Nanaimo Hells Angel Fred Widdifield has had a tough time trying to get his extortion conviction of two years ago overturned.
In July, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld his conviction, rejecting his arguments that evidence of his involvement in the 2010 crime was “wafer thin.”
He filed a new application at the Court of Appeal hoping that the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in the R. v Jordan case about unacceptable delay would help his cause.
But he learned Tuesday that the appeal court will not take another look at his case.
He could still seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Appeal Court won’t reopen case of Nanaimo Hells Angel convicted of extortion
Nanaimo Hells Angel Robert (Fred) Widdifield has lost a last-ditch bid to get B.C.’s highest court to take another look at his extortion and theft convictions.
The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld Widdifield’s convictions this summer in a unanimous ruling.
But the veteran biker then applied in September to reopen the appeal on the grounds that the delays in the case violated his Charter rights.
He argued that a July Supreme Court of Canada ruling — stating that lengthy delays in prosecutions violated the Charter — should be applied in his case.
“We conclude that this court has no jurisdiction to reopen an appeal that has been heard on the merits where an order dismissing the conviction appeal has been entered,” said the ruling, signed by Justices Mary Saunders, Nicole Garson and David Harris.
“We would grant the Crown’s application to quash Mr. Widdifield’s application to reopen his conviction appeal.”
In December 2014, a B.C. Supreme Court judge found that Widdifield was part of the plot to strong-arm a former friend into handing over money and property, including a yacht named Dream Chaser.
The longtime pal, identified only as J.H. in court, went to police in 2010 after being repeatedly threatened by another Nanaimo Hells Angel named Rajinder Sandhu, who claimed J.H. hadn’t repaid a $62,000 loan to a Nanaimo woman.
J.H. was told he would have to repay the debt, plus “a ‘stupid tax’ for his alleged unauthorized use of the club’s name and reputation.”
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Fred Widdifield
After months of meetings and text messages, J.H. was forced to turn over his yacht, which he had purchased for $137,000.
Widdifield was with Sandhu during the subsequent sale of the boat. And Widdifield later hosted a meeting at his house during which J.H. was assaulted and ordered to pay even more money.
Widdifield is an original member of the Nanaimo chapter of the notorious bike gang, which started in July 1983 along with the Vancouver and White Rock chapters.
He was sentenced to five years in jail for the extortion conviction.
As hundreds of bikers gather for the funeral of Hells Angel Bob Green in Vancouver on Saturday, homicide investigators continue to search for clues in the “barbaric” murder and mutilation of a 27-year-old gang associate.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed Friday that the man who was dismembered and dumped on a rural Langley road Wednesday is Shaun Alan Clary.
IHIT wouldn’t say what gang Clary was affiliated with, but Postmedia has confirmed with sources that he is a member of the Langley-based 856 Gang.
Green was shot to death at a party at the 856 clubhouse in the 23700-block of 72nd Ave. in Langley on Oct. 16.
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Shaun Clary.
The next day, 856 Gang member Jason Wallace turned himself in to police and has since been charged with second-degree murder. He remains in custody until his next court appearance on Nov. 3.
Police are looking at whether Clary’s death and other violent attacks in recent days across Metro Vancouver are in retaliation for Green’s slaying.
Clary’s remains were dumped about 100 metres from the Robertson Crescent driveway of a full-patch member of the Hells Angels’ West Point chapter, Postmedia has also learned.
And early Tuesday morning, Mohammed Rafiq, a Hells Angel prospect with the White Rock chapter, was shot in the head in front of his Burnaby home. He survived, but crashed his car into a neighbour’s house.
IHIT Cpl. Meghan Foster warned the public not to jump to conclusions about what is going on.
“While investigators are aware of the heightened tension between particular gang associates, it would be premature to assume this conflict to be the direct motive for his homicide,” she said of Clary’s grisly demise. “We continue to work with our partners, in the Lower Mainland and beyond, to gather further evidence that would identify specific links to support our investigation.”
Green, 56, was a popular and powerful Hells Angel for more than 20 years.
He started as a bartender at the Drake Hotel in Vancouver, before joining the East End Chapter as a full-patch Hells Angel. He later moved to the Nomads chapter and more recently out to the Mission chapter.
Hells Angels from across Canada have been arriving for his memorial service at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall on Saturday.
Vancouver Police Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham said officers will be monitoring the event.
“As the Hells Angels are a criminal organization, the VPD has plans in place to reduce the risk to the public. Public safety remains our primary concern,” Fincham said.
Clary had a minor criminal record, including convictions for assault and breach of conditions. He was also the subject of a peace bond after allegations of uttering threats.
His Facebook page is full of pictures of him wearing bandanas over his mouth, guns and associates flashing their middle fingers. He says he went to Johnston Heights Secondary in Surrey.
While his Facebook friends are all blocked from public view, a man he described as family lists several prominent 856 members as friends, including Green’s cousin Len Pelletier.
In a December 2009 comment on his timeline, Clary wrote: “It’s not important how many people I’ve killed. It’s important how I get along with the people that are still alive.”
IHIT’s Foster urged people with information about Clary’s murder to contact investigators at 1-877-551-4448.
“The targeted and barbaric nature of this homicide is not lost on investigators or the public, and we are working tirelessly to gather evidence to move forward,” she said. “There are individuals out there who have the intimate details in regards to the flagrant disregard for Mr. Clary’s life. We are looking to speak with those individuals and ultimately hold those responsible, accountable.”
The gun violence in the Lower Mainland is continuing with a double shooting in Fraser Heights Friday evening that killed one man and gravely wounded the other.
The men were found in a car just before 8 p.m. near 159 St. and 110 Ave.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is on the scene now.
No word yet on whether this has any link to the brutal murder and mutilation Wednesday of 856 gang associate Shaun Clary or the Oct. 16 slaying of Hells Angel Bob Green or the near murder in Burnaby earlier Wednesday morning of Hells Angel prospect Mohammed Rafiq.
I will put up more information when I get it about the Surrey case. I will also be covering the Green memorial service tomorrow afternoon so check: http://www.vancouversun.com or http://www.theprovince.com and twitter.com/kbolan
Here’s my story from earlier Friday:
IHIT identifies victim butchered and dumped in Langley
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Facebook image of murder victim Shaun Alan Clary, 27.
As hundreds of bikers gather for the funeral of Hells Angel Bob Green in Vancouver on Saturday, homicide investigators continue to search for clues in the “barbaric” murder and mutilation of a 27-year-old gang associate.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed Friday that the man who was dismembered and dumped on a rural Langley road Wednesday is Shaun Alan Clary.
IHIT wouldn’t say what gang Clary was affiliated with, but The Vancouver Sun has confirmed with sources that he is associated with the Langley-based 856 Gang.
