The Law Courts building, home to the B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, in Vancouver on Nov. 23, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
One of the men found guilty in the so-called “Surrey Six” killings in 2007 has lost his bid for a stay of proceedings, meaning his convictions for first-degree murder still stand.
Cody Haevischer alleged he suffered an abuse of process, but B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin says the vast majority of his claims have no merit.
The dismissal of Haevischer’s application means he must serve out six concurrent life sentences for the notorious gang killings, whose victims included two innocent bystanders.
Haevischer and Matthew Johnston had applied for stays on their convictions, alleging mistreatment in custody and systemic police misconduct.
Johnston died in prison in 2022.
Six people were gunned down in a Surrey apartment building by members of the Red Scorpions gang in the 2007 killings.
In rejecting the application, Devlin says in her reasons for judgement dated Thursday that any other outcome “would not serve to protect the integrity of our justice system; anything but an affirmation of his convictions and sentence would greatly imperil it.”
Devlin says while some of the allegations brought on by Haevischer were “troubling or problematic,” they either did not constitute abuse of process or failed to satisfy other legal standards.
The BC Prosecution Service says the murder convictions carry ineligibility for parole for 25 years. Haevischer is also serving a concurrent 18-year sentence for one count of conspiracy to murder.
