OFF THE WIRE
All has been quiet in the war between Rock Machine and Redlined in recent months, but seasoned gang cops warn that Winnipeg hasn’t seen the last of the violence, according to recently released court documents.
Police are expecting further clashes between the two gxxgs according to court documents filed in the recent crackdown on members of the Hells Angels and the Redlined Support Crew, a “friend” club to the Manitoba chapter that first came to the attention of police in May, 2009.
It was a significant year. The Manitoba Angels’ original puppet club, the Zig Zag Crew, was decimated in a major police project that saw the arrests of many of its members in December, 2009. The Redlined started taking over responsibilities, cops say. But the Rock Machine — first sited in Winnipeg in 2008 at a Notre Dame Avenue hotel with four people wearing “Rock Machine Nomads” vests — had other plans.
By January 2010, the violent feud between the Rock Machine and its rivals had erupted, police say, and the tensions boiled over in the summer of 2011 with more than a dozen shootings and fire bombings in a battle over drug turf.
But court documents suggest there was far more gunfire, arsons and assaults that were kept private.
“Since January 2010 there have been in excess of 20 reported and almost as many unreported incidents of violence between the Redlined/Hells Angels and Rock Machine,” the documents said.
In November, 2011, a makeshift bomb was tossed at the home of a Hells Angel in the middle of the night. The device, which looked like it was made out of shotgun shells and ballbearings, extinguished without detonating and without injuring anyone. No one called the cops.
Later that same day, a man was beaten, court documents state. He declined medical treatment.
The documents, prepared by police as part of the application to stick roughly 10 members of Hells Angels and Redlined under crime prevention-related peace bonds, suggest members gather intelligence on enemies and “have assembled in convoys to go on the hunt for rival Rock Machine members,” court documents state.
Sometimes, these “hunting missions” culminate at an enemy’s property in a home invasion, dubbed “knock knock ginger man,” the court documents state.
Last month, Winnipeg police busted nine alleged Hells Angels and Redlined members in Project Flatlined — a clear dig at the name of the friend club.
In spite of the arrests, police believe the conflict is anything but over.
“The war has been quiet in the past few months, but the rivalry is still existent and it appears the Rock Machine outlaw motorcycle gxxg are still intent on expanding their presence here and across Canada,” police wrote.
“More violence is predicted between these groups.”
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/04/18/cops-dont-expect-biker-war-silence-to-continue