Friend, sister say gang shooting victim was involved in the drug trade

VANCOUVER – A friend and a sister of one of six people killed in a gang shooting near Vancouver say they were aware he was involved in the drug trade.

Ryan Bartolomeo was shot dead in a 15th-floor condo in Surrey in October 2007 along with three other accused gangsters and two innocent bystanders.

Bartolomeo’s close friend Katie Bott has told the trial of three men accused of the mass killing that she was aware Bartolomeo was a drug runner.

She says she was with him on more than one occasion when he filled a bag with drugs, left, and returned without the drugs, which she assumed meant he was dropping them off somewhere else.

Defence lawyer Simon Buck questioned how much she really knew about whether Bartolomeo was even involved in drugs, noting that when she spoke with police in October 2007, she said she never saw Bartolomeo handle drugs.

The Crown alleges members of the Red Scorpions gang targeted Corey Lal because he was a drug rival, and then executed five others to eliminate potential witnesses.

Matthew Johnston, Cory Haevischer and Quang Vinh Thang (Michael) Le are now on trial for various murder and conspiracy charges.

A co-accused has already pleaded guilty and another, alleged gang leader Jamie Bacon, is scheduled for trial next year.