He had survived a targeted shooting in Vancouver and being a member of the WolfPack alliance during a deadly gang war.

But Jeffrey Chang couldn’t survive his own vice.

The B.C. Coroners Service has finally confirmed what Postmedia reported in July 2015 — that Chang died of a drug overdose in a Pitt Meadows house.

The one-page coroners’ report released Friday said Chang’s immediate cause of death was “acute cocaine intoxication”.

And it said the July 2, 2015 death was “an unintentional illicit drug overdose”.

The report lists Miami, Florida as Chang’s city of residence.

In June 2014, Chang escaped serious injury after a targeted Vancouver shooting that left his girlfriend Mia Deakin seriously wounded.

After the shooting, Chang was splitting his time between B.C. and Ontario, police said at the time of his death.

“We would still consider him as being involved in the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict with close association to the Alkhalil group, members of the Independent Soldiers, WolfPack and many others,” Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said. “He’s been around and involved for many years.”

Chang was the younger brother of slain gangster Jonathan Chu-Ka Chang, who was 27 when he was sprayed with gunfire behind a Burnaby gym on Oct. 14, 2009. His murder remains unsolved.

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It only took the coroners’ service a year and five months to publicly confirm that Wolf Pack gangster Jeffrey Chang died of a drug overdose.

I reported at the time that the 28-year-old’s death on July 2, 2015 was a “suspected drug overdose.”

Then I submitted  my request to the coroner to get a copy of the report, which was finally released to me Friday.

It’s sparse, but I have written a short update:

Guns purchased by a Courtenay man sentenced last month on firearms charges have turned up in several criminal cases, including a shooting and two home invasions.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robin Baird handed Bryce McDonald a 40-month sentence Nov. 7 for storing restricted firearms in an unauthorized place and in a careless manner.

But McDonald was never charged with the fact that more than 30 restricted firearms he purchased went missing — something Baird said earlier was “probably sinister.”

Now more details about where some of the guns ended up have been released in the judge’s written reasons for sentencing.

An affidavit filed by the Crown at McDonald’s sentencing hearing said police found six of the missing guns while investigating other crimes, including a June 21, 2014 shooting at Brentwood Mall that injured a man.

“In July 2014, a suspect turned himself in claiming responsibility for this shooting.  He surrendered the gun that he had used. It was a 9mm Luger registered to Mr. McDonald,” Baird noted.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit raided McDonald’s house and storage locker in December 2013 and found just 19 firearms, both restricted and unrestricted, even though records showed McDonald had purchased 49 restricted guns since getting his licence in 2009.

That led to a dozen charges against McDonald, a Hells Angels associate.

CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said Friday that the investigation into McDonald was closed, despite the fact that some of his missing guns have turned up in other criminal cases.

“That investigation into McDonald … concluded,” Houghton said. “But, like in any case, (there could be) a re-examination or new investigation should new information come to our attention.”

Other guns owned by McDonald were found:

• on June 16, 2014 when Mounties responded to a complaint of a home invasion in progress on Canada Way in Burnaby.  Police found a loaded Storm Ruger handgun registered to McDonald in the suspect’s vehicle.
•  on January 26, 2015, when a man was arrested in Vancouver for shoplifting.  Police found three Glock firearms concealed on him, two of which were registered to McDonald.
• on June 8, 2015, a man was arrested in Vancouver in a stolen vehicle. The suspect’s house was later searched and a Beretta handgun registered to McDonald was found.
• on February 25, 2016, the Calgary Police investigated a home invasion in which five masked persons armed with knives, a bat, and a gun entered a residence, tied up two people and assaulted them. Police later found the suspects and searched a vehicle they had stolen, finding a loaded .40‑calibre Glock handgun registered to McDonald, an over‑capacity magazine containing ammunition and a balaclava.

Photo credit: Combined Forces Special Enforcement 2013: Firearms seized by anti-gang police investigating Courtenay resident Bryce McDonald.

“I remind myself that Mr. McDonald was not charged with and has not been convicted of firearms trafficking.  The Crown makes no such allegation.  But the issue of the missing guns is surely an aggravating factor on the present convictions which focus upon Mr. McDonald’s flagrant misconduct as a licensed gun owner and the scope of his unlawful behaviour in managing his gun collection,” he said.

Baird said McDonald had lied when asked what happened to the missing guns.

“Mr. McDonald knows perfectly well where these guns have gone, but he has refused to tell the truth about it,” Baird said. “Instead, he has brazenly and repeatedly lied to me about this issue, and his dishonesty has persisted down to the present moment.”

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Last month, I reported the bare bones details of the 40-month sentence handed to Bryce McDonald, of Courtenay, who was convicted of several firearms charges.

This week I got a lot more details of the case when the written reasons of Justice Robin Baird were released. 

I was surprised to see that six of McDonald’s missing guns were found in the hands of other criminals being investigated for other crimes. Still McDonald has not faced any charges related to 30 missing guns.

Here’s my latest story:

Courtenay man’s missing guns used in shooting, home invasions

The federal government introduced new legislation Monday to try to stem the overdose crisis across the country. 

The bill would make it easier to set up safe consumption sites and also proposes to prohibit the unregistered import of pill presses. And it would give border agents the ability to search international packages/envelopes weighing less than 30 grams if they suspect the item may contain drugs.

The proposed pill press ban reminded me of a March 2007 story I wrote as part of a series on synthetic drugs, which noted how easy it is to get a pill press online.

Here’s that report:

Need a pill press? Call Shanghai

Vancouver Sun 
Sat Mar 17 2007 
Page: A7 
Section: News 
Byline: Kim Bolan 
Source: Vancouver Sun 

A Vancouver Sun reporter had offers of pill press delivery from different Shanghai companies within an hour of sending out e-mails requesting information about purchases.

Winni Kong, sales representative with the Shanghai Tianfeng Pharmaceutical Machinery Co., offered three different pill press prices, depending on the capacity, ranging from $737 to $1,047 US.

She asked no questions about the purpose for the purchase and said the product would be shipped within 30 days “after confirmation of order” and take another 20 days to reach Vancouver by ship.

“Some of them are merchandise on hand, so don’t need so much time,” Kong said.

“We haven’t got agents there, but we have some clients in America. We always are at your service and are looking forward to hearing from you soon.”

Frank Gao, of Shanghai’s Pharmao Industries Co, offered even faster service and a better price — $700 US per pill press.

Gao said to ship by sea would cost $55 US per unit, but “if shipped by DHL [courier], should take three to four days to Vancouver.”

“Many customers like [to] ship this machine by DHL,” he said.

The courier cost quoted is $1,250 US per pill press — almost twice the cost of the machine.

Gao even provided a bank account number to which cash had to be transferred in order to get the process going and he said not to worry about it being a scam.

“We can deliver the machine within 10 days after receipt the payment. We sold many sets of TDP machines to U.S., so please do not worry about our credit,” he said.

Again, Gao asked nothing about the reason for the purchase.

Shanghai is also the most listed online location of pharmaceutical companies offering to sell methylamine hydrochloride and sodium borohydride, though none responded to The Sun’s e-mail inquiries about ordering the chemicals.

Insp. Brian Cantera, who heads RCMP E Division’s drug squad, was not surprised by the ease with which The Sun accessed willing vendors in Asia, saying it is just as easy for organized crime groups to get the presses.

“These guys produce this stuff and of course they bring in pill presses,” Cantera said.

“When you get Asian organized crime and they are bringing in a precursor and they are bringing in a pill press and these are both legal substances.

“Now you are following two perfectly legal items for which there is no accountability for them to have to report or say ‘hey this is a legitimate business.’ ”

kbolan@png.canwest.com

HI KIM …

Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan went online this week and found out just how easy it is to import a pill press from China. Here is an e-mail exchange between Bolan and a representative from Shanghai-based Pharmao Industries Co., one of several overseas companies advertising pill presses for sale on the Internet.

I am inquiring about the importation of single tablet pill presses into Canada?

Are these easy to ship? How much are they per unit?

I am based in Vancouver, Canada.

