OFF THE WIRE
Gabrielle Giroday
and Mike McIntyre
winnipegfreepress.com
WINNIPEG police are bracing for a long, hot summer involving two feuding biker gangs looking to fill the void caused by the collapse of the Hell Angels.
Two incidents in the past week highlighted escalating tensions between members of the local Rock Machine and Redlined Crew.
Police were called to a home on Stranmillis Avenue in St. Vital early Wednesday after reports of shots fired and smoke inside the residence. Sources told the Free Press the parents of the current president of the Rock Machine own the residence. It was hit with gunfire and Molotov cocktails. There were no injuries and no arrests have been made.
The attack is believed to be a continuation of a drive-by shooting of a home on Canberra Road early Tuesday. That residence is also linked to a Rock Machine member. There were also no injuries or arrests.
"The evidence that we do have to date suggests that it looks like it's two opposing motorcycle clubs that have been involved in different incidents in the last week," Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Natalie Aitken said.
Police said the Hells Angels created the Redlined Crew last year to stand up to other criminal networks that might muscle in on their former drug turf after many of their members were arrested and jailed following a trio of recent undercover police operations.
At the top of that list was the Rock Machine, which waged war with the Hells Angels in Quebec during the 1990s but has never had much of a presence in Manitoba until recently.
Police said the Redlined Crew made their first big impression in early 2010 when they allegedly attacked a member of the Rock Machine.
The victim required emergency surgery. He has not been co-operative with police and so far no charges have been laid. Multiple sources have told the Free Press the Rock Machine have been slowly gaining power in the province, with some former Hells Angels associates even joining their ranks in recent months.
Last November, a former high-ranging associate of the Hells Angels was shot "execution-style" inside his own home. No arrests have been made in the slaying of Daniel Kachkan, which was believed to have been connected to Kachkan's alleged role in a previous homicide.
However, police began distributing an internal memo around the time of the killing, warning that members of the Rock Machine motorcycle gang are believed to be armed and may be planning attacks against those affiliated with the Hells Angels.
Aitken said Thursday officers from the organized crime unit are "dedicated and responding" in investigating the incidents. Police are treating the incidents seriously and are looking at connections to any other crimes.
"When we have these types of incidents with individuals who are arming themselves, in this case, either with firearms, or other weapons of choice, that's something that the police service is taking very seriously, and is working as quickly as we can to locate and apprehend any individuals who would be responsible," said Aitken.
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca www.mikeoncrime.com
