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On Friday Judge Ralph Strother set trial dates for three of six bikers who appeared in his court.

On Friday Judge Ralph Strother set trial dates for three of six bikers who appeared in his court.

Bandidos bikers Ray Allen and Jeffery Battey recently they had their charges changed from engaging in organized criminal activity to murder. According to their attorneys it was the district attorney's idea to put these two cases together, because they are so similar. They are friends who arrived at Twin Peaks together. In May prosecutor Amanda Dillion said Battey and some other Bandido members were seen standing over a dead Cossack. Judge Strother set their trial date for January 15,2019. Attorney Seth Sutton represents Battey, and says he's perfectly fine with a joint trial.

We're going to look at the possibility of doing that, and we've had conversations about whether or not ultimately that’s going to happen,” said Sutton. “I think right now Battey and Allen are set on January 15, and so we're just excited to have our day.”

Tom Mendez is charged with the offense of riot and his trial date was set for August 27th.

Jerry Pierson is also charged with riot but he did not have his trial set on Friday. He's facing a deadly conduct charge in Dallas, and the judge told his attorney to get that case cleared up first.

Glen Allen Walker is the third biker charged with murder. His next status hearing is in January.

His lawyer Clint Broden said he will call outgoing McLennan county district attorney Abel Reyna as a witness. Broden and the state agreed to wait until Reyna leaves office before going further with walkers case.

https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/more-twin-peaks-biker-trial-dates-set/500-558544917

An alleged leader among the Hells Angels in Quebec has filed a lawsuit against the attorney general of Quebec, seeking more than $2 million while alleging he was detained without cause following his arrest in a major drug-trafficking case. He alleges prosecutors and police held back key evidence during his bail hearing.

The lawsuit filed at the Montreal courthouse by Salvatore Cazzetta, 63, an alleged member of the Hells Angels since roughly 2004, involves a case in which he and 20 other people were charged in November 2015 with a series of criminal offences related to drug trafficking in the Mercier—Hochelaga—Maisonneuve borough. Besides being an alleged Hells Angels leader, Cazzetta has been observed meeting with several people tied to the Montreal Mafia in recent years.

Two police investigators and three prosecutors are also named in the lawsuit.

At least 15 people have since pleaded guilty to some of the charges in the drug-trafficking case, but Cazzetta challenged the case brought against him. Two charges were tossed out following his preliminary inquiry and, on Dec. 6, the prosecution announced it would no longer prosecute him on the last remaining charge — that he was in possession of the proceeds of crime by having collected “a tax” from the drug-trafficking ring.

In the lawsuit, prepared by Montreal lawyer David Summerside, Cazzetta argues he was denied bail and detained — between November 2015 and August 2017 — without cause because the police investigators and prosecutors did not reveal evidence that was dropped in their laps shortly after Cazzetta and the other men were arrested.

The leader of the drug-trafficking network was arrested on Nov. 19, 2015, and decided to co-operate with the police immediately. Within hours of his arrest, he provided a sworn statement, recorded on videotape, and eventually was given a contract to work as a witness for the prosecution. According to the lawsuit, the witness told the police that Cazzetta “had nothing to do with Hochelaga—Maisonneuve” and that Cazzetta had nothing to do with his drug-trafficking network.

Four days later, a Quebec Court judge began hearing evidence in Cazzetta’s bail hearing, but the statement the witness gave to police was not mentioned.

One of the investigators named in the lawsuit was present when the leader of the drug-trafficking network provided his sworn statement to police. She participated in the preparation of a PowerPoint presentation used during the bail hearing and testified during it, but made no mention of what she had heard a few days earlier.

Because of this, Cazzetta argues, the investigators and prosecutors “did not act in good faith, rigour and the honesty required” by people involved in the justice system. By being detained for more than a year, he alleges, he was “exposed to a high level of stress anguish, anxiety and insecurity.” As part of that same argument, Cazzetta notes that, as was revealed during his bail hearing, shortly before his arrest he had undergone surgery on his heart and was supposed to be convalescing.

People who have been convicted in the same case have received sentences that range from a 43-month prison term to sentences that could be served in the community. At least four of the 21 men who have pleaded guilty still await their sentence. That includes François Langlois, 43, a man who pleaded guilty, on June 20, to conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges, but according to court records, he has failed to show up in court for the sentencing stage of his case since January.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/alleged-hells-angels-leader-salvatore-cazzetta-sues-quebec-for-2-million

METRO VANCOUVER – Longtime gangster and founder of the Independent Soldiers Randy Naicker was shot to death in Port Moody Monday.

Naicker, a convicted kidnapper once targeted by killers at his Vancouver halfway house, was gunned down at about 4:45 p.m. near St. Johns and Queens streets.

Police confirmed Tuesday morning that Naicker was the victim of the fatal shooting.

