Banditos biker trial

Prosecutors have faced scathing criticism from the bikers, attorneys and families of those arrested for taking so long to begin the trials. Read More. On May 17, , a simmering feud between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle clubs erupted into a wild shootout that ended with nine dead bikers and about 20 others wounded. Nearly bikers were arrested in a roundup that day, and months later bikers would be indicted on the exact same criminal charge of engaging in organized criminal conduct.

In Carrizal's interview with CNN and with investigators after the brawl, the Bandidos biker said he didn't have a firearm. But prosecutors presented evidence that Carrizal had a small handgun that he fired twice at a Cossacks biker who had fired shots at him while he was on the ground. Carrizal said he acted in self defense. I'm not a criminal," Carrizal told the jury during almost two days of testimony in the case. It's a label that has repeatedly made the club's members targets of law enforcement investigators.

Kellestine's lawyer tells the jury the only reason his southwestern Ontario farm played host to the biker gang massacre was because of the murderous intentions of a co-accused, Michael Sandham. The trial hears for the first time from Sandham. He and several others of the accused are linked to the Bandidos' Winnipeg chapter. Sandham's testimony corroborates many details in the testimony of police informant M.

But there are many glaring differences, notably that M. Sandham, a former police officer, also told the court that he joined the gang because he wanted to become a police informant. The trial hears secret tape recordings of a police informant, M. In the third day of testimony, a former Bandido turned informant tells a London, Ont.

Michael Sandham, one of the accused, met with gang officials from the U. Another accused and an ally of the Ontario faction, Wayne Kellestine, was expected to strip the Toronto members of their club patches, the police informant tells the court. The Winnipeg club and Kellestine decided to hold a club meeting for Toronto members at Kellestine's place and spent the hours before the meeting loading a cache of weapons to "be prepared for the worst" in Kellestine's words, M.

In his first day of testimony, M. A construction worker and father of three, M. But he says he quickly came to notice the tensions between the Winnipeg faction and its Toronto sponsor, which wasn't allowing the Manitoba faction to become a full-fledged chapter. The murder trial for the six accused begins in London. Ontario Superior Court Justice Thomas Heeney, who will preside over the trial, tells the court it was a "monumental task" to find the six men and six women who make up the jury.

The trial is expected to last six months. Court documents reveal that Eric Niessen, one of the two people charged with being accessories after the fact, has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and been sentenced to two years in prison. In the statement Niessen admits to lying to police and helping Kellestine with a false alibi. Two other suspects, Justin Aldava, and Jesse Trevino, are still waiting for their day in court.

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