Shooting at Hells Angels funeral

Despite a heavy police presence at a Hells Angels funeral in San Jose on Saturday, a top bike-club enforcer nicknamed "Mr. 187'' after the state penal code number for murder was gunned down Saturday in front of stunned spectators.

Multiple sources told this newspaper the victim was Steve Tausan, a notorious sergeant-at-arms for the Santa Cruz chapter of the club suspected of killing another biker years ago.

San Jose police would not confirm the identity of the shooting victim, but did report that he was pronounced dead at a hospital at 1:44 p.m. Sources said the incident Saturday was an inter-club squabble set off when Tausan punched a fellow biker and the biker retaliated by shooting him. Police have no suspect in custody but are interviewing several witnesses, according to San Jose police spokesman Jose Garcia.

The funeral at the Oak Hill Cemetery was for fellow Hells Angel Jethro Pettigrew, president of the San Jose chapter of the club, who was shot in a Sparks, Nev.

William Mastop

Speaking of the Vernon Greeks trial, what's up with that lawyer who was charged with them, William Mastop? His bail conditions say he can't practice law right now. Seemingly the no-contact orders attached to Mastop’s release cover past or current members of the Hells Angels or the Greeks.

The Vancouverite claims Cops said Mastop also had alleged “dealings” with the Calgary chapter of the Hell’s Angels and the Kelowna East Side chapter. I guess the Calgary connection would be through Zenon Stepkowski.

His case should be going to trial this year. I've never seen Napoleon Dynamite with a gun but I'd imagine he'd loom a lot like this. Kinda reminds me of Dwight from the Office. A white collar nerd trying to be a gangster.

Another man gunned down in Edmonton

Edmonton Homicide investigators are probing yet another case after a man was gunned down outside a northside apartment building around midnight. The victim was shot outside the building near 132 Avenue and 67 Street. He was transported by ambulance to hospital but died of his injuries.



The case is being probed as the city's 43 homicide of 2011. Police tape still blocks access to the apartment building, which is directly across the street from Balwin Elementary School. As officers combed the scene Friday morning, children played in the school ground just yards away. The investigation is focused on the parking lot behind the Bayview Manor apartments.

Meanwhile the Edmonton Sun is reporting the names of the victims shot in the SUV at Rosehill Cemetery Tuesday are Trevor Greenway and Jason Trundle. Turns out our tip was right. The media asked me where I got the info from and I just said it was an anonymous tip but there was a facebook memorial page already set up. Looks like the media got the information from the family and friends not the police.

I'm not sure why the EPS would hold that information back. Surely they're not trying to hide the fact that some of their record breaking homicides has something to do with the drug trade. Why would they want to hide that? You'd think they'd want more resources to address the problem.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday afternoon. If the death is officially confirmed to be a homicide, it will be the 43rd in Edmonton this year. If it's confirmed to be a homicide? How can they say that with a straight face? Three fatalities in three days from shootings and they still have to determine if those suspicious death are actuality homicides. Give me a break.

Meanwhile Edmonton police charged two men in a shooting last Tuesday night at an apartment building in southwest Edmonton. The two men, aged 23 and 27, were arrested in Sherwood Park on Wednesday and charged with aggravated assault, robbery, wearing a disguise with intent, forcible confinement as well as various firearm charges. Yet their names have for some mysterious reason not been released. Sounds like a lot of strange things going on in Edmonton.

Police will no longer probe police

B.C. police who are involved in an incident involving death or serious harm will no longer be investigated by fellow officers, the province's attorney general announced Wednesday.

Shirley Bond said the government is creating a civilian-led body to conduct criminal investigations into incidents resulting in death or serious injuries involving municipal police and RCMP.

The chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office will be in place by the end of the year and the team will begin investigations in the first half of 2012, added David Loukidelis, deputy attorney-general.

Three cheers. Now that's better than another stat holiday. There is irony in a civilian body conducting a criminal investigation but I think the public's intent is to have police misconduct allegations reviewed by civilians not by more police.

Now for the impossible dream and get the intelligence agencies publicly accountable and subject to the law. Like that's ever going to happen.

Oppal's tab keeps growing and growing

Michael Smyth made a good point. He said the least-surprising development at the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry so far is that it will last much longer, and cost much more, than previously anticipated.

