One of the two Surrey men who went missing and were later found dead near Ashcroft late last month has a crime-related connection to Prince George.
In 2005, a then 23-year-old Richard Allan Scurr was arrested and subsequently sentenced to seven months in jail and two years probation for trafficking in cocaine and related offences. At the time, RCMP alleged he was a key member of The Crew, a gang affiliated with the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels.
One of the conditions of his probation was that he stay out of Prince George city limits.
On March 11, 2005, Prince George RCMP followed Scurr as he drove a leased vehicle to a dead-end road off North Nechako Road, where he met a second vehicle, the Citizen reported at the time.
Police found six plastic bags hidden under a cup holder in the vehicle Scurr was driving. Each contained 40 grams of crack cocaine. The street value was estimated at $25,000, court heard. In addition, police found $1,135 in cash.
Scurr was eventually released, but on Sept. 15, 2005 he was charged with a breach of bail conditions when he was found in possession of marijuana. He was again charged with breach of bail conditions Sept. 16, 2005 when he was discovered to be out at 11:30, after a 10 p.m. curfew.
On Sept. 17, 2005 he was once more in violation of the curfew when he took a trip to Quesnel after hours. Subsequently he was found in possession of a cellphone prohibited under bail conditions as well as a small amount of marijuana, court was told during sentencing on Dec. 5, 2005.
Co-accused Bernard Schneider was sentenced on May 23, 2007 to one year in jail and one year probation.
During the sentencing hearing for Schneider, the court heard that police saw a white bag that turned out to contain 143 grams of crack cocaine with a street value in a range of $14,000 to $19,000 pass from Schneider's vehicle to the vehicle of the co-accused.
On Aug. 20, the bodies of Scurr and Ryan Provencher were found near Aschcroft.
Mounties said major crime investigators were called in because police to believe the deaths "involve criminality."
Police say they were called to a rural area north of Spences Bridge and the BC Coroners Service has confirmed their identities. The two were last seen July 17 in Metro Vancouver.
At that time, police said the 38-year-old Provencher and 37-year-old Scurr planned to travel to the southern Interior and preliminary information indicated the men reached their destination, 35 kilometres northeast of Lytton, along the Thompson River.
Provencher's white 2019 Jeep Cherokee was found on July 21, parked in a wooded area near Logan Lake.
An air and ground search of a wooded area around Logan Lake was conducted after the Jeep was recovered.
- with files from Paul Strickland and The Canadian Press
