B.C.’s most notorious gang members, Jonathan Bacon, 28, and two associates will face a new trial for weapons and drugs charges

B.C. gangster who escaped 15 criminal charges for weapons and drug offences when a judge tossed out a search warrant must now face a new trial.

Jonathan Bacon - who police have publicly identified as a gang member - was arrested along with Godwin Cheng and Rayleene Burton in August 2005.

Police searched two vehicles and seized marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and more than $90,000 in cash.While officers had been denied a search warrant the day before the arrest because there were not reasonable grounds, after the arrests they were granted the warrant to search Bacon’s Abbotsford, B.C., townhouse.In the townhouse, police found more marijuana, cash, automatic weapons, illegal ammunition, silencers, a bulletproof vest, a police uniform and a police scanner.
At trial, provincial court Judge Donald Gardiner found that the arresting officer didn’t have adequate grounds to make the arrests, making the arrest unlawful and the subsequent search warrant invalid.He threw out all the charges against the accused.
B.C.’s most notorious gang members, Jonathan Bacon, 28, and two associates will face a new trial for weapons and drugs charges that were previously tossed out by a lower court.Bacon, who police have publicly identified as a member of the Red Scorpion Gang, was arrested along with Godwin Cheng and Rayleene Burton in August 2005, after police seized marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and more than $90,000 in cash from two vehicles.Police obtained a warrant to search Bacon’s Abbotsford townhouse, east of Vancouver, where they found more marijuana, cash, automatic weapons, illegal ammunition, silencers, a bulletproof vest and a police uniform.At the original trial in June 2008, provincial court Judge Donald Gardiner threw out all 15 charges against the three accused, ruling police did not have the grounds to obtain a search warrant.
Gardiner said allowing the evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.But on Thursday morning, three B.C. Appeal Court justices disagreed, saying the information used to obtain the warrant was a long way from abuse of process.
The judges ordered the three accused to stand trial on the charges again.Bacon’s brothers, Jarrod, 25, and Jamie, 22, were arrested in May 2009 on numerous weapons charges. They each face nine counts of firearms-related charges and are jointly charged with 15 additional firearms offences.Jamie Bacon and two other alleged members of the Red Scorpion gang are also facing first-degree murder charges in connection to the slayings of six people in a Surrey condo in 2007.

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