'Enough bloodshed': Mother of victim in 2007 gangland hit pleased Jamie Bacon denied bail
Charges were stayed against Bacon last month in the Surrey Six murders
Gangster Jamie Bacon will remain in jail while he awaits trial on a charge of counselling murder.
The Red Scorpion leader was denied bail in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, keeping him behind bars after more than eight years already spent in pre-trial custody.
He has pleaded not guilty and faces a jury trial in April.
In December, charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder were stayed against Bacon in a separate case, the Surrey Six slayings, which saw six people killed in an apartment building in 2007.
The reasons for the stay have been largely sealed, but the Crown is appealing.
'Enough bloodshed'
The victims of that gangland hit included two innocent bystanders, 22-year-old Chris Mohan and 55-year-old Ed Schellenberg.
Mohan's mother Eileen was in the courtroom Tuesday to hear that Bacon would stay behind bars, and she told reporters she was pleased with the outcome.
"We've had enough bloodshed in the community," she said. "It will keep our communities safe, it will keep Mr. Bacon safe, and we would not want anything to happen to another innocent family."
Justice Kathleen Ker's decision to stay charges against Bacon in the Surrey Six murders was called "a setback for all of us" by Premier John Horgan. When Crown prosecutors announced their intention to appeal, they said it was in the public interest.
The court proceedings that led to the stay were mostly conducted behind closed doors. However, an abbreviated ruling revealed defence lawyers had possession of privileged information that affected Bacon's right to a fair trial but could not be used in his defence.
Two other men, Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston, are now serving life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years in connection with the murders.
Legal proceedings connected to the Surrey Six case have dragged on for years, complicated at times by allegations of police misconduct.
Four Mounties have been charged with breach of trust, obstruction of justice and fraud in connection with their investigation of the case. All were accused of sexual contact with protected witnesses.
With files from Farrah Merali