Vancouver police have been called in to investigate the death, Port Moody’s second gangland shooting in a month. Port Moody Police have an agreement with the larger VPD to conduct murder probes.

Witnesses described seeing a masked gunman shoot Naicker several times, then get into a vehicle and leave the scene – a parking area off a laneway and outside a Star-bucks restaurant.

VPD Const. Lindsey Houghton said the incident appeared to be “a targeted gang-related shooting.”

“Members of the Port Moody Police and Coquitlam RCMP rushed to the chaotic scene where there had been dozens of people put in harm’s way while in nearby businesses and commuting home in rush hour,” Houghton said, asking anyone with information about the slaying to call 604-717-2500.

Starbucks Canada said staff members affected by the shooting are able to access counseling services.

The store opened as usual Tuesday morning.

Naicker, 35, had received death threats over the years. Within the last few months, he had been warned by the Gang Task Force that there were people who wanted him dead, according to sources.

While out on day parole in September 2009, Naicker was targeted by killers at his half-way house near Cambie Street and West 21st Avenue.

A worker at the residence had mistakenly written in a log-book that Naicker had gone out to the corner store. In fact, another house resident, Raj Soomel, had strolled down Cambie Street and was gunned down on his way back.

Police later revealed that Soomel had been killed in error by someone looking for Naicker, who had only been out of jail for five days.

Naicker’s parole was revoked after Soomel’s slaying, but he repeatedly told the Parole Board of Canada he did not believe he was in danger, or that he was the target of the 2009 plot.

“I just haven’t had those kinds of headaches where some-one wants to assassinate you,” Naicker told board members in a December 2009 hearing attended by The Sun. “The way that it happened, it seemed like it was a targeted incident.”

The Sun has learned that the 2009 attack is believed to have been plotted by the United Nations gang against Naicker because two of Naicker’s under-lings assaulted a UN member in prison.

Naicker told the parole board he was not a gangster, though some of his old friends were. He admitted he founded the Independent Soldiers, but claimed it was only a clothing line and that he was a businessman.

And Naicker told the parole board that The Sun had caused all his problems by running a photograph of himself and full-patch Hells Angel Larry Amero at a Kelowna party. Both sported their respective gang tattoos on their chest.

Amero was seriously wounded in the Kelowna shooting last August in which Jonathan Bacon was killed. Since then, police have warned of increasing tensions between two rival groups – one dubbed the Dhak-Duhre-UN group and the other some Hells Angels, the Independent Soldiers and Bacon’s Red Scorpions.

Less than a month ago, Gurbinder (Bin) Toor, a Duhre associate, was shot to death outside the Port Moody Recreation Centre.

Naicker had known the Bacons for years. While out on bail for his 2005 gang kid-napping charges, Naicker was caught by police with Jamie Bacon and others associated with both gangs at Abbotsford’s Castle Fun Park.

Naicker was believed to be living in Burnaby, although he owned a Surrey condo purchased for almost $500,000 while he was still in prison.

He was convicted of the 2005 kidnapping and unlawful confinement in Surrey of a gangster after $400,000 worth of pot went missing and two gang-land associates were murdered. He was sentenced to five years.

At the time of his statutory release a year ago, the parole board imposed special conditions because of the belief he was a marked man. Naicker had to tell his parole supervisor of anyone living with him so that person could be fully informed of the “harmful potential associated with being in close proximity to you.”

http://leaderpost.com/News/Gangs/independent-soldiers-gangster-convicted-kidnapper-randy-naicker-gunned-down-in-metro-vancouver/wcm/adae8444-99b1-4f04-9e09-80e71822f4ad

A FORMER Bandidos bikie has been convicted of murder for a second time after he admitted killing Gold Coast father Greg Dufty.

Brothers Lionel John and Nelson Andrae Patea were expected to go on trial for the 2015 killing of the pool builder this week alongside Aaron John Crawford.

But the trio appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court today, where Lionel Patea shared a laugh with his brother before he admitted murdering Mr Dufty.

Nelson Patea pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, while Crawford also admitted to unlawful killing and another count of interfering with a corpse.

Mr Dufty, a father-of-two, was last seen in early July 2015 but his body has never been found.

Liam Rawhiti Bliss and Clinton Lee Earl Stockman also pleaded guilty to his manslaughter in February.

During their sentencing, the Brisbane Supreme Court heard the 37-year-old was bashed into unconsciousness after he stole cannabis.

When he couldn’t be woken, his body was incinerated at a property near Casino in northern NSW.

This is the second time Lionel Patea has been convicted of murder, after he admitted killing his former partner Tara Brown on the opening day of his trial in February 2017.

He bashed the young mum’s head in with a metal fire hydrant, just two months after Mr Dufty was killed.

The Brisbane Supreme Court heard he could not remember the event due to his illicit drug use.

