Hells Angels members Robert Thomas and Norm Cocks, appeared in courtroom 67 at the Vancouver Law Courts Monday for a first appearance on a second-degree murder charge.

The seven Kelowna men accused of beating Dain Phillips to death last June have had their trial moved to Vancouver.

All seven, including Hells Angels members Robert Thomas and Norm Cocks, appeared in courtroom 67 at the Vancouver Law Courts Monday for a first appearance  on a second-degree murder charge.

Thomas and Cocks remain in custody, while the others – Cocks dad Robert, brothers Daniel and Matthew McRae, Thomas Vaughan and Anson Schell – are out on bail.

Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the decision to move the case to the Lower Mainland was made “given the number of the accused, the number of counsel involved and the demands the case would place on court resources in Kelowna.”

“The Crown perspective is that the matter should proceed in Vancouver.  As a result, the Crown filed the Direct Indictment with the Supreme Court in Vancouver,” he said.

There is a ban on publication on evidence and submissions in the case.

The trial won’t get underway until at least January 2013.

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Murder trial begins for two Hells Angels, five others

 

two full-patch Hells Angels, made their first appearance in a Vancouver courtroom Monday for the June beating death of Kelowna resident Dain Phillips. The men - Hells Angels members Robert Thomas and Norm Cocks - as well as Cocks' father Robert, Anson Schell, Thomas Vaughan and brothers Daniel and Matthew McRae were charged with second-degree murder two weeks after the fatal assault on Phillips on June 12. They made their initial appearances in Kelowna Provincial Court, where five of the accused were released on bail. But Crown prosecutors have decided to proceed by way of direct indictment, meaning the case goes straight to B.C. Supreme Court without a preliminary hearing at the Provincial Court level. And prosecutors have moved the case to Vancouver, where the accused appeared Monday in a new high-security courtroom built for an unrelated gang murder case. Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the decision to move the case to the Lower Mainland was made "given the number of the accused, the number of counsel involved and the demands the case would place on court resources in Kelowna." There is a ban on publication of evidence and submissions in the case. Justice Arne Silverman put the matter over until Dec. 19, with a tentative start date for the eight-month trial sometime in January 2013. Thomas, 46, and Norm Cocks, 31, appeared wearing red prison garb from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, where they remain in custody. The others - Dan McRae, 21, Matt McRae, 19, Schell, 19, Vaughan, 22 and Robert Cocks, 53 - arrived with relatives and supporters, each being directed to seats behind bulletproof Plexiglas. No one from Phillips's family attended Monday. The Vancouver Sun earlier reported that Phillips, a married father of three, tried to intervene peacefully in a dispute two of his sons were having with a pair of brothers with whom they had attended Rutland secondary. When Phillips drove to a meeting place on McCurdy Road in the early evening of June 12, he was attacked by a group of men who had arrived in two separate vehicles. He died later in hospital. Insp. Pat Fogarty, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said after the arrests that Phillips was trying to resolve the problem when he was savagely attacked. The elder Cocks is president of a Hells Angels puppet club called the Throttle Lockers, while the four youngest accused were described by police as gang associates. The case is believed to be the first in the 28-year-history of the Hells Angels in B.C. where a club member has been charged with murder.

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Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, 53, arrived at Washoe County jail for proceedings related to the Sept. 23 shooting of Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew of the Hells Angels inside a hotel-casino

 

Vagos motorcycle gang member arrested in the slaying of a rival at a Sparks casino was transferred Monday to Reno from California to await a court appearance on a murder charge, authorities said. Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, 53, arrived at Washoe County jail for proceedings related to the Sept. 23 shooting of Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew of the Hells Angels inside a hotel-casino, Sparks police said. Pettigrew was president of the Hells Angels chapter in San Jose, Calif. The extradition of Gonzalez came after Hells Angels member Cesar Villagrana, 36, was rearrested Thursday in San Jose on an indictment charging him with murder in the case, Sparks police Detective Rocky Triplett said. Gonzalez's lawyer, David Chesnoff, wasn't immediately available for comment. Gonzalez was arrested Sept. 30 in San Francisco. Villagrana, of Gilroy, Calif., was with Pettigrew when he was shot. Two Vagos members were wounded in the casino shootout, and another was shot in the stomach the next morning by a gunman in a passing car. Triplett said Villagrana was charged with murder because he can be seen on casino security video drawing a gun and shooting at others. Villagrana was arrested the night of the shooting with a 9mm Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun that had been reported stolen in Arizona in 1998, police said. He was previously freed on $150,000 bail after being charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon illegally and discharging a firearm in a structure. Villagrana has not entered a plea on any of the charges. Richard Schonfeld, defense co-counsel, told Sparks Justice Court Judge Susan Deriso during a court appearance that Villagrana came from a stable family and had no prior felony convictions.

