Correctional Service of Canada sheds light on B.C. gangster prison release blunder
Jarrod Bacon released 16 months early due to 'complexity of sentence management calculations'
The Correctional Service of Canada has confirmed Jarrod Bacon was mistakenly released from prison 16 months early because of a clerical error.
Bacon — the middle of three brothers alleged to be involved in a deadly Lower Mainland gang war — was sentenced to 12 years minus time served for trying to import 100 kilograms of cocaine into B.C. in 2012. That sentence was increased to 14 years minus time served after a successful federal appeal.
By Canadian law, most offenders are eligible for statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence. However, it appears the increase in Bacon's sentence was never factored into the calculation used to determine his release date.
"In the case of Mr. Bacon, due to the appeal decision received at a later date and the complexity of sentence management calculations, the appeal decision was incorrectly interpreted and applied by CSC," said CSC senior communications advisor Avely Serin in an email to CBC News.
Because of the mistake, Bacon was erroneously granted statutory release from a Quebec prison on Feb. 11, 2017. His release was subsequently revoked and he was returned to prison in July of 2017, after he was arrested at a strip club known to be frequented by members of organized crime.
News of the mistake became public last week when the Parole Board of Canada released documents showing Bacon had won an appeal to have his statutory release revocation overturned by arguing that he never should have been out of prison in the first place.
According to Serin, Bacon is now fully eligible for statutory release on the correct date of June 14, 2018.
She said a comprehensive review of Bacon's file and the mistake is underway but the results will not be made public.
"No definite date has been set in terms of finishing this review, and it is not intended to be released to the public due to the amount of private information contained in it."
The Correctional Service of Canada is the federal government agency responsible for administering sentences imposed by courts of two years or longer.
Bacon is a past member of the Bacon Brothers and Red Scorpions gang and has been associated with members of the Hells Angels.
His younger brother, Jamie Bacon, was charged in the 2007 Surrey Six slayings, which left six dead in a Surrey highrise.
The eldest brother, Jonathan Bacon, was killed in a targeted shooting in Kelowna in 2011.