The Patea brothers and Crawford will be sentenced on Tuesday.

https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/national/trio-admits-to-killing-gold-coasts-greg-dufty/news-story/7ddce6e8c3fc7fab65c2631c334346ed

The Dutch public prosecution department said on Wednesday it will have a second attempt to have the Hells Angels motorbike club banned. A previous attempt ended in 2009 with the supreme court ruling in favour of the motorbike club. On Wednesday, the public prosecutor said it has asked a civil court judge to ban the organisation nationwide and to dissolve the association. As supporting evidence, the department said it has submitted ‘hundreds’ of pages of evidence detailing the ‘criminal activities’ which the club and its members take part in. Together, they prove that the club propagates violence and forms a danger to public order, the department statement said. ‘It is not a question of isolated incidents but of a club culture of lawlessness and violence,’ the statement said. ‘That makes a ban necessary in order to end the serious threats which this organisation makes.’ In December 2017, judges in Utrecht banned the motorcycle club Bandidos with immediate effect in order to ‘halt behaviour which could disrupt society’. Another case, against the Satudarah motorbike club is also pending and judges are due to announce their verdict in June.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/05/dutch-prosecutor-launches-new-attempt-to-ban-hells-angels-biker-gang/

NOTORIOUS former Bandidos bikie Lionel Patea has been sentenced to life in jail for a second time.

Patea will have to serve at least 30 years behind bars from Tuesday after he admitted killing Gold Coast dad Greg Dufty over a drug debt in July 2015.

He was already serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty in February 2017 to murdering his partner Tara Brown.

Aaron Crawford orchestrated for his best friend to be bashed.

Justice Martin Burns was scathing in his assessment of Crawford, 30, as he sentenced him to 10 years behind bars for Mr Dufty's manslaughter.

He was also given a two-year jail term for a charge of interfering with a corpse, after it was revealed he drove his friend's body to his property at Rappville, near Casino, and burnt it.

But it will be served at the same time.

Crawford will have to serve 80 per cent, or eight years, of his sentence after his actions were deemed a serious violent offence.

Taking into account time he has already served in custody, he will be eligible for parole in November 2023.

Lionel Patea's brother Nelson, who also pleaded guilty to Mr Dufty's manslaughter on Monday, was sentenced to eight years' jail.

He will be eligible for parole in January 2019, based on time already served.

https://www.northernstar.com.au/news/notorious-former-bikie-gets-second-life-sentence-f/3427831/

VISALIA – Two members of a notorious biker gang were arrested in Visalia last week.

At 5:46 p.m. on May 25, officers with the Visalia Police Department’s anti-gang unit, known as the special enforcement unit, pulled over two motorcycles for traffic violations at Lovers Lane and K Road in Visalia.

Neither of the riders – 40-year-old Thomas Martin Qualls nor 33-year-old Matthew Wayne Spray — had motorcycle endorsement on their driver’s licenses but they were wearing leather vests identifying them as members of the Fresno chapter of the Screamin’ Demons motorcycle club. A search of Qualls motorcycle reviewed a concealed, loaded handgun, a high capacity handgun magazine, and an expandable baton. Qualls, who identified himself as president of the Screamin’ Demons as recently as 2015, was also found to be a convicted felon.

A search of Spray’s motorcycle found a concealed, loaded handgun. The motorcycle engine had also been reported stolen. A search of Spray revealed a concealed dirk or dagger and 23 grams of methamphetamine. Both Qualls and Spray were booked at the Tulare County Jail for numerous firearm, concealed weapons, narcotics, and stolen property charges.

Valley communities have been unsure what to make of motorcycle gangs like the Screamin’ Demons over the past few years. In March 2014, the Screamin’ Demons participated in a Autism ride in Exeter and that December joined the Hells Angels in buying up all the bicycles at a Fresno Walmart to donate to the city’s youth. In December 2015, the gang delivered more than 400 toys to HOPE Sanger for the holidays. However, during that same time period the group made the U.S. Department of Justice’s list of eight motorcycle clubs identified as criminal gangs in California, defining them as “organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises.”

http://www.thesungazette.com/article/news/2018/05/30/police-arrest-members-of-biker-gang/

The Hells Angels made their way back to Sherbrooke at the time the brigade special anti-bikers of this region is in troubled waters.

The police of Sherbrooke has slammed the door of the Squad joint regional (ERM) for fighting organized crime at the end of march, in withdrawing the investigator that she was devoting to it for several years, learned The Newspaper.

Six months ago, the Régie de police Memphrémagog had had to do the same for budget reasons.

According to our information, the police of Granby, which comprises a total of 101 police officers – compared to 252 for Sherbrooke – is now the only municipal police service to provide staff to the ERM in the eastern Townships, which is found almost exclusively composed of investigators from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

Economy marginal

Asked about the reasons for the withdrawal, the police de Sherbrooke (SPS) said yesterday that it was an ” organizational decision “, without more precision.