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Four-year sentence for fatal Maple Ridge stabbing

 

A drunken argument between two men on their way to an after-hours bash at a Hells Angels clubhouse led to the fatal stabbing of one and a four-year sentence for the other. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ronald McKinnon handed Coquitlam's Andrew Leach the jail term Monday after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing James William Ball on Sept. 25, 2009. Leach has already been in jail for more than two years, so McKinnon credited him with double-time and said the sentence equalled an eight-year term. McKinnon addressed Ball's family in the New Westminster courtroom before pronouncing the sentence. "I can only express the court's sympathy for their very grave loss. Nothing done today is going to lessen their burden or make things easier. I read the very poignant victim impact statements which underscore the loss and pain this offence has occasioned to these innocent victims," McKinnon said. "I doubt that I am the first person to observe that this death was completely avoidable which makes it all the more tragic." Crown prosecutor Andrew Blunt read an agreed statement of facts and played a grainy, dark video of the fatal stabbing behind a Safeway on Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge. Leach, Ball and a third man had been drinking at Club Climax in Maple Ridge until it closed at 2 a.m. They all decided to head to a nearby HA clubhouse for an after-hours party in a truck driven by the third man, Blunt explained. During the ride, Ball, 43, and Leach, now 28, began to argue. The driver pulled over behind the Safeway to relieve himself, as the conflict between the two men escalated and they got out of the truck. The Safeway video shows Leach repeatedly stabbing Ball, who is left slumped over a railing on the loading dock. The driver panicked and took off, though later returned for Leach, Blunt said. Ball was not discovered for more than three hours and later died from massive blood loss. McKinnon noted that the injuries to his neck, chest and abdomen wouldn't have been fatal if Ball had received help right away. "It seems apparent that immediate aid for Mr. Ball following his stab wounds would have saved his life," McKinnon said. Instead, Leach was dropped at his Coquitlam condo and learned the next day that Ball had died. The friend present at the crime scene ended up cooperating with police and wore a wire when he later met with Leach to get details of the stabbing. During the recorded meeting, Leach said "because he used a small knife, the wounds should not have been fatal." He explained that he had got rid of the murder weapon and burned his clothes. Leach was originally charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty two months ago to manslaughter. The young father had no criminal history until the stabbing, McKinnon noted. "While one can evoke alcohol as a contributing factor, it does not excuse the crime nor does anyone suggest that it should," the judge said. "Perhaps it stands as a wake-up call to those whose consumption of alcohol tends to deprive them of reason and sense." He said he didn't know what the argument was about, "but it had to be something quite frivolous but made into a big deal because of alcohol consumption."

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Police raid Perth bikie properties

 

42-year-old Rebels motorcycle gang member is one of three people being questioned by police after a search of his home in Calista, south of Perth. Police say they found a 22 calibre, self-loading handgun, cash, cannabis and a trafficable quantity of what they believe to be methamphetamine during this morning's search of the Edmund Road house. No charges have been laid at this stage. Gang Crime Squad detectives have also raided a home linked to a bikie gang in Morley this afternoon. They say they were searching for stolen motorcycles, firearms and drugs. The raids are part of a continued effort by police to disrupt the activities of motorcycle gangs.

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Joseph Patrick John Lagrue handed himself in at Solihull police station in September after the brawl between members of the Hell’s Angels and Outlaws biker gangs

One of Birmingham’s ‘Most Wanted’ crooks is facing justice over a battle between rival bikers at the airport in which one man nearly died.

Joseph Patrick John Lagrue handed himself in at Solihull police station in September after the brawl between members of the Hell’s Angels and Outlaws biker gangs in January 2008.

Up to 30 people, some armed with hammers, machetes, knuckledusters, knives and a meat cleaver, were involved in the fight following a trip to Spain.

