22







Monday, March 26, 2018

Chosen Few MC Clubhouse fire suspicious

Columbus, GA, USA (March 26, 2018) BTN — Local arson investigators are looking into an early Sunday morning fire at a midtown Columbus motorcycle club, Fire Marshal Ricky Shores said.

The call to Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services came just before 2 a.m. for the Chosen Few Motor Cycle Club at 1238 Midway Drive. Firefighters from the Brown Avenue and downtown stations were able to quickly bring situation under control and keep it from doing serious damage to the building, Shores said.

There were three separate fires started on the exterior of the building, Shores said, declining to go into additional details.

There was no one in the building at the time of the fire, but people had been there earlier in the evening, Shores said.

The Chosen Few Motorcycle Club on Midway Drive

The fire marshal called the fire suspicious, but declined to go into additional details.

No arrests have been made or charges filed, Shores said.

Chosen Few Motor Cycle Club is national organization with a Columbus chapter. The storefront on Midway Drive is a private club used by members.


Hand Sign


Family of shot biker still seeking justice 1 year later

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (March 25, 2018) BTN — This week will mark one year since a deadly shooting at a northwest Albuquerque car wash, in which Earl Roybal was killed while his motorcycle was drying in one of those car wash bays.


A year later, Roybal's family and friends say there has been no justice; the person who shot him hasn't been charged.
The district attorney's office reviewed the evidence and ruled that the March 26, 2017 shooting was in self-defense. Meanwhile, family members have hired a private investigator to review that evidence with the hopes that charges could still come in this case.

Earl Roybal

Now, they are doing what they can to keep his memory alive.

"We still don't feel justice was delivered in this case," said Raymond Gallegos of the New Mexico Motorcycle Rights Organization. "The DA did review the case. It was up to the DA to prosecute that, but we don't feel that the family saw justice. We don't feel that it was still a self-defense shooting. We don't feel like it was justifiable self-defense."

Roybal's loved ones will be gathering for a motorcycle ride and vigil on Monday. The ride will begin at Bullhead Park at 6:15 p.m. and go towards the Hose It Car Wash on Coors Boulevard, where they will gather for a candlelight vigil expected to start around 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Hells Angels murder case in Canada continues on

Nova Scotia, Canada (March 22, 2018) BTN — The Crown may seek to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada a ruling by Nova Scotia's highest court that quashed the convictions against one of the men accused in a Hells Angels murder nearly two decades ago.

Dean Daniel Kelsie, 45, was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the Oct. 3, 2000, shooting death of Sean Simmons in the lobby of an apartment building in north-end Dartmouth.

But last December, his convictions were overturned by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal and a new trial ordered.



On Thursday morning, Kelsie was brought into Nova Scotia Supreme Court to provide an update on his status. He told the judge his case has stalled because the Crown is still considering whether to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

"I think it's going to be pursued," Crown prosecutor Peter Craig said in reference to a possible appeal. "The ultimate decision hasn't yet been made."

Kelsie said until the Crown makes a decision on appeal, "My situation is stagnant."

"Three judges already quashed my sentence after 18 years in prison," Kelsie said, referring to the three-member Court of Appeal panel who ruled in December. Kelsie has been in custody since his arrest in 2001.
At Kelsie's first trial in 2003, the jury heard that Simmons was shot to death because he'd allegedly had an affair with a Hells Angel. Kelsie was accused of pulling the trigger.

Two other men, Neil William Smith and Wayne Alexander James, are both serving life sentences for their roles in Simmons's killing. A fourth man, Steven Gareau, was set free last month after a judge ended the prosecution against him.

Gareau had been twice found guilty of first-degree murder, but both convictions were overturned on appeal. Last month, Justice Campbell ruled that it would be unfair to subject Gareau to a third trial.

On Thursday, Kelsie told Justice Glen McDougall that Toronto lawyer Philip Campbell has agreed to represent him in his new trial, but that Campbell was unable to appear with him on this occasion.

Without Campbell present, McDougall agreed to a request to put Kelsie's matter over for two weeks to allow time to sort things out.