How the attack on Jonathan Bacon, Larry Amero and James Riach went down

THE ‘oral reasons for sentence’ in the case of Jujhar Khun-Khun of Surrey, Michael Jones of Gibsons, and Jason McBride of North Vancouver, who were convicted and sentenced on May 2 in the August 14, 2011 murder of Red Scorpions leader Jonathan Bacon and attempted murder of four others, provides graphic details of the attack.

Last Friday (June 8), the oral reasons by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Allan Betton were posted on the court’s website.

The three accused were arrested on February 22, 2013, and charged with the first-degree murder of Bacon as well as four counts each of attempted murder.

Manjinder “Manny” Hairan, 29, who was shot dead on January 15, 2013, in Surrey, was also involved in the Kelowna shooting.

Bacon, Larry Amero, a full-patch Hells Angels member from White Rock, and James Riach of the Independent Soldiers along with two women, one of whom is related to several Hells Angels members in Haney, were attacked in Kelowna. While Bacon was killed, Amero and the two women sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Riach, who was also injured, fled the scene.

 

HERE is the portion of the oral reasons where the judge describes in detail how exactly the attack went down:

 

Security footage shows James Riach jumping out of the Porsche SUV as two gunmen emerge from a Ford Explorer and fire away at the SUV. The SUV crashes into the side of the Ford Explorer and drives on, hitting the side of the building and coming to a stop as the gunmen give chase. Jonathn Bacon, who has fallen out from the door of the passenger’s front seat, lies in a white shirt on the ground at the back of the SUV. According to witnesses, one of the gunmen went up to Bacon and shot him at point-blank range while the other gunman approached the driver’s side of the SUV and fired into the vehicle.

“ON the sunny Sunday afternoon of August 14, 2011, a Ford Explorer rolled into the driveway area of the Delta Grand Hotel in Kelowna. That area, as could be expected, was busy with people at and around the hotel going about their business. In a white Porsche Cayenne there were five people, including Jonathan Bacon, Larry Amero and James Riach. Those three people had become targets for retaliation for the shooting death of Gurmit Dhak in 2011.

“Sukh Dhak and other members of the Dhak Group came to believe that rival drug traffickers Larry Amero, James Riach and Jonathan Bacon, who were collectively known as the Wolfpack, were responsible for the murder of Gurmit Dhak. As a result, members of the Dhak group sought to retaliate against the Wolfpack and their associates. To that end, between June 1, 2011 and August 14, 2011 Jujhar Khun‑Khun, Jason McBride and Michael Jones actively searched for Larry Amero, James Riach and Jonathan Bacon with the intention of killing them.

“With respect to Mr. Khun‑Khun, that search included attending on approximately 30 to 40 occasions to locations primarily in Vancouver and Coquitlam in an effort to locate the targets.

“On Friday, August 12, 2011, Mr. Amero, Mr. Riach and Mr. Bacon, together with Leah Hadden‑Watts and Lyndsey Black, drove from the Lower Mainland to Kelowna in a white Porsche Cayenne. The fact of that occurring was learned by the accused and Mr. Hairan. They all then travelled to Kelowna. With the aid of other associates, including [content redacted], it was determined that their targets were staying at the Grand.

“The conspiracy that had been ongoing was then fine tuned and led to the critical events that occurred just after 2:30 p.m. on August 14, 2011. The agreed statement of facts filed on these sentence proceedings described what occurred. I draw from that description in the following summary.

Jonathan Bacon

“At approximately 2:37 p.m. the Amero party began boarding the Porsche Cayenne. Mr. Amero occupied the driver’s seat, Mr. Bacon the front passenger seat, Mr. Riach the rear driver’s passenger seat directly behind Mr. Amero, Ms. Black in the rear passenger seat directly behind Mr. Bacon, and Ms. Hadden‑Watts in the rear passenger seat between Mr. Riach and Ms. Black.

“At 2:38 p.m. the Ford Explorer entered the Delta Grand driveway. The Explorer pulled up beside and slightly in front of the Porsche Cayenne. From the driver’s side rear passenger seat an individual began shooting a Norinco 56S 7.62x39mm calibre automatic rifle at the occupants of the Porsche Cayenne. Mr. McBride, followed by Mr. Hairan, exited the Ford Explorer. Mr. McBride began shooting at the occupants of the Porsche Cayenne with a Norinco MAK90 7.62x39mm calibre semi-automatic rifle. Mr. Hairan was shooting at the occupants of the Porsche with a Glock Model 17 9mm calibre pistol.

“The driver of the Ford Explorer was Mr. Jones.

Larry Amero
Photo courtesy CBC

“Forty-five expended cartridges were recovered at the scene of the shooting. There were 34 penetrating bullet entrance holes located on the Porsche Cayenne. One 9mm bullet went through the front window of the Kelowna Art Gallery located across the street. Two bullets, one from the handgun and one from one of the rifles, went through the exterior wall of the hotel complex and into the interior space of a hair salon.

“Jonathan Bacon died as a result of blood loss from multiple gunshot injuries primarily to the posterior and right chest, abdomen and hip area.

“Larry Amero was shot in the right cheek, the right chest and the left forearm.

“Leah Hadden‑Watts was shot once in the back of the neck. As a result of the gunshot injury, Ms. Hadden‑Watts has no voluntary motor or sensory function below the level C5 in her spinal cord. As such, she has no functional capacity in her legs and only limited capacity in her upper extremities. She has significantly higher risk for serious health-related conditions. She has a life expectancy that has been reduced to 70% of what it would have been.

“Lyndsey Black was shot twice in the gluteal portion of her legs.

“James Riach escaped from the vehicle. He ran to safety and was not injured.

“The Ford Explorer then fled the scene and shortly after was burned. The weapons involved were hidden in bushes near an abandoned house.

“During the course of the trial, I heard from numerous witnesses who were at or near the scene. No one outside of the Porsche Cayenne was injured or killed. But for it being true, that result would seem unbelievable.”

 

AS reported last May, McBride pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempt to commit murder of four individuals. He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 18 years. He will also serve a concurrent 15-year sentence for the attempted murders. He will receive credit for time served in pre-trial custody.

Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 18 years, with credit for time served he will serve a sentence of 10 years.

Khun-Khun pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 18 years, with credit for time served he will serve a sentence of 10 years.