Jarrod Bacon wins release from prison again, with more conditions

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It has been a rocky ride for B.C. gangster Jarrod Bacon since he was released from prison in February 2017 at the two-thirds mark of his sentence for conspiracy to traffic cocaine. His statutory release has been suspended three times because he disobeyed conditions imposed by the Parole Board of Canada.

The 37-year old Red Scorpion gangster was most recently arrested in December 2020 over allegations he had quickly deleted information on a cellphone just as a parole officer, accompanied by police, arrived at his then-girlfriend’s residence to check on him.

But in a decision released Friday, a parole board member decided not to revoke his statutory release, meaning that Bacon can return to the community to live in a halfway house with several more conditions imposed.

Board member Véronique Buisson said that while the circumstances that led to the suspension were suspicious, there was no proof that Bacon was trying to conceal information.

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“The board can only speculate about information that would have been deleted. Under such circumstances the board cannot attest to reliable and persuasive information that would indicate that your risk has increased,” she wrote in the decision, dated March 17.

“The board has also considered that your release was suspended thrice already. It appears the last revocation did not have a deterrent effect on you.”

Bacon said that he was late answering the door because he was naked and had to get dressed.

But Buisson noted that as a parole officer was calling Bacon from outside the residence last Dec. 15, a police officer went to the back of the building and “saw you through a window of the back of the apartment. He reported that you were fully dressed, that you were going quickly between two rooms and that you retrieved a cellphone from under couch cushions.”

The cop saw Bacon “sliding your finger across the screen of the phone numerous times and clicking after each swipe, suggesting that you were deleting information,” Buisson said in her written decision, dated March 17. “You then passed the phone to your partner who hid it in her bosom.”

“The existence of this phone had not been previously disclosed. … When you open the door, your parole officer notice that you were very nervous as your hands were shaking.”

The parole board member also noted that cellphones are used by drug trafficking organizations. She said Bacon would have to disclose detailed financial information to his parole supervisor, as well as provide access to his cellphone records, including voicemail, texts and what social media sites he visits.

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Bacon was convicted in 2012 of conspiracy to traffic 100 kilograms of cocaine and initially sentenced to 12 years, which was later increased by the B.C. Court of Appeal to 14 years.

After his first statutory release in early 2017, he was involved in a violent confrontation outside of a bar. But his release revocation was overturned after his lawyer argued on appeal that Bacon had been released in error earlier than he should have been.

He was released again in 2018 at the actual two-thirds mark of his sentence. He was arrested in December 2018 after testing positive for cocaine.

Some details have been blacked out in the most recent decision, including what city Bacon has been living in.

Buisson said Bacon’s “file indicates that you would have liked to be released in another region for safety concerns, which you voiced last minute.”

“File information reveals that you are identified as a member of the Red Scorpions and the Bacon Brothers organization, which is very influential in Western Canada, and has links with a notorious criminal organization,” she said.

While she didn’t identify the criminal organization, an earlier parole decision said it was the Hells Angels.

“Concerns about your connections with such a security threat group have been ongoing during your current sentence, as you remain an influential individual,” she said. “Your caseworker workers note that you have a significant potential for violence and that you have committed violent acts in the context of your criminal gang affiliation in the past, including in the institution.”

She said Bacon has little insight into his criminal behaviour, but has made some progress by taking courses inside and remaining free of drugs except for prescription cannabis and medication for his anxiety.

kbolan@postmedia.com
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