Alleged killers of Hells Angel member appear in court

Toronto, Ontario (August 6, 2019) BTN — Two young men charged with murdering Hardside Hells Angel Suminder “Ali” Grewal will appear in Surrey Provincial Court Tuesday morning.

Calvin Junior Powery-Hooker, 20, and Nathan James De Jong, 21, were arrested minutes after Grewal was shot to death in the drive-thru of a Starbucks in South Surrey about 9:20 a.m. Friday morning. Each faces one count of first-degree murder, Sgt. Frank Jang, of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said late Saturday.

Members of the Hells Angels, including members of affiliated support clubs, attend the funeral for slain HA Hardside chapter member Chad Wilson, at the Maple Ridge Alliance Church. Photo: Jason Payne

He said IHIT and its partners have been working continuously since Grewal’s murder and “have forwarded their findings so far in the investigation for charge approval consideration to the B.C. Prosecution Service.”

“The two accused men are known to police and investigators are firm in their belief that this was a targeted incident,” he said. “We urge anyone who had recent contact with Calvin Powery-Hooker and/or Nathan De Jong to contact IHIT as soon as possible. IHIT is appealing to the public for dash cam video from drivers who were travelling along 152 Street between 32 Avenue and 96 Avenue around the time of the shooting.”

Neither Powery-Hooker or De Jong have any criminal history in B.C., according to the online court data base. But Powery-Hooker faced an aggravated assault and unlawful confinement charge in St. Albert, Alberta two years ago. The charges were then stayed in January 2018. He was referred to at the time as a resident of Edmonton.


De Jong also appears to be from the Edmonton area. Grewal, 43, was shot to death as he sat in his Dodge Viper in the 3000-block of 152 Street, surrounded by other vehicles and passers-by. Jang said earlier that Grewal died at the scene.

“Immediately following the shooting, members of the public phoned police with information regarding a suspect vehicle which was quickly passed on to all officers. Frontline officers of the Surrey RCMP, members of CFSEU’s Uniformed Gang Enforcement Team and Police Service Dog Garner of the Integrated Police Dog Services (IPDS) responded promptly and were able to intercept the suspect vehicle and subsequently arrest two men in connection with the earlier homicide,” Jang said.

He said investigators are doing a neighbourhood canvass searching for video surveillance footage and witnesses. “IHIT’s crime scene manager will be working with forensic specialists from the Integrated Forensic Identification Services to complete a fulsome forensic examination of the suspect vehicle and the physical evidence collected at the scene of the shooting,” he said.

“Mr. Grewal was a well-established member of an organized crime group and it is believed that his homicide was targeted. IHIT will be engaging with numerous gang enforcement units throughout the Lower Mainland region that will be working to mitigate any on-going violence.”

Personal property records show Grewal leased or purchased on credit a Dodge Viper from Langley’s Willowbrook Motors on Sept. 10, 2015. Last November, Chad Wilson, 43, another member of the Hells Angels Hardside chapter, was found murdered under the Golden Ears Bridge. IHIT continues to investigate that murder.

Grewal and Wilson were both former members of the club’s Haney chapter in Pitt Meadows before helping form the Surrey-based Hardside chapter in early 2017. Mounties in Surrey reviewed all legal means to block the setting up of a clubhouse, but had no legal authority to deny anyone from purchasing or renting a residence.

Police are still probing several theories in connection with the Nov. 18, 2018 slaying of Wilson. Grewal was the Hardside Hells Angel who created a formal link between his chapter and the volatile Brothers Keepers gang. That alliance meant that conflicts the Brothers had with other clubs or over specific incidents of violence could then become issues for Grewal, too.

The Brothers Keepers has had a more direct involvement in shootings and murders that have become part of what police describe as the Lower Mainland gang conflict. Dang said that despite the arrests made Grewal’s shooting, “there is much work ahead for our detectives and partners this long weekend.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Gun and drugs found in Bandidos clubhouse raid

Melbourne, Australia (August 5, 2019) BTN —A man has been arrested after police seized a loaded firearm and drugs believed to be steroids from the Bandidos MC clubhouse in Melbourne's north.

The police raided properties in Brunswick and Doveton in Melbourne's south-east on Thursday as part of the anti-bikie Echo Taskforce.

The State Emergency Service assisted police with floodlights, as it was still dark, at an address on Weston Street in Brunswick on Thursday morning, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Along with the firearm and drugs, a 48-year-old man was subsequently arrested at the Brunswick property, and charged with possessing an unregistered handgun and unlicensed ammunition as well as a drug of dependence.

No one was arrested and no items were seized at the Doveton property.

Victoria Police said the two search warrants had been executed as part of an ongoing operation.

"Echo Taskforce detectives have executed two warrants this morning, one each in Brunswick and Doveton, as part of an ongoing operation," a spokeswoman said. "As the investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

The clubhouse has been the scene of violence in the past.

Former Bandidos enforcer Toby Mitchell was shot by two gunmen in an attempted hit outside the Brunswick clubhouse in 2011.

