Bacon back to court in Surrey 6 shooting case

VANCOUVER — An Appeal Court has sent a man facing a murder charge back to trial in a case stemming from the murders of six people in Surrey almost 13 years ago.

Jamie Bacon was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to murder.

The Crown appealed a B.C. Supreme Court judge’s decision to stay the proceedings in the case, which involves the murders of six people in a highrise in October 2007.

In 2014, two men were convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in the case.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge granted an application in 2017 for a stay filed by Bacon’s lawyers in the so-called Surrey Six case, but at the time much of the evidence and reasons for the decision were sealed by the court.

In a judgment released Thursday, the B.C. Appeal Court says it was allowing the Crown’s appeal and sending the case back for trial.

The court did not release reasons for its judgment in a statement posted on its website.

“The multiple issues of confidentiality means that our full reasons for judgment must be sealed and only an abbreviated version complying with the obligations of confidentiality may be released to the public,” the statement says.

“The division is presently consulting with counsel to canvass the text of the abbreviated reasons so as to allow for public release of reasons for judgment that comply with the requirements of confidentiality.”

Threat of flooding puts Cache Creek on alert

CACHE CREEK, B.C. — Some residents of Cache Creek are being warned they may need to leave their homes as a river threatens to breach its banks.

The local emergency operations centre says the village issued new evacuation alerts for approximately 175 private and commercial properties along the Bonaparte River on Thursday.

British Columbia’s central Interior has already been the subject of several flood warnings this season, including in the Cache Creek area.

Spokeswoman Wendy Coomber says in a statement that water levels in the river have been slow to recede and rain last weekend resulted in a quick rise.

Residents who live along the river have been advised to be ready to evacuate on short notice if the river flows over its banks.

Coomber says water levels are holding so far, but rainfall could change that.

The River Forecast Centre and Environment Canada have advised the village to monitor water levels in the river until early next week.