Mobster denied parole in murder

Man serving sentence for role in casino killing

A man who organized a highprofile organized crime murder in broad daylight outside a busy B.C. casino has been denied parole.

Michael Kerry Hunter Jones, 36, is serving a sentence of just over 10 years for two counts of conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the killing outside the Delta Grand Hotel in Kelowna on Aug. 14, 2011.

Jones and two other members of a group called the United Nations pleaded guilty to roles in a high-profile shooting that resulted in the murder of B.C. gangster Jonathan Bacon and injury to a number of others, including paralysis to a woman who was with Bacon.

Murder victim Bacon was in the Red Scorpions gang, which was connected to the Wolfpack Alliance, a group of millennial criminals also involved in cocaine trafficking who have been active in the GTA, including in the June 2012 murder of Johnny Raposo on College Street in Toronto.

Jones’ 2018 trial heard that he and other United Nations members hunted their rivals for more than two months.

Jones was originally charged with first-degree murder, but eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder.

In this month’s decision, the parole board denied Jones day and full parole.

Jones’ trial heard of a high level of planning in the casino attack.

“A search of your residences revealed tracking devices identical to the one located on the victim’s vehicle, and a laptop that had tracked the victim’s location,” the parole board wrote.

The parole board noted that the judge who sentenced Jones said it was an aggravating factor that the murder took place in a busy public location, endangering members of the public.

The parole board decision notes that Jones has no other criminal history.

“File information indicates you were raised in a pro-social environment free of abuse and neglect,” the parole board decision notes. “Your parents separated when you were an infant and you were raised primarily by your mother until she entered into a common-law relationship when you were 10 or 11 years old. You have since enjoyed the ongoing support of your mother and stepfather.”

“Your offences demonstrate your struggle with impulse control and shortcut thinking, and you have reportedly described yourself as a ‘people pleaser,’” the parole board states. “During your incarceration, there have been and continue to be concerns regarding your associations with other prominent members of criminal organizations within the institution.”

The parole board decision notes that he has spent much of his time in custody refusing to participate in correctional programming, calling him a “program refuser.”

The parole board notes there were significant behavioural problems. “You were rude to staff, participated in a hunger strike, engaged in a fight with your co-accused and you were observed in another offender’s cell,” the parole board states.

The decision notes that he had a birthday party behind bars last year, and that guests at his table included some of the “most influential inmates” in the prison population.