The man responsible for a campaign of terror against innocent people who parked their cars at the Justice Institute of B.C. in New Westminster will spend more than a decade behind bars for his crimes.
On Wednesday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced Vincent Eric Gia-Hwa Cheung to 13.5 years in jail for 18 counts of arson and drive-by shootings that occurred around the Lower Mainland, including Burnaby.
With time already served awaiting trial, he’ll spend another 12 years in jail.
Cheung, a Langley resident, was originally facing 23 charges related to targeted attacks against 15 victims connected to the Justice Institute of B.C. He was accused of shooting at and setting fire to homes, vehicles or property owned by the victims between April 2011 and January 2012. Four of the 23 incidents were in Burnaby.
Last week, Cheung pleaded guilty to 18 charges.
At his sentencing, the court heard the accused had a delusional belief, fueled by drug abuse, that students from the JIBC were following him and trying to break into his home.
Cheung randomly selected license plates from people who parked at the school, ran the plates, and targeted them.
In some cases he paid people to carry out the attacks. It was never proven in court how many he took part in directly.
In handing down his sentence, Justice Austin Cullen said a strong message of denunciation is required, noting the accused waged a campaign of fear and violence against innocent victims.
He did take into consideration that Cheung pleaded guilty avoiding a trial and that he hasn’t used drugs since his arrest.
Both the Crown and defense agreed his sentence should be between 10 and 15 years.
Outside the courthouse in Vancouver, Cheung’s lawyer Martin Peters called the sentence “very long.”
“This is a significant sentence and it’s a significant sentence relevant to very serious crimes,” he said.
Crown lawyer Joe Bellows said he was satisfied with the sentence, adding it should send a message to anyone “like-minded.”
He also said he spoke to the victims prior to the guilty plea a few weeks back, and suggested they were still traumatized but content with the sentence.
Meanwhile, an investigation into some of Cheung’s associates continues. Bellows noted the person believed to have helped run the license plates is still under investigation and was not named in court.
Burnaby resident Thurman Taffe also pleaded guilty to one count of arson related to the case, according to media reports.
For more than two years, no new attacks were reported after the additional 10-month spree.
And then, between Dec. 31, 2014 and Jan. 13, 2015, two of the original victims received letters in the mail. One of the letters contained a warning that attacks would resume in the new year.
After an undercover investigation, Cheung was eventually arrested and charged last September.