The seventh most important body of municipal police in Quebec has not commented on the news of the reopening of the chapter of the Hells in Sherbrooke, whose activities were paralysed since operation SharQc, as reported in The Journal yesterday.

“You” refers to the Sûreté du Québec who is in charge of the squad [against] motorcycle, ” said officer Martin Carrier, a spokesperson for the SPS.

It is not known if financial imperatives have played in the balance, but the police sherbrooke would save at most $ 75,000 per year by turning your back to the ERM, since one-half of its costs related to this squad is repaid by the SQ.

This is not to say that the police of Sherbrooke will close a blind eye to the illegal activities of the Hells on its territory. But in breaking with this partnership born at the time of Carcajou squad, she will be alone to face the criminal group.

“It is a pity, but it is their decision and we must respect it,” responded the inspector Guy Lapointe of the SQ, reiterating that the fight against organized crime remains a priority of the provincial police.

Many of the confrontations

The Hells have never bothered to confront the police officers sherbrooke. In 2003, bikers and plain clothes police officers were backcombed bun in a restaurant in Sherbrooke before being deported.

On August 14, 1999, two patrol boats that had been chasing the bikers up to their bunker in Lennoxville, have spent a bad quarter of an hour. Two Hells had been convicted of assault and obstructing the work of the officers after this intervention.

During their war against the Rock Machine, Hells were that the police of Sherbrooke “achalait” too. They had then set fire to several municipal buildings, hoping to occupy the forces of order “elsewhere” and to compel the City to “remove the budget to the police” for the rebuilding of the buildings affected, said the SQ the informer Sylvain Boulanger.

https://bobrtimes.com/the-return-conducive-hells-in-sherbrooke/53483/

Two brothers are due to face a Sydney court following a massive seizure of $A2.75 million in cash, 13 firearms and illicit drugs, with one of the alleged bikies nabbed at Sydney Airport as he returned to Australia.

A 34-year-old man was arrested in dramatic scenes at the airport as he arrived from New Zealand yesterday, with the handcuffed man lashing out at police as he was led through the building.

His arrest came after a raid the previous day at a storage facility at inner- city Waterloo, where officers from Strike Force Raptor and the Drug and Firearms Squad allegedly seized the huge sum of cash, drugs and firearms, including five sub-machine guns and two semi-automatic pistols.

The man's younger brother, aged 32, was arrested by tactical police during a vehicle stop near the airport yesterday afternoon.

The brothers are behind bars and due to face Sutherland Local Court today facing a slew of charges.

Police executed a search warrant at a home unit at Homebush, where they seized items relevant to the ongoing investigation.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/watch-handcuffed-australian-bikie-gang-member-lashes-police-sydney-airport

A police raid into suspected drug dealing by Tribesmen Motorcycle gang members uncovered several thousand dollars in cash, methamphetamine and a cannabis growing operation.

Sergeant Daniel Isherwood said police raided a property on Valley Rd, Cashmere in Christchurch on Friday. The property has strong links to the motorcycle gang.

Isherwood said dealing quantities of methamphetamine, scales, deal bags and a cannabis growing operation were located in the home along with several thousand dollars in cash.

A 25-year old man and a 49-year-old woman were arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply, cultivating cannabis and possession of cannabis.

This comes after three people with links to the gang were arrested in November after police seized drugs, cash and guns during raids on several properties in Canterbury.

"Once again this gang, and others like it, have shown their primary purpose is to profit through the illicit sale of drugs," Isherwood said.

"This activity causes significant harm to the Canterbury community and police are committed to the ongoing targeting of this type of criminal offending. Users of the drugs this gang sells often become involved in petty crime to fund their habits, which effects all members of our community."

"We will continue to work with the community to prevent the harm methamphetamine causes and stop the sale of drugs, from which these criminals seek to profit".

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/104420840/raid-of-tribesmen-mc-property-nets-cash-and-drugs

The Royal Canadian Legion has adopted a new national policy that prohibits the wearing of "outlaw motorcycle club and street-gang colours" at its events and premises.

According to Nujma Bond, communications manager with the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command in Ottawa, the legion policy came about after a Remembrance Day ceremony in Ontario at which members of an "outlaw motorcycle club" attended, and in some cases wore their colours with service medals attached.

That was brought to the attention of the legion by law-enforcement officials.

Bond said it was decided that wearing outlaw motorcycle club and street-gang colours was "contrary ot the legion's articles of faith and disrespectful of the sacrifices made by our veterans."

The policy was approved by the national executive of the legion in April. It applies to all 1,400 local Legion branches across Canada.

Resulted in cancelled event, say police
The new policy resulted in an event being cancelled in Miscouche, P.E.I., on Saturday, according to P.E.I. RCMP.