Green was shot to death at a party at the 856 clubhouse in the 23700-block of 72nd Ave. in Langley on Oct. 16.
The next day, 856 Gang member Jason Wallace turned himself in to police and has since been charged with second-degree murder. He remains in custody until his next court appearance on Nov. 3.
Police are looking at whether Clary’s death and other violent attacks in recent days across Metro Vancouver are in retaliation for Green’s slaying.
Clary’s remains were dumped about 100 metres from the Robertson Crescent driveway of a full-patch member of the Hells Angels’ West Point chapter, The Sun has also learned.
And early Tuesday morning, Mohammed Rafiq, a Hells Angel prospect with the White Rock chapter, was shot in the head in front of his Burnaby home. He survived, but crashed his car into a neighbour’s house.
IHIT Cpl. Meghan Foster warned the public not to jump to conclusions about what is going on.
“While investigators are aware of the heightened tension between particular gang associates, it would be premature to assume this conflict to be the direct motive for his homicide,” she said of Clary’s grisly demise. “We continue to work with our partners, in the Lower Mainland and beyond, to gather further evidence that would identify specific links to support our investigation.”
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
RCMP on Robertson Crescent near 240 Street in Langley after a resident found a dismembered body.
Green, 56, was a popular and powerful Hells Angel for more than 20 years.
He started as a bartender at the Drake Hotel in Vancouver, before joining the East End Chapter as a full-patch Hells Angel. He later moved to the Nomads chapter and more recently out to the Mission chapter.
Hells Angels from across Canada have been arriving for his memorial service at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall on Saturday.
Vancouver Police Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham said officers will be monitoring the event.
“As the Hells Angels are a criminal organization, the VPD has plans in place to reduce the risk to the public. Public safety remains our primary concern,” Fincham said.
Clary had a minor criminal record, including convictions for assault and breach of conditions. He was also the subject of a peace bond after allegations of uttering threats.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Shaun Clary, victim of “barbaric” murder Oct. 26 in Langley
His Facebook page is full of pictures of him wearing bandanas over his mouth, guns and associates flashing their middle fingers. He says he went to Johnston Heights Secondary in Surrey.
While his Facebook friends are all blocked from public view, a man he described as family lists several prominent 856 members as friends, including Green’s cousin Len Pelletier.
In a December 2009 comment on his timeline, Clary wrote: “It’s not important how many people I’ve killed. It’s important how I get along with the people that are still alive.”
IHIT’s Foster urged people with information about Clary’s murder to contact investigators at 1-877-551-4448.
“The targeted and barbaric nature of this homicide is not lost on investigators or the public, and we are working tirelessly to gather evidence to move forward,” she said. “There are individuals out there who have the intimate details in regards to the flagrant disregard for Mr. Clary’s life. We are looking to speak with those individuals and ultimately hold those responsible, accountable.”
They came on Harleys, in cars, in trucks and in stretch limos.
Hundreds braved the miserable weather to pay tribute to slain Hells Angel Bob Green at a memorial service in South Vancouver on Saturday.
Many of his Hells Angels brethren rode in procession along Vancouver streets, arriving at the Fraserview Hall just before 1 p.m. in heavy rain.
Others, including Green’s family, arrived at the hall on Fraser Street at Marine Drive in limousines.
They hugged, shook hands and firmly patted each other’s backs outside as music blared from a loudspeaker out of the hall’s upper balcony doors.
“He’s got the rings and the colours. He has the wind in his hair. He goes running with the brothers, he’s got a fist in the air,” one song bellowed. “Going to the run, forever angel.”
Other music was from the TV series Sons Of Anarchy, about a mythical California biker gang.
Vancouver police gang cops, as well as members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, monitored the event.
Officers in plain clothes used long lenses to photograph the faces and back patches of funeral attendees.
There were Hells Angels from across Canada — some with New Brunswick, Montreal, Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba on their backs.
There were others from biker gangs across B.C. that support the Hells Angels — the Jesters, the Horsemen, the Throttle Lockers, the Devil’s Army and more.
Most refused to talk to reporters asking about Green, who was shot dead in Langley on Oct. 16. But some stopped briefly to describe the loss of the man they called “a legend.”
Gary Cahill said Green was a good friend and a great poker player.
“It is a huge loss for all of us. He is a long-time friend of mine, nearly 16 years. He was a very, very good man, a family man. Very respected,” Cahill said.
A woman, who looked like she was in her 50s, pulled up on a Harley.
“It’s a great turnout, especially with this weather,” she said.
Green was murdered during an all-night party at the clubhouse of the 856 Gang in the 23700-block 72nd Avenue in Langley.
Police were called to the property about 10:30 a.m. and found Green, 56, fatally wounded.
856 Gang member Jason Wallace turned himself into police the next day and has been charged with second-degree murder. He is next due in court Nov. 3.
Police are investigating whether a spate of gang violence in the Lower Mainland over the last week is linked to Green’s murder.
856 associate Shaun Clary, 27, was found dismembered on a rural Langley road Oct. 26, while Hells Angel prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was wounded in a targeted shooting in Burnaby the same day.
Green, 56, was a giant in the Hells Angels — influential, powerful and charismatic.
He started off as an East End Hells Angel more than 20 years ago, before joining the elite Nomads chapter when it formed and then more recently moving the Mission chapter.
He lived in North Burnaby, was married and was the father of six children.
Police who dealt with him said he was generally pleasant and easygoing, unless he was drinking.
“He was always out on the town and maintained a very high profile. And for the most part, he was friendly to deal with, unless he got pissed,” a retired biker cop said.
Before the funeral began on Saturday, bouquets of flowers and wreaths were arriving at the hall from around the world.
Photos of Green over the years were put up on display. Bikers had spent the morning decorating the hall.
Yellow caution tape was put up along Fraser Street so that the procession of Harley riders would have somewhere to park once they arrived.
The procession or “ride” in his honour began hours before the service, with bikers meeting up at the Coquitlam clubhouse owned by the Vancouver chapter, before heading to the East End chapter and on to the banquet hall.
Junior members of the Hells Angels and Jesters — known as prospects — were in charge of parking and security outside the hall.
Mourners were told when they arrived to turn their cellphones off and to not record the speeches out of respect for the family and the Hells Angels.
It was all over by 4 p.m., with some mourners headed off to a Hells Angels clubhouse for an after party.
Vancouver Police Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham said that there was “nothing of note at the funeral.”
He said before the event that police were monitoring to ensure public safety.
“As the Hells Angels are a criminal organization, the VPD has plans in place to reduce the risk to the public. Public safety remains our primary concern,” Fincham said.
