The Crown is seeking lengthy prison sentences for three men who were convicted in Nova Scotia Supreme Court of committing crimes on behalf of the Bacchus Motorcycle Club.
Patrick Michael James, 51, of Dartmouth; Duayne Jamie Howe, 49, of Grand Desert; and David John Pearce, 44, of High Level, Alta., were found guilty in June of threatening, intimidating, extorting and harassing a man who wanted to launch a motorcycle club in the Halifax area in 2012.
Justice Peter Rosinski also ruled that Bacchus met the Criminal Code definition of a criminal organization and that the trio committed the offences “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with” the club.
It’s the first time an outlaw motorcycle gang in the province has been declared a criminal organization by a judge.
James was sergeant-at-arms of the Halifax-Hants County chapter of Bacchus at the time, while Howe and Pearce were members.
A sentencing hearing for the men got underway Monday in Supreme Court in Halifax.
Crown attorney Glen Scheuer asked for a sentence of five to six years for James and 4.5 to 5.5 years for the other two men.
Defence lawyers argued for a two-year prison sentence for James, one year in jail for Howe, and six months behind bars for Pearce.
Scheuer described the defence recommendations as unfit and insufficient to satisfy the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation.
The judge reserved his decision until Nov. 7, saying “there’s been a lot of info provided.”
There are publication bans on the identity of the complainant and other civilians involved in the case.
According to the evidence at trial, the victim attempted to start a motorcycle club of his own design and later a chapter of the Montreal-based Brotherhood Motorcycle Club.
James was furious in late August 2012 after he saw Facebook pictures of the complainant and two friends in Montreal wearing one-piece Brotherhood patches on their vests.
James texted the complainant and then visited him at work the next day wearing his Bacchus colours. He threatened him and told him he had to destroy the Brotherhood patches and give them to him within a day. James also insisted that the Brotherhood post on its Facebook page that it did not have a chapter coming to Nova Scotia.
The complainant and the Brotherhood both complied with James’s demands.
On Sept. 14, 2012, the complainant rode his motorcycle to a Bikers Down Society fundraiser in Lower Sackville, where he was confronted by Howe and Pearce and accused of disrespecting Bacchus. The complainant was told that he would be beaten up if he ever rode a motorcycle or attended any motorcycle events in Nova Scotia.
The victim contacted police and search warrants were executed at the Bacchus clubhouse in Nine Mile River, Hants County, and at the accused’s homes in the Dartmouth area. Charges were laid a short time later.
Police installed a panic alarm at the victim’s house at his request. He and his wife sold their bikes and no longer ride motorcycles or go to biker events.
“This activity on the part of Bacchus carried out by all three accused had a significant impact on him,” the prosecutor said of the victim.
“This can be described as a pure extortion. … Bacchus determined that they had to make an example of him. It is submitted that the offences before the court are extremely serious.”
The judge has to decide which charges to sentence the men on and which charges should be stayed.
https://www.trurodaily.com/news/regional/judge-reserves-decision-on-sentences-in-bacchus-case-252579/
Patrick Michael James, 51, of Dartmouth; Duayne Jamie Howe, 49, of Grand Desert; and David John Pearce, 44, of High Level, Alta., were found guilty in June of threatening, intimidating, extorting and harassing a man who wanted to launch a motorcycle club in the Halifax area in 2012.
Justice Peter Rosinski also ruled that Bacchus met the Criminal Code definition of a criminal organization and that the trio committed the offences “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with” the club.
It’s the first time an outlaw motorcycle gang in the province has been declared a criminal organization by a judge.
James was sergeant-at-arms of the Halifax-Hants County chapter of Bacchus at the time, while Howe and Pearce were members.
A sentencing hearing for the men got underway Monday in Supreme Court in Halifax.
Crown attorney Glen Scheuer asked for a sentence of five to six years for James and 4.5 to 5.5 years for the other two men.
Defence lawyers argued for a two-year prison sentence for James, one year in jail for Howe, and six months behind bars for Pearce.
Scheuer described the defence recommendations as unfit and insufficient to satisfy the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation.
The judge reserved his decision until Nov. 7, saying “there’s been a lot of info provided.”
There are publication bans on the identity of the complainant and other civilians involved in the case.
According to the evidence at trial, the victim attempted to start a motorcycle club of his own design and later a chapter of the Montreal-based Brotherhood Motorcycle Club.
James was furious in late August 2012 after he saw Facebook pictures of the complainant and two friends in Montreal wearing one-piece Brotherhood patches on their vests.
James texted the complainant and then visited him at work the next day wearing his Bacchus colours. He threatened him and told him he had to destroy the Brotherhood patches and give them to him within a day. James also insisted that the Brotherhood post on its Facebook page that it did not have a chapter coming to Nova Scotia.
The complainant and the Brotherhood both complied with James’s demands.
On Sept. 14, 2012, the complainant rode his motorcycle to a Bikers Down Society fundraiser in Lower Sackville, where he was confronted by Howe and Pearce and accused of disrespecting Bacchus. The complainant was told that he would be beaten up if he ever rode a motorcycle or attended any motorcycle events in Nova Scotia.
The victim contacted police and search warrants were executed at the Bacchus clubhouse in Nine Mile River, Hants County, and at the accused’s homes in the Dartmouth area. Charges were laid a short time later.
Police installed a panic alarm at the victim’s house at his request. He and his wife sold their bikes and no longer ride motorcycles or go to biker events.
“This activity on the part of Bacchus carried out by all three accused had a significant impact on him,” the prosecutor said of the victim.
“This can be described as a pure extortion. … Bacchus determined that they had to make an example of him. It is submitted that the offences before the court are extremely serious.”
The judge has to decide which charges to sentence the men on and which charges should be stayed.
https://www.trurodaily.com/news/regional/judge-reserves-decision-on-sentences-in-bacchus-case-252579/
