HELLS ANGELS ON TRIAL

Are the Hells Angels a criminal organization or just a club with some
bad apples? That's the crux of the question before the B.C. Supreme
Court. The case offers a rare look inside the biker group and police
efforts to put it out of business

Neal Hall
Vancouver Sun

For years, B.C.'s Hells Angels have denied they're a criminal
organization, arguing that while some of their members may have been
convicted of criminal offences, that doesn't mean the entire club is a
criminal gang.

That assertion will finally be put to the test as a B.C. judge rules
for the first time on an attempt to apply recent federal anti-gang
legislation in B.C.

The test case is the trial of a senior member of the East End Hells
Angels.

If the trial judge rules the chapter is a criminal organization when a
verdict is rendered March 27, it will be devastating for the Hells
Angels in B.C, said RCMP Insp. Gary Shinkaruk, head of the outlaw
motorcycle gang squad.

"It would be devastating locally, nationally and internationally," he
said. "It would be an embarrassment for them."

He said the East End Hells Angels are "extremely worried. They're
realizing the law is evolving."

The trial judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anne MacKenzie, has heard
months of evidence regarding David Francis Giles of the East End Hells
Angels chapter and two co-accused.

She must now decide whether the trio were acting in a "joint venture,"
as alleged by the Crown, with regard to nine kilograms of cocaine
seized in Kelowna in 2005.

MacKenzie said this week the Crown needs to prove that the accused
were acting in concert in possessing cocaine for the purpose of
trafficking and that the accused were committing a crime in
association with a criminal organization -- the East End Hells Angels.

The trial is a B.C. test case of Canada's relatively new anti-gang
law, which is being applied -- for the first time in B.C. -- against
the Hells Angels. A ruling against the Hells Angels would likely
result in police targeting the other Hells Angels chapters in B.C. --
Vancouver, Haney, White Rock, Mission and Nanaimo.

So there is more at stake at this trial than the guilt or innocence of
Giles, 58, and alleged Hells Angels associates David Roger Revell, 43,
and Richard Andrew Rempel, 24. Revell and Rempel are also accused of
cocaine trafficking.

During the 10-month trial, which ended Wednesday, the Crown alleged
the East End Hells Angels had moved into Kelowna, calling themselves
the K-Town Crew, and were planning to establish a new chapter to take
over the lucrative illegal drug trade in the Okanagan.

The trial heard of a massive $10-million police investigation in which
the RCMP offered a Vancouver man $1 million to infiltrate the East End
Hells Angels.

The man, who now is in hiding under a new name, testified at Giles'
trial and is expected later to testify at a number of pending trials.

The investigation involved an unprecedented judicial authorization
allowing police to secretly enter the East End Hells Angels clubhouse
in Kelowna and install a covert listening device, which allowed police
for the first time to listen to the candid conversations of Hells
Angels members.

The Crown called two police experts on the Hells Angels -- there is a
publication ban on their evidence -- and four members of the East End
Hells Angels to testify. Three Hells Angels refused to testify, were
cited for contempt of court and are set to appear at contempt hearings
March 7.

The media cannot reveal their names because they are still facing
criminal charges in other pending trials.

Most of Giles' trial was conducted under a sweeping ban on publication
imposed by the judge to protect the rights of other Hells Angels
facing trials.

A lawyer representing The Vancouver Sun went to court two weeks ago
and successfully applied to vary the ban. As a result, last week, The
Sun was granted access to some key evidence presented at trial.

Based on those court documents, here are some highlights of the
evidence:

INSIDE THE HELLS ANGELS CLUBHOUSE IN KELOWNA

On Jan. 24, 2005, police listened as Giles, who joined the East End
Hells Angels in 1995 after being a Hells Angels member in Sorel, Que.,
discussed with his fellow bikers setting up a new Hells Angels chapter
in Kelowna.

At the time, the Kelowna clubhouse was a satellite of the East End
Hells Angels in Vancouver, some of whose members had moved to the
booming Okanagan city. Police heard Giles talk about how members had
to commute to Vancouver for regular club meetings, travelling up to
1,000 kilometres a month.

In his pitch to establish a Kelowna chapter -- defence lawyer Richard
Fowler called it a "motivational speech" -- Giles told members that
during their contact with "citizens" (the Crown suggests this includes
everyone who is not a club member, including the co-accused Revell),
they should keep in mind what a new chapter was going to do for the
Hells Angels.