Kim Bolan

On March 12, 2007, at 8:39 p.m., Frank wrote:

Hi Kim

The price of TDP single punch tablet press is USD700/set FOB Shanghai

The freight cost by sea is USD55 But many customers like ship this machine by DHL, the cost is USD1250

Best regards

Frank Gao

Do you require a minimum order for shipment? I suppose with DHL, a shipment could be here within days? Do you have an agent in Vancouver or another Canadian city?

Thanks for your quick response,

Kim

– – –

On March 12, 2007, at 8:51 p.m., Frank wrote:

Hi Kim

No minimum order for shipment

If ship by DHL, should take 3-4 days to Vancouver

We have not agent in Canada

Best regards

Frank Gao

Thanks Frank.

What is the mechanism for placing an order? Do I need to send a money order? Or is a credit card number okay?

Kim

On March 12, 2007, at 9:03 p.m., Frank wrote:

Hi, Kim

You can transfer the money to below bank account:

Bank name: CHINA MERCHANTS BANK SHANGHAI BRANCH

Account: 6225 8802 1940 8011

Can you recommend a secure bank here that will do the transaction? I would prefer not to use my own bank.

Kim

On March 12, 2007, at 9:16 p.m., Frank wrote:

Dear Kim

We only have this bank account, I think you can do the transaction easily from your side

Best regards

Frank Gao

Maybe I will try HSBC, which is the old Hong Kong Bank of Canada. What guarantee to I have that I will get the product if I send the money?

Kim

Hi Kim

We can deliver the machine within 10 days after receipt the payment. We sold many sets of TDP machines to US, so please do not worry about our credit.

We will equip the motor with 110V/60Hz, please confirm whether it is suitable for you.

Two accused gang killers are arguing that a warrant used to search the BlackBerry of a United Nations gang member in 2012 was improperly obtained.

Cory Vallee, who’s charged in the 2009 murder of Red Scorpion rival Kevin LeClair, and Jason McBride, charged with the 2011 murder in Kelowna of LeClair’s close friend Jonathan Bacon, want the evidence from the BlackBerry ruled inadmissible.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janice Dillon, who’s presiding over Vallee’s trial, has ruled that the Kelowna judge in McBride’s case, Justice Allan Betton, should decide whether the warrant violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“It is in the interests of justice that a joint hearing be conducted,” Dillon said in a ruling Tuesday.

Dillon said that having one judge rule on a matter at issue in two criminal cases is extremely unusual.

So she laid out some ground rules “because British Columbia has no rules of criminal procedure governing the appointment of a judge for a joint hearing.”

She said in both Vallee and McBride’s cases, “the charges against the applicants relate to the activities of the United Nations gang and its conflict with the Bacon brothers’ gang during the years 2008 to 2011.”

“On August 11, 2011, Amir Eghtesad was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport and charged with conspiracy to murder Jonathan Bacon and others. Investigators seized a BlackBerry phone from Mr. Eghtesad,” Dillon said.

Eleven months later, an RCMP officer swore an affidavit to get the warrant to search Eghtesad’s BlackBerry and SIM card.

“Investigators found encrypted emails on the Eghtesad BlackBerry that the Crown intends to use in the prosecution of Mr. Vallee and in the prosecution of Mr. McBride,” Dillon said. “The Crown asserts that Mr. Vallee and Mr. McBride are the authors of some of the encrypted emails.”

She said that because both accused plan to make the same arguments and are willing to use the same lawyer, it makes sense to have a single hearing.

“This is a common issue suitable for determination at a joint hearing,” Dillon said.

Vallee’s trial at the Vancouver Law Courts will resume in February, while the Kelowna trial of McBride and co-accused Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun is scheduled to start in May.

Eghtesad pleaded guilty in 2014 to conspiracy to kill the Bacons and was sentenced to seven years in jail minus time served.

kbolan@postmedia.com

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Read the full ruling here.

A ruling released Tuesday by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janice Dillon shed a little light on evidence the Crown hopes to call both in the Cory Vallee murder trial, as well as the trial of Jason McBride, Jujhar Khun-Khun and Michael Jones in the 2011 Kelowna murder of Jon Bacon.

Both Vallee and McBride want the evidence obtained from a cell phone seized from Amir Eghtesad in 2011 ruled inadmissible at their trials.

There are no details in the ruling about what the encrypted messages say and they may not, in the end, ever come out at either trial.

Here’s my story:

Crown wants to use BlackBerry evidence in two drug war murder trials

Two accused gang killers are arguing that a warrant used to search the BlackBerry of a United Nations gang member in 2012 was improperly obtained.

Cory Vallee, who’s charged in the 2009 murder of Red Scorpion rival Kevin LeClair, and Jason McBride, charged with the 2011 murder in Kelowna of LeClair’s close friend Jonathan Bacon, want the evidence from the BlackBerry ruled inadmissible.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janice Dillon, who’s presiding over Vallee’s trial, has ruled that the Kelowna judge in McBride’s case, Justice Allan Betton, should decide whether the warrant violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“It is in the interests of justice that a joint hearing be conducted,” Dillon said in a ruling Tuesday.

Dillon said that having one judge rule on a matter at issue in two criminal cases is extremely unusual.

So she laid out some ground rules “because British Columbia has no rules of criminal procedure governing the appointment of a judge for a joint hearing.”

She said in both Vallee and McBride’s cases, “the charges against the applicants relate to the activities of the United Nations gang and its conflict with the Bacon brothers’ gang during the years 2008 to 2011.”

“On August 11, 2011, Amir Eghtesad was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport and charged with conspiracy to murder Jonathan Bacon and others. Investigators seized a BlackBerry phone from Mr. Eghtesad,” Dillon said.

Eleven months later, an RCMP officer swore an affidavit to get the warrant to search Eghtesad’s BlackBerry and SIM card.

“Investigators found encrypted emails on the Eghtesad BlackBerry that the Crown intends to use in the prosecution of Mr. Vallee and in the prosecution of Mr. McBride,” Dillon said. “The Crown asserts that Mr. Vallee and Mr. McBride are the authors of some of the encrypted emails.”

She said that because both accused plan to make the same arguments and are willing to use the same lawyer, it makes sense to have a single hearing.

“This is a common issue suitable for determination at a joint hearing,” Dillon said.

Vallee’s trial at the Vancouver Law Courts will resume in February, while the Kelowna trial of McBride and co-accused Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun is scheduled to start in May.

Eghtesad pleaded guilty in 2014 to conspiracy to kill the Bacons and was sentenced to seven years in jail minus time served.

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blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

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Read the full ruling here.

A B.C. man who fought his extradition to the U.S. for more than a decade on drug smuggling charges is now behind bars in Seattle.

Kevin Donald Kerfoot, 53, was escorted to the U.S. last week after losing a bid to have the Supreme Court of Canada review a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that upheld an extradition order.

Kerfoot appeared in a Seattle courtroom Friday and pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to distribute both cocaine and ecstasy.

The Surrey man was ordered detained until his trial, which has been set for February.

A co-accused and key witness against Kerfoot, Reg Purdom, was seriously injured in a targeted shooting in Kelowna in August.

Purdom was hit eight times in the chest, leg and hand by a shooter on a bicycle.

Purdom’s role as a witness in the U.S. case against his former friend has been the subject of several court rulings in B.C.

He implicated Kerfoot in statements to U.S. agents after getting caught on Oct. 5, 2005, with a bag containing more than 24,000 ecstasy pills.

Hours earlier, Purdom drove a powerboat across the international border into Washington state to pick up 41 kilograms of cocaine and drop off a black bag full of ecstasy.

What he didn’t know is that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had already been tipped to the cocaine by a confidential informant and had arrested another man involved, Randall Canupp, who agreed to cooperate.

Undercover agents accompanied Canupp and the cocaine to meet Purdom.

After Purdom’s arrest, he also agreed to co-operate, calling some of Kerfoot’s U.S. contacts to arrange cocaine deliveries while the agents listened in. He also identified Kerfoot as the mastermind of the drug smuggling operation.

Charges were laid against Kerfoot on July 20, 2006, a month before Purdom pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 54 months in jail.

