A man who spent time in jail for a shooting in Burnaby has been identified as the victim of a homicide in Surrey over the long weekend.
The body Brendan Aditya Chand was found in Bog Park in Surrey on Sunday, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. Police said the 27-year-old was lying in the area of Bog Park and appeared to be the victim of a gunshot wound.
In 2014, Chand was sentenced to seven years in prison, minus 2.5 years for time already served, after pleading guilty to shooting Abdul Aleem Khan at the Royal Oak SkyTrain station in March 2011.
Court documents state Khan was shot in the back as he fled up a stairway in the Royal Oak SkyTrain station. The shooting was caught on video. Chand is shown arriving in a vehicle driven by another person, running into the station, shooting Khan, and running out again. He drives off, all in a matter of seconds.
Khan owed Chan money over an apparent illegal debt.
At his sentencing, the judge said the event was clearly planned to take advantage Khan's presence in the station, and that many other people were at risk.
“It is happenstance that Mr. Khan was not killed, or that members of the public were not killed or injured,” Justice McEwen wrote in his sentencing decision.
At the time of his sentencing, Chand had a 10‑year record going back through several youth court sentences involving a range of offences, including assault with a weapon, drug offences, offences for failing to comply with court orders, and theft.
At the time of the shooting, he was serving a sentence in the community for trafficking in a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Chand was also subject to a mandatory 10‑year firearms prohibition.
The judge noted in his sentencing Chand had substantial family and community support, and certificates of completion of work‑related courses in prison suggested he had taken advantage of at least some of the rehabilitative opportunities.
As for the homicide investigation, police said several witnesses reported hearing gunshot sounds in the area of the park as early as 10:30 p.m. the night before. IHIT is asking anyone who may have information about Chand’s homicide to call the IHIT tip line at 1-877-551-4448.
