A B.C. Supreme Court judge has found Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston guilty of all counts in the Surrey Six killings.
Justice Catherine Wedge delivered her reasons for judgment, starting at 10:30 a.m. today (Thursday) in Vancouver.
She found Haevischer and Johnston each guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and six counts of first-degree murder in relation to the mass killing in suite 1505 of the Balmoral Tower in Surrey on Oct. 19, 2007.
Their trial began in September 2013 and included 73 witnesses over 80 days of testimony.
A guilty verdict for first-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
The Crown said the accused were members of the Red Scorpions gang at the time of the killings and participated in a plan to kill rival drug dealer Corey Lal.
The other five were killed to eliminate witnesses, according to the Crown.
Two innocent victims – fireplace repairman Ed Schellenberg (in photo at left), 55, of Abbotsford and Christopher Mohan, 22, who lived across the hall from suite 1505 – were among the victims who were fatally shot.
Also killed were Lal, his brother Michael, Eddie Narong and Ryan Bartolomeo, all of whom had gang and drug connections.
Michael Le initially went on trial with Haevischer and Johnston, but entered a surprise guilty plea to the conspiracy charge in November and then became a star witness for the Crown.
Another man, who can only be identified as Person X due to a publication ban, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case and is serving a life sentence.
Jamie Bacon, allegedly the leader of the Red Scorpions at the time of the murders, has also been charged in the case. He is scheduled to go to trial in May on one count each of conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder. He was living in Abbotsford at the time of his arrest.
Another man, Sophon Sek, is also awaiting trial – on a charge of manslaughter – in the case.
Watch abbynews.com for more details on today's verdict.