by Kelsey Klassen, Contributor
Jarrod Bacon insisted on the stand Tuesday morning that his parents and co-accused are just regular, hard-working citizens who had no idea he was planning to “jack” 10 kilograms of cocaine from a police agent.
While candidly admitting he is a criminal, violent enforcer and former drug addict under the persistent cross-examination of Wayne Scott’s defence attorney and then Crown prosecutor Peter LaPrairie, Bacon repeatedly testified that he was acting alone in his plans for attempted robbery.
“I probably wasn’t very forthcoming with Wayne because I was trying to set up a robbery. I was concealing what was going to happen.”
Bacon said he was using Scott’s friendship with the agent, identified only as G.L. due to a publication ban, to convince the agent that Bacon wasn’t going to rob him.
“I didn’t think G.L. knew about my background. That I was ruthless enough to rob him.”
Scott, grandfather to Bacon’s son, introduced Bacon to the agent in February 2009. It wasn’t until a later meeting on Aug. 8, 2009 that Bacon claimed he began forming his plan.
When G.L. showed up at Scott’s residence that night saying he was going to be in Abbotsford and would have drugs, Bacon said a plan occurred to him.
“Like a bad habit, I was going to rob him. He looked like a mark.”
Bacon believed he was under constant surveillance. He testified he conducted much of his illegal activity at Scott’s residence, under the pretense of visiting his son and ex-girlfriend, to evade police attention – but claimed Scott was unaware of this. Bacon said he thought he could steal the drugs easily if they were brought to that location, as going to the Scott’s house wasn’t out of his routine.
“I pulled the wool over his eyes so I could use his friendship with G.L. so he’d think I wasn’t going to rob him, but that was exactly what I was going to do.”
One of Bacon’s more unique bail conditions was that he not be in possession of an erasable whiteboard for the purposes of communicating illegal activity. Bacon admitted he would write his messages down on a whiteboard and then erase them as a tactic to avoid being overheard.
“It said no whiteboards, so I used a greenboard,” he explained.
Bacon turned evasive and agitated when LaPrairie repeatedly asked if his parents were aware of his breaches of his bail conditions, saying they had no idea of his criminal lifestyle, despite testimony to the contrary placing them at the same table as Bacon and Scott during one of their greenboard conversations.
“My parents are regular people. They don’t smoke, they don’t do drugs. They don’t know. If my parents knew I was up to something they would have pulled my bail and sent me back to jail, and kicked Wayne’s ass to the curb.”
When asked whether he intended to sell the lesser quantity of cocaine after he stole it, Bacon testified that he hadn’t planned further than stealing the 10 kilograms from G.L. and that he couldn’t sell something he didn’t have. However, when the Crown put the value of the cocaine at $300,000, Bacon quickly corrected that figure to closer to $400,000.
“Only cops try to sell kilos for $30,000.”
His answers varied over the cross-examinations on whether Scott had been promised a financial commission on the 100-kilogram shipment, at one point saying that he didn’t care who he had to lie to in order to get the drugs there so he could steal them.
“I’m clean sitting here, 25 and a half months later, looking back at myself on drugs. It was disgusting. What I’m saying is I’m not exactly a boy scout. I’m a criminal.
“What I’m guilty of here is an attempted robbery.”
Bacon’s testimony under cross-examination continued this afternoon (Tuesday).
Bacon and Scott are under trial for one count each of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine.
The Crown alleges that Bacon and Scott were making arrangements with G.L. for the transportation of up to 100 kg of cocaine from Mexico, with plans to pay $30,000 for the first 10 kg. Wiretap evidence formed the basis of the Crown’s case.
