SURREY SIX SHOCKER
Murder charge stayed against Jamie Bacon
The B.C. Supreme Court has broken her heart and shattered Eileen Mohan, whose 22-year-old son Christopher was one of the two bystanders killed in the Surrey Six slaughter a decade ago.
The court on Friday morning stayed the charges against Jamie Bacon, the man accused of being the mastermind behind the six murders.
“I am lost for words, totally lost for words, honestly,” Mohan told Postmedia.
“This is not the message I was expecting to receive about Mr. Bacon, that the proceedings had been stayed. Honestly, it broke me into pieces all over again.”
The Crown made the bombshell announcement and released an abbreviated court decision in which the judge stopped the prosecution after years of secret pre-trial proceedings.
In the opaque, five-page ruling, Justice Kathleen Ker said the evidence and materials filed and the reasons for entering the stay of proceedings must remain sealed: “I am bound by the law as I have described it and accordingly am not at liberty to provide any further information about my rulings or the evidence and materials underlying them.”
The ruling dropped a few hints, with the judge citing misplaced evidence, the testimony of a confidential informer and the fair trial rights of the accused.
The abbreviated ruling released by the judge says Bacon’s lawyers had learned of privileged information that they were not allowed to use in his defence, which would affect his right to a fair trial.
“In part, this arose from the manner in which the police handled aspects of privileged and confidential information,” the ruling says.
The RCMP said in a statement it is reviewing the ruling to assess any effects on the force.
The judge also ruled that a key witness, who can only be referred to as Person X because of a publication ban, cannot be called by the Crown as a witness, in order to protect Bacon’s rights.
Person X pleaded guilty in April 2009 to three counts of seconddegree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the case.
Attorney- General David Eby offered no further insight into the collapse of the high-profile case.
“When I learned of the Supreme Court of British Columbia’s decision to stay the charges for James Kyle Bacon, I was shocked, as I’m sure all British Columbians are right now,” Eby said in a statement.
“I write these words today with tremendous disappointment. It is important to note that the individual remains in custody on other related charges.”
The B.C. prosecution service said it is carefully reviewing the decision to determine whether to appeal, and will make a further statement once its review is concluded.
A distraught Mohan said she was left in the dark.
“All I was told is the information was privileged information and this was the judge’s verdict that she needs to have the proceedings stayed,” she said. “Privileged information! She didn’t hesitate to break my heart all over again, but she then doesn’t give an explanation of her ruling and that’s pretty frustrating, especially when you have trust in the justice system.”
The boss of the Red Scorpion gang, Bacon has been in pretrial custody for more than eight years, charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder of Corey Lal, one of six people slain on Oct. 19, 2007, at Surrey’s Balmoral Tower apartment building.
His trial had been scheduled to begin in March.
Six men were killed executionstyle in Suite 1505 — bystanders Christopher Mohan and Ed Schellenberg, and gangsters Edward Narong, 22, Corey Lal, 21, Michael Lal, 26, and Ryan Bartolomeo, 19.
In 2014, Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston were convicted of six counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Both are serving life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years. Bacon was charged on a separate indictment to allow the court to deal with applications that involved issues relating to solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege, informer privilege and public interest privilege.
Most of the proceedings were held in a courtroom that was closed to the public.
Mohan had hoped and prayed for justice for her murdered son, dragged into a penthouse apartment across the hall from the family’s home, presumably because he had seen the killers arriving on the floor, and shot.
“I feel very betrayed today, and I feel like ... the court system needs a total overhaul,” she fumed.
“They need to walk into the 21st century — they really do, and understand the crimes of the 21st century. I feel (the judge) literally delivered that Mr. Bacon’s rights were way supreme over the innocent death of my son’s rights. It sends the wrong message, it does, and having it delivered on a Friday, hoping it will go away by Monday.”
She had to pause to compose herself.
“Jamie Bacon can return to his family, you know, he has a mother, father and brother to embrace him — I have no one,” Mohan lamented.
“I just feel like screaming to the ends of the world until something magically happens. I still have a glimmer of hope something will happen. I know that the Crown will probably appeal, but I really have no hope it will be overturned. I think if the community came together, if all of the citizens of Canada came together, and really felt that this should never have happened, then maybe something will happen.”
She despaired: “This should never have happened. We are such an accepting society. I’m not the type of person who will go and march on the streets. Who would march with me?”
Bacon remains in custody on a separate charge of counselling murder.
That trial is scheduled to begin April 3. He has not applied for bail and the Crown said it would oppose his release.
Bacon’s lawyers could not be reached for comment.
This is not the message I was expecting to receive about Mr. Bacon ... Honestly, it broke me into pieces all over again.
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