OFF THE WIRE
Many of its members may be behind bars, but the Zig Zag Crew is anything but defunct, according to court documents obtained by the Winnipeg Sun.
And the Zig Zags could end up being one of two "friend" gxxgs supporting the Hells Angels in Manitoba, recently released court documents suggest.
The original so-called Hells Angels puppet club saw its ranks decimated in December 2009 in a police bust dubbed Project Divide. The Redlined quickly stepped in, tasked with battling a war in Winnipeg over drug turf with the rival Rock Machine, police have said. The feud heated up last summer with a series of shootings, firebombings and beatings.
Police suggest the local Hells Angels could wind up having two "friend" gxxgs as Zig Zag Crew associates are slowly released from prison, according to an affidavit filed by gang cops in Project Flatlined, a police operation targeting a specific cell of the Redlined and Hells Angels using surveillance and intercepted phone calls and text messages.
One of the conversations quietly captured by police involved the alleged president of the local HA, Dale Sweeney, talking on the phone to two other members in prison. One of the men alludes to a Zig Zag member's beef.
"...He thinks maybe one of them might've called the cops on him, he doesn't know," Dale Donovan was quoted in court documents as saying.
"Yeah, well, the real, I can't get into it much over the phone, but the reality is those guys just have to get along," Sweeney was quoted as replying during the Oct. 15, 2011 conversation.
There's two sides to every story, Sweeney was quoted as saying, suggesting they should meet for coffee.
"I just kind of said that they have to get along and if there's an issue, well, sit down like men and work it out, right... We're men, we don't fight each other, we're not kids," Sweeney reportedly said. He is behind bars after being arrested in mid-March during Project Flatlined.
A local gang expert suggests the Hells Angels are poised to have both "friend" gxxgs operating in the city.
"I believe that Sweeney is speaking on behalf of the Redlined and expressing that he is 'blessing' the union, integration or co-existence of the Zig Zag Crew members with the Redlined," wrote Det. Grant Goulet of the Winnipeg police organized crime unit in the affidavit used to pursue a peace bond against Cory Pinnel, an alleged member of the Redlined.
Redlined members have apparently received accolades on their handling of the war with Rock Machine rivals from Zig Zag Crew associates who are currently locked up, the report suggests.
The clash between the Rock Machine and the Redlined has led to more than 50 acts of violence since January 2010, gang cops wrote in a separate court report dated February, 2012.
REDLINED ARRESTED
Gang cops have quietly arrested the reputed president of the Redlined, the “friend” gang of the local Hells Angels chapter, the Winnipeg Sun has learned.
Sources say Justin MacLeod was arrested at Stony Mountain Penitentiary, where he is serving time for a firearms conviction.
MacLeod, 32, is facing a long list of new charges, including six different criminal organization offences, producing crack cocaine and drug trafficking.
The man was swept up as part of Project Flatlined, which targeted the Redlined gxxg and several senior Manitoba Hells Angels.
The Redlined were the “soldiers” for the Hells in the so-called war with the Rock Machine. The feud, which started in early 2010, heated up last summer with a series of firebombings and shootings.
Last February, MacLeod was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for possessing a restricted firearm. The mandatory minimum is 3 years.
On Feb.3, 2010, cops found a loaded semi-automatic handgun in a dog run at an Elmwood home MacLeod was living in at the time. He was behind bars for a month after the initial arrest but was free on bail until the case was dealt with in February, 2012.
The gun was wrapped in plastic to protect it from the elements, and it was guarded by a dog, court heard.
“It was not lying on a table in transit between a gun club. This was a situation where it was purposely, and solme ways, a very smart fashion, hidden outside as far away from the house as it could be, but still under the guard of a Rottweiler,” said the Crown.
MacLeod’s lawyer, Danny Gunn, argued there was no proof of how the gun ended up in the yard and noted there was no evidence the firearm had been used.
Ultimately, the judge found MacLeod guilty of possessing the handgun, tampering with the serial number on the firearm and breaching a previous court-ordered weapons ban.
On the latest round of charges, MacLeod appeared at a hearing in front of a justice of peace and was then returned to the prison north of Winnipeg.
His next court date is June 11.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/05/21/new-life-to-old-biker-gang