Kamloops man acquitted of manslaughter in 2019 admits he lied during trial

Pleads guilty to perjury

Photo: KTW file

Kamloops provincial court

A man who was found not guilty after delivering a fatal beating outside a North Kamloops bar in 2016 has pleaded guilty to perjury, admitting that he misled court while testifying at his manslaughter trial six years ago.

James David Bond, 34, and Sarah Hupe, 43, are each charged with one count of perjury relating to their testimony at Bond’s 2019 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 before he was killed.

Before jurors acquitted Bond, his defence lawyer 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.

Bond pleaded guilty during a brief hearing on Monday in B.C. Supreme Court. He is expected to return to court for sentencing at the end of July.

Hupe has not pleaded guilty. She is due back in court on May 26.