his mother and Prokop when the lottery ticket was purchased from a Save-On-Foods in Port Coquitlam. It alleges Dushop, 24 years old at the time, knew where Prokop stashed his tickets.

The lawsuit has wound its way through court since 2008. A judge issued orders for Prokop's investigators to view Dushop's phone and credit card records so he could prove the Port Moody realtor was not in the area when the lottery ticket was bought.

A hearing scheduled to take place in January 2014.

Police would not say if Saturday's shooting was connected to the lawsuit but added all avenues are being investigated.