"Groups seem to be trying to legitimatize themselves by associating with veterans groups," said RCMP Cpl. Andy Cook. "We see them attend events and the veteran's clubs and they seem to be trying to curry favour with them."

According to RCMP, the event was supposed to be a gathering of members of the Atlantic Confederation of Clubs and Independents, which says it represents clubs and independent motorcyclists in Atlantic Canada.

Police said it would have included attendance by members of what police consider to be criminal organizations, including Hells Angels.

RCMP met with members of the Miscouche Legion before Saturday, according to Cook, to discuss plans for the event.

The bikers moved their meeting to a club in Summerside, P.E.I. according to Cook.

Staff at Miscouche Legion declined comment.

Group disappointed by cancellation
The Atlantic Confederation of Clubs sent a statement to CBC News, saying banning motorcycle club patches in a public establishment is inconsistent with the fundamental freedoms outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The group stated that seeing this ban at Royal Canadian Legions "is especially disappointing as it affects a large number of club members who are also our veterans. We want to see change, and stop the discrimination."

The legion's national office is recommending provincial legions conduct education sessions with local branches, but Bond said the ban doesn't apply broadly to all motorcycle club members.

"I would like to make it clear that motorcycle club members are welcome. They do a lot of supportive work for the legion and in our communities in general. This policy is about outlaw motorcycle club members who are openly wearing their colours."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-legion-biker-gang-ban-1.4690901

Attorneys for Twin Peaks defendant Marcus Pilkington are asking a judge on procedural grounds to throw out last month's indictment charging Pilkington with riot.

Pilkington was among 155 bikers initially indicted on "engaging in organized criminal activity" charges in the May 2015 shootout that left nine bikers dead and 20 injured.

Prosecutors sought re-indictments May 9 against 24 bikers on new charges, including murder, riot, tampering with evidence and weapons charges.

In a motion filed Monday, the Houston attorneys representing Pilkington, a 40-year-old Bandido club member from Mexia, ask that the re-indictment be quashed because of the way it was obtained.

"A felony case in Texas must proceed by indictment, but cannot proceed by two indictments," the motion by attorneys Paul Looney and Mark Thiessen states. "Yet that is what the state has apparently attempted to do herein, although it is not entirely clear whether the state intends the new indictment to supplant or to merely supplement the prior indictment, which has not formally been dismissed."

In seeking the new charges, prosecutors won new indictments but filed them under the original cause numbers. They did not dismiss the charges of engaging in criminal activity but have said those charges will not proceed.

Looney and Thiessen claim such methods violate the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

"An indictment cannot be 'supplemented' or superseded by way of a new indictment," the motion claims. "There is nothing in statute, rule or law that allows the state to do what they have attempted to do herein. New charges require a new indictment, proceeding under a new cause number.

"Once a case has been initiated by indictment, the indictment can be amended, but such amendments can only be made pursuant to Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Arts 28.10 and 28.11. These procedures were wholly ignored by the state, and therefore the indictment issued on May 9, 2018, in this case is improper as a matter of law and must be quashed and dismissed," the motion states.

Of the 192 bikers arrested after the melee, the DA’s office has dismissed or declined to prosecute all but those who were re-indicted May 9.

The attorneys argue that those charged with riot now cannot be tried on that charge. They cite a three-year statute of limitations on riot charges that expired last month and say the indictments were not returned properly.

“We are of the opinion that the second indictment was unlawfully obtained and cannot now be lawfully obtained," Looney said Monday. "Just when it was beginning to look like the McLennan County District Attorney's office had discarded the ‘Book of Waco’ and chosen to follow the Code of Criminal Procedure, we found that they are still making their own rules and have now made an inexcusable blunder.”

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna did not return phone messages Monday. His first assistant, Robert Moody, said he had not seen the motion to quash the indictment and declined comment.

No hearing date has been set on the motion.

The Texas Penal Code defines a riot as the assemblage of seven or more persons resulting in conduct which creates an immediate danger of damage to property or injury to persons; substantially obstructs law enforcement or other governmental functions or services; or by force, threat of force, or physical action deprives any person of a legal right or disturbs any person in the enjoyment of a legal right.

http://www.theeagle.com/news/waco_shooting/biker-seeks-to-quash-new-indictment-arguing-procedural-error/article_8347bdbe-d813-5eeb-bce5-ac28401b6fa7.html

1 man still at large, police say seized items suggest 'rising tensions' between biker gangs.

Ontario Provincial Police say they have charged a woman and two men with several offences after guns, drugs and ammunition were seized from a Oshawa home linked to the Hells Angels.

In a news release on Monday, police said they searched a home last week that belongs to a Hells Angels "hangaround" member, which is a person in the process of joining the outlaw motorcycle gang. That man is still at large but police have issued a warrant for his arrest. His name was not released.

All four people under investigation live in the home, police said.

