CANADA - Biker group in ladysmith not on outlaw radar

OFF THE WIRE
Veteran's Motorcycle Club has drawn attention from concerned residents and the Mounties

A Ladysmith-based motorcycle club is working hard to shed any perception they have ties to organized crime.

The Veterans Motorcycle Club of Canada has quietly surfaced in Ladysmith, where a clubhouse for the Vancouver Island chapter was purchased last spring. Its heavily tattooed members sport three-piece patches and ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Several bikes were lined up Tuesday outside the Third Avenue hangout, across the street from an elementary school. A pit bull ran outside the large white house, which boasts the club skull and sword insignia.

The Veterans were mentioned in an antigang blog on the weekend, suspected of being a puppet club of the Hells Angels, which also sport three-piece patches.

Police were not taking any chances, with specialists from the outlaw motorcycle gang unit keeping an eye on the Veterans poker run and anniversary party on Saturday, which saw 40 bikers hit several pubs on a round-trip ride to Shawnighan Lake. Police have photographed club members more than once, and the neighbouring school principal has come down to meet them.

Comprised of current or ex-military members, they say they have raised thousands of dollars to help veterans through chapter rides, which are also held in Kelowna and Calgary. The Ladysmith club had a booth selling support gear at a recent town market and its bikes were in a show-and-shine display.

"It's a brotherhood for military guys. We've gone out of our way to show we're not like that," said Crofton-based Island vice-president and founding member Jason Winter, 37. "There's definitely been public fear. We've been asked many times (if we're part of the Hells Angels)."

RCMP say they have had calls from concerned citizens and take an interest in any group with a three-piece patch. A new rise in clubs linked to the aging bikers have sprung up across B.C., including the Campbell River-based Devil's Army.

"We don't view them as an outlaw club," said Pat Wilkinson of the outlaw motorcycle gang unit. "Right now, they're a bunch of military guys that like to ride bikes."


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