OFF THE WIRE
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/18/outlaw-biker-ranks-growing-in-alberta
Outlaw biker ranks growing in Alberta
PAMELA ROTH, QMI Agency
A member of the Warlocks motorcycle club says the group is more of a brotherhood than a gang. (Perry Mah, QMI Agency)
Change text size for the story Print this story Report an error EDMONTON - Seven years ago, Shannon Trottier was left with a gaping hole in her life when she watched her 34-year-old son die in her arms.
Joey Campbell, also known as Joey Morin, was rushed to hospital after he was sprayed with bullets outside a west-end strip club, but his injuries were too severe to overcome. A second man, Robert Simpson, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
Both men were affiliated with outlaw motorcycle gangs -- at that time the Bandidos -- and the killer has yet to be brought to justice.
The shooting marks the last time any significant violence among bikers erupted on city streets and police are holding their breath it will stay that way given the province's changing biker club scene.
According to Sgt. Marc Labonte of the Edmonton Integrated Intelligence Unit for the RCMP, during the last two years, Alberta has seen one of the largest increases in outlaw motorcycle gangs across the country.
Labonte wouldn't name the specific clubs that have set up shop in the province, but he said there are now four main clubs referred to as "one-percenters" -- a term given to outlaw motorcycle clubs that aren't always just out for a good time -- as opposed to one main group with four chapters.
Two new one-percenters showed up in the last year, and each one has one to three chapters.
In addition, police have identified at least eight "puppet " clubs or associate clubs, which consists of members aspiring to become part of the main clubs, so they conduct certain business to prove themselves worthy. In early 2009, Labonte said there were maybe two or three associate clubs in the province.
The bikers are also spreading their wings.
Two or three years ago, Labonte said the one-percenters were limited to Edmonton and Calgary, but they have since spread to cities throughout the province, and it's largely attributed to the booming economy.
"The economy was good, so there was money. Where there's money, there is always a criminality," said Labonte.
Police are closely keeping tabs on the most recent outlaw motorcycle clubs to arrive in the province.
But Labonte isn't expecting an all-out turf war to erupt any time soon -- like the one going on between the Hells Angels and Rock Machine in Winnipeg, which experienced a series of firebombings and shootings, including one that put a 14-year-old boy in hospital with gunshot wounds.
In the past, some of the biker gangs in Alberta have been responsible for homicides, home invasions, drugs, prostitution, money laundering and extortion.
Labonte said there has been an increase in criminality among the clubs in recent years -- the most notable were home invasions where "somebody didn't pay up."
But often crimes such as those go undetected, making it difficult for law enforcement to get involved.
"The victim, who's a criminal usually, will not report it to police because they know what these guys can do," said Labonte, who noted biker gangs try to keep violence from spilling onto the street.
"They don't want to make a big scene. They will be very low profile because they don't want the public against them. They are like a business. They don't want to be known as bad guys."
Although police aren't concerned there will be an all-out turf war in Alberta, Mounties are cognizant things could change since many of the clubs are connected regionally and nationally.
In 2004, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada listed the Hells Angels as the largest and most powerful outlaw motorcycle gang in Canada, with approximately 500 members belonging to 34 chapters across the country, in which at least three were in Alberta.
The following year, the director of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta told the Sun that the Hells Angels wouldn't allow any competitors to set up shop in Alberta.
But police believe the momentum has changed since then.
Labonte noted there are about five or six one-percenters in the U.S.
Alberta now has four of them -- and they seem to be talking to and negotiating with each other.
Police have heard of instances where one group has stolen another group's patch, which sends a message they are not allowed to be here.
So far the bikers seem to be using the gesture as a way to start talking to one another and lay grounds for respect, said Labonte. Whether those talks are peaceful remains to be seen.
"It's always troublesome. It happened in Edmonton and a small rural community, so now we have to be careful because that could escalate," said Labonte. "Some of them are into criminality. It doesn't mean they are all into criminality."
MEMBER SAYS NOT ALL BIKER CLUBS ARE BAD
He's a Warlock, and he's proud of it.
Sporting a shaved head and goatee, arms filled with tattoos, a wristband with spikes and a black leather vest with the club's patches, he looks the part of a tough biker you don't want to have on your bad side.
But the biker, who did not want to reveal his true identity, is trying to shed the stereotypes associated with being part of a motorcycle club and insists it's about the brotherhood more than anything else.
"We're not a gang, we're a motorcycle club. We are not criminals. You can't be a Warlock if you're a criminal," said the biker. "It's like any organization. Yes, we have our bad apples, everybody does. But we take steps to ensure that you are thrown out or stripped of your patch. Not everybody is bad."
The Warlocks have been on police radar since at least 2005, but didn't officially establish their first Canadian chapter until last November.
The club is known as a "one-percenter" with roots that trace back to the U.S., particularly Pennsylvania and Orlando, and with chapters in Germany and England.
The Alberta chapter is the first and only Canadian chapter thus far. The club's website states "the Warlocks motorcycle club is a strong brotherhood of serious motorcycle riders and is not for everyone. We are not a social weekend riding club, we are a brotherhood of bikers that take riding and flying our colours very serious."
Although the biker is pleased the Warlocks are now established in Canada, he said existing motorcycle clubs have not all been receptive to their arrival.
"We have no problems with nobody," he said. "We told them that we were here, we're not involved in anything, we're not doing anything."
According to the biker, members of the club get together to ride and to raise money for charity. He spends his days working in construction and does volunteer community service during some of his off hours.
The biker said he's always been part of the motorcycle club community. When he retired from the military, he missed the friendship and camaraderie, so he sought out others who had like interests and he found a brotherhood in the Warlocks.
His most prized possession, of course, is his Harley. And there's no greater feeling than riding down the highway on his "baby" with his buddies at his side, he added.
"When you ride you feel free. There are no worries. Just the wind in your face, everything is great," said the biker.
"It's a sense of belonging. It's a network of brothers that will do anything for you and it's a nice feeling. You know that no matter what, no matter where, there's a brother there.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 main "one percenter" or big motorcycle clubs.
8 "puppet" or associate clubs have also been identified by police.
14 leisure riding clubs have been identified.
* According to police, most outlaw motorcycle clubs require at least six to eight main patch-wearing members. Usually an aspiring biker has to know somebody for five years before they become a one-percenter. The main clubs in Alberta have anywhere from six to 15 members, who have strict rules to obey.
* Biker clubs that have surfaced in Alberta in the past include Hells Angels, Warlocks, Bandidos and Rock Machine.