As Purdom served his time, Kerfoot began his decade-long battle against extradition.

The B.C. Supreme Court decided in August 2009 that the case was strong enough against Kerfoot to order his committal for extradition. He appealed the ruling.

Purdom, meanwhile, completed his sentence and returned to Canada in September 2009.

On May 18, 2010, he filed an affidavit for Kerfoot’s lawyer, recanting his earlier testimony. The other key witness, Canupp, died of cancer about two weeks later.

Kerfoot’s appeal was allowed and his case was sent back to B.C. Supreme Court for reconsideration.

The court ordered Kerfoot surrendered to the U.S. a second time in October 2014. Again Kerfoot appealed.

On July 14, 2016, three B.C. appeal court justices rejected Kerfoot’s arguments against extradition and he sought leave to appeal to Canada’s highest court.

Finally on Dec. 1, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his application for leave to appeal the B.C. ruling.

No reasons were provided by the court.

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A couple of months ago, I wrote about the bizarre bicycle ride-by shooting that left Reginald Purdom seriously injured. And I revealed Purdom’s connection to a US drug case where the alleged kingpin, Kevin Kerfoot, continued to fight extradition a decade after being charged.

Now Kerfoot has been extradited to the US.

Here’s my update:

She says she only smuggled tens of thousands of ecstasy pills into the U.S. a decade ago to protect the life of her son, who was indebted to B.C. drug traffickers.

Now grandmother Tina Howe is going to spend almost seven years in jail.

Howe, 58, pleaded guilty in September to her role in a conspiracy to import and distribute B.C. ecstasy in Washington state.

This week, U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart handed her an 80-month jail term.

Howe and her co-accused, Maria Cooke, drove a blue Dodge minivan through the Sumas border crossing on June 23, 2007 with a hidden roof compartment containing 155,168 ecstasy pills.

On the I-5 near Blaine, the compartment split open and the pills scattered across the highway. They threw more pills in a ditch before abandoning the vehicle. 

When state troopers arrived, they saw a pink and blue haze of dust from traffic smashing the pills. The pair were arrested.

Howe confessed to U.S. law enforcement agents that she had also made two earlier smuggling trips on behalf of an unnamed drug trafficking organization.

“While the drugs that she trafficked posed great harm to the lives of this district, Ms. Howe also acted with the purported desire to protect her own son’s life,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Siddharth Velamoor said in a sentencing memo filed in court.

Despite Howe’s early cooperation, she went into hiding for several years after she was released on bail and allowed to return to B.C.

“She then became a fugitive until she was found by Canadian law enforcement, arrested, and extradited to the United States earlier this year,” Velamoor said. “Ms. Howe successfully evaded detection by law enforcement by choosing to `live off the grid.’”

Velamoor called Howe’s decision to abscond for nearly 10 years “obviously reprehensible.”

“Her absence resulted in significant cost to the court system, to law enforcement agents in both the United States and Canada, and even to her co-defendant, Ms. Cooke,” Velamoor said. “Ms. Howe now claims that she purportedly attempted to turn herself in to law enforcement at various times after she first absconded, there is absolutely no evidence that she actually did so.”

Howe’s sentencing memo was sealed in the U.S. court file.

Her daughter-in-law said in a letter of support filed in court that Howe had helped her when her youngest daughter was born in 2015.

And she said her spouse had explained to her that his mom committed her crime for him.

“He wanted to get out of dealing and turn his life around, which led to people wanting him dead,” the daughter-in-law wrote. “Yes, this is a crime, but it was also an act of trying to save her son’s life. Being a mother myself, I completely understand.”

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Dozens of criminal cases — including high-profile prosecutions of Hells Angels and accused killer Jamie Bacon — could be in jeopardy because of court delays.

Since a Supreme Court of Canada ruling in July imposed time limits for cases getting to trial, many accused in B.C. have filed applications to have their charges tossed.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada told Postmedia News that it has had 17 applications to stay charges in this province due to delays.

That includes the prosecution of Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham and their associates Shawn Womacks and James Howard, who were convicted in a major drug conspiracy case on Sept. 30.

Lawyers for the four men argued before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross in November that federal prosecutors violated their clients’ rights by delaying disclosure in the case, extending the length of the proceedings to 49 months.

They noted that in the case of accused B.C. dial-a-doper Barrett Jordan, the country’s highest court said the 49 months his case took to get to trial was too long.

The SCC ruled that in all but exceptional circumstances, Provincial Court cases should go to trial within 18 months, while cases at the superior court level should be completed within 30 months.  

Hells Angel David Giles

Federal Crown Chris Greenwood countered that most of the delays in the complex drug conspiracy case were attributable to defence lawyers requesting adjournments.

And he urged Ross to let the convictions stand.

“The defence … were responsible for the vast majority of the adjournments. They supported each others’ adjournments,” Greenwood argued.

Ross will rule on the delay application on Jan. 18.

If the bikers are successful, they’ll go free. If they lose their bid, their sentencing hearings will go ahead in February.

Already in Quebec, high-ranking Hells Angel Salvatore Cazzetta had gangsterism and other charges thrown out in September because of a series of delays that exceeded the Jordan time frame.

And earlier this month, a Senate standing committee on court delays asked the Supreme Court to clarify its Jordan ruling because so many stays are being granted in criminal cases.

“The committee, in asking for a clarification of the Supreme Court’s decision, said it is deeply concerned about the impact on victims and on the public perception of the justice system when serious charges are stayed without trial,” the committee said in a news release.

Provincial Crown spokesman Dan McLaughlin said the B.C. government isn’t keeping tabs on the number of delay applications filed since the Jordan ruling.

In October, lawyers for accused Surrey Six killer Jamie Bacon said they plan to file an application to have his charges stayed because of unconstitutional delays in the case. 

Jamie Bacon posed for this photo while in prison in 2010.

He’s set to go to trial in March 2018, nine years after he was arrested and charged in the gangland slaughter.

“The new time frames are a fact and the criminal justice branch will deal with applications dealing with unreasonable delay as they come to us,” McLaughlin said.

He said B.C.’s criminal justice branch has been working on improving the delays for years. 

“B.C.’s Prosecution Service is reasonably well-positioned to withstand the impact of the decision in R v Jordan for the majority of cases,” he said. “We believe that this is due, at least in part, to the various reforms we have put in place over the past few years, many of which were implemented for the purpose of increasing efficiency.”

Those reforms include reducing the number of prosecutors who deal with a single file, doing online charge assessment, trying to resolve cases early and a new memo of understanding between the Crown and police on evidence disclosure.

“All these reforms were designed to achieve efficiencies, reduce the number of court appearances, increase our early resolution rates, and reduce the time to trial,” McLaughlin said.

And the reforms are already having an impact.

Ministry statistics show more cases are being resolved earlier.

In 2013-2014, 66 per cent of files were resolved at or before arraignment. In the most recent fiscal year, that was up to over 73 per cent of cases.

“There is no doubt that R v Jordan has changed the legal landscape for assessing delay,” McLaughlin said. “However, [the criminal justice branch] does not expect it will turn the criminal justice system in B.C. upside-down, in large part because of the efforts we have made over the past few years to address this very issue.”

Defence lawyer Kevin Westell, an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association, said he has seen the impact of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in recent months with “a lot more people making more delay applications based on Jordan.”

Both sides in court have to justify any adjournments they’re requesting, he said.

“You are going to see a different tone to proceedings than there has been previously.”

But Westell doesn’t think Jordan applications in B.C. will lead to major cases being thrown out.

“I don’t think, on balance, you are going to see a massive amount of these longer trials that go beyond the time lines set out in Jordan kicked out. The extreme ones are going to get booted,” he said.

“I really think what Jordan represents is a message from the Supreme Court of Canada that there needs to be a culture change at Crown offices and for court administrators and that more attention needs to be paid and more resources in place so matters can be completed expeditiously.”

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Some recent B.C. Jordan rulings:

Nov. 4, 2016: Convicted cocaine smuggler Manraj Singh lost his bid to have his charges stayed because the case took more than 30 months to get to trial. The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled the delays in the case were justified.

