B.C.'s Bacon brothers gun trial begins

James and Jarrod Bacon were under investigation for conspiracy to commit murder when police seized four guns, a Crown prosecutor told a Surrey court Monday, as a trial got underway involving weapons charges against the Abbotsford brothers.

Crown prosecutor Teresa Mitchell Banks told the court that officers found a secret compartment in an SUV allegedly used by the Bacons.

They found four loaded handguns inside the compartment, Banks said.

Police were investigating the Bacon brothers for conspiracy to commit murder and had a warrant to install a tracking device when the discovery was made, the Crown said.

James and Jarrod Bacon are facing 10 weapons related offences.

Crown counsel spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the 2007 attempted murder of James Bacon in his driveway led police to search the SUV.

"The charges arise out of a situation in which the Crown believes an attempt was made on the life of James Bacon, and in the course of the investigation that followed … a number of firearms were seized that will be linked to the two defendants in the course of the case," MacKenzie said.

Defence lawyers are expected to challenge the admissibility of the evidence collected.

"When a search is involved, we often find as part of the course of the case there are charter arguments raised as to whether the search has been properly conducted," said MacKenzie.

The trial continues Tuesday in provincial court in Surrey and is expected to run several weeks.