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4 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 18, 2001 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" FLT a] Police fear next biker "turf war" in Durham Region From Page 1 Another group gaining prominence, according to intel- ligence officers, are The Fallin' Ones. The presence of such groups also adds to the load for rank-and-file officers, according to Superintendent Jim Lockwood of Durham Police Crime Management unit. "This is a new twist in the road for us," Supt. Lockwood said. "These more formally aligned street gangs are a major concern for our regular enforcement officers, but we are acting as eyes and ears for our units tasked with watching the (biker) clubs. The public needs to take this seriously." Combined with the fact that members of the second largest outlaw bike club in the world, the Bandido's, have been sighted in Durham locations over the past few months and the stabbing'early last week, police are gearing up and warning the public to be alert. Durham homicide investigators Rolf Klumm and Mario Lessard are investigating the stabbing and will not say whether they have suspects, but do say they are looking at biker connections to the stabbing. "We know there were patch wearing members of clubs there and we feel it could have been a meeting," Det. Klumm said. "We do not start an investigation looking at one particular group, but we certainly go where the investigation takes us." Sources in the intelligence community believe that the member of the Bandidos may have "been sent a message to stay out of this area" during the Dec. 4 clash. In the five-year-old Quebec biker war such messages have led to reprisals and bombings by rival groups. North Durham, and in particular the Scugog and Uxbridge areas, have been a target of the Provincial Special Squad recently. The anti-biker task force, in which Durham Police play a major role, has been inter- ested in the area because of the so-called "patch-over" in December 2000 by members of Oshawa's Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club and the Para-Dice Riders Motorcycle Club, whose annual run to their Caesarea lakefront com- pound has drawn police attention for several years. Some police intelligence services, including the Wolverines Squad from Quebec, have stated in the past that the annual summer run to Caesarea has been used as a meeting location to plan the Hell's Angels move into Ontario. The Para-Dice Riders (now Hell's Angels) brought for- 433333 S33330Y) Wl Aly at J 3333 (asa 3333333323 «a8 ward a lawsuit against the Durham Regional Police Service in the mid-1990s in an attempt to stop the annu- al roadblocks by police and the inspection of riders and bikes as they made their way to the bash. They appealed a 1998 court ruling in favour of the police but dropped the appeal in October of 2000, just months before "patching-over" to the Hell's Angels . Staff-Sergeant Jim Douglass of North Durham's 26 RIK DAVIE PHOTOS Durham Regional Police officials, along with other police authorities across Ontario and into Quebec, are concerned that Durham Region may be the next battleground for the turf war between the Hell's Angels outlaw motorcycle gang and their rivals. Division, a veteran of major case management within the police service, said that his officers act as the eyes and ears for police intelligence units monitoring the Hell's Angels movements in North Durham. They also keep watch on the estimated 10 members of other bike clubs who live in the North Durham area, as well as their asso- ciates. "We are aware of who belongs to what and maintain a vigilance as to where these persons may be," Staff-Sgt. Douglass said. "Our officers are alert to changes or move- ments that may be of interest to other police units." With increased movement and apparent jockeying for control of territory has come a jump in activity by the street gang affiliates of the bike clubs. When asked if the street gangs and associates system allegedly evolving around the Angels was similar to a farm system used by hockey clubs, Det. McKinnon said, "Yes, | would have to say that is a very good description of how it works." This disturbs officers involved in youth crime and street level criminal activities. Durham Police Detective Clint Cole is the newly- appointed high school liaison officer for North Durham. This streetwise cop is a veteran of the Street Crime Unit and knows gang activities better than he would like to. "If parents feel this can't happen here with street gangs, they had better think again," Det. Cole said. "If it is happening in Newcastle it is happening here." Det. Cole said that it can be easier for gangs to attract teens in smaller towns to their activities. "There are fewer places a teen can go to find a group to fit in with in more rural areas," Det. Cole said. "For that reason, the kids who are not into sports or other activities find support and acceptance in the gang before they realize there is a price to pay for membership." It is the more public aspect of street gang and biker gang activities in Durham that are alerting police to the potential for a war. Durham Police recently charged a known member of the Oshawa Hell's Angels chapter with break and enter related charges, which eventually led the police service to execute a warrant on the club's house in downtown Oshawa last week. Regular officers and members of the Tactical Support Unit entered the residence without incident and police have not released any information on the outcome of the search. However, the arrest is leading police to believe that the club, and its affiliates, are showing, "a much higher profile than we are used to with these guys." Durham Police, while they say they are not attempting to alarm the public over the possibility of a "turf war" in North Durham, are asking the public to be vigilant. "We need the help of the public in this matter, as with any police investigation," Det. Rolf said. "Biker lore aside, these are crimes we investigate and the public can remain anonymous just as with any criminal activity they wish to report." In particular, police are interested in street level crimes and drug trafficking. "That is where the general public will notice that groups like these are making their presence felt in an area," Det. McKinnon said. "There will be an increase in property crime, drugs and other areas of crime." Police sources say that with over 130 patch-wearing members of the Hell's Angels and a growing number of Bandidos members in the province and with Durham becoming a ripe area for control, police are being more vigilant -- within their abilities. "If tomorrow | walked into work," Det. McKinnon said, "and | had twice the manpower and more money, well that would be a good day. But that isn't what will happen tomorrow, so we do the very best we can" Det. Klumm said that is where police and the public must come together, "This cannot be the realm of any one police group," Det. Klumm said. "The bike gang problem has to be taken on by every level of policing and every citizen to see that it is controlled." With several members of various clubs living in the Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock areas and at least two so- called "biker bunker" type structures located in the north, it can be expected that this area will continue to be a focus for police units. For now, the underfunded and understaffed men of the anti-biker units repeat a phrase attributed by Det. McKinnon to a local Angels member:"We didn't go into their backyards (Bandidos), they came into ours"... and they wait for the next move.