A longtime local biker with a history of violence pleaded guilty Wednesday to several charges stemming from a frightening incident last fall.
Kevin Sylvester was arrested Oct. 1 after he confronted a young family of four at gunpoint in broad daylight outside a King Edward Street convenience store, then chased them as the family fled in their vehicle.
Sylvester followed the family, which included a one-year-old toddler, in his own vehicle for several blocks, ramming theirs and bumping it from behind. He was arrested later that day and has been in custody since.
Sylvester pleaded guilty in provincial court to dangerous driving, possessing a prohibited firearm with ammunition and possessing a firearm while prohibited.
At the time, Winnipeg police said there was no apparent motive for the attack and Sylvester and the family didn't know each other.
Sylvester, in custody at the Brandon Correctional Centre, appeared Wednesday via video in the Winnipeg courtroom.
He will be sentenced at a later date, but Judge Judith Elliott told him he faces a minimum three-year term on the charge of possessing a prohibited firearm with ammunition.
Sylvester is the younger brother of Darwin Sylvester, the former president of the now-disbanded Spartans motorcycle gxxg. Darwin disappeared in 1998 and is presumed dead.
Kevin Sylvester narrowly escaped death himself in 1992 while a member of the Spartans. He was critically wounded in a gunfight with a member of the rival Los Brovos gxxg.
During summer 2001, he tried to avenge his brother's disappearance by attacking individuals he believed responsible, including firing at a member of the Hells Angels as he sat in his tow truck with his young son beside him.
Sylvester negotiated a two-year prison term for the shooting in exchange for testifying against several members of the Hells Angels.
He was back in the news in 2007 when he overdosed on antidepressants and made several phone calls to a Crown prosecutor, his defence attorney and the Free Press.
Sylvester attacked the officers who went to arrest him and was later given a sentence of three months he had already served in custody. He was released on probation.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
Winnipeg Free Press
Kevin Sylvester was arrested Oct. 1 after he confronted a young family of four at gunpoint in broad daylight outside a King Edward Street convenience store, then chased them as the family fled in their vehicle.
Sylvester followed the family, which included a one-year-old toddler, in his own vehicle for several blocks, ramming theirs and bumping it from behind. He was arrested later that day and has been in custody since.
Sylvester pleaded guilty in provincial court to dangerous driving, possessing a prohibited firearm with ammunition and possessing a firearm while prohibited.
At the time, Winnipeg police said there was no apparent motive for the attack and Sylvester and the family didn't know each other.
Sylvester, in custody at the Brandon Correctional Centre, appeared Wednesday via video in the Winnipeg courtroom.
He will be sentenced at a later date, but Judge Judith Elliott told him he faces a minimum three-year term on the charge of possessing a prohibited firearm with ammunition.
Sylvester is the younger brother of Darwin Sylvester, the former president of the now-disbanded Spartans motorcycle gxxg. Darwin disappeared in 1998 and is presumed dead.
Kevin Sylvester narrowly escaped death himself in 1992 while a member of the Spartans. He was critically wounded in a gunfight with a member of the rival Los Brovos gxxg.
During summer 2001, he tried to avenge his brother's disappearance by attacking individuals he believed responsible, including firing at a member of the Hells Angels as he sat in his tow truck with his young son beside him.
Sylvester negotiated a two-year prison term for the shooting in exchange for testifying against several members of the Hells Angels.
He was back in the news in 2007 when he overdosed on antidepressants and made several phone calls to a Crown prosecutor, his defence attorney and the Free Press.
Sylvester attacked the officers who went to arrest him and was later given a sentence of three months he had already served in custody. He was released on probation.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
Winnipeg Free Press