Making a statement
Police arrest members of Hells Angels hangaround club in Charlottetown for allegedly running illegal lottery
Members of P.E.I.’s Organized Crime Task Force hope they’ve shut down the Hells Angels hangaround club in Charlottetown for good.
OCTF arrested who they believe are all nine members of the Charlottetown club (affiliated with the Woodbridge hangaround chapter in Ontario) for allegedly operating an illegal lottery.
They were arrested as they came out of their weekly meeting at the hangaround club on Fitzroy Street on Wednesday night. The news was made public at a press conference at Charlottetown Police Service headquarters on Thursday. All nine members now face three charges under the Criminal Code’s organized crime legislation.
Each of them was charged with one count of taking in money for “games of chance,” such as ticket draws and poker runs, with prizes awarded to the winner without being granted a lottery licence from the province. Each member also faces one charge relating to participating in activities of a criminal organization and one charge which relates to the commission of an offence for a criminal organization.
The nine members — all Islanders — were identified as Ian Roulston Kennedy, 53; Corey Gordon Falls, 29; Robert “Bobby Vernon Falls, 62; Kenneth MacLeod, 48; Ronald Joseph Dean Cook, 45; Brad Charles Gallant, 25; Blake Edward Culleton, 34; Shawn Gregory Paquet, 29; and Tristan Edward Watts, 19. “We would hope so,” Brad MacConnell, deputy police chief with Charlottetown Police Services, said when asked if the arrests could signal the end of the Hells Angels’ ties to P.E.I.
“Certainly, these charges have to go before the court. We’re confident charges will be laid, and an investigation will be done.
“They were selling tickets to the public. Those details will come out as the investigation goes through the court process.’’ OCTF is made up of Charlottetown Police Service, Summerside Police Service, Kensington Police Service, the RCMP’s federal investigation’s unit and CISPEI. All nine members spent the night Wednesday before appearing before a justice of the peace on Thursday. They were all released on the condition that they have no contact with each other and stay away from the clubhouse at 205 Fitzroy St. The immediate area of the clubhouse was cordoned off with police tape Wednesday night, and police, armed with carbine rifles, made the arrests shortly after 9 p.m. “These arrests should come as no surprise to the accused or members of our community,’’ MacConnell said. “Island law enforcement, with the support of government at all levels, are committed to preventing organized crime groups such as Hells Angels and Bacchus from operating in our communities.’’
In addition to the arrests, OCTF seized a large amount of cash (MacConnell wouldn’t say how much), club vests, cellphones, ledgers and one knife. Even though none of the items are illegal to possess, they were on display to the media Thursday because all of the items were related to criminal activity.