Sentencing was held at the Kelowna Courthouse Wednesday morning for the three men in the Bacon murder trial.
Jason McBride has been given a life sentence for second-degree murder (with no chance of parole for 18 years) and a concurrent sentence of 15 years for attempted murder. Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun both recieved 18 years for conspiracy to commit murder.
Jones and Khun-Khun will not be elligible for parole until they are halfway through their sentence.
With enhanced credit for time served while in custody since their 2013 arrest, Jones and Khun-Khun will both serve a total sentence of 10 years.
The murder of Jonathan Bacon took place on August 14th, 2011, when Bacon was gunned down in his car in front of the Delta Grand Hotel in downtown Kelowna in broad daylight.
Three other passengers in the car were injured; one of those passengers ended up being paralyzed.
"During the course of the trial, I heard from numerous witnesses who were at or near the scene that no one else was injured or killed," says Judge Allan Betton during Wednesday's sentencing hearing. "But for that to be true would seem unbelieveable."
All three were originally charged with first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, along with several firearms charges, but the Crown and defence agreed to adjust the charges to finish a trial that had been going on for almost a year.
Kelowna RCMP Superintendent Brent Mundle says the sentencing of the three men closes a dark chapter for the city.
"It is my sincere hope that this sentencing will provide closure to those that may still be affected by these events, and that the city of Kelowna will be able to move forward," says Mundle.
The murder trial began in May of 2017, with a total of approximately 80 witneses coming forward. An attempt was made by the accused at one point to throw out the charges, claiming that the case had taken too long to go to trial, but Judge Betton struck that down.