Oct. 14, 2016: Michael Miller, charged with income tax fraud, lost his application to throw out his charges because of court delays. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Victoria Gray said that because of “the complexity of the case and the transitional exceptional circumstances here, I conclude that the delay in resolution of these charges was not an unreasonable delay.”

Sept. 16, 2016: B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Johnston provided written reasons for staying several fraud charges against Charles Dass in August because his case took 39 months to conclude.“The delay is not reasonable, and thus the stay of proceedings granted August 8, 2016 was warranted,” Johnston said.

Aug. 2, 2016: B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes dismissed a Jordan application from convicted trafficker William Michael Curry to have his charges stayed because of “unreasonable delay.” Holmes ruled that while the 42 months Curry’s case took to complete exceeded the Jordan time frame, under the previous rules “I cannot view the delay in concluding Mr. Curry’s trial as unreasonable.”

As I was checking for details of Kevin Kerfoot’s Seattle court appearance Monday, I noticed another B.C. resident was on the list for sentencing. I first wrote about Tina Howe in 2010, when the U.S. was trying to extradite both Howe and her co-accused Maria Cooke. Cooke was sent to the U.S. in 2011, but Howe managed to go underground in Canada for almost a decade, only being caught by police earlier this year.

She’s now been sentenced for her 2007 ecstasy smuggling.

Here’s my story:

I have already reported that there was a delay application in the criminal case of Hells Angels David Giles and associates and that defence lawyers for accused killer Jamie Bacon said they planned to file one too.

So I decided to look into the fallout here in B.C. from the Supreme Court of Canada ruling last summer imposing specific time frames for criminal cases to be completed at both the superior court level and at the provincial court level.

The SCC ruling does allow for the Crown to argue that some cases have exceptional circumstances which make it necessary to exceed the time limits. 

Here’s my story:

Dozens of criminal cases — including high-profile prosecutions of Hells Angels and accused killer Jamie Bacon — could be in jeopardy because of court delays.

Since a Supreme Court of Canada ruling in July imposed time limits for cases getting to trial, many accused in B.C. have filed applications to have their charges tossed.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada told Postmedia News that it has had 17 applications to stay charges in this province due to delays.

That includes the prosecution of Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham and their associates Shawn Womacks and James Howard, who were convicted in a major drug conspiracy case on Sept. 30.

Lawyers for the four men argued before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross in November that federal prosecutors violated their clients’ rights by delaying disclosure in the case, extending the length of the proceedings to 49 months.   

Hells Angel David Giles

They noted that in the case of accused B.C. dial-a-doper Barrett Jordan, the country’s highest court said the 49 months his case took to get to trial was too long.

The SCC ruled that in all but exceptional circumstances, Provincial Court cases should go to trial within 18 months, while cases at the superior court level should be completed within 30 months.  

Federal Crown Chris Greenwood countered that most of the delays in the complex drug conspiracy case were attributable to defence lawyers requesting adjournments.

And he urged Ross to let the convictions stand.

“The defence … were responsible for the vast majority of the adjournments. They supported each others’ adjournments,” Greenwood argued.

Ross will rule on the delay application on Jan. 18.

If the bikers are successful, they’ll go free. If they lose their bid, their sentencing hearings will go ahead in February.

Already in Quebec, high-ranking Hells Angel Salvatore Cazzetta had gangsterism and other charges thrown out in September because of a series of delays that exceeded the Jordan time frame.

And earlier this month, a Senate standing committee on court delays asked the Supreme Court to clarify its Jordan ruling because so many stays are being granted in criminal cases.

“The committee, in asking for a clarification of the Supreme Court’s decision, said it is deeply concerned about the impact on victims and on the public perception of the justice system when serious charges are stayed without trial,” the committee said in a news release.

Provincial Crown spokesman Dan McLaughlin said the B.C. government isn’t keeping tabs on the number of delay applications filed since the Jordan ruling.

In October, lawyers for accused Surrey Six killer Jamie Bacon said they plan to file an application to have his charges stayed because of unconstitutional delays in the case.  

Jamie Bacon posed for this photo while in prison in 2010.

He’s set to go to trial in March 2018, nine years after he was arrested and charged in the gangland slaughter.

“The new time frames are a fact and the criminal justice branch will deal with applications dealing with unreasonable delay as they come to us,” McLaughlin said.

He said B.C.’s criminal justice branch has been working on improving the delays for years. 

“B.C.’s Prosecution Service is reasonably well-positioned to withstand the impact of the decision in R v Jordan for the majority of cases,” he said. “We believe that this is due, at least in part, to the various reforms we have put in place over the past few years, many of which were implemented for the purpose of increasing efficiency.”

Those reforms include reducing the number of prosecutors who deal with a single file, doing online charge assessment, trying to resolve cases early and a new memo of understanding between the Crown and police on evidence disclosure.

“All these reforms were designed to achieve efficiencies, reduce the number of court appearances, increase our early resolution rates, and reduce the time to trial,” McLaughlin said.

And the reforms are already having an impact.

Ministry statistics show more cases are being resolved earlier.

In 2013-2014, 66 per cent of files were resolved at or before arraignment. In the most recent fiscal year, that was up to over 73 per cent of cases.

“There is no doubt that R v Jordan has changed the legal landscape for assessing delay,” McLaughlin said. “However, [the criminal justice branch] does not expect it will turn the criminal justice system in B.C. upside-down, in large part because of the efforts we have made over the past few years to address this very issue.”

Defence lawyer Kevin Westell, an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association, said he has seen the impact of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in recent months with “a lot more people making more delay applications based on Jordan.”

Both sides in court have to justify any adjournments they’re requesting, he said.

“You are going to see a different tone to proceedings than there has been previously.”

But Westell doesn’t think Jordan applications in B.C. will lead to major cases being thrown out.

“I don’t think, on balance, you are going to see a massive amount of these longer trials that go beyond the time lines set out in Jordan kicked out. The extreme ones are going to get booted,” he said.

“I really think what Jordan represents is a message from the Supreme Court of Canada that there needs to be a culture change at Crown offices and for court administrators and that more attention needs to be paid and more resources in place so matters can be completed expeditiously.”

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

Some recent B.C. Jordan rulings:

Nov. 4, 2016: Convicted cocaine smuggler Manraj Singh lost his bid to have his charges stayed because the case took more than 30 months to get to trial. The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled the delays in the case were justified.

Oct. 14, 2016: Michael Miller, charged with income tax fraud, lost his application to throw out his charges because of court delays. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Victoria Gray said that because of “the complexity of the case and the transitional exceptional circumstances here, I conclude that the delay in resolution of these charges was not an unreasonable delay.”

Sept. 16, 2016: B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Johnston provided written reasons for staying several fraud charges against Charles Dass in August because his case took 39 months to conclude.“The delay is not reasonable, and thus the stay of proceedings granted August 8, 2016 was warranted,” Johnston said.

Aug. 2, 2016: B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes dismissed a Jordan application from convicted trafficker William Michael Curry to have his charges stayed because of “unreasonable delay.” Holmes ruled that while the 42 months Curry’s case took to complete exceeded the Jordan time frame, under the previous rules “I cannot view the delay in concluding Mr. Curry’s trial as unreasonable.”

 

It was another emotional day at Vancouver Provincial Court as family and friends of Emily Sheane gathered to see the man charged with killing her in a fatal hit and run last March.

Ibrahim Ali made a tearful apology and sat with his head hung low for most of the morning. But he also made sure that he retold his version of events in his letter to the family. 

It wasn’t a version that Judge Harbans Dhillon accepted, especially when he claimed he only fled after killing Sheane because he was panicked.

Ali’s membership in the United Nations gang was not raised by the Crown during his sentencing even though his lengthy criminal history was part of the prosecution submissions.

But he was in the gang and committed crimes linked to it before the deadly collision in Burnaby a few months ago.

Meanwhile, Emily’s family has started a scholarship in her name. And they’ve got a commemorative wine named after her. Her mom said that the band Said the Whale has written a song about her called Emily Rose. 

