The man shot to death in South Aldergrove on Friday night was apparently part of a group trying to break into and rob a marijuana grow operation.

Korey Tyler Kelly, 25, was shot and killed near 16th Avenue and 272nd Street, said Sgt. Jennifer Pound, the spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, or IHIT.

The RCMP were called at about 9:30 p.m., and were flagged down near 24th Avenue by two men. They had the badly-injured Kelly with them.

Kelly was unresponsive at the scene, and was taken to hospital by paramedics, where he was pronounced dead.

Pound said that the shooting does not appear to be gang related.

It appears that Kelly and a group of men, including at least the two who flagged down police, firefighters and ambulances which responded, were trying to rip off a grow op.

“We believe he was at the property attempting to break into it,” said Pound.

Police have not yet arrested anyone for the murder.

“There have been no arrests made to date,” Pound said.

However, police have identified some persons of interest in the case and have interviewed several people, including the two men who were with Kelly.

Kelly had a long history of run-ins with police and the court system.

In 2004, along with several other men, he was charged with attempted murder with a firearm in a violent home invasion and robbery at a marijuana grow operation in Surrey.

He was sentenced to a year in prison for a lesser charge of breaking and entering, and was handed a firearms ban.

At least one of the men who was charged with Kelly in the 2004 incident has known gang connections.

Robert Joshua Achadinha pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm for the Jan. 9, 2004 home invasion in Surrey.

The group of young men, including Kelly, burst into the home by kicking down the door. A 70-year-old man living there grabbed a machete to defend himself and was shot in the chest. The bullet lodged near his spine. The man’s wife took him to the hospital.

Achadinha, then 20, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.

Kelly also had a string of charges later for everything from driving while prohibited, to flight from a peace officer, to possessing a firearm, to drug possession and production, with most of them apparently stemming from a 2010 arrest.

IHIT is asking anyone with information about the homicide to come forward and speak to investigators by calling the IHIT tipline at 1-877-551-4448, or emailing ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

To remain anonymous, people can also call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-22208477 or leave a tip on their website at Solvecrime.ca.