Two get life in Surrey Six murders

VANCOUVER — The two men convicted in the Surrey Six murders, which a judge called a “horrifying display of wanton violence,” have been sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

In imposing the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder on Cody Rae Haevischer and Matthew James Johnston, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge decried the brutal, callous and cruel nature of the execution-style shootings.

The judge said the conspiracy to commit the murder of drug dealer Corey Lal, which exploded into the violence that claimed Lal’s life and the lives of five others, was “cold-blooded” and fraught with risk because it happened in a residential highrise.

Wedge also sentenced Johnston to 20 years in prison for conspiring to murder Lal and 18 years in prison for Haevischer for his conviction on the murder conspiracy. Those sentences, which will be reduced to 6.6 years and 4.6 after pre-sentence custody respectively, will be concurrent to the life sentences for murder.

The judge said the aggravating factors in the case included the plan by the Red Scorpions gang to execute a drug rival and in doing so exert their dominance in the drug trade.

The two accused, who at points during the sentencing hearing were laughing and smiling, elected not to address the judge.

The only issue for the judge on sen- tencing was how much time the two men would receive for the murder conspiracy conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Two other men accused in the Surrey Six slayings have not yet gone to trial.