Notorious gangster Jamie Bacon, who orchestrated the Surrey Six murders nearly 20 years ago, has been released from prison to reside in Edmonton, Alta.
In 2020, a court sentenced Bacon — a former leader of the Red Scorpions (RS) gang — after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for his role in a 2007 shooting at the Balmoral Towers apartment building in Surrey, which left six people dead.
Four of the victims were targeted, while two others — a building resident and a maintenance worker — were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
At the time of sentencing, BC Supreme Court Justice Ker called the incident “one of the worst gang-related massacres in the history of this province.”
Conspiracy to murder rival gang leader Corey Lal in 2007
According to the judge, the RS’ main activity was drug trafficking. The gang’s primary objective was to take over the “lucrative” Surrey market.
“They accomplished this by forcing other drug dealers to surrender their drug lines to them,” Judge Ker wrote in her reason for judgement.
“Like most drug trafficking operations, the RS members used violence and intimidation to achieve their objectives.”
According to the judgement, Corey Lal, the leader of a rival gang, refused to hand his gang’s drug lines to the RS. As well, he refused to pay a “tax” of $100,000 the RS demanded after his refusal to hand over his drug line. This resulted in the plan to kill Lal, with Bacon the “chief architect” of the plan.
According to the judge’s decision, on the afternoon of Oct. 19, 2007, three RS members entered the apartment — reportedly Lal’s “stash house” — at Balmoral Towers. When they arrived, they found Lal there with three of his associates. A gas fireplace repair worker conducting annual servicing was also in the apartment. Lal, his associates, the repair worker, and Christopher Mohan — a resident of an apartment unit across the hall who was pulled into Lal’s apartment after “being in the wrong place at the wrong time and possibly seeing something” — were told to lie face down on the floor. They were all shot in the head.
Counselling the murder of Bacon’s long-time associate Dennis Karbovanec
In addition to the Surrey Six murders, Bacon’s sentence was connected to the offence of counselling the murder of one of his long-time associates, Dennis Karbovanec. Justice Ker says that about a year after the Surrey murders, Bacon approached two other individuals and told them he wanted Karbovanec killed. According to the sentencing, Bacon says this was because Karbovanec was using OxyContin for his own personal use rather than selling it, attracting unwanted police attention, and “slacking at his job.”
According to the reasons for judgement, on Dec. 31, 2008, a team of Bacon’s associates prearranged to meet Karbovanec and another associate at the Mission Sports Park. When they arrived, he and the associate were shot. Karbovanec was injured, with an abrasion on the side of his scalp and a bullet lodged in his lower back, but he survived.
“The failed assassination did not please Jamie Bacon, who decided he had to recalibrate his plan,” the judge wrote. Two of Bacon’s associates responded by “taking matters into their own hands,” she said, and they agreed that they would say the shooting was their own idea.
Sentencing in 2020
For the offence of conspiracy to murder Corey Lal, Bacon was sentenced to 18 years in prison. For the offence of counselling the murder of Karbovanec, he was sentenced to 10 years, to be served concurrently. Ker says Bacon was credited for more than 12 years of time served in custody. The remainder of his sentence was five years, seven months, and eight days.
Bacon released on peace bond under conditions
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit BC (CFSEU-BC) says Bacon has been released on a peace bond under conditions, including a curfew.
“He will be monitored by Corrections Services of Canada (CSC), and we are in close contact with them to monitor any future movements,” said the CFSEU BC.
However, CSC says Bacon is not under their jurisdiction as his case is under a Section 810 order, meaning it is provincial in nature.
“Offenders who reach the end of their sentences (have served their time) are no longer under CSC’s jurisdiction,” it said in a statement.
“When there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offender whose sentence is about to expire poses a threat to public safety, CSC works with law enforcement to ensure that the public and victims are adequately informed of the post-release status of high-risk offenders.”
According to the CFSEU-BC, Bacon will be monitored by Provincial Corrections and local police in Edmonton.
“I will not be able to share his exact location,” it said.
—With files from Monika Gul