The conspiracy trial of Jarrod Bacon and co-accused Arnold Wayne Scott, both of Abbotsford, is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
On Tuesday, Bacon and Scott both opted to have their case heard by judge only, rather than a judge and jury as they had previously selected. The trial is expected to take four weeks.
The two were among five arrested in November 2009 following a police undercover sting, called E-Pintle, that targeted rivals the Red Scorpions and the UN Gang.
Police allege that Bacon, 28, and Scott, in his 50s, were working with the Red Scorpions at the time.
E-Pintle involved a team of undercover officers posing as criminals who could import $3 million of cocaine from Mexico to the Lower Mainland. Police allege the two gangs each deposited $100,000 with the undercover operators in exchange for bringing in 100 kilograms of cocaine.
Bacon and Scott were arrested in Abbotsford, as were alleged UN Gang members Nicholas Christopher Wester, 32, and Daryl Robert Johnson, 33.
Douglas Edward Vanalstine, 51, who police said was the UN leader at the time, was arrested in the Okanagan.
Bacon and Scott are going to trial on one count each of conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance.
The other three have also been charged with that offence, as well as possession for the purpose of trafficking, and their trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
Bacon is the only one of the five who is currently in prison, according to the provincial court database.
He is the middle of the Bacon brothers, the eldest of whom – Jonathan, 30 – was killed in a targeted shooting Aug. 14 in Kelowna. Four others were injured, including a member of the Hells Angels, a member of the Independent Soldiers, and two women. No suspects have yet been arrested or charged.
Youngest brother Jamie, 26, also remains in prison following his conviction on multiple weapons offences and while he awaits trial for his alleged role in the Surrey Six slayings.