"For me," Giles said, "there isn't one f---in' citizen out there, not
one that I socialize with, talk to or have anything to do with, that
[isn't thinking] 'What can I get from him?"

Giles said the question should be, "What's he gonna do for me that's
gonna benefit this house? ... And that's how I feel everybody should
think. 'Cause this ain't about what it can do for you, it's supposed
to be what you can do for the club."

The Crown maintains when Giles talks of the "house," he's talking
about the East End Hells Angels. The defence suggested "house" simply
was a reference to the clubhouse, a building.

GILES DOESN'T LIKE TALKING ON THE PHONE

The Crown suggests there is ample evidence in Giles' intercepted phone
conversations that he did not want to discuss business over the phone,
so he arranges to meet contacts in person. The Crown contends this is
to avoid detection by law enforcement.

On Feb. 3, 2005, for example, police heard Giles tell Revell, "That's
enough on the f---in' telephone. I'll talk to ya when I get home."

"This is illustrative of the continued concern Giles has regarding
discussing their business dealings over the telephone," federal
prosecutor Martha Devlin said.

Giles' lawyer, Richard Fowler, suggested Giles had a general aversion
to talking on the phone "because he no doubt believes that all his
phones are being tapped [by police]. Because someone chooses to guard
their privacy does not lead to the inference that he must be engaged
in criminal activity. ... How many people would be prepared to talk
freely on the phone, believing the state was intercepting all their
communications?"

Giles and Revell met to talk at parking lots, gas stations,
restaurants and at Giles' residence.

'HE MADE ME $30,000 IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS.'

During a Feb. 14, 2005 conversation between Giles and his common-law
partner, Pamela Watts, she complained that $500 was put on her credit
card for plane tickets for Revell to fly to Calgary. (Police
surveillance observed Rempel with Revell on the trip).

Giles told her that Revell "went there to make money for me" and that
"he made me 30 grand in the past few months."

The Crown contends this is evidence of Giles and Revell being involved
in criminal activity. The defence countered that "it is impossible to
say with any degree of certainty how Revell made Giles 30 grand." It
might be a legitimate business transaction such as a stock market tip,
the defence added.

Revell had several businesses in the Kelowna area: Reflex Gym, the
Sunrise Family Bar & Grill, and Westside Auto & Pawn. The businesses
were all in Westbank, across Okanagan Lake from Kelowna. Giles, Revell
and Rempel all lived in Westbank. Rempel worked at Revell's used car
lot and lived in the back of the lot's office.

POLICE SURVEILLANCE AND INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATIONS

On April 4, 2005, undercover police watched Rempel go to a
self-storage locker facility located at 2231 Moose Road.

Rempel was driving a green Chrysler Intrepid, which police later
discovered had a secret compartment used to hide multiple kilograms of
cocaine.

When Rempel drove in front of the self-storage facility, he spoke to a
man believed to be Revell's son, John Revell, who was in a grey Chevy
pickup truck. The two vehicles were facing in opposite directions so
the drivers' doors lined up.

Revell followed the truck into the self-storage compound, driving the
green Chrysler Intrepid. The compound was gated and required an access
card to enter.

Rempel parked beside locker F-11, got out, unlocked the padlocks on
the locker and entered empty-handed. Less than a minute later, Rempel
exited the locker holding his left arm close to his body, got in his
car and departed.

His actions were recorded by a video surveillance camera installed by
police.

About six hours later, the green Intrepid was observed parked at
Sunrise Family Bar & Grill Restaurant. Rempel was observed inside the
restaurant.

That night, police executed a search warrant on the storage locker and
found, inside a sports bag, three one-kilogram bricks of cocaine
wrapped in plastic-sealed bags. Also seized from the locker: a Panther
Stun Gun and a .25-calibre Jennings handgun.

The next morning, April 5, Rempel and Revell arrived in separate
vehicles at the Sunrise cafe and were later seen at the Westside Auto
Pawn car lot on Ross Road, where Rempel was seen removing the licence
plates from the Intrepid.

Just after noon that day, Giles phoned Revell and asked if he had a
fax machine. Minutes later, Giles arrived at the Reflex Gym on Brown
Road in Westbank with some papers in his hand.