Families of holidaymakers were forced to dive for cover as the violence swept through the terminal.

A police source said Lagrue, 43, understood to be a member of the Outlaws, had played a “key role" in the violence.

But he was not tracked down following the incident and, in January last year, detectives named him as ‘wanted’ and added his face to their website.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said that following his arrest on September 27 he appeared before magistrates in Solihull charged with rioting.

He has pleaded guilty to the offence and will be sentenced later this month.

“Joseph Lagrue was wanted by police in connection since the investigation commenced and our efforts to track him down never ceased,” the spokesman said.

“This was a significant disturbance played out in the full glare of a busy international airport terminal.

"Families returning to Birmingham from their holidays were forced to take cover as two groups attacked each other with gratuitous violence.

“Weapons were produced and used and there were a number of injuries.

“The arrest of Joseph Lagrue brings this significant investigation to a close.”

The mob violence exploded near the arrivals hall of the airport after rival members discovered they were on the same flight from Alicante, in Spain.

Members of both gangs were met by associates, who provided them with weapons, as they arrived at the airport and began brawling in front of terrified families.

Several men were injured and one almost lost his life after suffering a serious head injury.

In July 2009, Neil Harrison, then aged 46, of Bell Green Road, Coventry; Paul Arlett, then 35, of Cradley Road, Dudley; Mark Price, then 50, of Westbury Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire; Sean Timmins, then 38, of Brewood Road in Coven, Staffordshire; Leonard Hawthorne, then 52, of Penn Road, Wolverhampton; Mark Moseley, then 46, of Orchard Rise, in Birmingham, and Jeremy Ball, then 46, of Plant Street, Cheadle, Staffordshire, were each jailed for six years after being convicted of rioting.

Another man, Mark Larner, then aged 47, of Tudor Road, Upper Gornal in the Black Country, fled to South Africa “with a substantial amount of money” before being sentenced. He later handed himself in to police in Bristol and was jailed in November 2009 for six years.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said Lagrue had pleaded guilty and was remanded in custody until later this month when he is due to be sentenced at Warwick Crown Court.

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Newfoundlanders arrested in RCMP drug bust

 

Two people from Newfoundland and Labrador have been arrested in an interprovincial drug bust against the Hells Angels motorcycle club. The accused are 41-year-old Scott Hutchings from Bell Island and Jocelyn Dunn, 26, from St. John's. The pair have been charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine. They were both arrested on Friday afternoon in St. John’s. They were taken in a bust dubbed "Operation Longridge," which was led by the Ontario Provincial Police. According to a press release issued by the RCMP on Saturday the operation was “targeting members and associates of (an) outlaw motorcycle gang, specifically the Hells Angels Kitchener, Ontario chapter.” The release went on to state that Hutchings and Dunn were arrested in an undercover operation by the RCMP St. John’s Drug Section in cooperation with the Ontario Biker Enforcement Unit. In addition to arresting the two suspects police also seized $50,000 and an unreleased quantity of anabolic steroids. There were more arrests connected to this case made in Ontario but it is unclear at this time how many there were in total. Hutchings and Dunn will appear again in court on Monday.

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Montreal criminal lawyer Gilles Doré — who has represented alleged Hells Angels — is in hospital with serious injuries

Montreal criminal lawyer Gilles Doré.

Montreal criminal lawyer Gilles Doré — who has represented alleged Hells Angels — is in hospital with serious injuries after being assaulted outside his home.

According to Radio-Canada, the 58-year-old lawyer was violently beaten outside his house in Montreal's tony Outremont neighbourhood Friday evening.

Without confirming his identity, police said the victim was found lying on the ground outside his house near Glendale and Pratt Avenues.

The victim was in a coma but later regained consciousness and was able to speak with detectives.

Police have no suspects.

Doré rose to prominence a decade ago when he defended high-ranking Hells members involved in Quebec's notorious 2002 mega-trial.

That mega-trial ended with the murder conviction of Maurice "Mom" Boucher, alleged biker kingpin.

Doré also represents several presumed Hells bikers arrested two years ago in a massive dragnet against organized crime.

The bust, known as Operation SharkQC, netted more than 100 arrests, including dozens of full-patch members of the notorious biker network, according to police.

