One of three men charged this week with the murder of a young Prince George man has a violent history in this city.
In May 2016, Ryan James Watt, 26, was sentenced to two years probation for an October 2015 drug-related assault in which a man was taken into the basement of his rural Prince George home and beaten for using Watt's name over the phone.
The victim was masked with a balaclava, his wrists tied together with zap-straps and then kicked and punched repeatedly, according to an agreed statement of facts read into the record during a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court.
When the beating stopped, the man was taken into the city and dropped off. The attack left him badly shaken and with extensive bruising but he did not seek medical attention, the court was told.
Watt, who had pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing bodily harm, had spent six months in custody by the time he was sentenced. An accomplice was also sentenced to two years probation for the attack.
In December 2016, Watt was sentenced to two years probation on convictions related to trafficking heroin out of the home and in March 2017, another charge of trafficking was stayed. Watt's appearances in Prince George court ended after that but he continues to face unspecified charges in Richmond.
This week, Watt was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Michael Walter Bonin, 20, whose body was found on a logging road outside Hope in April 2017. Joshua Albert Fleurant, 20, of Prince George and Jared Paul Jorgenson, 27, of Dawson Creek, also face the charge.
All three made a first appearance in Kelowna provincial court on the counts this week.
Bonin and Fleurant were co-accused on a count of theft of a motor vehicle, committed in March 2017 in Kamloops. In August 2017, Fleurant was sentenced to four months in jail on the count.
Jorgenson has no criminal record, according to court records.
In a statement issued through police this week, Bonin's mother thanked investigators for their work on the case and said she hopes those responsible for her son's death are held accountable.
"Michael did not deserve to die," she said. "He was a loving, helpful and loyal young man who had lots to live for.
"The pain of losing Michael will never go away and many lives have been changed by this selfish act."
Bonin was born and raised in Prince George but had moved to Rycroft, Alberta about six months before his death, she told The Citizen in a message on Facebook.
