New West — Two men have been sentenced in connection with the 2004 shooting death of Amandeep Singh Bath in Whalley.
Bath, 27, was shot in the head, in the 9100-block of 125th Street, on Sept. 24, 2004.
Parminder Singh Basran pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm and was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison.
Bhabjit Singh Aujla also pleaded guilty to assault, on March 3, and was sentenced Thursday to time served, which worked out to 11 months.
Bath’s family released the following statement: “Amandeep is deeply missed every day by our family. He did not deserve to die at such a young age. We are all thankful to all of the hard work and dedication devoted by IHIT, the cold case team and Crown counsel to Amandeep’s case. Because of the compelling evidence put forward, the two accused finally admitted their guilt over 12 years after committing this gruesome crime. We thank all of you for not forgetting Amandeep, and fighting alongside us to bring him justice.”
Staff Sergeant Jennifer Pound, spokeswoman for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said IHIT’s cold case team is comprised of “highly skilled investigators who have provided justice to families who have tragically lost loved ones.”
Bath’s homicide was the IHIT cold case team’s first investigation, which began in 2012.
“As a result of the dedicated and compassion that each IHIT investigator displayed throughout the years, today,” Pound said, “nearly 13 years after the death of Mr. Bath, we are seeing accountability and justice served.”
Basran and Aujla were charged in the killing in 2005, but the charges against them were dropped for lack of evidence. Basran had been charged with using a firearm to commit second-degree murder, and Aujla had been charged with using a firearm to commit manslaughter.
“Both individuals were charged with homicide-related charges, however, these charges were stayed in 2005 as Crown concluded the available evidence did not support a viable prosecution at the time,” Pound said.
In 2013, Bath had been shot beside a silver Mercedes and two men were seen leaving the area in a black pickup truck.