PROVINCE WINS BATTLE OVER BIKERS' CLUBHOUSE

Supreme Court Judge Throws Out Hells Angels Application To Have
Nanaimo Property Returned

By Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun

The B.C. government has won a court battle against the Nanaimo Hells
Angels over control of their biker clubhouse in the first challenge
of the province's civil forfeiture law.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies threw out an application by
the Hells Angels to have the property returned to them pending a full
trial on whether the government had the right to seize the property
as an "instrument of unlawful activity" 15 months ago.

Davies said the director of civil forfeiture has raised legitimate
issues about the Hells Angels being a criminal organization and has
the right to hang onto the Nanaimo property at least for now.

Solicitor-General John van Dongen said Wednesday's ruling upholds the
legitimacy of the legislation which was first passed in 2005 and
amended in 2007.

"It is great news and I am very happy about it because one of the
concerns when you have new legislation is ensuring it meets all the
challenges so this is very good, especially when you consider the
people who are challenging it," van Dongen said.

He said the case is still expected to go to a full trial, but the
interim order is a step in the right direction for the province.

"This will at least ensure that the province will continue to have
the preservation order and possession order we got in 2007," he said.
"This was the first challenge in B.C. that I am aware of."

He said he was pleased that Davies made reference to the importance
of the Civil Forfeiture Act.

"The judge cited the public interest in seizing assets like this to
prevent the kind of conditions that could favour future crimes being
committed so I think we are very pleased to get that kind of a
comment as part of the decision," he said.

The clubhouse, at 805 Victoria Road and assessed at $103,000, was
seized on Nov. 9, 2007 with the help of more than a dozen police
officers, some armed with submachineguns.

Police went through the two-storey building with a video camera at
the time and loaded three Harley-Davidson motorcycles onto trucks.

It was the first Hells Angels property in B.C. seized under the B.C.
Civil Forfeiture Act and former solicitor-general John Les promised
there would be more.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello called the seizure
"ridiculous" and the club then launched a court challenge to regain
control of the property. The challenge was heard over 10 days last
summer and fall in Victoria and Vancouver.

The Angels claimed in court that the government should not have won
the "original interim order due to the failure to allege substantive
criminal offences and to sufficiently particularize the offences
alleged to have been committed by the defendants."

The government used police experts to make its point about the
bikers' link to organized crime.

Police Insp. Andy Richards said in an affidavit that "as an organized
criminal group, the Hells Angels in British Columbia rely on
'name-brand recognition' to foster their intimidating reputation,
which in turn can serve to enhance their ability to conduct criminal
activities.

"The 'patch,' which includes the trademarked death head logo, is
typically the most visible example of this as it is openly worn by
members of the club and is widely recognized as the symbol of the
club. In the criminal underworld and in some segments of our society,
the death head symbol of the Hells Angels identifies the bearer as a
member of an international organized crime group and denotes a
certain level of criminal sophistication and association to a group
known to use violence, including murder, to attain its goals," Richards said.

The bikers got non-members to swear their own affidavits saying the
Nanaimo chapter is simply a "group of hard workers and life-long
motorcycle enthusiasts" or a "motorcycle club and a group of friends
who enjoy getting together, socializing, and going on rides together."

Davies said the government raised "compelling inferences about the
continued use of the clubhouse as an illegal, unlicensed 'booze can'
for the past four years."

"I find that the evidence adduced by the director establishes a
serious question to be tried as to whether the clubhouse and Lot 7,
including the contents of the bar in the clubhouse, are instruments
of unlawful activity," Davies said. "I have determined that the
defendants have failed to establish that the original interim order
should be discharged."