Paperwork delays Bacon brother case

The case against one of the Bacon brothers and two of his associates has been delayed because of a huge volume of paperwork.

James Bacon, Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnson all appeared in court on Friday morning to face first-degree murder charges in relation to the execution-style slaying of six people in a Surrey, B.C. high-rise in 2007.

Bacon, 23, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. Haevischer and Johnson, both 24, have been charged with first-degree murder and being co-conspirators in the slayings of the six people.

Crown lawyers had intended to proceed by direct indictment, but were delayed by the more than 750,000 pages of disclosure statements.

"It was a substantial investigation, a lengthy investigation, and there will be a significant amount of disclosure," said Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie.

"I can't go into details with respect to what all it entails, but it clearly is something that will take some time and co-operation to make it go smoothly."

Meanwhile, family members of some of the six victims sat quietly in the Surrey courtroom.

Eileen Mohan, whose son Chris was caught in the crossfire, said she wasn't surprised at the delay.

"I am prepared to go as far as it takes, because I do need justice for my son and I was prepared for a very long trial … and this is, like, no surprise to me."

In court, Bacon sat in the prisoner's dock. Haevischer, sitting in a separate dock, signaled to family members sitting in the front row. Johnston appeared from jail via videoconference.

Judge Jean Litywn gave Crown lawyers another month to obtain a direct indictment against the men to fast track the trial to B.C. Supreme Court.

If that fails to happen, the judge said she might have to assign an administrative judge to look after the paperwork. The accused are due back in court June 15.