Third ex-UN member testifies for Crown in Vallee murder trial

A former United Nations gangster who turned away from his criminal past years ago agreed to co-operate with police in 2016 because he feared going to prison for life.

The man, who can only be identified as B due to a publication ban, began his testimony at the Cory Vallee murder trial in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday.

He is the third former member of the notorious gang to turn Crown witness against Vallee, who’s charged with conspiracy to kill the Bacon brothers over several months in 2008 and 2009, as well as the first-degree murder of their pal Kevin LeClair in February 2009.

B said after leaving the UN several years ago and working a legitimate job, he was arrested in 2016 in connection with the murder of Jonathan Barber on May 9, 2008 and the fatal shooting of LeClair on Feb. 6, 2009.

He told Justice Janice Dillon that the RCMP did a presentation about their evidence in the cases while he was briefly in their custody.

While he felt the case was weak and he was later released from jail without being charged, he began exploring their suggestion that he co-operate against his former gang mates. He said that he feared that if he didn’t co-operate, the police would continue trying to flip others who might implicate him.

And B testified that just by releasing him without charges, police were “basically insinuating I was possibly making a deal,” putting him in potential danger from others in the UN.

He said he understood police tactics because of “previous conversations I had with other members of our organization.”

“(Police) would try to get people to flip by saying get on the train before the train leaves the station,” B said.

“I was worried. I was worried the police would manipulate everybody to turn on each other.”

B noted that he was picked up by police in January 2016, around the same time as former UN member turned Crown witness C and Troy Tran and Billy Ly — two other UN gangsters who were later charged with conspiracy to kill the Bacons.

“I thought it was a strategic game by the police trying to manipulate all the players,” B testified.

“My general sense is they profiled us and basically they saw me — that I went legit and I was removed from the gang and I would be an easy target against others.”

B is expected to testify that he was nearby during the LeClair murder, but had no direct involvement.

Even after he split from the gang and started a new life, B said he was always concerned he might be arrested one day.

“Basically from the time of the murders until the time I was arrested and after — there wasn’t a day that didn’t go by that I wasn’t worried about the police coming,” he said.

“I would think about simple things like just the convenience of life — what a beautiful sunny day it is when I am on my way to work, how much I like the comfort of my bed,” B testified.

He also said that he knew once he agreed to co-operate, he could be targeted with violence or death by the UN, which he described as “a dead-end lifestyle.”

“Once I became legitimate, I really enjoyed it, I didn’t have to look over my shoulder,” he testified.

The trial continues.