Winnipeg Biker Wars.....

Biker war brews in Winnipeg 2

Monday, July 11, 2011 3:11:48 EDT

WINNIPEG - A biker war is brewing in Winnipeg and is about to boil over as the Rock Machine attempts to take over turf once dominated by the Hells Angels, sources and experts say.

The street-level enforcers of the outlaw motorcycle gangs are suspected over the past two weeks in a series of firebombings and shootings, including one that put an innocent 14-year-old boy in hospital with gunshot wounds, sources say.

“Bikers are very territorial and when their territory is breached, that’s when violence happens,” Det.-Sgt. Len Isnor, with the Ontario Provincial Police biker enforcement unit, said.

The Rock Machine and Hells Angels clashed in a drug-trade feud in Quebec during the 1990s that left about 160 people dead.

When the original Rock Machine folded in 2000, most remaining members moved over to the Bandidos, but some defected to the Hells Angels.

In 2008, Sean “Dog” Brown relaunched the Rock Machine, using the same eagle-head logo but different colours.

At the time, Brown claimed the group is no threat to any other gang, particularly the Hells Angels, and was reportedly staying clear of drugs and Quebec. He was ousted in November and has reportedly joined the Vagos, a biker gang that’s relatively new to Canada.

In Winnipeg, the Rock Machine has operated quietly for several years, suspected of having a small presence as it was in start up stages in 2008, moving in to fill the vacuum left by the demise of the Bandidos and a series of police projects that jailed dozens of Hells Angels associates, a source said.

The Rock Machine flew under the radar, for the most part, until a then-member was lured to a south Winnipeg auto body shop in January 2010, and badly beaten by members of the Redlined Support Crew and prospects of the Hells Angels.

Recently, the Rock Machine has been growing its ranks, say sources and online postings.

“The last little while, they’ve expanded and they were feeling very comfortable,” another source said.

Some of the latest Rock Machine additions include former members of the Zig Zag Crew and individuals formerly aligned with the Hells Angels. That means for some members, the problems with the Hells Angels are “personal,” the source said.

Not unlike the Rock Machine’s former leader, the local chapter is going to pains to deny involvement with the recent violence. The lawyer for Jean Paul (J.P.) Beaumont, an alleged Rock Machine member, told QMI Agency his client is “disgusted” that children and women have been put at risk — a reference to a shooting in which bullets ended up hitting a 14-year-old boy and sailing right past the bed of a sleeping mother of two.

“He completely denies the Rock Machine motorcycle club’s involvement. In fact, he also feels the Rock Machine have been targets, as opposed to the aggressors,” Eric Wach said earlier this week.

In a rare move, members also spoke this week to a local TV station and echoed the sentiments.

“We want to ride our bikes and wear our patches. We don’t want our kids walking down our front lawn and taking a bullet,” CTV quoted a Rock Machine spokesman as saying.

Recent violence in the feud between the Rock Machine and the Redlined Support Crew

JULY 4

A 14-year-old boy is shot inside a townhouse. He survives but spends days in hospital. The bullets spray a second property, flying through the wall right next to a bed where a mother of two was fast asleep.

JUNE 29

A St. Vital home connected to reputed Rock Machine president Joseph “Jay” Strachan is shot up and firembombed. No one is hurt.

JUNE 28

A Windsor Park home is struck by bullets. No injuries were reported.

JUNE 27

A flare is shot through the window of an Elmwood home belonging to a Redlined member, possibly in a bid to burn the place down.

Sources say there are other violent acts — including shootings and firebombings — that police have not made public.