Gun used in shooting malfunctioned: RCMP

One of the firearms believed to have been involved in the 2011 gang shooting that killed Jonathan Bacon was not functioning at full capacity, a forensic firearms expert with the RCMP told the court Thursday.

Jason McBride, Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun are on trial for the first-degree murder of Bacon and the attempted murder of Larry Amero of the Hells Angels, James Riach of the Independent Soldiers and their companions, Leah Hadden-Watts and Lyndsey Black.

They have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Of the 47 bullets and shell casings seized at the scene, firearms expert Daisy Wong identified 20 as having been fired from one of the Norinco rifles and only eight fired from the second rifle, which appeared to have been jammed.

“The main problem with respect to (that) rifle had to do with the timing of the cycling of the rifle,” she said. “The firearm did not appear to cycle as designed.”

The barrel had been cut on that firearm, she said.

“That could theoretically produce less gas being directed though a port to cycle the firearm,” she said. “The extractor may (also) have been damaged or ill fitting, so perhaps it’s not grasping the cartridge case as it should to extract it.”

Parts of the firearm were also assembled from what appeared to be non-original parts, she said.

Despite its issues, the rifle was still operational in that it was able to discharge a unit of ammunition without having to perform any repairs on it, said Wong.

Rust discovered on the rifle likely did not contribute to the jamming, because most of the rust was on the exterior of the rifle, she said.

There were also six shell casings that were determined not to have been fired from the malfunctioning rifle, but it was inconclusive as to whether or not they were fired from the first rifle.

A third firearm, a 9-millimetre Luger pistol, was also recovered along with the two rifles nearly three months after the shooting.

Wong identified 10 shell casings as having been fired from the pistol.

There were also three pistol cartridges identified as not having been fired from the Luger pistol.

One of those bullets was encapsulated in cartilage tissue, indicating it had been extracted from a body, said Wong.

“It appeared the bullet may have been there for a sufficient amount of time for that cartilage to encapsulate the bullet.”

McBride, Jones and Khun-Khun have been in custody since their arrest in 2013.

The trial continues.