The weather was absolutely miserable Saturday morning as Hells Angels made last minute preparations for the memorial service in south Vancouver at Fraserview Hall.
While flowers and wreaths were arriving at the hall, the Hells Angels who were planning “a ride” in Green’s honour were gathering in different Lower Mainland communities. Our photographer saw a group of 30 leaving Haney. Others met at the Vancouver Chapter’s Coquitlam clubhouse. They headed along the Lougheed in the terrible weather to Fraser and Marine Drive where police were watching.
It was a large turn-out. And the few that stopped to talked to reporters said Green’s death is a big loss.
They came on Harleys, in cars, in trucks and in stretch limos.
Hundreds braved the miserable weather to pay tribute to slain Hells Angel Bob Green at a memorial service in South Vancouver, Saturday.
Many of his Hells Angels brethren rode in procession along Vancouver streets, arriving at the Fraserview Hall just before 1 p.m. in heavy rain.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Friends and associates of Hell Angels’ Bob Green arrive at Fraserview Hall for a memorial service
Others, including Green’s family, arrived at the hall on Fraser Street at Marine Drive in limousines.
They hugged, shook hands and firmly patted each other’s backs outside as music blared from a loudspeaker out of the hall’s upper balcony doors.
“He’s got the rings and the colours. He has the wind in his hair. He goes running with the brothers, he’s got a fist in the air,” one song bellowed. “Going to the run, forever angel.”
Other music was from the TV series Sons of Anarchy, about a mythical California biker gang.
Vancouver Police gang cops, as well as members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, monitored the event.
Officers in plain clothes used long lenses to photograph the faces and back patches of funeral attendees.
There were Hells Angels from across Canada — some with New Brunswick, Montreal, Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba on their backs.
There were others from biker gangs across B.C. that support the Hells Angels — the Jesters, the Horsemen, the Throttle Lockers, the Devil’s Army and more.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Horsemen bikers mourn Hells Angel Bob Green
Most refused to talk to reporters asking about Green, who was shot to death in Langley on October 16.
But some stopped briefly to describe the loss of the man they called “a legend.”
Gary Cahill said Green was a good friend and a great poker player.
“It is a huge loss for all of us. He is a long-time friend of mine, nearly 16 years. He was a very, very good man, a family man. Very respected,” Gary Cahill said.
A woman, who looked like she was in her 50s, pulled up on a Harley.
“It’s a great turnout, especially with this weather,” she said.
Green was murdered during an all-night party at the clubhouse of the 856 Gang in the 23700-block of 72nd Avenue in Langley.
Police were called to the property about 10:30 a.m. and found Green, 56, fatally wounded.
856 Gang member Jason Wallace turned himself into police the next day and has been charged with second-degree murder. He is next due in court Nov. 3.
Police are investigating whether a spate of gang violence in the Lower Mainland over the last week is linked to Green’s murder.
856 associate Shaun Clary, 27, was found dismembered on a rural Langley road Oct. 26, while Hells Angel prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was wounded in a targeted shooting in Burnaby the same day.
Green, 56, was a giant in the Hells Angels — influential, powerful and charismatic.
He started off as an East End Hells Angel more than 20 years ago, before joining the elite Nomads chapter when it formed and then more recently moving the Mission chapter.
He lived in North Burnaby, was married and the father of six children.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Murdered Hells Angel Bob Green.
Police who dealt with him said he was generally pleasant and easygoing, unless he was drinking.
“He was always out on the town and maintained a very high-profile. And for the most part, he was friendly to deal with, unless he got pissed,” a retired biker cop said.
Before the funeral began on Saturday, bouquets of flowers and wreaths were arriving at the hall from around the world.
Photos of Green over the years were put up on display. Bikers had spent the morning decorating the hall.
Yellow caution tape was put up along Fraser Street so that the procession of Harley riders would have somewhere to park once they arrived.
The procession or “ride” in his honour began hours before the service, with bikers meeting up at the Coquitlam clubhouse owned by the Vancouver chapter, before heading to the East End chapter and on to the banquet hall.
Junior members of the Hells Angels and Jesters — known as prospects — were in charge of parking and security outside the hall.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Flowers for slain Hell Angels’ Bob Green arrive at Fraserview Hall
Mourners were told when they arrived to turn their cellphones off and to not record the speeches out of respect for the family and the Hells Angels.
It was all over by 4 p.m. with some mourners headed off to a Hells Angels clubhouse for an after party.
Vancouver Police Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham said that there was “Nothing of note at the funeral.”
He said before the event that police were monitoring to ensure public safety.
“As the Hells Angels are a criminal organization, the VPD has plans in place to reduce the risk to the public. Public safety remains our primary concern,” Fincham said.
Eleven days after two Hells Angels and two of their associates were convicted for their roles in a massive drug importation conspiracy, a date has been fixed for their application to throw out the charges due to the delay in the case.
Lawyers for HA members David Giles and Bryan Oldham, as well as associates James Howard and Shawn Womacks, were back in B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday so Justice Carol Ross could determine when their application will be heard.
It has now been fixed for Nov. 21. The application comes after a Supreme Court of Canada ruling in July called R. v Jordan in which accused dial-a-doper Barrett Richard Jordan had his case thrown out because the highest court ruled that the 49 months it took for his trial to start violated his constitutional rights.
The SCC said that except for where exceptional circumstances exist, Provincial Court cases should go to trial within 18 months, while superior court cases (as in cases that go to B.C. Supreme Court in this province) should go to trial within 30 months.
We will likely now see a lot of these challenges here in B.C., given how long some of this big gang cases have taken to get to trial.
Already, lawyers for accused Surrey Six killer Jamie Bacon have said they plan to file an application to have his charges stayed because of unconstitutional delays in the case.
So it will be up to Crown prosecutors to lay out what “exceptional circumstances” they feel exist in that case and others to justify the time the prosecutions have taken to get to trial.
The trio – two from the Hells Angels Westridge chapter and one with the Nomads in Red Deer – were originally charged with attempted murder after the June 7, 2015 beating of a Greek man in Corfu.
The victim later died and the accused had their charges upgraded to the more serious murder counts.
Dustin Swanson, a prospect in the Edmonton-based Westridge chapter, is charged with intentional homicide.
Fellow Westridge member Nick Dragich and Brent Koziak, of the Nomads chapter in Red Deer, are both now charged with `collaboration’ homicide for allegedly assisting Swanson in the fatal beating.
Real estate, fentanyl, pipelines. All were hot topics in B.C. in 2016 and no doubt will continue to be going into the new year. But the past 12 months also featured a royal visit by Prince William and his family. There was tragedy at an Abbotsford high school. And three people abandoned as babies in Prince Rupert decades ago finally got some answers.
