Man admits to perjury years after Kamloops manslaughter acquittal

A man once accused of manslaughter in a fatal Kamloops bar beating pleaded guilty Monday to lying at his own trial.

James David Bond pleaded guilty to perjury, April 28, six years after he was acquitted in the death of Kamloops resident Sean Dunn.

He won’t return to BC Supreme Court to be sentenced until sometime this summer at the earliest.

Bond and his girlfriend met Dunn at The Duchess, a North Shore bar, in December 2016. Outside the bar, police found Dunn unconscious around 3 a.m. that night.

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Police at the time said Bond and Dunn got into an argument and the two didn’t know each other.

Bond and his girlfriend Sarah Hupe told a jury Dunn was making unwanted sexual advances and Bond fought him in retaliation.

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He was initially charged with second-degree murder and was acquitted of manslaughter by a jury in 2019.

In August 2023, Kamloops RCMP said Bond and Hupe were arrested on Vancouver Island after a four-year investigation.

“The recommendations to proceed with perjury charges followed a lengthy investigation led by our Serious Crime Unit, and relate to accusations involving the intent to mislead justice,” Kamloops RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley said at the time. “The charge is not one we see commonly put forth and was the result of the hard work and efforts of our Kamloops team.”

Police didn’t say precisely what in their testimony was misleading and it’s not clear if or how it might affect Bond’s previous acquittal.

Court records show both are guilty, but they haven’t been sentenced. Bond and Hupe have separate court dates in the coming months.