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Top Hells leader arrested after evading police

 

key player in Quebec's bloody biker war was arrested Wednesday after two-and- a-half years on the lam. Steve Duquette, 45, was a top lieutenant in the Sherbrooke, Que., chapter of the Hells Angels. The group plotted the deaths of rival Rock Machine bikers in a conflict that saw more than 100 people, including bystanders, killed in the 1990s and early 2000s. Duquette did not resist when he was picked up Wednesday in Montreal. He appeared in court Thursday on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, gangsterism, drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic.

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An alleged high-ranking member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) has been charged with a revocation of parole warrant

 

An alleged high-ranking member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) has been charged with a revocation of parole warrant by officers from the Gangs Squad’s Strike Force Raptor. Part of Strike Force Raptor’s charter is to monitor members of OMCGs who have been released from Corrective Services custody with parole conditions. Their inquiries led them to a man who had allegedly fled to Queensland. About 6.30pm on Wednesday 2 November 2011, a 41-year-old man was arrested in Tugun, Queensland, by officers from the Queensland Police Service’s Task Force Hydra. He faced Southport Magistrate’s Court yesterday where he was remanded into the custody of Strike Force Raptor officers. He was subsequently taken to Tweed Heads Police Station, in northern NSW, and charged with the revocation of parole warrant. He has been transferred into Corrective Services custody. Strike Force Raptor was established by the State Crime Command’s Gangs Squad in 2009 and is a proactive, high-impact operation targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and their alleged associated criminal enterprises.

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Hells Angels held a party in Tallinn last Saturday that climaxed with a fight that broke out between a night club security guard and two Finnish citizens

 

motorcycle gang Hells Angels held a party in Tallinn last Saturday that climaxed with a fight that broke out between a night club security guard and two Finnish citizens who were later brought to trial and “essentially thrown out of the country,” as one law enforcement officer put it. Having caused a raucus at the night club, three Hells Angels members had called their friends for help, but police - who had been keeping an eye on their festivities - were standing by and preempted a further conflict, reported ETV. Police say the otherwise peaceful party, attended by Hells Angels members from six countries, is just one sign that motorcycle gangs are expanding to Estonia. A local biker club has been courting the Hells Angels to get full membership. Another local club has already gained membership and established a new headquarters for a second international organization, Bandidos, which Finnish law enforcement has dubbed the biggest organized crime ring in their country. The two groups - Hells Angels and Bandidos - cannot be allowed to come together. “Violence is relatively probable,” said Elmar Vaher, who heads the North Prefecture of the police. He recalled the Great Nordic Biker War in the 1990s, in which 11 were killed, 96 injured, and weapons such as AK-47s were used. "There is a principle that commiting a common crime can tie people more closely to one another than anything else," said Vaher. Authorities now fear new cases of prostitution and drug trafficking. Although police have searched one of these local biker clubs on several occasions, and discovered illegal drugs in one instance, the Estonian biker organizations cannot yet be labeled as criminal, they say. Estonian police have been watching the activities of biker gangs since 2005, when Finnish colleagues identified a problem. "Along with the public club activities, there are more shady dealings as well," said Vaher. "Their handwriting is generally clever. They want to show that they mean well - international associates have built kindergartens [...] But there are also hidden crimes, mainly drugs, prostitution, and serious financial crimes." While Vaher submitted that not every person with a motorcycle and a leather jacket can be considered a criminal, he said some markings - such as the Hells Angels's “1%” insignia - are a clear statement of endorsing criminal activity. Upon inquiry, however, the Estonian biker club associated with Hell Angels defended itself, saying that it is just a group of hobbyists, that every societal demographic has crime, and that criminal activity - indeed - is not a prerequisite for membership.

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Vietnamese-based organization known as the Catacutan Drug Crew.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge Image

An SUV is towed away from Arthur Street and McDermot Avenue Saturday afternoon after a shooting left one person dead.

Winnipeg police believe a spate of weekend shootings that killed two young men -- and left a teen fighting for survival -- are all linked to the city's drug and gang subculture.

However, sources told the Free Press Monday there appears to be no common thread between the three incidents, which all happened in a 24-hour period and pushed the city to an all-time homicide record.

The 33rd homicide victim of 2011 was 20-year-old Oudy Phrakonekham, shot while riding in a car through the Exchange District at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Sources say he was gunned down at point-blank range in what was believed to be a targeted attack. Court records show he has no prior criminal involvement. A source said Phrakonekham is believed to have connections to a Vietnamese-based organization known as the Catacutan Drug Crew.

