B.C. wants to seize biker clubhouse where man was murdered

The director of civil forfeiture has filed a lawsuit seeking to seize the Devil’s Army clubhouse in Campbell River.

The B.C. government wants convicted killer and Hells Angels associate Richard Alexander to hand over the Campbell River clubhouse where he killed a man in 2016.

On Wednesday, the director of civil forfeiture filed a statement of claim against Alexander, asking for a court order to seize the Devil’s Army clubhouse on Petersen Road in the Island community.

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Alexander was convicted of first-degree murder earlier this year for killing mixed martial arts fighter Dillon Brown inside the clubhouse in March 2016, then leaving his body in the trunk of a car near Sayward.

The jury heard that Alexander shot Brown, 30, because he had sued a Campbell River nightclub where he was injured in November 2015 after a fight with members of the Devil’s Army and Hells Angels.

The Crown’s theory was that Alexander wanted to stop the lawsuit as it would make both biker gangs look bad.

Alexander, 68, has appealed his conviction.

Police raid Devils Army clubhouse in August 2017 — Anti-gang officers search the Devils Army biker gang clubhouse in Campbell River in connection with the 2016 murder of Dillon Brown.

The civil forfeiture lawsuit alleges that the Devil’s Army is a “puppet,” or support club, of the older Hells Angels and that both “are criminal organizations.”

“Alexander is a founding, full-patch member, and president of the Devil’s Army Motorcycle Club,” the statement of claim says. “At all material times, R. Alexander has been a member of an organization comprised of more than three persons, inside or outside Canada, and which has as one of its main purpose, or main activities, the facilitation or commission of one or more serious offences.”

In addition to murder, Alexander “has a criminal record that includes convictions for possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition,” the director said.

Alexander, who lives in Maple Ridge, bought the clubhouse property in 2015 for $150,000. It’s currently assessed at $569,000.

The director said the clubhouse “was not occupied as a permanent residence” but “was available for use and temporary occupation to members of the (Devil’s Army) and the (Hells Angels.”

“The property has been customized to impede access by law enforcement and rival groups,” the suit says. “On March 11, 2016, R. Alexander used the property to commit murder.”

The property should be forfeited as “proceeds of and an instrument of unlawful activity.”

The government move to seize a biker clubhouse is the fourth so far in the province.

In February, the B.C. Court of Appeal unanimously reversed a lower court decision and said that the B.C. Hells Angels should forfeit three clubhouses in Nanaimo, East Vancouver and Kelowna — worth more than $3 million — because they would likely be used for criminal activity.

The Hells Angels are seeking leave to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The appeal judges noted the security measures the Hells Angels had taken at the clubhouses to “prevent police from surreptitiously monitoring its activities.”

“The clubhouses provided a safe space for members to commit or conspire to commit crime,” the February Hells Angels’ ruling said.

In the new suit filed against Alexander, the director said that “if the defendant retains ownership, access or possession of the property, it will likely be used by the defendant to engage in and/or facilitate the unlawful activity by allowing the defendant to plan, conspire to commit and/or commit the unlawful activity in secrecy.”

“Some or all of the funds used to acquire and/or maintain the property were proceeds of the unlawful activity,” the director also alleged.

Not only has Alexander committed murder, but he is also guilty of membership in a criminal organization, money laundering and failure to declare taxable income, the lawsuit said.

No statement of defence has yet been filed.

Source: Prince George Post