B.C. gangster Jamie Bacon, mastermind of Surrey Six killings, released from prison

The mother of an innocent bystander killed in a plot orchestrated by Jamie Bacon is reacting to news of the notorious gangster’s release.

The notorious gangster who orchestrated the Surrey Six killings in 2007 has been released from prison less than six years after he pleaded guilty in the case.

Jamie Bacon finished his federal prison sentence and was released with conditions and a curfew in Edmonton, according to British Columbia’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.

“He will be monitored by Corrections Services of Canada and we are in close contact with them to monitor any future movements,” said CFSEU-BC spokesperson Sgt. Sarbjit Sangha in an emailed statement Wednesday.

The correctional service confirmed Bacon was released on a provincial peace bond and is no longer under the federal agency’s jurisdiction.

“To keep Canadians safe, the Correctional Service of Canada focuses on the gradual release and safe reintegration of federal offenders through structured community supervision,” CSC spokesperson Esther Mailhot said in a statement.

“When there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offender whose sentence is about to expire poses a threat to public safety, CSC works with law enforcement to ensure that the public and victims are adequately informed of the post-release status of high-risk offenders.”

Bacon was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty in September 2020 to one count of conspiracy to murder Corey Lal in the Surrey Six case. With credit for time served in custody while he was awaiting trial, his remaining sentence amounted to five years and seven months behind bars.

Bacon, then 35 years old, also pleaded guilty to one count of counselling to commit murder in a separate case involving the shooting of a man who survived an attack on Dec. 31, 2008. Bacon’s conviction in that case earned him a 10-year sentence to be served concurrent to the Surrey Six prison term.

Four of the murder victims in the Surrey Six case were targeted in the attack at a highrise condo building, while two others were innocent bystanders.

Police said Christopher Mohan, 22, who lived on the floor where the killings occurred, and Ed Schellenberg, 55, a maintenance worker, were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The other victims were the 21-year old Lal, his 26-year-old brother Michael Lal, 22-year-old Edward Narong and 19-year-old Ryan Bartolomeo.

‘Mastermind’ behind slayings

In an interview Wednesday, Eileen Mohan described Bacon as the “mastermind behind the Surrey Six killings” that took her son, who had just stepped into the hallway of their condo building when he encountered the killers.

“He instructed the three people who came to do the killing that day not to leave any witnesses behind,” Mohan said.

“Sitting in court, I learned that Mr. Bacon had said there should be no witness left behind and that’s when I realized why my son was killed.”

The sentencing judge described the murders as “shocking and depraved,” while an agreed statement of facts in the case described how the killings were carried out to advance the drug-trafficking business of the Red Scorpions gang.

The Red Scorpions formed when Bacon and another gang leader amalgamated and sought to expand their market using violence and intimidation to force others to surrender their drug lines, the Crown prosecution argued.

Fellow Red Scorpions members Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston were each convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in the slayings.

Mohan says she is troubled by the news of Bacon’s return to the community, despite knowing his release date was coming.

“He’s living out there somewhere amongst normal citizens,” she said. “I just want to move on with my life with my son in my heart, with his spirit. And what will be will be.”

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With files from The Canadian Press and CTV National News reporter Andrew Johnson