At about 12:56 p.m., Giles and Revell were standing together in the
parking lot of the gym. About an hour later, Giles went to Revell's
car lot and got his truck washed. Giles was wearing a white sweatshirt
with "AFFA" across the chest in red lettering, which the court heard
stands for "Angels Forever, Forever Angels."

At 2:42 p.m. that day, Revell drove his pickup truck to a Chevron gas
station on Highway 97 in Kelowna. A red Honda parked next to Revell.
Revell got out of his truck and met briefly with the East Indian man,
who poked Revell in the chest. They laughed, shook hands, returned to
their vehicles and left.

At 5 p.m., Rempel got into the green Chrysler Intrepid, parked at
Revell's Westbank car lot. Rempel entered the car through the front
driver's-side door, and then leaned into the back seat. He appeared to
be manipulating something in the back seat area. Rempel, wearing a
glove on his right hand, got out of the car and walked back to the
office.

Between 5:58 and 6:30 p.m., there was a series of BlackBerry text
messages that the Crown alleges were between Revell, using the
BlackBerry name "Balde" -- the Crown said Giles called the shaved-head
Revell "Baldy" -- and Rempel, using the BlackBerry name Greg Murphy.

"Brown guy needs one," said Balde's message, which the Crown alleges
was Revell telling Rempel that an Indo-Canadian drug dealer wanted to
purchase one kilo of cocaine. "Kk," was the reply, which Crown says
means "Okay."

About 7 p.m., Revell drove his truck to the Westbank car lot. Rempel
walked from the rear of the building at the car lot carrying a pair of
shoes and a dark-coloured sweatshirt. He put the items into the
passenger side of Revell's truck, then walked back to the office.

Minutes later, Rempel got in the passenger seat of Revell's pickup
truck. With Revell driving, they departed the car lot and drove
southbound on Highway 97.

Here are the BlackBerry messages the Crown alleges were exchanged the
next day:

- - 10:35 a.m., Balde sent a text message: "Brown Chad needs the same
kind as last time" and asked whether it was available or in "storage."
The reply said Rempel thought it was in "storage" but he would "check
here" because "not sure what we got where." Balde replied "Have a
look. ... If have it [there] I will send him now."

Rempel was then observed during police surveillance at the car lot
with a shovel. A short time later, a text message was sent to Balde
indicating "not here."

At 10:40 a.m., Revell's son John arrived at the car lot in his truck.
Rempel was seen in the office. Five minutes later, John Revell drove
away. The defence has suggested Revell may have had control of the
BlackBerry, which the Crown disputes.

- - At 10:46 a.m., Balde sent a text message: "Get one of those out and
have a look at one." Rempel left the office and got into the green
Intrepid and leaned into the back seat. Two minutes later, he backed
out of the car and, with his left arm held tightly against his body,
went back into the office.

A message to Balde said: "It's soft but really shiney [sic] good
color." Balde replied: "He is on his way."

Message to Balde: "Is he gonna wanna look at this?" Balde replied:
"Ya... Keep one
out... leave the rest in the car."

- - 11:13 a.m., an Indo-Canadian man arrived at Revell's car lot in the
same red Honda that had been observed the previous day. He went to the
office carrying a small orange gym bag that seemed empty, then left
with the orange gym bag and got back in the red Honda.

"Brown guy just left," said the message to Balde.

The police followed the Honda northbound on Highway 97 into Kelowna
and pulled the car over. It stopped abruptly in the parking lot of a
high school. The man jumped out carrying a bag and ran. He was chased
and arrested. Inside a dark blue duffel bag was an orange gym bag
containing a one-kilogram brick of cocaine.

SEARCH OF THE GREEN INTREPID ON APRIL 6

An RCMP officer, posing as an employee of the Westbank self-storage
locker, where police had seized the three kilos of cocaine and two
weapons, phoned the Reflex Gym and left a message for Rempel to call.
A flurry of text messages followed:

- - 11:08 a.m. Balde sent a messages saying someone had called "about
your locker ... that's not good." Balde suggests calling the guy back.

- - 11:16 a.m. To Balde: "My locker got robbed." Balde replied someone could be
"watching." He suggested "bury those now." The reply asked: "Where
should we put them?"

