UPDATE:
Justice Allan Betton has dismissed an application to have all all charges against the three men accused of fatally shooting B.C. gangster Jonathan Bacon dropped.
Jujhar Khun-Khun, Jason McBride and Michael Jones’ laywers had applied to have the charges dropped based the time it took for this case to come to trial.
Justice Betton denied that application and is expected to give his reasons for that decision at a later date.
Khun Khun, McBride and Jones are each charged with one count of murder, four counts of attempted murder and numerous gun charges.
The trial continues today in Kelowna.
More to come.
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ORIGINAL:
The three men accused of fatally shooting B.C. gangster Jonathan Bacon in broad daylight six years ago may learn today whether the charges against them will be dropped.
The application process to have charges dropped against Jujhar Khun-Khun, Jason McBride and Michael Jones wrapped up a week ago, and Justice Allan Betton hadn’t made a decision as that process wrapped up. In court, he said that he would likely reach a decision by today and let the evidence continue.
The application is based on the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in R. v. Jordan, which set out a new framework for analyzing a violation of the Charter.
To get the matter to trial was above the 30-month threshold established in the Jordan case for trials in Superior Court, which means the Crown was required to show exceptional circumstances to rebut the presumption that the delay was unreasonable.
Khun Khun, McBride and Jones are each charged with one count of murder, four counts of attempted murder and numerous gun charges.
Bacon, a Red Scorpion gang member, was shot to death outside the Delta Grand Hotel on Aug. 14, 2011. In his vehicle during the attack were Larry Amero, a Hells Angel, James Riach, of the Independent Soldiers, and two women. One of the women, Leah Hadden-Watts , was paralyzed in the incident. The other remains unnamed.
The trio were arrested in 2013.