5 plead guilty for conspiring to kill Bacon brothers

RCMP say Jonathan Barber was the innocent victim of a gang war.

Five United Nations gang members have pleaded guilty to plotting to kill the notorious Bacon brothers, who headed a rival gang.

The men were initially charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 killing of Jonathan Barber, a 24-year-old stereo installer who was gunned down while driving Jamie Bacon’s Porsche.

Police say Barber had no criminal ties, and appears to have been killed in a case of mistaken identity.

Barzan Tilli-Choli, Yong Lee, Dilun Heng, Ion Croitoru and Karwan Saed all copped to the lesser charge of conspiracy in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Monday. The murder charges were stayed.

At the time of the shooting, Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon ran the rival Red Scorpions gang.

Barber’s girlfriend, who was following behind in another vehicle, was also wounded by automatic gunfire but survived.

Sgt. Jennifer Pound of B.C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation team said the evidence contained in the agreed statement of fact released by the court prove the men “have no regard for public safety and are willing to do whatever they will to eliminate the competition.”

“That includes the use of guns and grenades and attempting to shoot their rivals in public places,” Pound said in a statement issued to media following the plea Monday morning.

Pound said Monday’s guilty pleas don’t signify the end of the investigation.

Two other men, Conor D'Monte and Cory "Frankie" Valle, have been charged and are the subject of Canada-wide warrants for their arrest.

In April, fellow UN gangster Dan Russell pleaded guilty for conspiring to kill the Bacon brothers. He was sentenced to 12 years, minus the four years already spent behind bars awaiting trial.

Jarrod Bacon is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for trafficking cocaine, while brother Jamie is awaiting trial for his alleged role in the Surrey Six mass slaying in 2007.

Jonathan was shot to death outside a Kelowna casino in 2011.