Robert Leonard Thomas & Norman Robert Cocks sentenced after guilty plea to manslaughter

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Two of the six accused in the 2011 homicide of Dain Phillips pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week and were sentenced today.

On June 12, 2011, Dain Phillips was assaulted by several people using various weapons on McCurdy Road, near McKenzie Road in Kelowna, British Columbia. He later succumbed to hisinjuries and charges of 2nd Degree Murder were soon laid against seven individuals.

On January 30, 2014, Robert Leonard Thomas and Norman Robert Cocks appeared before Associate Chief Justice Cullen in Vancouver Supreme Court to plea to the offence of Manslaughter. They were sentenced earlier today.

Investigations such as this are both challenging and time-consuming and I would like to acknowledge the diligence of our investigative team and our partners at CFSEU-BC, says Supt Nick Romanchuk, Officer in Charge of the Kelowna RCMP. Although the matter remains before the Courts, I hope these guilty pleas will serve to bring some measure of closure to those who cared for Dain Phillips.

It is a testament to the hard work of dedicated officers and the CFSEU-BC working closely with the Kelowna RCMP that helped result in two full-patch Hells Angels members being convicted and sentenced for manslaughter in British Columbia, for the first time, says Chief Superintendent Dan Malo, Chief Officer for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia. Previous investigations and convictions have made it clear that members of the Hells Angels are involved in drugs, weapons, and violence-related offences. Through a coordinated andunified effort, CFSEU-BC and its partner agencies will continue to disrupt organized crime groups like the Hells Angels and eliminate their continued threat to public safety.

The guilty pleas of Robert Thomas and Norman Cocks do not signify the end of this investigation. The trial for Robert Cocks, Daniel McRae, Matthew McRae, and Anson Schell began earlier this week and remain ongoing at the Vancouver Law Courts.