“He had his issues, but he was a human being,” said Cody Mostat’s mom. “It’s hard to even live a normal life now. I think of him every day.”
A month after being convicted of manslaughter in a fatal Surrey shooting, a B.C. man has pleaded guilty to a second killing.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced Wednesday that Justin Bos had pleaded guilty to the slaying of Cody Mostat in Langley on March 25, 2022.
Bos was originally charged with second-degree murder for killing Mostat outside the Highway Hotel in the 20400-block of 88th Avenue at about 9 p.m.
He entered the guilty plea to the lesser charge in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Dec. 20. He also pleaded guilty the same day to one count of manufacturing firearms in an unrelated case stemming from an investigation by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
On Nov. 15, Bos was convicted of manslaughter, also in New West court, for killing Troy Regnier in Surrey in August 2022 — just months after he shot Mostat.
Mostat’s mother, Brigitte Tougas, said Wednesday that the guilty plea still leaves unanswered questions for her and her family.
But she said she was relieved not to have to sit through a trial and learn more details about her son’s brutal death. She already knows he was shot five times.
Mostat struggled with substance use, but managed to hold down jobs as a welder, his mom said.
He had a severe injury on the job when he was 19. A doctor prescribed strong pain medication. But when the prescriptions stopped, he turned to the street.
“He had his issues, but he was a human being,” Tougas said. “It’s hard to even live a normal life now. I think of him every day.”
Her son was acquainted with Bos and apparently had a dispute with his killer over a young woman.
“What I don’t understand is why do you bring a gun to a fist fight and why do you have to shoot him that many times?” she asked.
Bos is due back in court next month to fix a date for sentencing in both killings and on the gun count.
Tougas hopes the sentencing finally brings some closure to her after three years of hell.
“I haven’t really been able to mourn, because of the fact of everything going on,” she said.
IHIT spokeswoman Freda Fong said Wednesday that the guilty plea was a good result.
A guilty plea reflects the hard work and dedication of our investigators and their collaboration with our policing partners and the B.C. Prosecution Service,
she said, Mr. Bos was a repeat offender and keeping him off the streets was important to us for public safety.
Court records show Bos already had a criminal history before the two killings.
In 2013, he was convicted in Abbotsford of a breach of court-ordered conditions and sentenced to a day in jail. In 2015, he was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of an unauthorized non-firearm and got six months in jail. In 2020, he was convicted of possession of stolen property and another count. He got another day in jail.
“It just doesn’t make sense … Somebody definitely dropped the ball,” Tougas said at the time.
Bluesky: @kimbolan.bsky.social