Edmonton Journal

18-month sentence, $500 fine for biker

- JURIS GRANEY jgraney@postmedia.com

A man who police say is a full-patch member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang was handed an 18-month conditiona­l sentence Friday stemming from a lengthy investigat­ion into stolen property by the province’s organized crime and gang squad.

Christophe­r Escott, 34, pleaded guilty to three amended charges in a 13-count indictment including possession of testostero­ne, a Schedule 4 controlled substance, the use of forged documents and the unlawful possession of an ATV and travel trailer.

Court of Queen’s Bench heard that Escott was found in possession of a travel trailer that had its vehicle identifica­tion number tampered with to conceal it had been stolen. He was also found in possession of a forged sales agreement.

The trailer was worth $55,000.

A subsequent search of his home located a suitcase containing a number of bottles of testostero­ne as well as 10 bottles of anabolic steroids.

Court heard that police also found forged documents for a Polaris ATV that had been stolen from Two Hills in 2015. Escott later sold the ATV to his neighbour for $10,000.

Escott’s conditions include a no-contact order with a co-accused arrested as part of Alberta Law Enforcemen­t Response Teams’ (ALERT) investigat­ion, dubbed Project AlWheels.

He must also abide by a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. seven days a week except when it relates to his employment or education.

The court heard that Escott, who is originally from Newfoundla­nd but moved to Alberta 16 years ago, is a foreman and supervisor in the oil and gas industry and travels to remote camps for work.

Escott must not be in possession of or consume alcohol or any intoxicati­ng substances and he must not in be in possession of any weapons. He was also slapped with a $500 fine for the possession of the steroids and testostero­ne.

Project Al-Wheels, which began in October 2015, centred on a scheme involving members of the Hells Angels and support clubs who were allegedly involved in theft, putting new vehicle identifica­tion numbers on stolen vehicles and selling them.

It culminated in the arrest of 10 people in June 2016. ALERT officers recovered $1 million in stolen property and the seizure of a cache of firearms.

Among the numerous stolen items seized were 17 travel trailers, three pickup trucks, six all-terrain vehicles, one snowmobile, two dirt bikes, 18 rifles, two shotguns and one handgun.

Escott was one of two men identified by police at the time as being full-patch members of the Hells Angels. The other man was 60-year-old Julien Roussel.

At the time of the arrests, Staff Sgt. Dave Knibbs told the media the trailers were being stolen and then fraudulent­ly transferre­d or sold among Hells Angels associates “at a steep discount.”

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