Hells Angels roll in to mourn slain Sooke man as police watch
They were there for the thunder — the rumble of 200 motorcycles rolling into Langford as the Hells Angels wrapped up a memorial ride — but the reality was somewhat less than thunderous.
Police had predicted as many as 200 bikers — many full-patch members of the Hells Angels — would take part in the ride for slain prospect Mike Widner, but a little more than half that number came out.
“It’s a thrill. Just the power,” said Sharion Bennett, of Metchosin, who watched the bikers from the sidewalk on Spencer Road. When Bennett, who rode a Harley in her younger days, heard about the ride from Nanaimo, she had to come see them arrive. “I love it,” she said.
Widner, a Sooke resident, was a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels. His body was found March 12 on the Pacific Marine route near Port Renfrew, three days after he was reported missing by his mother, Reta Acorn.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit is investigating the killing, which police believe was targeted. No arrests have been announced.
Before the ride, Acorn said the Hells Angels had invited her to watch and she planned to attend.
“I feel they’ve been very supportive of me,” said Acorn, who lives in Sooke.
Hells Angels members also attended a service for Widner on March 25, she said.
Acorn said she did not resent the motorcycle gang for any potential link between Widner’s involvement with it and his death.
“I don’t know anything about his involvement with them” she said. “I don’t feel any anger toward them about it. The police are still investigating, and there is no proof that they had anything to do with anything.”
Saturday’s ride left the Nanaimo Hells Angels headquarters about midday and was monitored by police the whole way.
The motorcyclists didn’t arrive en masse, but in groups ranging in size from two to 20. The first wave arrived at the Langford Devils Army biker clubhouse — a suspected Hells Angels puppet club — about 2:15 p.m.
About a half-dozen full-patch members arrived in a white stretch limo.
A police helicopter was circling overhead and several officers were on the ground.
While there were some minor motor-vehicle infractions, there were no major incidents, said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien.
He said the police operations plan, which had Island RCMP and officers from B.C.’s anti-gang task force monitoring the ride, worked well. The day provided a good opportunity to collect intelligence, “because it allows us to figure out who’s who and who’s communicating with who.”
O’Brien said the amount of police resources invested in the event was worth it and noted that police “had to be prepared for anything” on the day of the ride.
He expected some bikers to return to the mainland and Nanaimo on Saturday night, while others would stay in Langford. Police planned to continue to monitor their activities, he said.