OFF THE WIRE
Members of the Toronto Hells Angels can expect gold and diamond jewelry, clothing and a hand-carved grandfather clock this Christmas season from an unlikely source — the Crown Attorney’s office.
All club paraphernalia with the Hells Angels logo that was seized by police from the outlaw bikers during raids in April 2007 must be returned by the Crown, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
The decision comes 18 months after a marathon trial in which members of the downtown Toronto Angels’ chapter were found not guilty of being members of a criminal organization — even though they were convicted of other criminal charges, including conspiracy to traffic cocaine and the date rape drug GHB.
Gold rings and belt buckles popping with diamonds were seized by police, along with club pins, vests, calendars, bumper stickers, T-shirts, toques and a hand-carved grandfather clock.
Each of the items bore the trademarked “death head” emblem of the biker club, which can only be sported or owned by full members.
The Crown had argued that all items with the distinctive winged skull emblem were “offence-related property” with the power to intimidate.
In her ruling, Judge Maureen Forestell noted that the bikers don’t need special jewelry or clothing in order to commit crimes.
To the contrary, there’s a club rule that calls upon members to doff club emblems when breaking the law, the judge wrote.
“The evidence … disclosed, and I find, that there was a rule that members were not permitted to wear HAMC (Hells Angels Motorcycle Club) insignia when committing offences,” she wrote.
The judge noted that membership in the biker club was a potent force in criminal circles and that members didn’t have to sport their vests or flash items with the death head logo to be taken seriously.
“No item bearing a symbol of membership was used as an assurance of trustworthiness,” she wrote. “The participants in the transactions knew each other to be members and had no need of such property as a sign of membership.”
She noted that the club bars police officers and former police officers from membership, and also has rules against cheating in drug deals, reporting crimes to police and testifying in court against anyone.
“The evidence demonstrates that membership in the HAMC provided vendors of illegal drugs with a relatively trustworthy pool of clients,” she wrote. “Membership provided purchasers of illegal drugs with trustworthy vendors. I use the word ‘trustworthy’ to mean persons who were less likely to be police, to speak to the police, and to ‘cheat’ on a deal.”
Crown prosecutor Jeremy Streeter had little to say about the ruling, which was released last week.
“We have no comment, except to note that ... Her Honour finds that membership in the Hells Angels was used to commit the offences, but that, on the facts of this case, the specific property in question was not used to commit the offences,” Streeter said in an email.
Craig Bottomley, who represented the bikers, hailed the decision as an important one for the bikers and anyone else interested in property rights.
“This was an important win for the club and it serves to reinforce the verdict delivered by the jury, that the Hells Angels are not a criminal organization,” Bottomley said. “The court delivered a message in this case: emblems and symbols cannot be inherently criminal and the government must tie property directly to specific offences before it can take that property from citizens.
“This is not just a win for the Hells Angels, it is a win for property rights.”
Even though club members are getting back their black leather vests and jewelry, the victory is still a bittersweet one for the bikers.
Forestell ruled earlier this year that their former clubhouse, a fortified building in south Riverdale, must be forfeited to the Crown.
While the bikers get back their vests and jewelry, the clubhouse itself was found to be offence-related property, providing a safe haven for illegal activity.
The building was appraised at between $600,000 and $700,000, with an outstanding mortgage of $41,000, which is in default.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/1296588--hells-angels-give-bikers-their-gear-back-judge-orders-crown
