Shooting victim had lengthy criminal record, including assault of fellow inmate, kidnapping
A man shot to death at the Hawthorne Corner housing complex in Nanaimo Saturday morning was a longtime gang member with a lengthy criminal record.
Troy Dax McKinnon, 34, of Nanaimo was found dead at 10:50 a.m. in the parking lot of the housing complex at Wakesiah Avenue and Second Street. Police believe he was the victim of a targeted shooting.
In February 2015, McKinnon was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to playing a “significant leadership role” in the 2011 Vancouver kidnapping of drug trafficker Eric Low, which was thwarted by police.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen called the plan a coordinated, sophisticated scheme involving communication by encrypted cellphone and the use of computers and tracking devices.
McKinnon and his associates expected a big ransom to be paid for Low. Cullen found that McKinnon told his associates when and how to place the tracking devices on Low’s vehicles and where to grab him. The kidnapping plan involved a firearm and ammunition.
On Nov. 23, 2011, police were watching as McKinnon’s associates grabbed Low outside a Blockbuster store in east Vancouver, pistol whipping him and throwing him into a van. When police caught up to the kidnappers minutes later, they found Low tied up with plastic ties and covered in blood.
McKinnon received almost four years credit for pre-trial custody, which meant he had another three years and four months to serve.
At his sentencing hearing, the Crown said McKinnon had no break in his criminal history over the previous 16 years. He had even been convicted of assaulting a fellow inmate.
On Sunday, officers from various sections of the Nanaimo RCMP continued to investigate the shooting, said RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien. No suspects had been arrested, he said. Forensic identification officers are still on the scene at the housing complex. They are also investigating a car fire on Elizabeth Street, which was reported after the shooting.
Neighbours said McKinnon lived at the complex.
Caleb Johanson, who lives nearby, said he heard about six shots.
“I looked our bedroom window and I could see there were some cars with holes in them and then went out a little bit later and there was actually a bullet hole by my door to my place, about head height.”
Police have not said whether the victim was inside his car when he was shot.