Photo: KTW file

Kamloops provincial court

A Kamloops man who was acquitted of manslaughter in 2019 will return to court next month to plead guilty to a perjury charge.

James David Bond, 34, and Sarah Anne Hupe, 43, are each charged with one count of perjury relating to their testimony at Bond’s 2019 manslaughter trial.

Bond and Hupe were dating on Dec. 30, 2016, when 42-year-old Sean Dunn was killed following a night out on the North Shore.

Dunn, Bond and Hupe were among a group of people drinking at the Duchess bar in the former Northbridge Hotel. At trial, Bond told jurors he “snapped” after repeated sexual advances by Dunn toward Hupe.

Bond and Hupe told essentially the same story — that Bond punched Dunn repeatedly in the face after Dunn grabbed Hupe’s breast. Jurors were told Dunn had been badgering Hupe inside the bar in the hours leading up to his death.

Before jurors acquitted Bond, defence lawyer Don Campbell described Dunn as “a moth to a flame” in his actions toward Hupe. He said Bond was defending Hupe while delivering the blows that killed Dunn.

During a brief hearing Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen said Bond will plead guilty on April 7.

The Crown is seeking a jail sentence while Jensen said he will pitch house arrest.

Hupe was also in court on Monday, where her defence lawyer applied successfully to get off the record. She is also due back in court on April 7, but there is no indication she plans to plead guilty.

Photo: KTW file

Police tape near Wood Street and Tranquille Road shortly after Sean Dunn died following an altercation on Dec. 30, 2016.