Here’s my story on the sentencing:

Judy Sheane choked back tears Wednesday as she told reporters that the jail sentence handed to the man who killed her daughter Emily won’t bring the popular young woman back to her grieving family.

“I’m glad it’s all over. She was a very special girl. We still miss her a lot,” Sheane said outside Vancouver Provincial Court. “I am glad we got some justice, but it won’t bring her back.”

Minutes earlier, long-time United Nations gangster Ibrahim Ali was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for the fatal hit and run that killed Emily last March in Burnaby.

Ali, 26, earlier pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop at an accident.

Judge Harbans Dhillon said Ali’s reckless conduct in speeding through a red light last March 9, then absconding afterward, warranted a severe sentence.

“He took a very dangerous risk in the manner of his driving that placed other motorists, and particularly Ms. Sheane, in harm’s way,” Dhillon said.

At the time of the late-night crash at Willingdon and Moscrop, Ali had no licence, had written a fraudulent cheque for the Range Rover he was driving, and was violating a bail curfew, Dhillon noted.

She dismissed his claim that he fled only because he was panicked and did not know Sheane was hurt, let alone dead.

Ali checked into a motel that night with his companion, called a friend for a new car, arranged for stolen plates, then drove to Creston, where he was arrested days later.

“I do not accept that this collection of behaviours indicates simply a panicked response to a horrific event,” Dhillon said. “These behaviours were designed to avoid detection and to evade responsibility for the unlawful conduct.”  

Ali made a tearful apology to Sheane’s family from the prisoners’ box Wednesday where he sat with his head down throughout his lawyer Scott Wright’s submissions on his behalf. 

[PNG Merlin Archive]

Wright argued for a three-year sentence for Ali, given that he had pleaded guilty, was remorseful and was young enough to be rehabilitated.

When the sentencing hearing began last month, Crown Jonas Dow said an appropriate sentence would be in the range of four to four-and-a-half years.

Judy Sheane said she wasn’t sure whether she believed Ali’s remorse.

“I don’t know if I believed it all. He never showed remorse before and all of a sudden he does. But we will see. How he continues his life will determine whether he means it or not,” she said.

She said her daughter and Ali both graduated the same year from Burnaby South Secondary, although she doesn’t believe they knew each other.   

Emily was spirited, generous, kind and adventurous and went on to earn a graphic design degree from BCIT and to travel the world.   

Ali was already involved a life of crime while still a teen and went on to amass 20 convictions over five years.

“Emily Sheane did more than touch the lives of those who gravitated to her. According to those who knew her well, she made a difference. She consoled. She shared. She laughed. She encouraged the best in each,” Dhillon said.

“I recognize that no sentence available under the law can adequately compensate for the loss suffered by the Sheane family or come close to assuaging the emotional pains or ever fill the void left in their lives.”

Dhillon gave Ali three and a half months pre-trial credit off his sentence and imposed a 10-year driving prohibition.

kbolan@postmedia.com

Blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

Twitter.com/kbolan

Judy Sheane choked back tears Wednesday as she told reporters that the jail sentence handed to the man who killed her daughter Emily won’t bring the popular young woman back to her grieving family.

“I’m glad it’s all over. She was a very special girl. We still miss her a lot,” Sheane said outside Vancouver Provincial Court. “I am glad we got some justice, but it won’t bring her back.”

Minutes earlier, long-time United Nations gangster Ibrahim Ali was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for the fatal hit and run that killed Emily last March in Burnaby.

Ali, 26, earlier pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop at an accident.

Judge Harbans Dhillon said Ali’s reckless conduct in speeding through a red light last March 9, then absconding afterward, warranted a severe sentence.

“He took a very dangerous risk in the manner of his driving that placed other motorists, and particularly Ms. Sheane, in harm’s way,” Dhillon said.

At the time of the late-night crash at Willingdon and Moscrop, Ali had no licence, had written a fraudulent cheque for the Range Rover he was driving, and was violating a bail curfew, Dhillon noted.

She dismissed his claim that he fled only because he was panicked and did not know Sheane was hurt, let alone dead.

Ali checked into a motel that night with his companion, called a friend for a new car, arranged for stolen plates, then drove to Creston, where he was arrested days later.

“I do not accept that this collection of behaviours indicates simply a panicked response to a horrific event,” Dhillon said. “These behaviours were designed to avoid detection and to evade responsibility for the unlawful conduct.”  

Ali made a tearful apology to Sheane’s family from the prisoners’ box Wednesday where he sat with his head down throughout his lawyer Scott Wright’s submissions on his behalf.

Ibrahim Ali pleaded guilty in the March hit and run death of Emily Sheane. Ali is involved in a sentencing hearing in Vancouver Provincial Court.

Wright argued for a three-year sentence for Ali, given that he had pleaded guilty, was remorseful and was young enough to be rehabilitated.

When the sentencing hearing began last month, Crown Jonas Dow said an appropriate sentence would be in the range of four to four-and-a-half years.

Judy Sheane said she wasn’t sure whether she believed Ali’s remorse.

Emily Sheane’s mom Judy Sheane outside Vancouver Provincial Court Wednesday.

“I don’t know if I believed it all. He never showed remorse before and all of a sudden he does. But we will see. How he continues his life will determine whether he means it or not,” she said.

She said her daughter and Ali both graduated the same year from Burnaby South Secondary, although she doesn’t believe they knew each other.

Emily was spirited, generous, kind and adventurous and went on to earn a graphic design degree from BCIT and to travel the world.

Ali was already involved a life of crime while still a teen and went on to amass 20 convictions over five years.

“Emily Sheane did more than touch the lives of those who gravitated to her. According to those who knew her well, she made a difference. She consoled. She shared. She laughed. She encouraged the best in each,” Dhillon said.

“I recognize that no sentence available under the law can adequately compensate for the loss suffered by the Sheane family or come close to assuaging the emotional pains or ever fill the void left in their lives.”

Dhillon gave Ali three and a half months pre-trial credit off his sentence and imposed a 10-year driving prohibition.

kbolan@postmedia.com

Blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

Twitter.com/kbolan

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Murders across the region were up marginally in 2016 and included shocking cases such as the tragic stabbing of an Abbotsford schoolgirl and the execution and dismemberment of a gang associate.

Overall there were 67 slayings or suspicious deaths this year in the area stretching from Whistler to Chilliwack — compared to 60 in 2015 — according to data compiled by Postmedia News.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team — B.C.’s largest murder squad — conducted 52 investigations involving the suspected slayings of 54 people in 2016, Cpl. Meghan Foster said. In 2015, IHIT opened 39 files involving 43 victims.

IHIT investigates murders for all Lower Mainland RCMP detachments as well as municipal forces like West Vancouver, Port Moody, New Westminster and Abbotsford.

Both Vancouver and Delta Police forces investigate their own homicides.

In Vancouver, there were just 11 murders in 2016, down from 15 the year before, Const. Brian Montague said.

And in Delta, investigators are still probing two suspicious deaths from 2016 — neither of which has been confirmed as a murder, Sgt. Sharlene Brooks said this week.

In the most recent case on Dec. 11, a 53-year-old Delta man died after a fight outside the Rose and Crown Pub in Tsawwassen. His name has not been released.

Brooks said the death “remains classified as a suspicious death until autopsy — toxicology and pathology — information comes back.”

And the second Delta file involves the death of Surrey resident Robinder Virk, whose remains were found on March 3 inside a known drug house in the 2000-block of Tsawwassen Drive.

The 32-year-old had been reported missing on Jan. 11, after last being seen Jan. 3.

While Delta Police initially called his death “suspicious,” the force later issued a news release saying it had been determined to be a murder.

However, Brooks said there is still no definitive cause of death for Virk and that the death continues to be classified as suspicious.

IHIT faced some of the most challenging cases — including sets of found remains where the identity of the victim has not yet been confirmed.

Probably the most shocking case was the random attack on 13-year-old Letisha Reimer in a hallway at Abbotsford Secondary on Nov. 1 when she was fatally stabbed and a classmate was wounded. The attack was captured on video. Police arrested drifter Gabriel Klein, 21, who is now charged with second-degree murder.

