Crown to appeal stay against man accused in ‘Surrey Six’ murder case

VICTORIA – The Crown is appealing a judge's decision to stay a murder charge against a man at a trial stemming from the murders of six people in Surrey, B.C.

Jamie Bacon was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to murder Corey Lal.

The case involves the murders of six people in a Surrey highrise in October 2007.

In 2014, Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnson were convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in the case, which included the killing of two innocent bystanders.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge granted an application on Dec. 1 for a stay filed by Bacon's lawyers in the so-called Surrey Six case, but much of the evidence and reasons for the decision were sealed by the court.

The B.C. Prosecution Service says in a news release the ruling reveals errors of law and it will ask the B.C. Court of Appeal to set aside the stay and order a new trial.

"Although the fact of the appeal is public, it is anticipated that further filings with the court as well as some or all of the appeal proceedings will be sealed or closed to the public, given the nature of the ruling under appeal," it says in the statement released Monday.

An abbreviated ruling released by the judge in the Surrey Six case says Bacon's lawyers had come into possession of privileged information that they were not allowed to use in his defence, which would impact his right to a fair trial.

Previous trials have heard Bacon was a leader of the Red Scorpion gang.

Bacon was 23 when he was charged in 2009. His trial had been delayed several times and court proceedings took place behind closed doors in Vancouver.

The Crown's theory in previous trials was that the gang's bosses ordered the murder of Lal, a rival drug trafficker, and the other five men were killed to eliminate witnesses.