A founding member of that organization was recently raided by the Drug Enforcement Agency and Homeland Security in the United States on charges of conspiracy to export cocaine to Canada. That has caused instability within the organization, the source said.

"It's hard to say right now if this could be connected to that, or if it's just the usual competition-type violence you see," the source said.

The 34th homicide victim was a man whose name has not yet been made public, found shot in the parking lot of the Lincoln Motor Inn on McPhillips Street around 4:40 a.m. Sunday. A source identified him to the Free Press as Mohammed Omar, a known associate of the African Mafia street gang. Omar has a prior criminal record for drug possession, which led to a conditional discharge in 2006, according to court records.

Omar was a father of four children and lived with his common-law wife and mother in a home in St. Vital, said one of his friends.

Omar had come to Canada from Somalia in 1993 and worked as a cleaner at a city hospital, the friend said.

"(He had) absolutely beautiful children," said the friend, who said the children are aged nine, four, two and one.

Omar loved music, the friend said.

"He, personally, had a very good heart," she said.

The third shooting fell between the two slayings and also has gang connections. A 14-year-old boy who is linked to an aboriginal street gang was shot around 4:30 p.m. Saturday near Selkirk Avenue and Salter Street.

There is another common connection between the three incidents -- no arrests have been made in any of them.

Police sources say it is likely just a coincidence to have so many gun-related attacks in a short window of time. It's also the grim reality of life on Winnipeg streets, where police and prosecutors have been warning for months about the increasing number of criminals who are carrying firearms and apparently unafraid to use them.

Six of the city's 34 homicide victims in 2011 have died from gunfire.

Police are probing whether the Exchange District killing has any links to two other unsolved incidents from earlier this year, the source said.

Three men were shot and seriously injured in August while sitting inside a garage in a Transcona suburb. A witness told the Free Press at the time the gunman calmly walked up to the victims and fired at least six shots before fleeing. A source told the Free Press the incident is believed to be connected to organized crime.

Police were also exploring the possibility it was connected to the Aug. 6 stabbing death of Baljinder Singh Sidhu, 27, outside the Osborne Village Inn. Witnesses described a chaotic scene that involved members of several different race-based criminal organizations brawling in the street, ending with Sidhu being fatally attacked.

This weekend's violence comes just after the one-year anniversary of a triple shooting in the North End that left two victims dead and a 13-year-old girl wounded. No arrests have been made, but police recently revealed they believe those three attacks are linked and may have connections to the drug and/or gang world.

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Report: Nevada Top 10 in Gang Members

 

Street gangs are a growing problem in southern Nevada. The FBI ranks Clark County as the 10th worst area in the nation for the number of gang members. More than 15,000 roam the streets, and those are just the ones authorities know about. The report shows the trends authorities are seeing in gangs. Biker gangs are getting more and more members. Hispanic-based gangs are expanding faster than other gangs. Twenty states, including Nevada, are seeing these same trends. Rachal Richardson used to have gang ties. Lights and sirens were something she was used to. Her ties to gang life are over, but not before being exposed to plenty of violence. The mother of four traded in violence and crimes scenes for a better life 10 years ago. She's not surprised Clark County is in the top 10 counties of the country when it comes to gang presence. "With sex is drugs and money and with that comes gangs, people trying to protect their turf, their name, or their pride," she said. With more than 15,000 gang members identified through the report, those who work closely with gang members say more needs to done. "We don't have enough money on prevention programs, where the kids can be involved and don't fall into that path of crime," said Esther Brown with the Embracing Project. Brown has never been in a gang, but moved to America from Spain and saw the need to reach out to those in gangs. She started the Embracing Project, a gang-prevention charity. "You are a gang member, let's look for solutions. What do you need so you can leave the gang. Some of the kids, it's difficult to leave the gang because their family are gang members," she said. She hopes this recent report opens the eyes of the community. "It's everywhere. People think, 'Oh, not in Summerlin. We don't have gang-bangers.' It's everywhere. Gang activity is everywhere," she said. Most of the gangs identified in this report are from street gangs. Two motorcycle gangs have seen a growth in Nevada, but gang-related drug activity in the report was fairly low compared to the overall gang presence in the state.

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