And there were gangland shootings as well, including the October slaying of high-profile Hells Angel Bob Green in Abbotsford. His alleged killer, 856 gang member Jason Wallace, turned himself in to police the next day.

The Green murder was followed by the brutal death of 856 gang associate Shaun Alan Clary, who was found in pieces on a rural Langley road. No one has yet been charged.

Foster said that “homicide investigations are complex and lengthy in nature, and every investigation endures its own unique hurdles. The support IHIT employees, investigators and support staff receive from our victim’s families and partner agencies play a key role in every positive outcome.”

In about one-third of IHIT’s files, the names of victims were not released in 2016, even when investigators were appealing to the public for more information and no one had been charged. Yet in 2015, IHIT publicly identified all but three confirmed murder victims in the region.

When asked earlier this year about the shift to anonymity, Staff Sgt. Julie Gagnon, who works at RCMP national headquarters, said names of victims would only be released when “necessary to further an investigation.”

Vancouver Police are still withholding the name of their most recent victim for investigative reasons, Montague said.

The VPD has also dealt with shocking murders in 2016. While responding to a call about an abduction on Sept. 17, officers found Xuan Vanvy Bacao and Samantha Le murdered inside their Dieppe Place house. They also found their four-year-old child hiding.

Within days, police had rescued the victim kidnapped from the house and arrested Shamil Amir Ali, 22, Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, and Gopal Figueredo, 24. All were charged with kidnapping, extortion and aggravated assault, but not murder.

Then in November, the VPD said warrants had been issued for three more suspects — Ellwood Thomas Bradbury, Matthew Scott Stewart and Erlan Lizandro Acosta on charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault.

Montague said this week that all three suspects remain at large. So far, no charges have been laid in the double-murder, he added.

kbolan@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/kbolan

Blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

Murders/suspicious deaths in the region in 2016 by investigating agency:

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team

Dec. 4 | Lucito Santos Castillo

Castillo, 42, was found just before 10:30 a.m. in an apartment complex suite located in the 20100-block of 56th Avenue in Langley. Castillo was also known as Cheeko or RJ.

Nov. 28 | Unidentified person

The burned body was found in a shelter along Lynn Creek near Keith Road. When police arrived, it was quickly determined the individual was a homicide victim. Police were trying to identify the body.

Nov. 25 | Greg Lupel

Police and ambulance attendants were called about an unresponsive male near the Safeway located at 88th Avenue and 152nd Street in Surrey. The man, later identified as Greg Lupel, 27, died at the scene. IHIT took over the file as the death was labelled suspicious.

Nov. 8 | Unidentified man

The man was killed in a late-night altercation in New Westminster. Police were called to a home at 3:40 a.m. to assist the B.C. Ambulance Service with a male victim who sustained injuries during an altercation. He later died from injuries. A suspect was arrested at the scene. Police say the homicide does not appear to be random.

Nov. 1 | Bradley Allan Nielsen

The 53-year-old man was found dead in a Maple Ridge scrapyard. Police believe it was a targeted attack, although the motive remains unclear. He was last seen alive on Oct. 31.

Nov. 1 | Letisha Reimer

The 13-year-old girl was fatally stabbed in the foyer of Abbotsford Secondary School. A 14-year-old girl was also injured. Police and school district officials have said a homeless man walked into the school and attacked the girls before staff confronted and restrained him. The attack appeared to be random, police said. Gabriel Klein, 21, faces one charge each of second-degree murder and aggravated assault.

Oct. 28 | Ashim Raza and Vikram Toor 

Raza, 19, and Toor, 24, were found in the Fraser Heights area of Surrey suffering from gunshot wounds. One of them was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was taken to hospital, where he later died. Police believe the shooting was independent from the gangland violence that had rocked the Lower Mainland in previous weeks.

Oct. 24 | Rickey Gordon Melanson

Burnaby RCMP responded to a report of a double stabbing at a homeless camp in the area of Rumble Street and Griffith Drive. Melanson, 48, was pronounced deceased at the scene. A second man survived. Samuel James Calladine has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault. Calladine and Melanson had known each other for years, and had set up their tents in the ravine, police said.

Oct. 23 | Shaun Alan Clary

The mutilated body of the 27-year-old gang associate was dumped on a rural Langley road. Postmedia News confirmed with sources that he is affiliated with the Langley-based 856 gang. Police were looking at whether Clary’s death and other violent attacks across Metro Vancouver were in retaliation for the earlier slaying in Langley of Hells Angel Bob Green.

Oct. 22 | Unidentified person

Abbotsford Police were called to a wooded area in the 30900-block of Downes Road after human remains were found. IHIT was called in.

Oct. 16 | Bob Green

Hells Angel Bob Green was shot dead during an all-night party at the clubhouse of the 856 gang in Langley. Jason Wallace of the 856 gang turned himself into police the next day and has been charged with second-degree murder.

Oct. 9 | Kevin William Knuff

Knuff, 56, was found dead in a ravine near a Burnaby homeless camp on the west side of North Road, south of Highway 1.

Oct. 5 | Hee Sook Youn

Youn, 59, was found dead in her place of business on North Road in Burnaby. Police are trying to locate her former husband, 59-year-old Youngku Youn, who is a suspect in his wife’s murder.

Sept. 24 | Jonathan Patch

The 32-year-old with a criminal record was shot to death just after 2 a.m. near 243 Street and 102 Avenue in Maple Ridge. Dean Sahanovitch, 55, was later charged with murder.

Sept. 23 | Jason Leigh Zellmer 

Just after 6:30 a.m., Coquitlam RCMP responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle in the 4900-block of Quarry Road. Near the vehicle, they found the body of Zellmer, a Surrey resident known to police. IHIT was called in.

Sept. 14 | Troy Clysdale

The 49-year-old was one of two men who suffered stab wounds in an incident in Whalley. The second victim’s wounds were non-life threatening. A male suspect, identified as 20-year-old Boni-Muhammed Mutawakel, was arrested.

Sept. 2 | Diane Kathleen Johner

Johner, 52, was in the 48000-block of Chilliwack Central Road with a 23-year-old man when the shots rang out. The man was taken to hospital in critical condition and Johner died at the scene. The man, a former MMA fighter from Abbotsford, had gang links but no criminal convictions.

Aug. 17 | Gurdev (Dave) Hair

Police were called to Abbotsford’s Crown Court, near Clearbrook Road, just after 9 p.m. They found Hair, 45, lying in a yard. He died in hospital. Hair was known to police. No arrests have been made.

Aug. 7 | Robert Harold Vidovich

The 55-year-old Coquitlam man died after a brawl outside a Port Coquitlam pub. Mounties were called to the 2000-block of Lougheed Highway just after 3:15 p.m. after reports of an altercation. Officers found Vidovich suffering from life-threatening injuries. He later died in hospital. Investigators said he was stabbed. James Meanny, 34, was later taken into custody.

Aug. 3 | John Michael Murphy

Surrey RCMP responded to a report of an altercation between two cellmates at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre about 7:30 p.m. Murphy, 25, died as a result of the injuries he sustained. Jordan Cole Burt, 22, was charged with second-degree murder.

July 31 | Sean Christopher Kelly

The 27-year-old man died after a shooting in Surrey. Surrey Mounties, responding to a call about an injured man, found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds in the 13900-block of Antrim Road just after 8 p.m. He was later pronounced dead. He had a lengthy criminal record, including firearm charges, drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and breaches of a court undertaking. The charges stemmed from incidents in Surrey and Delta.

July 23 | Jatinder (Michael) Sandhu

The 28-year-old Surrey man with no links to an ongoing gang conflict may not have been the intended target of the killer or killers who sprayed the vehicle he was in with gunfire around 10:20 p.m. Police said the shooting in the 14300 block of 90A Avenue is believed to be part of an ongoing gang conflict involving street-level players in the drug trade.

July 15 | Unidentified female 

Coquitlam RCMP responded to a 911 call in the 1100-block of Eagleridge Drive and found an unresponsive 22-year-old female inside the home. She was later pronounced dead from injuries she sustained. The suspect was later found floating dead in Buntzen Lake after an apparent murder-suicide. IHIT did not release their names.

