Victim shot six times in West Kelowna is a key witness in an international drug smuggling case

WEST KELOWNA – The victim of a West Kelowna targeted shooting that sent both he and his attacker to hospital this summer is a key witness in a U.S. drug case, the Vancouver Sun has reported.

Reginald Purdom, 48, was shot multiple times just after 10 p.m. Aug. 2 on Hudson Road. A media release from RCMP at the time says a cyclist pulled out a gun and fired several rounds into Purdom's BMW before he hit the suspect with his vehicle as he fled. A source at Kelowna General Hospital says he was shot six times in the body, arms and legs.

Police say Tyrone Reynolds McGee, 29, was found in a ditch not far from the scene and arrested. Court records show he is facing seven charges including attempted murder.

Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan says Purdom pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and ecstacy in Washington State and is a key witness in a case involving Surrey resident Kevin Donald Kerfoot, who is in Canadian custody appealing extradition to the U.S.

Purdom spent 54 months in a U.S. prison in 2006 after identifying Kerfoot as the mastermind of the operation. Kerfoot has been ordered for extradition but has appealed, Bolan reported.

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