Shot driver was drug witness

Photo: Carmen Weld - File photo

By Kim Bolan

A man seriously injured in a bizarre drive-by shooting in West Kelowna in August was supposed to be a witness in a U.S. drug case implicating another B.C. man.

The Vancouver Sun has learned that Reginald Purdom, who pleaded guilty in 2006 in Washington state to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and ecstasy, was the victim of the Aug. 2 targeted shooting.

He is listed as a key witness for the U.S. government in a drug conspiracy case in which Surrey resident Kevin Donald Kerfoot is charged. Kerfoot has been fighting his extradition to the U.S. for more than a decade.

Just two weeks before Purdom was gunned down, Kerfoot lost his latest bid in the B.C. Court of Appeal to halt his extradition. He’s now sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Asked Thursday whether he knew Purdom had been shot, Kerfoot said: "I’ve heard something, but I know nothing about it.”

He refused to comment on the status of his extradition case or whether the shooting would impact it.

“I have no comment to any of this,” Kerfoot said before hanging up the phone.

It was just after 10 p.m. when a man on a mountain bike approached Purdom’s black Lincoln Town Car outside a car wash just off the highway in West Kelowna.

The cyclist pulled out a 40-calibre handgun equipped with a silencer and started blasting through the driver’s window.

Purdom, 48, was hit eight times in the chest, leg and hand. As the gunman attempted to reload, Purdom managed to drive the car forward, striking his attacker before crashing.

Police arrived at the chaotic scene and located a suspect nearby with the help of a police dog named Ice.

Tyrone Reynolds McGee, 29, is now facing seven charges, including attempted murder and possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm.

He has previous convictions across Metro Vancouver for assault, trafficking and unauthorized use of a credit card. At the time of the shooting, he was on a driving prohibition handed to him by a Port Coquitlam judge last April. He remains in custody but is scheduled for an Oct. 17 bail hearing in Kelowna.

Purdom implicated Kerfoot in statements to U.S. agents after getting caught on Oct. 5, 2005, with a bag containing more than 24,000 ecstasy pills.

Hours earlier, Purdom drove a powerboat across the international border into Washington state to pick up 41 kilograms of cocaine and drop off a black bag full of ecstasy. What he didn’t know is that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had already been tipped to the cocaine by a confidential informant.

Purdom agreed to co-operate with investigators and identified Kerfoot as the mastermind of the drug smuggling operation.

Charges were laid against Kerfoot on July 20, 2006, a month before Purdom pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 54 months in jail. 

Purdom could not be reached for comment. But his father, Reg Sr., told The Vancouver Sun that he was "devastated" when he got called by the hospital about his son’s shooting. He said it was touch and go for a few days, as Purdom fought for his life.

“He is still recovering,” he said.

Reg. Sr. admitted his son has made mistakes in his life, but that he was doing well before the targeted shooting.

“I couldn’t believe it. It’s a nightmare. At least he’s alive. That’s the biggest thing. It’s a miracle he’s alive,” he said. “He is all I got left.”

– Vancouver Sun