So what was B.C.’s biggest news story in 2016? Cast your vote, and we’ll compile your picks in a year-end video.
B.C.’s anti-gang squad announced late Friday afternoon that two Ontario men had been charged after allegedly coming to Metro Vancouver as hired hitmen. They didn’t identify who the men were suspected of targeting.
I managed to get one of those names Monday by getting a copy of the indictment in the case. I was surprised to learn that one of the Ontario men allegedly made an attempt to kill Hells Angel Damion Ryan in Richmond on April 10, 2015. The identify of the other target of the purported murder plot is unknown, the indictment says,
B.C. Hells Angel was targeted by Ontario hitman, indictment says
A high-profile Hells Angel from B.C. was the target of a murder attempt by a purported Hamilton hitman, Postmedia News has learned.
B.C.’s anti-gang agency announced late Friday that two Ontario men had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder in separate plots that targeted two Metro Vancouver men in the spring of 2015.
Neither of the alleged victims was named by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
However, on Monday Postmedia obtained a copy of the indictment that alleges one of the men charged, Knowah Truth Ferguson, attempted to kill Hells Angel Damion Ryan with a firearm in Richmond on April 10, 2015.
Ryan, who’s from Metro Vancouver, is now living in Greece and remains a full-patch member of the notorious biker gang.
He regularly travels back and forth to B.C. where his uncle is also a full-patch Hells Angel.
CFSEU spokesman Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said the agency learned of the April 2015 attempted murder “of a man well known for gang involvement and criminal connections” days after it happened and began “a complex multi-jurisdictional investigation that spanned the country.”
“Investigators believe that this was a highly planned and targeted attempt that saw alleged contracted hit men travel to British Columbia from Ontario for the purposes of killing the intended target,” Houghton said. “The attempt was unsuccessful.”
Houghton said police also uncovered evidence of a second plot to kill an unknown person in Vancouver in June 2015
Ferguson, 19, and Gino Gavin McCall, 30, are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder between April 11 and June 15, 2015.
Both men face a third count of possession of loaded prohibited firearms without authorization or licences in Vancouver on June 14, 2015.
Ferguson and McCall have been in custody since June 2015 on the firearms charges.
The new direct indictment against the pair was sworn in B.C. Supreme Court on Jan. 6. Both are due to appear at the Vancouver Law Courts on Feb. 22.
Houghton said police don’t have details about who allegedly hired the Hamilton men or whether they have gang affiliations.
Ferguson has no prior criminal convictions, though he was also charged while in custody last March with carrying or threatening to use a weapon. He’s due in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court on that count in May.
McCall’s record includes convictions for robbery, break and enter and other property-related offences.
Houghton said investigators continue to work on both cases.
“Charges against other individuals are anticipated in the coming months and an update will be provided when new charges are laid,” he said.
Ryan could not be reached for comment.
Up until last fall, he was a member of the Ottawa-based Ontario Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels.
But that chapter was disbanded in September 2016 just weeks after hosting a national gathering of hundreds of bikers.
Ryan is also linked to the Wolf Pack gang coalition in B.C., which is made up of some Hells Angels and some members of both the Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpions. Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
He often posts Wolf Pack imagery on his social media accounts.
Last year, Ryan was arrested in Vancouver for breaching bail conditions related to charges he was facing in Ontario. He later pleaded guilty to some of the charges – two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and one of possession of stolen property – as well as the breach. He was sentenced to three months in jail.
Ryan faced dozens of firearms charges in B.C. that were thrown out in 2012 after his lawyer successfully argued that the RCMP violated his Charter rights when an emergency response team forcibly entered his Burnaby basement suite after shots were fired outside.
He and nine others were wounded in a gangland shooting at an Oak Street restaurant on Dec. 12, 2010. Vancouver police said at the time the attack was in retaliation for the assassination of gangster Gurmit Singh Dhak in Burnaby two months earlier.
Ryan was sentenced to five years in 2005 in connection with a violent home invasion involving a marijuana-growing operation.
A high-profile Hells Angel from B.C. was the target of a murder attempt by a purported Hamilton hitman, Postmedia News has learned.
B.C.’s anti-gang agency announced late Friday that two Ontario men had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder in separate plots that targeted two Metro Vancouver men in the spring of 2015.
Neither of the alleged victims was named by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
However, on Monday Postmedia obtained a copy of the indictment that alleges one of the men charged, Knowah Truth Ferguson, attempted to kill Hells Angel Damion Ryan with a firearm in Richmond on April 10, 2015.
Ryan, who’s from Metro Vancouver, is now living in Greece and remains a full-patch member of the notorious biker gang.
He regularly travels back and forth to B.C. where his uncle is also a full-patch Hells Angel.
CFSEU spokesman Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghtonsaid the agency learned of the April 2015 attempted murder “of a man well known for gang involvement and criminal connections” days after it happened and began “a complex multi-jurisdictional investigation that spanned the country.”
“Investigators believe that this was a highly planned and targeted attempt that saw alleged contracted hit men travel to British Columbia from Ontario for the purposes of killing the intended target,” Houghton said. “The attempt was unsuccessful.”
Houghton said police also uncovered evidence of a second plot to kill an unknown person in Vancouver in June 2015
Ferguson, 19, and Gino Gavin McCall, 30, are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder between April 11 and June 15, 2015.
Both men face a third count of possession of loaded prohibited firearms without authorization or licences in Vancouver on June 14, 2015.
Ferguson and McCall have been in custody since June 2015 on the firearms charges.
The new direct indictment against the pair was sworn in B.C. Supreme Court on Jan. 6. Both are due to appear at the Vancouver Law Courts on Feb. 22.
Houghton said police don’t have details about who allegedly hired the Hamilton men or whether they have gang affiliations.
Ferguson has no prior criminal convictions, though he was also charged while in custody last March with carrying or threatening to use a weapon. He’s due in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court on that count in May.
McCall’s record includes convictions for robbery, break and enter and other property-related offences.
Houghton said investigators continue to work on both cases.
“Charges against other individuals are anticipated in the coming months and an update will be provided when new charges are laid,” he said.
Up until last fall, he was a member of the Ottawa-based Ontario Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels.
But that chapter was disbanded in September 2016 just weeks after hosting a national gathering of hundreds of bikers.
Ryan is also linked to the Wolf Pack gang coalition in B.C., which is made up of some Hells Angels and some members of both the Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpions.
He often posts Wolf Pack imagery on his social media accounts. Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Last year, Ryan was arrested in Vancouver for breaching bail conditions related to charges he was facing in Ontario. He later pleaded guilty to some of the charges – two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and one of possession of stolen property – as well as the breach. He was sentenced to three months in jail.