July 13 | John Robert Oliver Anderson  

RCMP officers were called to a known drug house in the 8900-block of Glenwood Street in Chilliwack just after 11:30 a.m. They found Anderson, 40, in medical distress from injuries sustained in an attack. He died the same day. Two suspects, David (Yoda) McKay and Cydnie Markel-Rempel, fled the house and were later arrested. McKay was charged with murder and Markel-Rempel manslaughter.

July 10 | Unidentified female

Port Moody Police were called to a domestic dispute in the 3300-block of Dewdney Trunk Road about 1:30 p.m. They found the house engulfed in flames with two adults inside. The victim was found inside suffering extensive burns. She died later that day. Her husband has been charged with murder and arson. A ban has been put on his name.

July 2 | Brendan Aditya Chand

Chand, 27, was found lying near Bog Park in the 9700-block of 130th Street in Surrey just before 2 p.m. on July 3. Police believe he was shot the night before between 10:30 p.m. and midnight. Chand had a lengthy criminal record and was convicted of a 2011 shooting in Burnaby.

June 13 | Christopher Alexander Hurtado

The 29-year-old man died in a targeted shooting around 10 p.m. in Burnaby. He also used the surname of Serrano. A dark-coloured sedan was seen leaving the area. Hurtado was convicted of slitting a stranger’s throat in Vancouver during the Olympics. He was a gang associate and involved in the drug trade.

June 5 | Amar Singh Sandhu

The Richmond developer, 56, was sprayed by gunfire as he stood beside his black pickup truck in the parking lot of the Ironwood Plaza. Police are looking for a male suspect in his early- to mid-20s, about six feet tall, with a slim build. He was wearing a grey hoodie or coat, with medium to dark pants and possibly a baseball cap.

May 31 | Unidentified man

A 58-year-old man died after a fight with another man in Coquitlam at Brunette Avenue near Hillside Avenue just before 5:30 p.m. Police said the altercation was diffused quickly, but the man died at the scene. His name has not been released. The second man, 31, was taken into custody but police said charges couldn’t be supported at the time.

May 12 | Dane Stanway

Stanway, a 27-year-old Gibsons resident, was reported missing to police May 12, after he had not been seen for a week. Investigators determined it is likely he met with foul play because of his criminal lifestyle, so IHIT took over the case.

May 11 | Unidentified man

The body of a man shot several times was found by farm workers in a rural blueberry field near Boundary and No. 3 Roads. IHIT has not released the victim’s name.

May 3 | Unidentified man

The 49-year-old man was fatally stabbed in the Salish Plaza in downtown Chilliwack. Gerald Leslie Dolman, 63, has been charged with second-degree murder. Police believe the incident started after Dolman’s vehicle followed the victim’s car on Yale Road and that Dolman struck a cyclist while following the victim. The two cars collided in a parking lot at which point an altercation led to the death of the victim, whose name has not been released. It is believed the two men knew each other.

May 2 | Unidentified man

A 32-year-old man sustained a fractured skull in an altercation with a relative in Surrey. He was later released from hospital but returned on May 12 with bleeding in the brain and subsequently died. Mandeep Bhatti, 29, was initially charged with aggravated assault, but the charge was upgraded to manslaughter. IHIT has not released the victim’s name.

May 1 | Unidentified man

IHIT took over the investigation into the suspicious death of a 54-year-old man after an altercation outside a grocery store in Sevenoaks Shopping Centre on Sunday night in Abbotsford just before 8:30 p.m.

April 18 | David Williams

The 33-year-old Chilliwack man was killed in what police say appears to be a targeted shooting. Police say the attack was likely linked to a disagreement. He suffered several gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Daniel Joseph Fabas, 34, was identified as a suspect and as an associate of Williams. In August Fabas was charged with second-degree murder.

April 17 | Neil Leslie

Leslie died in hospital a few days after he was beaten in a living unit at North Fraser Pretrial Centre. Another prisoner, Zachariah Pakarinen, 27, has been charged with manslaughter in the attack.

April 4 | Ray Jopowicz

Jopowicz, 41, was found dead on the Byrne Creek Trail in Burnaby after police received reports the night before of shots fired in the 7300-block Sandborne Avenue. He had been convicted in the United States of cocaine distribution and had links to organized crime. No charges have been laid.

March 29 | Vikki Heppner

The 28-year-old woman’s body was found near Stave Lake in Mission. Ryan Jack Armstrong, a 29-year-old Burnaby man, has been charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a body. Police said it appears the two knew each other and that Heppner was targeted. Heppner had been accused of defrauding a GoFundMe campaign set up for a widow and her two kids.

March 21 | Unidentified woman

A 53-year-old woman contacted Mission RCMP on March 11 to report that she had been assaulted by a male two days earlier while walking through Fenn Park. Ten days later, RCMP responded to a residence in the 33000-block of 3rd Avenue for a suspicious death investigation. The woman who had complained about the Fenn Park assault was found dead. An autopsy found that the cause of death was consistent with injuries the victim sustained in the earlier assault in the park.

March 20 | Unidentified woman

A 61-year-old Surrey woman was killed in a domestic altercation in a home. Surrey Mounties arrested Sukhvir Badhesa, 39, who faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault and uttering threats. A 35-year-old woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

March 11 | Unidentified male

A Surrey man was found dead from gunshot wounds after his car crashed on 79th Avenue and 123 Street in Surrey. IHIT has not released the victim’s name.

March 10 | Two unidentified males

Two young men involved in the Townline Hill conflict, aged 21 and 22, died after being shot in the 33000-block of Hawthorne Avenue in Abbotsford. IHIT asked the public for help identifying a dark-coloured sedan that was driving erratically on Hawthorne Avenue at 9:20 p.m. IHIT has not released the names of either victim.

Feb. 27 | Adam Palsson

Ridge Meadows RCMP was called to the provincial jail just before 4:30 p.m. after Corrections staff reported that an altercation had resulted in one man’s death. Palsson, 27, was taken to Ridge Meadows Hospital where he was pronounced dead. No charges have been laid.

Feb. 24 | Unidentified woman

Chilliwack RCMP was called to a home in the 42000-block of Yarrow Road, where the body of a 51-year-old woman was found. Clayton Jacob Warkentin, 19, has been charged with murder. Although investigators aren’t revealing how Warkentin and the victim knew each other, they say that events leading up to the homicide suggest it was a result of domestic violence.

Feb. 7 | David Delaney

Delaney, a chef in Coquitlam who lived in Abbotsford, was found dead in his apartment on Center Street on Feb. 23. Arrested months later and charged with his murder is Shayne Daniel Duncan McGenn, 33. Sarah Margaret Sather, 33, was charged with accessory after the fact.

Jan. 26 | Unidentified woman

The 58-year-old victim was found in a home suffering from extensive injuries. A teenager has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death. North Vancouver RCMP was called to a home in the 300-block of East 1st street after a 911 caller reported hearing a dispute and possible assault. Police forced their way into the apartment after hearing sounds of a struggle. Officers then saw a man jump over the balcony. He was later arrested by North Vancouver RCMP.

Jan. 22 | Kevin Brunelle

The 36-year-old man was found dead in a Langley City hotel where he lived and worked. He was suffering from injuries, which he may have sustained during an assault the day before. After the assault, he was helped back to his room, and was not checked on until the following afternoon when he was found dead.

Jan. 22 | Yonatan (JK) Kassa

A shooting in Port Coquitlam left the 30-year-old dead. Coquitlam RCMP responded to reports of gunshots in the 2100-block of Rindall Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. Police found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at the scene. Police say it is believed the shooting was related to criminal activity. Kassa had gang links and convictions for drug trafficking and a violent home invasion.

* This list has 50 of the 54 deaths. IHIT has not released details of the other four cases.

Vancouver Police:

Dec. 6 | Unidentified person

Vancouver Police were called to a home near West 13^th Avenue and MacDonald Street shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 where a body was discovered. Police have not released the name or gender of the victim but have said there is no concern to public safety.

