2 men charged with murder in 2019 death of man near Cultus Lake

Two men have been charged with the 2019 murder of a 26-year-old man who investigators said at the time appeared to have been targeted for death. 

Jordan Smyth's body was found Nov. 1, 2019, in an open area near Cultus Lake, B.C.

According to court documents obtained by the CBC, Darius Calvin Ray Commodore and David Allen Geoghegan were charged with first-degree murder in Smyth's death on Friday afternoon. The charge says the men used a firearm to commit the offence.

'Targeted for murder'

Both Commodore and Geoghegan made a first court appearance on the weekend through the province's 24-hour Justice Centre, which handles after-hours bail hearings by telephone or by video.

Both men are scheduled to make another appearance at the Chilliwack Law Courts on Wednesday for a bail hearing. Details of the bail hearing are covered by a publication ban.

According to a news release issued at the time, investigators with B.C.'s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) were called to look into Smyth's death after first responders noted injuries consistent with foul play.

Police said Smyth was known to them and he was "wearing a black zippered hoodie, grey sweat pants, and light-coloured running shoes" when he was found.

They said they believed he was "targeted for murder" and asked for assistance from drivers with dashcam footage who were on the roads near Cultus Lake on the night of Hallowe'en 2019.

According to court records, both Commodore and Geoghegan were already scheduled to be in court this week on different, separate files.

Commodore was one of two men charged with a string of offences after they were allegedly reported shooting firearms into the air and robbing a convenience store in June 2019.

'A longstanding problem with authority'

RCMP have previously asked for the public's assistance in locating Geoghegan when he was wanted on outstanding warrants for possession of stolen property and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

The 30-year-old was previously scheduled to appear in court this week for breaching probation he received last July for weapons possession and dangerous driving charges.

According to court records, in 2010, a Yukon Territorial Court judge said Geoghegan — who was then 19 — had "a longstanding problem with authority and has not been particularly amenable to any of the non-custodial approaches that have been tried in the past."

At that point, he was sentenced to 18 months for punching a correctional officer, breaking his nose and chipping his teeth, to be followed by six months for setting his bed on fire at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.

"He had also covered the security camera with wet toilet paper and had tied a bed sheet to his cell door, attempting to prevent entry," the judge wrote.

"He was found in the cell once the officers were able to gain access, unconscious and taken to Whitehorse General Hospital. A lighter was found on his person during transport,"

The two consecutive sentences meant Geoghegan received a total of two years behind bars, placing him in federal custody.

The judge said it was hoped he might "find some assistance in the federal system that may assist him in revisiting and perhaps changing his behaviour,"

In an email, a IHIT spokesperson said they planned to provide information about the murder charge on Tuesday.

None of the charges against either accused have been proven in court.