Ryan faced dozens of firearms charges in B.C. that were thrown out in 2012 after his lawyer successfully argued that the RCMP violated his Charter rights when an emergency response team forcibly entered his Burnaby basement suite after shots were fired outside.
He and nine others were wounded in a gangland shooting at an Oak Street restaurant on Dec. 12, 2010. Vancouver police said at the time the attack was in retaliation for the assassination of gangster Gurmit Singh Dhak in Burnaby two months earlier.
Ryan was sentenced to five years in 2005 in connection with a violent home invasion involving a marijuana-growing operation.
A bid by two members of the Hells Angels and two of their associates to set aside their convictions in a major cocaine conspiracy owing to trial delay was dismissed by a judge Wednesday.
In September, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross found Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham and their associates, Shawn Womacks and James Howard, guilty in the drug case.
Following the convictions, the offenders applied to have a judicial stay of proceedings on the grounds that an unreasonable delay in their case had violated their rights.
The accused had been charged in August 2012 and were convicted more than 49 months later. A recent decision on the issue of trial delay in the Supreme Court of Canada called for cases at the superior-court level to be completed within 30 months.
Giles and his co-accused argued that the delay in their case exceeded the new limit set by Canada’s highest court by a wide margin, even after consideration of delays waived by the defence and time loss due to exceptional circumstances. They argued that while there was some degree of complexity, it was not a particularly complex case.
In her reasons for judgment released Wednesday, the judge noted that the case involved the gathering of evidence in an undercover operation in Panama.
A voir dire, or trial-within-a-trial, was conducted in relation to the admissibility of the Panama evidence, with the start of the voir dire being significantly delayed and the voir dire itself being much longer than anticipated.
The accused argued that the cause of the delay was a failure by the Crown to make timely disclosure of documents, but the Crown countered that there was substantial defence delay and contended that it had properly discharged its disclosure obligations.
The judge found that the Crown had responded promptly to all requests for disclosure and added that the defence applications were not frivolous or done to create delays.
“In the present case, I conclude that this case was particularly complex,” Ross said in a summary of her ruling read out in court. “I find that the time that was taken to litigate this matter was justified and that the delay is reasonable in all of the circumstances.”
Howard, who was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to traffic and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, will have a sentencing hearing Jan. 24-25.
Giles, who was convicted of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, one count of conspiracy to traffic and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, will have a sentencing hearing March 2-3.
Oldham, found guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, will be sentenced March 9 and Womacks, also guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, will be sentenced March 20.
The accused were arrested after an undercover police operation included meetings between the accused and cops posing as members of a drug cartel in Vancouver, Montreal, Mexico City and Panama City. A $2-million down payment for the purported delivery of 200 kilograms of cocaine was paid in June 2012 and another $2 million paid two months later.
I earlier reported on the bid by Hells Angels David Giles, Bryan Oldham and their associates Shawn Womacks and James Howard to have their convictions related to a cocaine conspiracy stayed due to trial delays.
My colleague Keith Fraser reported on the ruling Thursday by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross. She dismissed the application.
I was out in Abbotsford at a parole board hearing for convicted killer and new mother Kelly Ellard, so wasn’t able to be at the Giles and friends’ case.
I do hope to cover their sentencing hearings when they get underway later this month. Howard’s hearing starts Jan. 24. Giles is scheduled for March 2 and 3. Oldham’s is set for March 9 and Womacks’ sentencing will take place March 20.
A Hells Angels associate convicted last fall in a massive cocaine conspiracy should spend 15 years in prison, federal prosecutor Chris Greenwood said Tuesday.
Greenwood told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross that James Howard played a “very significant” role in the plot to smuggle half a tonne of cocaine into Canada in 2012.
What Howard didn’t know was that the purported South American coke brokers negotiating with his gang were actually undercover cops who orchestrated a reverse sting over months.
The police received a $4-million down payment, then delivered a kilo of real cocaine and 199 kilos of fake product to a Burnaby warehouse on Aug. 25, 2012 as Howard and his co-accused were arrested.
On Sept. 30, Ross convicted Howard of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Also convicted were full-patch Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham and associate Shawn Womacks, who will be sentenced in March.
Greenwood said Howard was part of “the upper echelon of the drug trade” and a conspiracy to buy 500 kilos of cocaine “intended to be the first in a series of transactions.”
“I don’t suggest that Mr. Howard is the mastermind of this sophisticated organization, but I do say that his profession is in the business of trafficking drugs,” Greenwood said.
“He was a partner in the trafficking scheme. He was responsible for transportation, for supervising employees he described as his crew and he had an ownership interest in the product and the profits that were going to be achieved.”
Howard got involved in the plot in May 2012, months after Giles and Kevin Van Kalkeren, who earlier pleaded guilty, unwittingly met the undercover cops who would be their undoing.
Greenwood said a stiff sentence would provide appropriate deterrence and denunciation given the scale of the cocaine operation in the case
“The damage done to the community by large-scale trafficking in my submission is profound,” Greenwood said.
“The proliferation of cocaine and other hard drugs affects communities across Canada. And I would submit with respect that your ladyship doesn’t have to go far from this courtroom to see some of those problems.”
Greenwood said Howard had been involved in the drug trade for six years before the 2012 sting, but had no convictions.
At one point, “he told the undercover police officers that he was passionate about what he was doing, reflecting his level of commitment,” Greenwood said.
Howard travelled to Los Angeles after meeting the cops “to set up a structure to transport cocaine” when the plan was to pick up the drugs there.
He attended meetings with his co-conspirators, communicated in encrypted messages, assembled the team to process the cocaine, paid for their radios and provided BlackBerrys for his workers, Greenwood said.
Howard was in charge of distributing the cocaine and planned to sell it in Alberta.
He was so worried about security that he made sure not all his crew members had details of the deal “so they didn’t have to worry about anyone ratting.”
Greenwood said Howard clearly could have been successful if he’d chosen a legitimate path in life.
“You are dealing with a mature individual who possessed life skills and who was aware of the illegality and the risks involved but was committed to a course of illegal action over many weeks and that is the context in which the moral responsibility for this offence arises,” he said.
Ross adjourned Howard’s sentencing hearing to March 1.
The sentencing process finally began Tuesday for those convicted last September in the cocaine conspiracy case involving Kelowna Hells Angels and some of their associates. We know that Kevin Van Kalkeren, one of the masterminds of the plot, pleaded guilty last year and got sentenced to 16 years.
Crown prosecutor Chris Greenwood said today that James Howard, who as an investor with key responsibilities in the plot, should get a 15 year sentence. He’s been out of jail since shortly after his arrest in 2012, so he had no (or very little) pretrial credit earned.
His lawyer will make defence submissions on March 1.
