That being so, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies ruled Thursday that the director of civil decomposition had not determined that clubhouses “play an important role in enabling and empowering members of the Hells Angels to engage in serious crime for financial gain” .In addition, Davies noted that the government agency had not specified evidence that the Angels were an international criminal network.
Similarly, the Supreme Court judge also indicated that while the director presented evidence of crimes inside the East End clubhouse in the mid-2000s, they were kites by people with no evidence that they were kites for the benefit of the Hells Angels as an organization.
13 years full of inconclusive evidence
Notably, the long-standing civil case began in November 2007 when the RCMP raided the Nanaimo club headquarters. In 2012, the civil breakdown case was expanded to include the East End and Kelowna clubs. The Hells Angels countered the government, claiming that the Civil Decomposition Act is unconstitutional.
Likewise, during the yearlong Vancouver trial, Davies heard from the police, the former Toronto Hells Angel turned police officer Dave Atwell and Micheal Plante, who infiltrated the Angels for the police in BC. And BC Hells Angels Rick Ciarniello and Damiano Dipopolo will take over for their club.
Similarly, Davies accepted Plante’s testimony of drug and other crimes that took place within the club’s headquarters at 3598 East Georgia St. in Vancouver. Still, he said criminal activity was not enough to seize the three properties.
Davies also overturned part of the Civil Decomposition Act that allows assets to be confiscated based on their possible future use for illegal activities, saying the provision fell outside of provincial jurisdiction.
Phil Tawtel, executive director of the Office of Civil Forfeiture, said he was not yet able to comment on the possibility of an appeal.
The director provided the criminal records of 15 Hells Angels or associates linked to all three chapters for a myriad of crimes, including involuntary manslaughter, trafficking, cocaine import conspiracy, extortion, firearm crimes, and assault.
Source: Kim Bolan | National Post
No comments:
Post a Comment