Real Honorio gets life sentence in Bolsa triple murder trial

The man found guilty of helping to gun down three people at the Bolsa Restaurant in southeast Calgary on New Year's Day in 2009 has been sentenced to life without parole for 25 years.

Real Honorio, 29, was sent to prison for being found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

He was also sentenced to life without parole for 15 years for shooting down an innocent bystander, Keni Su'a.

One of the other victims, Sanjeev Mann, was a member of a rival gang. Mann's associate Aaron Bendle was also gunned down.

The gun exchange was part of an escalating, violent feud between two rival gangs — Fresh Off the Boat and FOB Killers.

The announcement comes months after sentencing for Honorio was put on hold because of a surprise confession.

Surprise confession

In June, the court heard that the Crown's star witness, a police informant who can only be identified as M.M., confessed to RCMP that he was the only shooter at the restaurant when he was arrested in Saskatchewan for drinking and driving last July.

But the defence's application for a stay or mistrial in light of the new evidence has been dismissed.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Glen Poelman decided it's not his jurisdiction to rule on the application, since the jury had been dismissed, and the matter would have to go to the Court of Appeal.

Real Honorio was found guilty in March, months before the new information came to light.

But the court had also heard a videotaped confession Honorio made to undercover police.

Two other men, Nathan Zuccherato and Michael Roberto, have already been sentenced in connection to the murders.

Honorio's sentence is to be served concurrently, and he also must give "samples of bodily substances" and has a "weapons prohibition for life."