April 07, 2014 - 4:23 PM
VANCOUVER - A former gang leader who pleaded guilty last year for his role in a plot that ultimately left six people dead is expected to testify against his former associates.
Michael Le pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to three years and one month, after credit for time served.
Six people, including two innocent bystanders, were gunned down in a high-rise condo unit in Surrey, B.C., in what the Crown has alleged was a hit on a rival drug trafficker.
Le was standing trial along with Matthew Johnston and Cody Haevischer, while another alleged gang leader, Jamie Bacon, is still awaiting trial.
The fact that Le had agreed to co-operate with the Crown was under a publication ban, but those restrictions have now been lifted by a B.C. Supreme Court judge.
The Crown asked that Le's name be banned during his testimony to protect his safety, but Judge Catherine Wedge says there are other reasonable ways to protect Le that still allow the public to scrutinize the case.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014