Crown wants 15 year sentence for Hells Angel associate in B.C. cocaine conspiracy
A Hells Angels associate convicted last fall in a massive cocaine conspiracy should spend 15 years in prison, federal prosecutor Chris Greenwood said Tuesday.
Greenwood told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross that James Howard played a “very significant” role in the plot to smuggle half a tonne of cocaine into Canada in 2012.
What Howard didn’t know was that the purported South American coke brokers negotiating with his gang were actually undercover cops who orchestrated a reverse sting over months.
The police received a $4-million down payment, then delivered a kilo of real cocaine and 199 kilos of fake product to a Burnaby warehouse on Aug. 25, 2012 as Howard and his co-accused were arrested.
On Sept. 30, Ross convicted Howard of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Also convicted were full-patch Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham and associate Shawn Womacks, who will be sentenced in March.
Greenwood said Howard was part of “the upper echelon of the drug trade” and a conspiracy to buy 500 kilos of cocaine “intended to be the first in a series of transactions.”
“I don’t suggest that Mr. Howard is the mastermind of this sophisticated organization, but I do say that his profession is in the business of trafficking drugs,” Greenwood said.
“He was a partner in the trafficking scheme. He was responsible for transportation, for supervising employees he described as his crew and he had an ownership interest in the product and the profits that were going to be achieved.”
Howard got involved in the plot in May 2012, months after Giles and Kevin Van Kalkeren, who earlier pleaded guilty, unwittingly met the undercover cops who would be their undoing.
Greenwood said a stiff sentence would provide appropriate deterrence and denunciation given the scale of the cocaine operation in the case
“The damage done to the community by large-scale trafficking in my submission is profound,” Greenwood said.
“The proliferation of cocaine and other hard drugs affects communities across Canada. And I would submit with respect that your ladyship doesn’t have to go far from this courtroom to see some of those problems.”
Greenwood said Howard had been involved in the drug trade for six years before the 2012 sting, but had no convictions.
At one point, “he told the undercover police officers that he was passionate about what he was doing, reflecting his level of commitment,” Greenwood said.
Howard travelled to Los Angeles after meeting the cops “to set up a structure to transport cocaine” when the plan was to pick up the drugs there.
He attended meetings with his co-conspirators, communicated in encrypted messages, assembled the team to process the cocaine, paid for their radios and provided BlackBerrys for his workers, Greenwood said.
Howard was in charge of distributing the cocaine and planned to sell it in Alberta.
He was so worried about security that he made sure not all his crew members had details of the deal “so they didn’t have to worry about anyone ratting.”
Greenwood said Howard clearly could have been successful if he’d chosen a legitimate path in life.
“You are dealing with a mature individual who possessed life skills and who was aware of the illegality and the risks involved but was committed to a course of illegal action over many weeks and that is the context in which the moral responsibility for this offence arises,” he said.
Ross adjourned Howard’s sentencing hearing to March 1.
A B.C. gangster linked to one of the biggest arms seizures in Canadian history has pleaded guilty in Montreal to a series of drug, explosives and firearms charges.
Prosecutors said Shane “Wheels” Maloney controlled the massive weapons cache, which contained 1,475 sticks of dynamite, two pounds of C-4 explosives, remote controls for the explosives, detonators and hundreds of firearms and prohibited gun parts.
Police found the cache during raids in October 2012 as part of Project Loquace, a lengthy investigation by the Sûreté du Québec into an international drug ring importing up to 75 kilograms of cocaine per week through links to Mexican and South American cartels.
Jean Pascal Boucher, spokesman for the director of criminal prosecutions, confirmed Wednesday that Maloney pleaded guilty to trafficking 25 kg of cocaine, committing his offences for the benefit of a criminal organization, possessing explosives and three firearms charges including possession of a gun for the purpose of illegally transferring it.
Several other charges against Maloney were dropped as part of his plea deal, and he dropped his application to have his charges stayed due to court delays in the case.
The defence and prosecution are making a joint submission for a 10-year sentence minus the time Maloney has been in pre-trial custody. Maloney’s sentencing is set for March 15.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Larry Amero
The 39-year-old was splitting his time between Vancouver and Montreal prior to his arrest on Nov. 1, 2012, along with B.C. gangsters Larry Amero, a Hells Angel, and Rabih Alkhalil, who is also charged in the Vancouver murder of rival Sandip Duhre.
Maloney, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident 15 years ago, had filed a lawsuit against the Province of Quebec, alleging that as a paraplegic he was being discriminated against while in pre-trial custody. A judge last year ruled against the discrimination claim, but did order jail officials to review his security classification every 45 days.
Maloney is tied to the infamous Irish West End Gang in Montreal.
More than 100 people were arrested as part of the Loquace investigation, but police in both Quebec and B.C. said at the time that Maloney, Amero and Alkhalil were kingpins of the drug operation. They said the cocaine conspiracy was hatched in B.C., then moved to Quebec.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Rabih Alkhalil
Amero remains in jail in Quebec and is set to go to trial in July. Alkhalil’s trial is scheduled to start in January 2018. Both have also filed applications to have their cases thrown out due to the delay in getting to trial.
Amero was a leading figure in the Hells Angels White Rock chapter before joining the breakaway West Point group.
He moved to Montreal after an assassination attempt in Kelowna in August 2011 left him seriously wounded and Jonathan Bacon, his Red Scorpions friend, dead.
Alkhalil grew up in Metro Vancouver, but moved with his family to Ottawa after two of his brothers were murdered here.
He was arrested on his Loquace charges in Greece and later extradited to Canada. He is also awaiting trial in Ontario for the targeted murder of Johnnie Raposo in Toronto’s Little Italy in June 2012.
Amero and his associates were identified as being part of a B.C. gang alliance dubbed the Wolf Pack, which was locked in a bloody conflict with rivals from what police dubbed the Dhak-Duhre group.
Before he was arrested on Nov. 1, 2012 in a massive Quebec drug smuggling case, Shane Maloney was looking to buy real estate here in Metro Vancouver. Anti-gang police were concerned that the former B.C. gangster appeared to be settling out here on the coast despite having lived in Montreal for years where he was in the infamous Irish West End gang.
Maloney pleaded guilty Tuesday to a number of charges, including firearms trafficking, cocaine trafficking and working for a criminal organization.
His co-accused – Larry Amero and Rabih Alkhalil – are yet to go to trial.
Here’s my story:
B.C. gangster pleads guilty in Montreal to role in international cocaine conspiracy
A B.C. gangster linked to one of the biggest arms seizures in Canadian history has pleaded guilty in Montreal to a series of drug, explosives and firearms charges.
Prosecutors said Shane “Wheels” Maloney controlled the massive weapons cache, which contained 1,475 sticks of dynamite, two pounds of C-4 explosives, remote controls for the explosives, detonators and hundreds of firearms and prohibited gun parts.