Police units also seized "colours," or vests, from outlaw motorcycle gangs from the home.

Last Thursday, the OPP's organized crime enforcement bureau and its biker enforcement unit, along with the help of Durham Regional Police's tactical unit, seized a .380 calibre semi-automatic pistol, a Ruger Mark II .22 calibre semi-automatic pistol, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and about 500 millimetres of GHB, commonly known as Liquid Ecstasy.

Two search warrants were carried out, police said.

Det.-Staff Sgt. Anthony Renton, operations manager of the OPP's biker enforcement unit, said the material seized, along with intelligence obtained by the unit, suggests there are "rising tensions" between Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle groups and their support clubs in Ontario.

"A lot of what we do within the biker enforcement unit is based on intelligence. And our intelligence is clearly demonstrating to us right now there are tensions between Hells Angels and outlaw motorcycle groups," Renton said on Monday. "There is evidence located within this search that supports that intelligence."

Renton said the tensions have led to fighting and that violence has taken the form of assaults by one motorcycle gang member against another. Police in the province are investigating two incidents in the past four weeks, but he declined to release details of when, where and who was affected.

"Outlaw motorcycle gangs are a problem within Ontario. The Hells Angels specifically have been deemed a criminal organization. Their activities that they are conducting all relate to criminal activity. For the police, it presents a very significant problem," Renton said.

"This landscape is ever changing. There's a significant growth right now. It's been going on for the past couple of years."

The Hells Angels are "well established" in Ontario and they have a presence in major cities and many smaller communities in the province. That includes Oshawa, he added.

The OPP hopes to educate the public in the next year about the dangers of supporting outlaw motorcycle gangs and their activities, he added.

A 26-year-old Oshawa woman, a 32-year-old Oshawa man and a 33-year-old Oshawa man have all been charged with:

careless storage of a firearm.
breach of firearms — store.
unauthorized possession of firearms.
knowledge of unauthorized possession.
two counts of possession of a loaded restricted/prohibited firearm.
possession of a firearm obtained by crime.
possession of GHB for the purposes of trafficking.
All three appeared in a Oshawa courtroom on Monday.

No photos were released of the accused or of the seized items.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/opp-gun-drugs-seized-three-charged-hell-angels-1.4691051

A Comancheros bikie boss jailed after refusing to co-operate with Victorian authorities has lost a bid to appeal over his conviction and sentence.

Michael Murray received eight months' jail for contempt after refusing to be quizzed by the state's chief examiner about four serious alleged offences, saying: "I'm not a dog".

On Monday, Victoria's appeals court rejected his bid to appeal against his conviction and sentence, finding his jail term within the permissible range.

Victorian Supreme Court Justice Peter Riordan jailed Murray in March, finding his refusal to be sworn and co-operate with authorities was "deliberate and flagrant".

Murray had been hauled before the examiner by Victoria Police's division targeting outlaw bikie gangs for questioning about organised crime offences.

But he repeatedly refused to participate.

"Mate, this is very, very simple. I'm not a dog. I'm not answering questions. I'm not lagging anyone," he told them.

"You're wasting your time."

Murray also expressed concern about the secrecy of the coercive process, calling it the "worst kept secret in Melbourne".

"You guys can try and keep it a secret. It's not," he said.

The Supreme Court was told Murray was approached repeatedly by police who advised him they had uncovered a plan to harm him and his family, and his life was in danger.

The threats, and his role in the outlaw bikie gang, led to Murray being housed in 23-hour lockdown in Barwon Prison's Acacia unit in a cell with no windows.

But in sentencing, Justice Riordan said the bikie boss' refusal to co-operate was not based on fear of retribution, but a desire to maintain the code of silence.

The judge also took into account his harsh prison regime and threats to him and and his family in sentencing.

Murray appealed over his conviction on the basis the examiner erred in taking his oath or affirmation.

He also argued his sentence was higher than similar sentences given to others, and relied on a number of factors in his favour.

But the Court of Appeal on Monday rejected Murray's arguments, adding it was relevant he had a prior conviction for perverting the course of justice.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/comancheros-boss-loses-appeal-bid-vic-022254373--spt.html

B.C.’s anti-gang agency says a new Metro Vancouver firefighters biker club with links to the Hells Angels raises serious issues.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Tuesday that the decision by some firefighters to form the Florian’s Knights and associate with the notorious biker gang puts themselves and other first responders at risk.

“The Hells Angels have a longtime involvement in both illegal marijuana grow operations and synthetic drug clandestine labs. This is troubling as well, given the dangers they pose to first responders, and firefighters in particular,” Winpenny said.

“The decision by a small group of firefighters to support a criminal organization involved in activities that endanger their brother and sister firefighters is concerning. By associating with the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle gangs, they are potentially putting themselves and others at risk.”