Nov. 1 | Jia Hong Chen

Shortly after 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, two groups of men got into an altercation near the taxi stand at the Plaza of Nations at 750 Pacific Blvd. When officers arrived, they found two men with serious stab wounds. One of those men, 25-year-old Jia Hong Chen from Burnaby, died from his injuries. A 23-year-old man was wounded. A third man showed up at Burnaby General Hospital a few hours later with stab wounds.

Sept. 30 | Natsumi Kogawa

The body of the Japanese exchange student was found in a West End mansion. She had been reported missing by her boyfriend on Sept. 12. She was last seen in Burnaby five days earlier. William Victor Schneider, 48, was charged with indignity to a human body and is a suspect in her death.

Sept. 29 | Candace Young

Young, 61, was found just after 6:30 a.m. when police were called to an apartment near Rupert Street and Vanness Avenue. She was pronounced dead at the scene. John Hendricks Onland, 54, was arrested inside the apartment and has been charged with manslaughter.

Sept. 17 | Xuan Vanvy Bacao and Samantha Le

Vancouver police were called to a house on Dieppe Place, where officers found the body of Bacao, 24, and Le, 29. Officers also found a four-year-old child unharmed, but hiding in the home. Evidence gathered by police showed that along with the two murders, a man had also been kidnapped from the home. Police believed the murders and abduction were targeted incidents. Two days later police rescued the kidnap victim and took several people into custody.

Aug. 11 | Lauren Lindsay McLellan

McLellan, 28, died in hospital after a physical altercation with a woman outside Caprice Nightclub just before 2 a.m. Twenty-nine-year-old Samantha Nadine Doolan has been charged with manslaughter.

June 6 | Justin Pauwat Chan

The body of Chan, a 26-year-old Richmond resident, was found near the Fraser River. He was wrapped in black plastic and inside a sleeping bag near the Milltown Marina. Chan had links to gangs and the drug trade. Vancouver Police said his murder was targeted.

May 17 | Kennith King-Lok Leung

Around 10:30 p.m., police were called to the 500-block of West 27th Avenue after receiving multiple calls of shots being fired. When officers arrived, they found a silver vehicle on the sidewalk, and Leung, 23, fatally wounded in the driver’s seat. He is known to the police and the shooting appears targeted.

March 20 | Ryan Hardy

The 38-year-old man was fatally stabbed about 4:20 p.m. at Main and Hastings Street. He died later in hospital. No one has been charged yet.

Jan. 31 | Christopher Denis Kwik

The 40-year-old was the victim of a fatal shooting inside an apartment in the historic Edwards Block at 2425 Granville St., just before 11 p.m. Kwik was not a resident of the building. Kwik was charged days earlier with three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was scheduled to make a first court appearance on Feb. 2. There have been no arrests.

Delta Police:

Dec. 11 | Unidentified man

A 53-year-old Delta man died after a fight outside the Rose and Crown Pub in Tsawwassen. Delta Police are calling it a suspicious death until the cause of death is confirmed. They initially took two men into custody for questioning, but no charges have been laid.

March 3 | Robinder Virk

The remains of the missing Surrey man were discovered inside a known drug house in the 2000-block of Tsawwassen Drive in Delta. Virk, 32, was reported missing on Jan. 11, 2016, and was last seen on Jan. 3, 2016. While police announced the death was a suspected homicide, the cause of death has not yet been determined and the case remains a “suspicious death.” No charges have been laid.

First of all, Happy New Year to all Real Scoop readers! I took a week off to enjoy the holidays, but will get caught up on comments and am posting a story that ran yesterday in the newspaper.

I’m sure people followed the shocking story of sex assault and other charges laid against a senior Vancouver Police detective named Jim Fisher. Here’s the story my colleagues did. We will definitely provide updates on this case.

Every year, I try to tally all murders and suspicious death every year as I think it’s important to keep track of them and see if there are any trends.

In fact, murders across the region were up in 2016 to 67 from 60 the year before. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team takes control of murder cases in all RCMP jurisdictions from Pemberton to Boston Bar, as well as in four Lower Mainland municipalities – West Vancouver, Abbotsford, New Westminster and Port Moody. Vancouver Police investigate murders in the city, while Delta Police also probe their own files.

Here’s my story:

Three Metro Vancouver residents have been charged with smuggling steroids and fentanyl after a Canada Border Services Agency investigation.

The CBSA said Matthew Allan Anderson, Kailea Elizabeth Ridsdale and Brian David John McEathron were part of an anabolic steroid smuggling and distribution ring. 

CBSA officers seized about 1,800 capsules — including 321 fentanyl pills — and over 33 kilograms of raw powder, 22 litres of liquid containing steroids and other import-controlled substances were seized in the investigation.  

All three have been charged with smuggling and possession of unlawfully imported goods, as well as possession for the purpose of trafficking.

McEathron, a Mission resident, was also charged with possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

McEathron and Anderson, of Maple Ridge, are facing charges for the unsafe storage of firearms.

Anderson has a minor criminal record, with convictions dating back more than a decade for driving without a licence, resisting a peace officer and providing false information. 

Neither McEathron or Ridsdale have previous convictions in B.C., according to the provincial court database.

CBSA regional director Roslyn MacVicar praised the work of her investigators.

“The excellent work of our criminal investigators in dismantling this smuggling operation in the Lower Mainland exemplifies the agency’s commitment to securing our borders and keeping the people of Canada safe,” she said.

The CBSA probe began in March 2014 after border services officers noted multiple shipments containing anabolic steroids and other import-controlled substances at the CBSA Vancouver International Mail Centre and Vancouver International Airport.  

Search warrants were executed on Nov, 25, 2015. Charges were sworn against the trio on Nov. 18, 2016.

They made their first appearance in Vancouver Provincial Court on Dec. 20 and have been released on bail. 

They will be back in court on Jan. 20.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

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Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.

B.C.’s highest court has dismissed an appeal by an accused killer convicted in 2015 on several firearms charges.

Dean Michael Wiwchar, who is awaiting trial for an Ontario murder, argued to the B.C. Court of Appeal that the B.C. Supreme Court judge who convicted him misunderstood the evidence in his earlier case.

Wiwchar claimed that Justice Gregory Bowden wrongly concluded that he had knowledge of firearms and ammunition that police found inside an ottoman in a Surrey suite he controlled. Wiwchar’s fingerprint was found on a plastic London Drugs bag inside the ottoman.

But Appeal Court Justice Daphne Smith disagreed.

“In my view, there was no miscarriage of justice and the verdict was reasonable based on the record. The judge did not misapprehend the evidence,” Smith said in written reasons released Tuesday. “The inferences he drew flowed logically from the evidence available to him at trial. Lastly, the judge’s reasons in my view adequately explained why he convicted Mr. Wiwchar.”

Appeal Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman and Justice Richard Goepel agreed with Smith.

In September 2015, Bowden sentenced Wiwchar to 10 years in jail for possession of 16 firearms in the spring of 2012.

At the time, Vancouver police were investigating Wiwchar as a suspect in the January 2012 murder of gangster Sandip Duhre, who was shot to death in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Centre.

Police followed Wiwchar and co-accused Philip Juan Ley as they appeared to be doing surveillance on possible targets. Officers feared the pair was plotting someone else’s death during the spring 2012 investigation.

Vancouver police later seized two guns from Wiwchar’s Jervis Street apartment, as well as 14 others from the Surrey suite that he and Ley used as a “safe-house.”

Bowden said Wiwchar and Ley likely “possessed the firearms for a nefarious purpose, and it is not unreasonable to infer that the purpose was to threaten or inflict serious bodily harm or death.”

Wiwchar admitted to possessing the firearms found in his Vancouver apartment, but claimed at his trial to have no knowledge of the other guns found in the Surrey suite, something the judge rejected.

Wiwchar has never been charged in the Duhre slaying, but is awaiting trial for the June 2012 murder of Johnny Raposo outside the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe in Toronto’s Little Italy.

His co-accused in the Toronto case, Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil, is also charged in B.C. with killing Duhre, although no trial date has been set.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

read the full ruling here