Man gets more than 13 years for attacking people with ties to Justice Institute of B.C.
A man who targeted 15 families with firebombings and shootings because he thought they had links to a training centre for emergency responders in New Westminster has been sentenced to 13½ years in prison.
Vincent Cheung, 43, of Langley, pleaded guilty last week to 18 of 23 charges stemming from attacks in 2011 and 2012.
Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen said Wednesday that the circumstances of the case required a strong message of denunciation.
“I accept the offender did not choose to become an addict or to suffer from paranoid delusions. He did, however, make certain lifestyle choices and nefarious connections to wage a campaign of fear against innocent victims.”
Cullen said while Cheung’s motives were rooted in delusions, his response was “very real and very dangerous.” The judge gave Cheung 1½ years credit for being in jail while awaiting trial, ordered a firearms prohibition and ordered he provide a DNA sample.
The Crown asked for a 15-year prison sentence, while Cheung’s lawyer recommended a 10-year term.
At the man’s sentencing hearing, court heard Cheung either hired associates or may have personally carried out the crimes. He admitted tracking down people who parked their vehicles at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in New Westminster by paying an Insurance Corp. of B.C. employee to run licence plates.
Investigations into the employee and those Cheung hired are ongoing, Crown attorney Joe Bellows said.
One man has pleaded guilty to one count in an arson case and will be sentenced next month.
Court heard nine victim impact statements in which people reported emotional trauma, depression and sleep deprivation after their homes or cars were shot at or set on fire.