Police found the cache during raids in October 2012 as part of Project Loquace, a lengthy investigation by the Sûreté du Québec into an international drug ring importing up to 75 kilograms of cocaine per week through links to Mexican and South American cartels.
Jean Pascal Boucher, spokesman for the director of criminal prosecutions, confirmed Wednesday that Maloney pleaded guilty to trafficking 25 kg of cocaine, committing his offences for the benefit of a criminal organization, possessing explosives and three firearms charges including possession of a gun for the purpose of illegally transferring it.
Several other charges against Maloney were dropped as part of his plea deal, and he dropped his application to have his charges stayed due to court delays in the case.
The defence and prosecution are making a joint submission for a 10-year sentence minus the time Maloney has been in pre-trial custody. Maloney’s sentencing is set for March 15.
The 39-year-old was splitting his time between Vancouver and Montreal prior to his arrest on Nov. 1, 2012, along with B.C. gangsters Larry Amero, a Hells Angel, and Rabih Alkhalil, who is also charged in the Vancouver murder of rival Sandip Duhre.
Maloney, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident 15 years ago, had filed a lawsuit against the Province of Quebec, alleging that as a paraplegic he was being discriminated against while in pre-trial custody. A judge last year ruled against the discrimination claim, but did order jail officials to review his security classification every 45 days.
Maloney is tied to the infamous Irish West End Gang in Montreal. Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
More than 100 people were arrested as part of the Loquace investigation, but police in both Quebec and B.C. said at the time that Maloney, Amero and Alkhalil were kingpins of the drug operation. They said the cocaine conspiracy was hatched in B.C., then moved to Quebec.
Amero remains in jail in Quebec and is set to go to trial in July. Alkhalil’s trial is scheduled to start in January 2018. Both have also filed applications to have their cases thrown out due to the delay in getting to trial.
Amero was a leading figure in the Hells Angels White Rock chapter before joining the breakaway West Point group.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Larry Amero
He moved to Montreal after an assassination attempt in Kelowna in August 2011 left him seriously wounded and Jonathan Bacon, his Red Scorpions friend, dead.
Alkhalil grew up in Metro Vancouver, but moved with his family to Ottawa after two of his brothers were murdered here.
He was arrested on his Loquace charges in Greece and later extradited to Canada. He is also awaiting trial in Ontario for the targeted murder of Johnnie Raposo in Toronto’s Little Italy in June 2012.
Amero and his associates were identified as being part of a B.C. gang alliance dubbed the Wolf Pack, which was locked in a bloody conflict with rivals from what police dubbed the Dhak-Duhre group.
A B.C. man that the province said was behind one of the largest-scale chop shops ever busted in the Okanagan has agreed to forfeit customized motorcycles.
A news release from the province said John Newcome reached a court approved settlement and signed over two dozen complete or partial motorcycles, including custom Harley-Davidsons, to B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office.
Newcome also forfeited garage and trades tools after raids at his West Kelowna bike shop and his Peachland home in 2012 turned up numerous stolen vehicles, including Ford F-350 trucks, all-terrain vehicles and pontoon boats.
He pleaded guilty in 2014 to 19 charges, most related to stolen property, while the province said case files noted his business had connections to Hells Angels chapters in Nanaimo and Calgary, and to two B.C. motorcycle gangs.
There has been a delay in some of the sentencing hearings in the drug conspiracy case involving two Hells Angels and their associates.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross explained Monday that she has been delayed at a trial in Prince Rupert and therefore would not be available to resume the sentencing hearings for James Howard, Bryan Oldham, David Giles and Shawn Womacks until later this month.
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David Giles
Ross spoke by phone in courtroom 74 to Ian Donaldson, the lawyer representing Oldham, the full-patch HA member who was convicted last fall of possession for the purpose of trafficking. His sentencing has been adjourned to March 24.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Hells Angel Bryan Oldham convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking
Howard, an HA associate convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, was supposed to have his sentencing hearing resume March 1. It has now been delayed until March 17. The Crown is seeking a 15-year sentence for Howard.
Giles, convicted on several counts, will have his sentencing hearing on March 21 and 22.
Womacks sentencing hearing will be held March 20.
All four were ensnared in a reverse sting by Mounties posing as South American drug lords. The conspirators handed over $4 million down payment on 200 kilograms of cocaine and committed to purchasing another 300 kilos more.
The man reported missing in Sooke last week is a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang, sources told Postmedia News on Monday.
Michael Gregory Widner, 39, was last seen March 8 in Sooke and was reported missing the following day.
His wife posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying police had since told her that Widner’s body had been found.
“It is with a broken heart and overwhelming sadness I share that the police have informed me that my husbands body has been found,” she wrote in a comment that has since been made private. “I am with our children holding them tight and keeping them safe and removed from all the attention. His children know that he is in heaven with his brother Steve and at peace.” Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Neither Sooke RCMP nor E Division headquarters responded to requests for information Monday about the status of the case and whether it was now a murder investigation.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello told Postmedia News that Widner was a prospect and that his body had been found Sunday.
Earlier, Sooke Staff Sergeant Jeff McArthur said in a news release that Widner’s vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Golf, was found abandoned at Poirier Lake, in William Edmonds Park in Sooke.
Widner has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database.
But he was the subject of a suit by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture director in 2012 after being stopped by Sooke RCMP a year earlier with $4,980 cash, 25 grams of marijuana, a hunting knife and four cellphones in his vehicle.
“Mr. Widner either directly participated in the selling of illegal drugs or obtained the money directly or indirectly from the sellers of illegal drugs,” the suit alleged.
Widner later agreed to forfeit the money, though most was sent to his lawyer to cover his bill.
Widner’s isn’t the only recent missing person case linked to the Hells Angels.
Surrey RCMP is trying to locate Rickey Sandor Mandi, a former prospect for the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
RCMP file photo of Rickey Sandor Mandi, 53, of Chilliwack. Rickey was last seen on December 31, 2016.
Mandi was last seen on January 27th, near 96th Avenue and King George Boulevard in Surrey, Sgt. Alana Dunlop said Monday.
Originally a relative reported Mandi missing to Chilliwack RCMP and said he hadn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve.
But given that Mandi is known to frequent Surrey and Langley, Surrey Mounties made inquiries and learned of the sighting in late January, Dunlop said.
In 2004, Mandi was sentenced to more than six years in jail for a violent assault and kidnapping.
He later told the parole board he wanted to change his life and went on to work with people struggling with addiction.
However he left the job a few years ago and appeared to be dealing with his own addiction troubles.
Last September he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming off “a four-year brutal relapse.”
