OFF THE WIRE
The public prosecutor demanded in Amsterdam Court on Friday that 14 Hells Angels be sentenced to life in jail for the murder of three clubmates last year.
A 15th suspect faces a four-year jail term for a shooting last May. The prosecutor does not suspect him of involvement in the triple murder, newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Friday.
Three members of the Limburg Hells Angels chapter the Nomads were shot and killed in February last year. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found in a stream near the southern Dutch town of Echt.
Fourteen Nomads are accused of the murder, which allegedly took place in the Oirsbeek clubhouse. The three victims, including club president Paul de Vries, were killed after allegedly stealing a consignment of 300kg of cocaine from Colombian drug lords.
A 15th suspect is accused of another shooting and two other men, members of the Curacao-based Hells Angels chapter Caribbean Brothers, are accused of involvement in the botched cocaine deal. Their cases will be heard separately.
One of the Caribbean Brothers, Angelo D., has claimed that one of the defendants has admitted that he and another Nomad committed the murders and that the order came from the Amsterdam headquarters of the Hells Angels. Disgraced Amsterdam ex-president, "Big Willem" van Boxtel, has denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, the prosecution's sentencing demand came after the court refused to allow testimony from a new witness in the murder trial on Thursday night. It said testing the reliability of the man would delay the trial by weeks, if not months.