In 2014 a drunken passerby was beaten to death after taunting a dog tied up outside the clubhouse.

Echo Taskforce was launched in 2011 to tackle Victoria's outlaw bikie gangs.

SOURCE: The Age

Hells Angels play softball for local charity

Clemson, South Carolina, USA (August 1, 2019) BTN — It’s day three of the summer rally for the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Clemson.

On Wednesday, the bikers took to the field to play softball for a local charity. The east coast bikers played against the west coast to raise money for the Pickens County Advocacy Group.

Related | Hells Angels MC members gathering today

There was some concern from the community as the “outlaw motorcycle club” headed to town, but we heard from a local “Hells Angels” biker for the first time who said it’s been a great week.

“All I can say is we are having a good time here in Clemson and everything’s been great,” said Phil Sierputowski.

Sierputowski tells 7News that the club picked Clemson for their annual rally because it’s the home of the national champions.


There was extra security on hand from Clemson Police and several federal agencies due to the crowds.

The bikers will have their last official event Wednesday evening, but officials anticipate many staying through the end of the week.

SOURCE: 7News

Defendants point fingers for killing Outlaws president

Tampa, Florida, USA (July 31, 2019) BTN – Two men this week will stand trial in the 2017 assassination of a rival motorcycle club leader who authorities said was shot and killed while sitting in his pickup truck in rush hour traffic in Pasco County.

The two defendants, Christopher “Durty” Cosimano, 31, and Michael “Pumpkin” Mencher, 52, are both alleged members of the Hillsborough County chapter of the 69’ers Motorcycle Club.

They sat together at the defense table as their murder trial started Tuesday. But their lawyers told jurors that someone else was to blame for the slaying of Paul Anderson, 44, president of the Cross Bayou chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club:

Mencher’s attorney told the jury that Cosimano shot Anderson.

Cosimano’s attorney said someone else — he did not say who — was responsible.

But prosecutors said it was Cosimano who pulled the trigger, and if he missed then Mencher was there to finish the job.

Related | Outlaws MC President was killed over club colors

Related | Outlaws MC President gunned down in Florida, suspects arrested

Related | Sheriff: Motorcycle MC member targeted in deadly shooting in Florida

Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie Adams walked the 16-person jury through the Dec. 21, 2017 assassination and the violent feud that led to it. Cosimano and Mencher rode motorcycles behind Anderson, tracking him. Both carried loaded guns, prosecutors say, and wore masks to hide their faces.

When Anderson took an exit on the Suncoast Parkway and stopped at a red traffic light near State Road 54, Cosimano walked up to the truck’s window, tapped on the glass, then shot the Outlaws leader several times with a Glock 45 semiautomatic pistol, according to prosecutors. “He was dead with his foot on the brake, and a phone in his hand,” said Adams as Cosimano and Mencher looked on, quietly.

The state accused Mencher of being Cosimano’s backup, prepared to kill Anderson if the 69’ers’ president messed up the hit. Anderson, the Outlaw leader, was killed “to claim territory, to demand respect,” Adams said. But Cosimano and Mencher’s attorneys challenged the state’s account of what happened and what motivated the shooting.

Defense attorney Anne Borghetti said her client, Mencher, was told by Cosimano that he wanted to go riding on Dec. 17, 2017. That’s all.

Cosimano never mentioned anything about Anderson, she said, or any plan to execute him. She also tried to minimize Mencher’s ties to the 69’ers, saying the gang treated him poorly, even sometimes leaving him behind at club events. They called Mencher “the village idiot,” she said, and Cosimano’s plan “was to blame Michael Mencher” for the shooting.

Cosimano’s attorney, J. Jervis Wise, said someone else executed Anderson in 2017, but did not name that person. Instead, he described the incident as a “rogue act” that the leader didn’t know about. The attorney said prosecutors are relying on testimony from 69’ers members who will do anything they can to reduce their jail time for involvement in the case.

“They will tell the government what they think the government wants to hear,” Wise said.

Both Cosimano and Mencher faces charges of first-degree murder and a slew of related charges, including conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity and use of a firearm in a crime of violence causing death. If convicted, each faces up to life in prison. Mencher also faces drug-related charges for his involvement in a cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine ring that prosecutors accuse the 69’ers of running.


Members of the 69’ers, including at least one who has already pleaded guilty to charges related to this case, are expected to testify on behalf of the government, the state told jurors. Three members of the 69’ers — Allan Burt “Big Beefy” Guinto, Erick Richard “Big E” Robinson and Cody James “Little Savage” Wesling — were indicted along with Cosimano and Mencher and accused of taking part in the plot to kill Anderson. They took plea deals earlier this year.

Authorities said the 2017 murder of Anderson was part of an escalating conflict between local chapters of two prominent and motorcycle clubs, the Outlaws and the 69’ers, whose Hillsborough branch called itself the “Killsborough” chapter.

The trial is expected to take three weeks.

SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times