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One pleads guilty in sledgehammer attack

Trial of second man charged in vicious Langley beating proceeds
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Albert Jacob Jackman has pleaded guilty to his part in the brutal 2009 beating of a Langley man.

Albert Jacob Jackman has pleaded guilty to his part in the brutal 2009 beating of a Langley man.

The 24-year-old Jackman was scheduled to begin a jury trial in New Westminster Supreme Court on Monday (June 13) with co-accused Wesley Edward Kelemen, also 24.

Instead, Jackman made a brief appearance to change his plea to guilty on one count of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful confinement in the gang-related attack that sent 29-year-old Tyler Willock to hospital with multiple fractures.

A third count of assault with a weapon will be stayed.

Jackman is in jail serving a life sentence imposed after his conviction Friday of first-degree murder in the death of Langley resident Kyle Barber (see related Times story on this page). He will return to court on Thursday.

The assault trial is continuing with co-accused Kelemen, who is charged with one count of aggravated assault.

The first two days were devoted to a hearing to decide whether certain evidence will be presented.

Details of the voir dire, or trial within a trial, cannot be published because it took place without the jury present.

The charges against Jackman and Kelemen were laid after Willock was seriously injured at a residence in the 21000 block of 86 Avenue on March 8, 2009.

He was reportedly attacked with a sledgehammer and suffered multiple fractures and puncture wounds to his arms and legs that required extensive surgery and a lengthy hospital stay.

At the time, the provincial gang task force said there were significant links between the assault on Willock, who was described as a gang associate, and ongoing gang investigations.

According to police, Willock was the target of a previous attack, a drive-by shooting on Feb. 16, 2009 in Surrey outside the T-Barz show lounge on 137 Street near 104A Avenue.

He was riding in a Range Rover with another man and two women that stopped at the intersection near the club around midnight on a Monday.

Another SUV approached, and the people in it opened fire.

The bullet-riddled vehicle fled to Langley, where the driver was rushed to hospital with a bullet wound in his left shoulder. He was treated and released.

Investigators said the victim was an associate of the Red Scorpions gang.

Five people have since been charged with attempted murder in the SUV attack, including alleged gang boss Barzan Tilli-Choli, and associates Aram Ali and Karwan Saed.

Tilli-Choli was described by police as a high-ranking member of the United Nations (UN) gang, which fighting over control of the Lower Mainland drug trade with the rival Red Scorpions.

Two other people face less serious charges in connection with the Surrey shooting.

Sarah Jane Trebble of West Vancouver, 28, is charged with one count of occupying a vehicle knowing there was a firearm present, while Karwan Saed, 32, of Burnaby, is charged with accessory after the fact to attempted murder.

In an unrelated matter, in April of this year Willock pleaded guilty to three firearms charges. He will be sentenced in July.



Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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