It took six years to get to court, but the trial looking into the broad daylight shooting of B.C. gang-leader Jonathan Bacon has been one of the most eye-opening cases to have hit 91大黄鸭.
Jason McBride, Jujhar Kuhn Kuhn and Michael Jones have been on trial for murder since May in a case that seems to have no shortage of delays and grainy CCTV footage of people walking.
Much of the case has been focused on details too dry to make it to print, like phone records and fragmented text messages, but there have been moments that have shone a light on the dark corners of B.C.鈥檚 underworld鈥攑articularly 91大黄鸭鈥檚.
Much of that came from testimony of one man who used to be associated with the three accused and has since become a Crown witness. His name, like that of the three others who are expected to testify in the new year, is under a publication ban.
When offering testimony that highlighted his ties to the accused, the witness told the court that 91大黄鸭 was a key location in a Surrey gang鈥檚 drug trafficking network years before it brought a war to local streets.
He was making a brisk living selling drugs in the Okanagan, supplied by Sukh Dhak鈥攖he younger brother of Gurmit Dhak鈥攁 member of an Indo Canadian gang that rose to prominence in the Lower Mainland in the early 2000s.
鈥淚 moved here 10 years ago and started a dope line. I鈥檇 drive around and hand out free dope samples and give out my number,鈥� he said.
Soon he was making more than when he dealt in Surrey.
鈥淭hat phone鈥as probably pulling in, on average, $4,000 or $6,000 a day,鈥� he said, explaining that 鈥渄ope鈥� was cocaine and crack.
Early on he even had a tow truck business set up so he could transport drugs and guns from one end of the valley to the other, unnoticed. If, on the off chance he was pulled over, he explained, he could say he didn鈥檛 know anything about the contents of the vehicle attached to his hitch. He鈥檇 return to Surrey every week鈥攕ometimes three times a week鈥攖o replenish his supply and bring back cash.
鈥淪ome of my vehicles had hidden compartments so if I couldn鈥檛 find someone to bring up ($70,000), I鈥檇 jump into one of my vehicles and bring it down,鈥� he said. 鈥淥r sometimes Sukh (Dhak) would bring me down and talk about how we could sell more. Sometimes I鈥檇 stay down for a week. Sometimes an hour.鈥�
Sukh Dhak, the witness explained, had been a friend since they were in their teens, selling pot. As they got older he and a small group of friends started dealing cocaine and crack.
鈥淢e and Manny (Hairan) became good friends and Suhk was always around supplying weed and coke and we were all kind of just buddies,鈥� he said.
鈥淎t that time we were just a bunch of young kids selling drugs to make money and Sukh was kind of the boss, but also our buddy.鈥�
In just a few more years, he said, the bonds they forged earlier in life took the shape of a criminal organization, with a hierarchy falling into place. Sukh Dhak鈥檚 leadership became more clear. If they wanted to sell dope they 鈥渉ad to go through him鈥� and he was 鈥済iving out orders.鈥�
He also offered some insight into how the Bacons rose to prominence.
鈥淲hen the Bacons and all that started happening, and those guys came into Surrey and started dope lines there鈥e looked at it as these guys coming into our town. They were moving things around and making guys work for them,鈥� he said.
The Bacon brothers were the heads of the Red Scorpion gang that was based out of Abbotsford.
鈥淭hat became a problem,鈥� the witness said. 鈥淎nd when that happened Gurm would step in and deal with it.鈥�
He made an arrangement with the 鈥淏acon guys鈥� allowing them both to deal in Surrey, without conflict.
While Gurmit Dhak was able to broker a peaceful co-existence between the Red Scorpions and the Dhak Group, he was gunned down by other rivals in a Metrotown parking lot in 2010.
鈥淎fter Gurm died a lot changed,鈥� said the witness, noting the drug operation they鈥檇 been running got 鈥渂igger over time鈥� and Sukh started hanging out with 鈥渙ther guys,鈥� like Jujhar Khun-Khun.
鈥淪ukh was pissed,鈥� about his brother鈥檚 death, he said. 鈥淗e was mad. He was sad鈥� He told us to keep our ears open and see what happened.鈥�
Sukh Dhak was looking for who killed his brother and, in time, came to the understanding that Larry Amero was responsible for his brother鈥檚 death and James Riach was also involved, said the witness.
The witness testified he knew Riach was an Independent Soldier from the Vancouver area and Amero was a full patch Hells Angel. Sukh Dhak鈥檚 associates were to look for them.
Bacon, Larry Amero and James Riach were in the shot up Porsche Cayenne August 2011 in 91大黄鸭, along with Leah Hadden-Watts and Lyndsey Black. Bacon was the only one who died. Amero was shot in the face, wrist and chest, Hadden-Watts was shot in the neck and rendered a paraplegic, Black was shot through both upper legs. Riach escaped without injury.
