Evidence `overwhelming' in Surrey Six convictions, Crown argues

The judge who convicted two Red Scorpion gangsters in the Surrey Six murders found there was “overwhelming” evidence they participated in B.C.'s worst gangland slayings, the B.C. Court of Appeal heard Monday.

Crown prosecutor Mark Levitz said B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge properly convicted Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston of first-degree murder and conspiracy, despite the fact that some of the witnesses were of “unsavoury” character.

Levitz said Wedge found strong corroboration for much of the evidence of two key Crown witnesses who can only be identified as KM and Person Y due to publication bans.

Y was involved in the Red Scorpion gang and admitted to two unrelated murders, but Wedge noted that he “went to the police on his own volition,” Levitz said, adding that Y “then co-operated and told them what he knew and agreed to become a witness.”

Levitz told Appeal Court justices David Tysoe, Anne MacKenzie and Peter Willcock that the appeal should not succeed because the defence lawyers are simply raising the same issues that were argued and rejected during the 2013-14 trial.

Levitz noted that Monday was the 13th anniversary of the murders. Killed executionon Oct. 19, 2007, were Corey Lal, his brother Michael, associates Ryan Bartolomeo and Eddie Narong, and bystanders Ed Schellenberg and Christopher Mohan.

“The murder of Corey Lal was a Red Scorpion gang hit. Corey Lal was a rival drug dealer to the (Red Scorpions) gang,” Levitz explained.

Lawyers for Haevischer and Johnston argued last week that the 2014 convictions should be overturned because their clients' rights were violated by a 40-day secret pretrial hearing and by police misconduct they alleged was more widespread than was disclosed to them.

They suggested that the evidence of Y and KM should not have been accepted by Wedge because some of their interactions with police were not disclosed before the trial.

But Levitz said Monday that not only was it appropriate for the judge to believe the two witnesses, but there was much more evidence of Haevischer's and Johnston's involvement in the murders, including dozens of other Crown witnesses, surveillance video, photos and cellphone records.

Levitz also said Wedge properly held an in-camera hearing excluding the defence lawyers in 2013 “because their absence was necessary to protect an informer's identity.”

The appeal hearing is expected to finish Oct. 23.