Winpenny said CFSEU officers have spoken to some in the Knights to express the concerns of law enforcement.

Postmedia revealed Tuesday that some local firefighters had formed Florian’s Knights and attended charity rides and other events with the Hells Angels.

Knights founder Nick Elmes also posed for a photo with three Hells Angels.

Elmes defended his organization, saying they formed to do charity work and can’t help it if the Hells Angels attend some of the same public events.

But he admitted that he advised the Angels when he was forming his club and let them know the Knights would be adopting a three-piece patch for their leather vest — something police say can only be done with HA permission.

Winpenny said the events are not open to the public, as Elmes claimed.

“This is inaccurate and both presence and participation at these events, whether it’s funerals, OMG-sanctioned rides, or other rides are often the result of an invitation and represent support for the Hells Angels,” she said. “Money raised at these events flows to the Hells Angels.”

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he has asked his staff to look into the issues raised by having public servants associating with a group the government considers a criminal organization.

Last month, Florian’s Knights attended a rally in Victoria as part of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists.

Elmes and others in his group were photographed with Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark outside the B.C. Legislature.

Mark said in a statement that she “certainly had no reason to think that there would be anyone in attendance who associates with a criminal organization.”

“Anyone who associates with gangs and organized crime is putting themselves and their friends and families at risk,” Mark said. “We’re following up with the organizers to raise concerns.”

The BCCOM has held the MLA ride for 26 years.

Meanwhile, Postmedia has learned that the Knights have recently opened a clubhouse in North Burnaby.

Elmes and another member bought the house in the 5400-block Parker Street in January for $1.65 million, B.C. property records show.

Elmes advertised on Facebook in March hat his biker club would be hosting an event on the last Thursday of every month at the house, though he said people had to direct message him to get the address.

Elmes owns a second residence in North Burnaby a few blocks away from the new clubhouse, assessed this year for $1.76 million.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about his group’s relationship with the Knights.

Hells Angels expert Brad Stephen, a retired Vancouver police officer and one-time firefighter, said in an interview that firefighters are held in high regard in the community and that the Knights are damaging that reputation.

“There is a high degree of public trust and public respect that is bestowed upon your position as a firefighter in the community. You are required to respond to rescues, respond to medical emergencies in the middle of the night. You go into people’s homes. You go into people’s businesses. You are often required to go into secure facilities and you are exposed to confidential scenarios and confidential information,” Stephen said. “You work hand in hand with police agencies …. all of sudden now there is a group of firefighters who have decided to form the Florian’s Knights and to ingratiate themselves with the Hells Angels.”

http://vancouversun.com/news/crime/anti-gang-police-concerned-about-firefighter-bikers

A senior member of the Comanchero gang has been arrested after being on the run from police since March.

The arrest stems from Operation Gegenees, which saw the seizure of 13.5 kilograms of methamphetamine at Auckland International Airport in March of this year that was brought into New Zealand concealed in heavy steel machinery.

Police say the drugs would have had an estimated street value of at least $6 million.

The arrest of the the 37-year-old male took place this morning in Ngataki in the Far North.

The man, along with four other people who have been previously arrested, are now jointly charged with Importation of the Class A drug methamphetamine.

He is expected to appear in the Manukau District Court tomorrow morning.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/senior-member-comanchero-biker-gang-charged-over-6-million-auckland-airport-meth-bust

A split in the Comancheros bikie gang's Canberra chapter has been blamed for a string of offences, including a shooting, arson and drive-by shooting.

The claim was revealed in the ACT Magistrate's court today after a 28-year-old man was charged over possession of a sawn-off rifle, ammunition and drugs.

Alexander Victor Miller, of Kingston, was driving his mother's BMW when police stopped him on the Federal Highway on Tuesday.

Police told the court they believe the shooting of a Comanchero associate in Chifley in March, and an arson and drive-by shooting in Page were linked to the gang's rift.

They also told the court Miller is believed to be a junior member of the club.

In court documents, police allege Miller drove past the home of the president of the rival Comanchero faction.

Police said when Miller was asked about items in the car, which also included a balaclava, a sheet and face mask, he said "they are not mine".

Miller asked for bail, offering to live with his mother interstate.

His lawyer Tom Taylor acknowledged the gravity of the charges.

"It's serious, there's no way to sugar coat it," he said.

Mr Taylor said his mother would offer surety, and strict reporting conditions could ensure any breach of bail would be quickly apparent.

Magistrate Peter Morrison refused bail.

"I have evidence he belongs to the Comancheros and is a person likely to come under pressure to commit criminal acts," Magistrate Morrison said.

"I can't be satisfied that his being required to reside [interstate] would place him outside the reach of the Comancheros."

Mr Morrison also raised concerns about Miller's alleged drug use, and how it might interfere with him keeping to bail conditions.

