BN- London Police say the victim of a deadly shooting early Sunday was a member of the Gate Keepers, a support club for the Hells Angels....
49-year-old Steve Sinclair (pictured) — described by those who knew him as a devoted partner, loving father, and loyal friend — died in hospital on Sunday, not long after he was shot outside a small club he’d been operating for the past two years on Hamilton Road, near Gore Road.
The club was often frequented by others linked to outlaw motorcycle clubs.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Police had yet to apprehend a suspect in connection with London’s sixth homicide of the year, leading to concern from a leading biker expert.
“The potential for escalation is huge right now,” said Yves Lavigne who’s written several books about the Hells Angels, and has numerous biker sources.
“If this violence continues, then the Hells Angels have to react to this killing. If they don’t, then who will want to work for them? If people face death, and the Angels don’t go to bat for them afterwards, people won’t work for them.” he said.
The Gate Keepers have at least two chapters in southern Ontario, four chapters in Nova Scotia, and “do as directed by the Hells Angels,” biker experts say. The support club is used to insulate Hells Angels members from criminal activity or prosecution, often by “taking the fall or doing things for them to make them money,” according to the OPP’s biker enforcement unit.
London Police said Tuesday they’ve yet to establish a motive for Sunday’s shooting, and refused to say whether it was linked to biker or gang activity.
Still, they share Lavigne’s concerns about possible retaliation.
“We’re always concerned about further violence, and we put measures in place to mitigate that as best we can.” said Detective Inspector Kevin Heslop with the London Police Service.
“We monitor outlaw motorcycle gangs on a routine basis in a number of different ways. We have a provincial biker enforcement unit — there’s a unit here in London consisting of members of the OPP, London Police, and the RCMP. They’re also monitored by our own organized crimes section, and members of the uniform division.” he said.
Hundreds of bikers, including members of the Gate Keepers and Hells Angels, rode past the crime scene — and the victim’s home — on Monday night in tribute to the deceased.
“You don’t see that too often, that quickly, ” said Lavigne. “But I think the Angels realized they needed to have a show of force, which is also a show of respect for the deceased, but also a show of force for the people who killed him.”
A search for the individual who pulled the trigger continued Tuesday with very little in the way of specifics.
The suspect is described only as a black male, aged 18 to 22 years old, approximately 5’8 to 5’11, with a slim build. The gun used in Sunday’s shooting has yet to be recovered, and the suspect who remains at large “may be armed,” Police said.
Officers initially arrested five people at the scene, but it was later determined none of them had anything to do with the shooting. One was released unconditionally, while the remaining four are facing unrelated drug possession charges.
Back in 2012, five businesses in London — several of them with biker connections — were torched, and two people were shot, including a full-patch member of the Hells Angels. Police later said the violence was related to a turf war involving the illegal drug trade in London between the Hells Angels, and various street gangs.
There’s been relatively little in the way of activity since.
“They like to fly under the radar — the more Police attention they draw, the more charges are laid, more people are locked up, and that interrupts their business, so that’s primarily why they’re laying low,” said Detective Inspector Heslop.
“They’re just as busy as they used to be.”
More: http://www.am980.ca/2015/09/08/53675/
