Photo: Nicholas Johansen - File photo

RCMP Gang Enforcement officers have been keeping an eye on the Kelowna courthouse since the Bacon murder trial began.

A former associate of the men accused of murdering Jonathan Bacon testified Wednesday about the gang conflict that led to the brazen Kelowna murder.

The first-degree murder trial of Michael Jones, Jason McBride and Jujhar Khun-Khun has been ongoing since May, following the August 2011 gang slaying outside the Delta Grand Hotel.

A second witness protected under a publication ban took the stand this week, testifying he was in Kelowna during the weekend of the murder and helped hunt for the men suspected of killing his boss's brother. 

Witness B dropped out of school in Surrey in Grade 7 and began selling marijuana, quickly moving up to selling cocaine and crack. He began his drug dealing with another Crown witness set to testify in the trial.

The two, along with Manny Hairan, got their drugs from Sukh Dhak, who was supplied by his brother, Gurmit.

Witness B testified Sukh Dhak was considered the “boss” of their group, which included several others.

At age 22, around 2006, Witness B took his drug selling operation to Kelowna. He would make weekly deliveries of cash back down to Surrey and meet with Dhak and Hairan. He initially got a job as a tow truck driver in Kelowna, as he found it less risky to transport drugs and guns stashed in the towed vehicles.

Back in Surrey, the Bacon brothers and their Red Scorpions gang, which originated in Abbotsford, began selling drugs in Surrey.

“That basically was our town, was how we looked at it,” Witness B said. “It kind of became a problem.”

Witness B said Gurmit Dahk worked out a sort of truce with the “Bacon guys” through a series of meetings. But, despite the truce, Gurmit was gunned down in October 2010 in Burnaby.

Following the murder, Sukh Dhak ordered his associates, including Witness B, to find out who was responsible.

“After Gurm died, that was pretty much his main focus in life, just to get info,” Witness B testified. “Find out who exactly was responsible for this and kill them.”

Following Gurmit's death, Witness B said Khun-Khun became part of his group and a “pretty good friend.”

According to Witness B, Dhak believed Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach were responsible for his brother's death. Amero and Riach were in the vehicle with Bacon during the 2011 attack.

Two months after the Bacon murder, Khun-Khun survived a shooting outside Dhak's home. Dhak was shot and killed 13 months later. Khun-Khun survived another attempt on his life in January 2013, but Hairan, who was with Khun-Khun, was killed.

Khun-Khun, McBride and Jones were arrested for the Bacon murder the following month.