- - 11:36 a.m. A message proposed it would be a good idea to leave the
car "all locked up" some place where "we can keep an eye on it."

- - 12:31 p.m. Balde sends a message suggesting "put plates on car" and
head to "Glenrosa" and the "motorhome" and to signal when he was at
"Gorman's." The Crown contends the latter is a reference to Gorman's
mill in Westbank.

- - 1:07 p.m. Rempel was observed in surveillance at at the car lot,
crouched down at the
back of the green Chrysler Intrepid. A text message was sent to
Balde: "Just leaving
[the] lot." Balde replied: "Watch your mirrors." Balde's message
minutes later advised
to take the plates off the car.

- - 1:54 p.m. Revell's truck was spotted driving back toward Westbank
along Glenrosa Road, past Gorman's mill. Minutes later, his truck was
in the parking lot of the Reflex Gym in Westbank, with Revell in the
driver's seat and Rempel in the passenger seat.

- - 2:13 p.m. Rempel was recorded on video surveillance at Westbank
Self-Storage, examining locker F-11. Minutes later a message to Balde
reported the self-storage staff would not let him see the security
tapes.

- - 2:45 p.m. Police located the green Chrysler Intrepid parked next to
two motorhomes on a rural property at 3230 Preston Road, Westbank. One
of the motorhomes was registered to Revell. The Intrepid had no
licence plates. Police determined the registered owner of the vehicle
was Curtis Helle.

- - 3:12 p.m. A man named Mike DeMattos arrived at 3230 Preston Road in
a black truck. He told police that he owned the property and rented it
to a car-lot business in Westbank.

Balde sent a message saying "we have a prob," explaining the "cops"
were "at the car." He suggested the registered owner of the car "say
nothing."

Just after 3:30 p.m., Revell was seen meeting an unknown male outside
a Dairy Queen next to the Reflex Gym. The unknown male then left in
the same black truck that DeMattos had been driving.

In a series of messages, Revell told Rempel to get Curtis and arrange
for him to speak with the police about the Intrepid -- to tell the
police he owned the car and was hiding it from his ex-wife.

- - 3:40 p.m. DeMattos returned again to Preston Road and spoke to
police, who told him they would be obtaining search warrants for the
Intrepid and the motorhome in connection with a drug
investigation.

There was another flurry of text messages that suggest Balde realized
the police investigating the Intrepid probably had searched the locker
and both men with the BlackBerrys were being watched.

- - About 4 p.m., Revell met with Giles in the parking lot of the Reflex
Gym in Westbank. Giles was wearing a white sweatshirt with the letters
"AFFA" on the front. Minutes later, both men got into their vehicles
and left the parking lot. The defence suggested the two men met by
coincidence. The Crown alleged the two men were discussing the chaotic
events that were unfolding.

- - 4:26 p.m. Police stopped Rempel driving a Mercury Grand Marquis.
Curtis Helle was in the front passenger seat. Police seized a
BlackBerry next to the driver's seat. It was later sent for analysis
and more than 100 text messages were downloaded.

- - 4:30 p.m. Police stopped Revell's pickup truck and arrested him.
Police seized a BlackBerry from a pocket in the front console.

- - 6:24 p.m. Police executed a search warrant at Revell's car lot. In
the office, police seized numerous zip-lock baggies, a can of bear
spray, and papers in Rempel's name. From the residence in back, police
seized a security card and three keys later linked to storage locker
F-11. Police also seized an electronic scale, an X-Acto knife and
several vacuum-sealed bags which had been opened.

Police also searched the exterior of the property for drugs that might
have been buried, which resulted in the seizure of almost half a kilo
of cocaine.

- - 7:56 p.m. Another Hells Angels member in Kelowna called Giles and
said he was going to "swing by." The Crown alleged Giles was advised
that Revell's car lot and gym had been searched by the police.

- - 8:36 p.m., Giles left a message for Revell's common-law partner,
Lori Bartkowski, to phone him back. Bartkowski returned the call at
11:04 p.m., indicating that "Dave" is "visiting the boys in blue."
Giles alluded to being told that Revell's car lot and gym had been
searched by the police. Giles warned Bartkowski that their phones were
probably all "wired" -- "yours, mine, all of them."

