A former member of the Hells Angels who is testifying in a case involving three of the group’s B.C. clubhouses says illegal activity was discussed at the Toronto clubhouse he attended.
Thursday was the third day of testimony from David Atwell in the B.C. Supreme Court case. Mr. Atwell – who in 2005 became a police agent and is now in witness protection – has testified by video, and earlier told the court he joined the Hells Angels to follow his friends. He has testified he did not become a police agent for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he ultimately earned and has repeatedly disputed statements made in a book for which he is listed as a co-author.
B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office has argued that three Hells Angels clubhouses – in Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo – should be forfeited because they are likely to be used to plan crimes. Lawyers for the Hells Angels have not yet opened their case, but are expected to argue that a section of the province’s civil forfeiture legislation is unconstitutional. The trial began last week.
On Thursday, defence lawyer Joseph Arvay asked Mr. Atwell about statements in the book – which is written as if it is Mr. Atwell speaking in the first person – that indicated the Toronto Hells Angels did not conduct business in their clubhouse.
Mr. Atwell said he was interviewed for the book but did not write it and said illegal activity was absolutely discussed at the downtown Toronto headquarters.
“I’ve done lines of cocaine; I’ve discussed drug deals in the clubhouse,” he told the court.
Mr. Atwell went on to say many of the drug transactions police instructed him to arrange originated in the clubhouse. He said he also heard others discuss drug trafficking.
Counsel for the Civil Forfeiture Office has argued one of the main purposes of the Hells Angels is the facilitation or commission of serious offences that are likely to benefit the group. The office has said the Hells Angels pursues those benefits through a brand that is in part associated with violence and intimidation.
The impact of Mr. Atwell’s testimony, involving a Hells Angels clubhouse in another province more than a decade ago, remains to be seen.
Mr. Atwell has said he was a prospective member of a motorcycle club known as the Para-Dice Riders when it and other groups “patched over” and became chapters of the Hells Angels. He previously said he became a full-patch member of the Hells Angels in 2000, but on Thursday said he believed it was 2001.
Mr. Arvay questioned Mr. Atwell earlier in the week about the $500,000 he made as a police agent. (The Civil Forfeiture Office is paying Mr. Atwell $75,000 to testify in the B.C. case.)
Mr. Atwell said he agreed to work with police – his efforts resulted in several convictions – because he “wasn’t happy with the club and what they stood for.”
He said when he entered into the contract to become a police agent he didn’t know how much money he would receive and was surprised by the figure.
“I thought, ‘This is too good to be true.’ I pinched myself, this is a lot of dough,” he said.
Mr. Atwell on Thursday testified he had seen weapons at the Toronto clubhouse, but did not have firsthand knowledge of a large arsenal.
He said he had two primary concerns when he agreed to join the Hells Angels: He did not want to kill anyone and did not want to pay 10 per cent of his earnings to the group. He did not have to do either, he said.