Bacon trial length extended

Photo: The Vancouver Sun

Jonathan Bacon was shot and killed in Kelowna in August 2011.

The official end date of the Jonathan Bacon murder trial has been pushed back, as the current delay in the trial approaches its third month.

Almost six years after Bacon was gunned down on a sunny afternoon outside the Delta Grand Hotel, the first-degree murder trial for Jason McBride, Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun began in Kelowna Supreme Court in May 2017.

While the trial faced several delays, the current and most lengthy delay stems from the vetting of statements made by the final three Crown witnesses to their RCMP handlers.

The remaining witnesses are all former associates of the accused, who've now become co-operating Crown witnesses in exchange for clemency.

In August, the defence successfully applied to have access to these witnesses' interviews, to be used in the assessment of the witnesses' credibility during cross-examination.

Before these statements are given to the accused, the Witness Protection Program must ensure that none of the lengthy transcripts could point to the witnesses' whereabouts or compromise their safety once their testimony is complete.

Friday, Justice Allan Betton said given the progress made so far in the vetting process, “it would seem impossible to imagine” the trial resuming before at least March 19.

The trial was originally scheduled to take eight months, and the subpoenas for the remaining Crown witnesses expire on Feb. 28.

To adjust for the unforeseen delays, Justice Betton reset the trial end date to a “somewhat arbitrary” date of June 29, although he made it clear he expects the trial will wrap well before then.

“If we're back here together on June 29 ... I'm going to be sadly disappointed,” Betton said.

Another pretrial conference will be held in the coming weeks to lock down a date the trial will resume.