He said he had got clean again “like a Phoenix raising out from the ashes of a long period of my life filled with painful memories, of heartaches and disappointments.”
Ciarniello, who was in the same Hells Angels chapter as Mandi, said he wasn’t aware the former prospect was missing.
“I haven’t seen Mandi in 10 years or so,” Ciarniello said.
It may be a strange coincidence, but two men linked to the Hells Angels have both been reported missing this month and now one of them – Mike Widner, 39, has been found dead.
This comes just months after full-patch Hells Angel Bob Green was shot to death at a Langley booze can. Others linked to the notorious biker gang have also gone missing or have been murdered in B.C. over the years.
Here’s my story:
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Stylized BC Hells Angels logo.
Nanaimo Hells Angels prospect found dead in Sooke, days after going missing
The man reported missing in Sooke last week is a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang, sources told Postmedia News on Monday.
Michael Gregory Widner, 39, was last seen March 8 in Sooke and was reported missing the following day.
His wife posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying police had since told her that Widner’s body had been found.
“It is with a broken heart and overwhelming sadness I share that the police have informed me that my husbands body has been found,” she wrote in a comment that has since been made private. “I am with our children holding them tight and keeping them safe and removed from all the attention. His children know that he is in heaven with his brother Steve and at peace.”
Neither Sooke RCMP nor E Division headquarters responded to requests for information Monday about the status of the case and whether it was now a murder investigation.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello told Postmedia News that Widner was a prospect and that his body had been found Sunday.
Earlier, Sooke Staff Sergeant Jeff McArthur said in a news release that Widner’s vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Golf, was found abandoned at Poirier Lake, in William Edmonds Park in Sooke.
Widner has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database. Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
But he was the subject of a suit by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture director in 2012 after being stopped by Sooke RCMP a year earlier with $4,980 cash, 25 grams of marijuana, a hunting knife and four cellphones in his vehicle.
“Mr. Widner either directly participated in the selling of illegal drugs or obtained the money directly or indirectly from the sellers of illegal drugs,” the suit alleged.
Widner later agreed to forfeit the money, though most was sent to his lawyer to cover his bill.
Widner’s isn’t the only recent missing person case linked to the Hells Angels.
Surrey RCMP is trying to locate Rickey Sandor Mandi, a former prospect for the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
March 6, 2017 – RCMP is requesting the public’s assistance in locating Rickey Sandor Mandi, 53, of Chilliwack. Rickey was last seen on December 31, 2016 by a family member in the 7400-block of Evans Road. Submitted. [PNG Merlin Archive]
Mandi was last seen on January 27th, near 96th Avenue and King George Boulevard in Surrey, Sgt. Alana Dunlop said Monday.
Originally a relative reported Mandi missing to Chilliwack RCMP and said he hadn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve.
But given that Mandi is known to frequent Surrey and Langley, Surrey Mounties made inquiries and learned of the sighting in late January, Dunlop said.
In 2004, Mandi was sentenced to more than six years in jail for a violent assault and kidnapping.
He later told the parole board he wanted to change his life and went on to work with people struggling with addiction.
However he left the job a few years ago and appeared to be dealing with his own addiction troubles.
Last September he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming off “a four-year brutal relapse.”
He said he had got clean again “like a Phoenix raising out from the ashes of a long period of my life filled with painful memories, of heartaches and disappointments.”
Ciarniello, who was in the same Hells Angels chapter as Mandi, said he wasn’t aware the former prospect was missing.
“I haven’t seen Mandi in 10 years or so,” Ciarniello said.
Other murdered and missing HellsAngels and associates in B.C.
Oct. 16, 2016 – Robert Keith (Bob) Green, of the Nomads chapter, murdered in Langley. Jason Wallace, of the 856 Gang charged
Aug. 12, 2010 – Juel Ross Stanton, former East End Hells Angel, gunned down in Vancouver on Aug. 12, 2010. No one has been charged.
May 2008 – Cedric Baxter Smith, Vancouver Hells Angel, disappeared from Langley and is believed slain. The disappearance remains unsolved.
March 2005 – William (Billy) Moore, president of HA puppet club Renegades, executed in Prince George. The murder remains unsolved.
Jan. 7, 2002 – Rick (Blackie) Burgess, Haney Hells Angel, vanished. He was declared legally dead in 2004, but the case remains unsolved.
March 9, 2001 – Donald William (Donny) Roming, a member of the Nomads chapter, was shot to death outside a Vancouver nightclub on March 9, 2001. A suspect in the case was later murdered.
Oct. 5, 2000 – Manuel (Manny) Valenti, a Hells Angel associate, fatally shot in front of his wife. The murder remains unsolved.
June 2, 1997 – Ernie Ozolins, who had just quit the Haney HellsAngels, gunned down along with girlfriend Lisa Chamberlain at Ozolins’ s West Vancouver house. The murders remain unsolved.
April 30, 1993 – Michael (Zeke) Mickle, president of the Nanaimo HellsAngels, disappeared. He reportedly owed fellow Angels a large amount of money related to a cocaine deal. Still unsolved.
Vancouver Island Mounties are treating the death of a Sooke man as a homicide, after remains found near Port Renfrew were confirmed as his, the man’s mother says.
Reta Acorn said police did not share any circumstances about the death of her son, Mike Widner, or say if they had any suspects.
She reported Widner, 39, missing last week after he didn’t drop by her house as expected.
“He just wasn’t in places he was supposed to be. Mother’s instinct, I just acted on my gut reaction,” said Acorn, who lives in Sooke.
She said she wasn’t surprised to learn his death is being investigated as a homicide, after hearing his car was found abandoned at Poirier Lake in Otter Point’s William Simmons Park.
“My son wasn’t a hiker or anything like that, so I concluded it was a homicide, because he was not a suicidal person and the only reason his car would be parked there was because somebody did something to him,” Acorn said.
Rick Ciarniello, a spokesman for the Hells Angels, told the Times Colonist that Widner was a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the biker gang.
Widner was also the subject of a civil forfeiture case in 2012, a year after his vehicle was stopped by Sooke RCMP and he was found in possession of 25 grams of marijuana, $4,980 cash, a hunting knife and four cellphones.
Acorn said she knew nothing about any connection to the Hells Angels and was unaware of any threats on Widner’s life.
She said Widner, a father of two, died 10 years after his younger brother, Stephen died in a car crash on Feb. 1, 2007.
She asked anyone with information about his death to report it. “Please come forward. I’d just like to see the person who did this pay for it, I don’t want this to go unsolved,” Acorn said. “Mike was a good man and a good father and a good husband and a good son. He was only 39 years old and there’s no reason why someone should take his life.”
Sooke RCMP ask anyone with information to call them at 250-642-5241 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
