Gang leader Jamie Bacon sentenced to 18 years less time served in Surrey Six case

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A gang leader whose orders led to one of the bloodiest murders in British Columbia’s ongoing gang wars was given an 18-year sentence Friday for the deaths of six people, including two innocent bystanders.

But Jamie Bacon will serve only about five more years in prison, given the length of time he’s been incarcerated since his arrest more than a decade ago.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker addressed Mr. Bacon directly when she told the 35-year-old that she hoped he would turn away from the criminal lifestyle that began after he graduated from an Abbotsford high school, saying she understood from his lawyers that he is interested in such a possibility.

“I truly hope you are sincere about that plan,” she said in off-the-cuff remarks after reading her written ruling, noting that his two brothers were also involved in criminal activity. As Mr. Bacon looked on from the prisoner’s box, she added, “Most people in this courtroom do not think you can do that.”

Weeping outside the court, Eileen Mohan, whose 22-year-old son, Christopher, was one of the innocent bystanders killed, said the reality that Mr. Bacon’s sentence is effectively about five years was appalling to her.

“Today is really, really difficult to accept,” Ms. Mohan said. “I want to respect the process but I think the process is not respecting us in return.”

Justice Ker sentenced Mr. Bacon to 18 years for conspiracy to commit murder and 10 years for counselling to commit murder – sentences to be served concurrently. Under time-served provisions applicable since his 2009 arrest, Mr. Bacon will serve five years, seven months and eight days.

The judge defended the sentence, jointly recommended by the Crown and defence, saying that it was negotiated by “extremely competent, senior and experienced” counsel who had considered all aspects of the case.

Justice Ker acknowledged that some would prefer she dismiss the joint submission and hand down a life sentence, but that it is rare for judges to override such submissions.

Friday’s hearing ends prosecutions in one of the deadliest incidents of gang violence in a province that has been racked by conflict among criminal organizations. It began with the discovery of six dead men on the 15th floor of a Surrey apartment on Oct. 19, 2007, and proceeded through a massive investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.

Four of the dead men were part of the province’s gang culture. But two were innocent bystanders – Ed Schellenberg, a gas fitter working in the apartment where the killings occurred, and Mr. Mohan, who lived with his parents across the hall and was killed after being dragged into the apartment.

According to an agreed statement of facts, the killings took place because Mr. Bacon had deployed members of his gang to target rival drug dealer Corey Lal, the tenant of the apartment, who owed Mr. Bacon a drug debt. Mr. Bacon also wanted to show his Red Scorpions organization that he was not to be defied.

But when Mr. Bacon’s three operatives showed up at the apartment, they came upon Mr. Lal, his brother, two associates and Mr. Schellenberg.

Justice Ker began her remarks Friday by listing off the names of the six dead men, saying they were “cruelly executed,” and that their deaths have been devastating to their families and friends.

Ahead of Friday’s hearing, Mr. Bacon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to murder Mr. Lal, as well as pleading guilty to one count of counselling to commit murder in another case that led to a 2008 shooting in which the victim survived.

Mr. Schellenberg’s family left the court without speaking to the media.

“It is our hope that the resolution today will bring some small measure of certainty, solace and finality to the families of the victims and to the larger community,” Daniel McLaughlin, a spokesman for the BC Prosecution Service, told reporters after the hearing.

He said two people convicted in the Surrey Six case are pursuing appeals, with hearing dates set for early October.

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