The case will return to court next month.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-06/kingston-bikie-fases-court-on-firearm-and-drug-charges/9841260

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Bakersfield officers have arrested three men of the Mongols Motorcycle Club they believe were involved with the killing of Ricardo Viera.

Officers have arrested 40-year-old Christopher Clay Wilson, 45-year-old Eliseo Ray Miranda and 37-year-old Arturo Desiderio. They believe the three men were involved in a deliberate plan to provoke a confrontation with a rival club, Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

Officers say the confrontation was to happen during an event happening in the 3200 block of Buck Owens Boulevard near Zingo's Cafe. During the confrontation Viera shot into a group of people in the parking lot.

A person then returned fire, killing Viera.

Wilson, Miranda and Desiderio have all been booked on attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/several-members-of-local-motorcyle-club-arrested

Former Hells Angels boss pleaded guilty last April to conspiracy to commit murder.

Several videos of former Hells Angels boss Maurice "Mom" Boucher discussing a plot to kill former Mafia lieutenant Raynald Desjardins can now be made public.

The videos were released Tuesday after several media outlets, including Radio-Canada, petitioned the court to lift a publication ban that covered the videos filmed in the summer of 2015 while Boucher was incarcerated at Ste-Anne-des-Plaines prison.

In the videos, Boucher speaks with his daughter Alexandra Mongeau, largely in code, about Desjardins, a former lieutenant in the Rizzuto crime family.

They were recorded in the weeks after Desjardins pleaded guilty to his role in the death of mob boss Salvatore Montagna.

Desjardins became the subject of a murder plot, orchestrated by the biker, which was to culminate when Desjardins was moved from provincial jail to Ste-Anne-des-Plaines prison, where Boucher was serving his sentence.

Desjardins's case was subject to delays, however, and he wasn't transferred to a federal penitentiary until the next year.

Investigators intercepted text messages and recorded conversations to build their case against Boucher.

Hand gestures and code
The three videos released this week show Boucher and Mongeau, separated by a window in a visitation room, having carefully worded conversations.

While filmed by two cameras and recorded by a microphone, the two often drop or whisper words. Bouchard reminds his daughter that they are being recorded.

At one point, Boucher refers to Desjardins as "les banques" or "banks" — a reference to the financial institution that bears that name.

He then says, "because in my opinion, he will come."

At the time, Boucher was in prison serving a life sentence for the 1997 murders of two prison guards.

He was arrested in his cell in 2015 and charged with conspiring to murder Desjardins.

He pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to 10 years, to be served concurrently with his previous sentences.

An agreed statement of facts from Boucher's trial makes reference to more of the conversation with his daughter on July 11, 2015, in which he mentions that if Desjardins is relocated to the prison, he knows someone who could kill him.

During another visit, on July 26, 2015, Mongeau delivers a message to Boucher from a member of his entourage, and the pair discuss Desjardins's impending move from provincial jail to the federal prison again.

Boucher makes a stabbing motion after explaining how he would invite Desjardins to join him in his unit.

Mongeau, 28, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the same investigation but was acquitted on that charge.

She was given a 21-month sentence to be served in the community after pleading guilty to concealment of money she knew was the proceeds of crime.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/maurice-boucher-s-veiled-conversations-on-failed-murder-plot-released-1.4692779

After enjoying packed performances in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Palm Desert, California, former Hells Angels leader George Christie is set to bring his new one-man show, "Outlaw," to the Art Square Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 22-24.

The production, which chronicles Christie's nearly 40-year reign as head of the Ventura chapter of the Hells Angels, will be his first public appearance in the city since last fall, when he appeared at the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement (a.k.a. the Mob Museum) to sign copies of his memoir, "Exile on Front Street: My Life as a Hells Angel...and Beyond." The book served as the basis for the new theatrical production.

"The book has a lot of inside information about the Hells Angels, but the one-man show is more personal," Christie said. "I also talk about what's happened in my life, since I left the club in 2011."

During his years with the Hells Angels, Christie survived prison, multiple investigations, prosecutions and assassination attempts. Through it all, he considered himself to be a peacemaker in the outlaw biker community.

Written and directed by Richard La Plante, "Outlaw" received standing ovations during its world premiere run in Southern California.

"I wasn't sure what to expect, especially in Ventura, where I was controversial for many years," Christie said. "I tried to keep things peaceful, when I ran the Ventura chapter of the Hells Angels, but a lot of people, especially in the local business community and law enforcement, didn't like us. I was pleasantly surprised to receive such a positive reception in my old stomping ground."

"I think most people who had a problem with George in the past, realize that it was a long time ago," La Plante said. "George has put the controversies behind him. That's what the show is about."

"Outlaw" is produced by Charles Lago in association with DTLA Entertainment Group.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/las-vegas/article/Former-Hells-Angels-Leader-Brings-OUTLAW-To-Las-Vegas-20180605

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