Surrey Six killers sentenced to life in jail
VANCOUVER — The two men convicted in the Surrey Six murders, which a judge called a “horrifying display of wanton violence,” have been sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
In imposing the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder on Cody Rae Haevischer and Matthew James Johnston, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge decried the brutal, callous and cruel nature of the execution-style shootings.
The judge said the conspiracy to commit the murder of drug dealer Corey Lal, which exploded into the violence that claimed Lal’s life and the lives of five others, was “coldblooded” and fraught with risk because it happened in a residential highrise.
Wedge also sentenced Johnston to 20 years in prison for conspiring to murder Lal and 18 years in prison for Haevischer for his conviction on the murder conspiracy. Those sentences, which will be reduced to 6.6 years and 4.6 after pre-sentence custody respectively, will be concurrent to the life sentences for murder.
The judge said the aggravating factors in the case included the plan by the Red Scorpions gang to execute a drug rival and in doing so exert their dominance in the drug trade.
Outside court, Eileen Mohan, whose son Christopher was one of the victims, said the courts had sent a loud and clear message such crimes were not to be tolerated.
Mohan, who gave a lengthy and tearful victim impact statement in court, thanked the judge for giving her son what she said was the justice he deserved.
“I’m truly and tremendously grateful and I’m relieved and happy.”
he two accused, who at points during the sentencing hearing were laughing and smiling, elected not to address the judge.
“I don’t think they’re man enough to do that,” said Mohan. “But they are full of guilt. They know what they did.”
The only issue for the judge on sentencing was how much time the two men would receive for the murder conspiracy conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Not often does an offender get a life sentence in a murder conspiracy case, but Crown counsel Mark Levitz told the judge the “unique” and “horrific” circumstances of the October 2007 gangland slayings called for the maximum.
The prosecutor noted Johnston had a long criminal record, including a conviction for manslaughter and both Johnston and Haevischer were gang members who lived a criminal lifestyle.
Simon Buck, a lawyer for Haevischer, said a fit sentence for his client on the murder conspiracy count was 10 years in jail, to be reduced to time served after credit for pre-sentence custody.
Former Red Scorpions leader Jamie Bacon and Sophon Sek, two other men accused in the Surrey Six slayings, have not yet gone to trial.