- - 11 p.m. Police searched the green Chrysler Intrepid, finding a
hidden compartment between the back seat and the trunk, secured by a
magnetic lock fixed to the backrest in the back seat. Inside the
compartment, police found five one-kilogram bricks of cocaine. The
vehicle licence plates were seized from the trunk.

POST-ARREST CONDUCT

At 8 a.m. on April 7, 2005, the police released Revell from custody
and drove him back to his vehicle. Three hours later, Revell phoned
Giles's common law wife, looking for Giles, who was apparently out
hiking.

Revell asked Watts if Giles had his cellphone with him. Revell
immediately phoned Giles on his cell phone and arranged to meet Giles
at his truck after he finished his hike.

On April 10, 2005, police listened as Revell told Giles that things
were "absolutely f---ing horrible." Revell said he would come by to
discuss it. Giles and Revell continued having meetings and discussions
in April and early May.

On May 2, at 6:13 p.m., Giles and Revell had a lengthy conversation.
It was secretly recorded by police who had covertly planted a
listening device in Giles' home. The Crown alleged the two men
discussed the fallout from the drug seizure.

During the conversation, Revell told Giles that he "paid a hundred and
six thousand dollars." Giles responded, "Well, what do we owe them?"
Revell replied: "Still owe 'em one-forty." Giles asked Revell why, and
Revell replied that he had "lost eight." Giles replied, "We'll get
back up."

The Crown suggests this last comment shows Revell and Giles were in
the cocaine business together. But the defence said there was no
evidence that Giles ever had possession of the cocaine, or that Giles
had control over Revell and Rempel.

On May 24, 2005, police listened as Giles asked a person named Mark
Hilts if he had seen "Baldy." Hilts replied that he had spoken to him
briefly but he was trying to keep his distance from him. Hilts told
Giles that the owner of the "property" where "the car" was found --
the Crown says this is a reference to the owner of the Preston Road
property where the Intrepid was seized -- was livid because the "cops
dragged him in" for questioning.

"How many units do you usually put in the car?" Hilts asked. "Seven,"
Giles replied.

The Crown says this shows Giles had knowledge of how many kilograms of
cocaine were kept in the Intrepid. But the defence points out that the
words are difficult to hear in the police recording. Fowler suggested
what Hilts really asked was "How many do you think was in the car?"

Before reaching a verdict, the judge will have to determine what was
said and whether the accused committed the crimes, as alleged by the
Crown, in association with a criminal organization: the East End Hells
Angels.

PROJECT E-PANDORA

How the RCMP managed to infiltrate the secretive Hells Angels.

A $10-million police investigation code-named Project E-Pandora
resulted in the raids of East End Hells Angels clubhouses in Vancouver
and Kelowna in 2005. It was the largest police probe targeting the
Hells Angels in B.C. history.

Police offered Michael Plante, a former Cecil Hotel strip club bouncer
and Hells Angels enforcer, $1 million to infiltrate the East End Hells
Angels, which is reputedly one of the most powerful and wealthiest
biker gangs in Canada.

Plante was paid $500,000 and is expected to be paid the remainder once
he testifies at a number of pending trials.

The agent applied to become a member of the notorious biker club and
had been accepted "in the program". He was on the first rung of a
five-year membership program as an official friend of the club,
allowing him to be responsible for clubhouse security, tending bar at
the clubhouse and running errands for members.

At a previous trial, the police agent testified he sold cocaine and
methamphetamine for Hells Angels members, kept a cache of guns for one
member and carried out violence at the direction of East End Hells
Angels.

At an earlier trial, when asked what would have happened if he had
been caught infiltrating the biker gang, he stated he would have been
killed.

The police investigation, led by the RCMP, resulted in the arrest of
18 men, including five full-patch members of the East End Hells Angels
and the son of its president, who had been accepted by the club to
become a member.

Other pending trials involve charges of producing and distributing
kilograms of methamphetamine, distributing multi-kilo quantities of
cocaine, extortion, assault and possession of dangerous weapons,
including automatic firearms and grenades that were seized by police.

In total, police seized more than 20 kilograms each of methamphetamine
and cocaine; more than 70 kilograms of marijuana; restricted and
prohibited weapons, including five handguns and fully automatic
weapons with silencers; 11 sticks of dynamite with detonation cord and
blasting caps; four grenades and ammunition.