Everyone knew this inquiry was ripe to transform into the political circus it's become, and Wally Opal is not known for his efficient work habits — especially when he's bagging $1,500 a day plus expenses. Now hang on to your wallets. On the very first day of the inquiry, Opal's chief counsel confirmed what everybody had been expecting — the budget and deadline are likely to be blown out of the water.

Wally Opal is financially benefiting from this circus side show. I can't stomach reading all the bs drama about the inquiry venting on the police. What a side show. What a waste of money. The real issue is who else was involved, who killed all the other missing women and which drug dealers are pushing Native Women out of hotel windows in the Downtown East end over drug debts. The real questions aren't being asked.

Guantanamo Bay detainee denied entry to Canada

Guantanamo Bay detainee denied entry to Canada while George Bush who vetoed the bill to stop the CIA from torturing prisoners is welcomed in as well as Dick Cheney who's company Haliburton made a killing from the invasion of Iraq based on a lie. This is so wrong.

Since Stephen Harper fired and slandered the whistle blower for leaking out the fact that Canada was knowingly handing over prisoners in Afghanistan to be tortured, perhaps he just doesn't want Moazzam Begg to tell us about the torturing going on in Libya that Canadian tax dollars are supporting.

Another Edmonton Murder

Edmonton Homicide investigators spent much of Tuesday combing through a bullet-ridden black SUV - parked at a cemetery - that contained the bodies of two men. They're treating the deaths as suspicious but they need time to investigate before they can call it a homicide.

One would think that the bullet ridden SUV might be suspicious indeed. If it is determined to be another homicide it would mark Edmonton's 41st and 42nd homicide this year. Much more than the annual rate of 27 in 2009 and 2010 and has now broken the record from 2005 of 39.

One blog reader claims that the murder victims are Trevor Greenway and Jason Trundle which has yet to be confirmed. I'm not sure why the police aren't releasing the names of the victims. Seemingly Greenway has a criminal history which includes two years in custody for possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in Saskatchewan. Gee there's a gang war going on in Winnipeg...

Bacon brothers parents drawn into drug deal

Locally, Jarrod Bacon's parents and the mother of his child were drawn into the accused's alleged cocaine conspiracy, a judge heard Tuesday. Bacon, 28, and Arnold Wayne Scott, 55, have each pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiring to traffic cocaine in Abbotsford and elsewhere in B.C.

After Bacon indicated he had up to $3 million in financial backing to buy and then traffic up to 30 kilograms of cocaine a week, police tried to arrange the first transaction of 10 kg. In the weeks leading up to the transaction, Scott passed on information to his daughter, Carly Scott, to forward on to Bacon himself, court heard. Carly is the mother of Bacon's child.

Later in August 2009, on the day of the transaction, Scott was captured on police intercepts discussing the drug deal with G.L., prosecutor Peter LaPrairie said in his opening statement Tuesday. Scott told G.L. that on the previous day he had met Bacon at Scott's residence in Abbotsford to discuss the transaction, LaPrairie said. "Mr. Scott indicated that Mr. Bacon's parents were present for the meeting and they indicated suggestions for how to carry out the transactions." What a deranged family.

White supremacists charged with murder

A white supremacist couple suspected of committing four murders across the Pacific Northwest on their way to "kill more Jews" in Sacramento were ordered held in California on Tuesday until extradited to Washington state.

The couple, David Joseph Pedersen, 31, and Holly Grigsby, 24, were arrested last Wednesday in Northern California, capping what authorities said was a two-week, three-state crime spree that began in the Puget Sound city of Everett, Washington.

Both face charges of aggravated first-degree murder in Washington state over the stabbing death of Pedersen's 69-year-old stepmother and the shooting death of his father, aged 56. Both were slain last month. Apparently his father's body was found in his SUV.

They have also been charged in the murder of Cody Myers, from Oregon. They were arrested while driving Cody Myers's car.

I find the rise of deranged neo Nazi's who commit violent criminal acts including the murder of their own family members as well as complete strangers disturbing. In Calgary, Robert Reitmeier is another neo Nazi accused of murdering Mark Mariani in a random attack. This is what we went overseas in the trenches to fight against. There is no place for this evil here.

The Pickton Red Herring Continues

The Vancouver Province is reporting that the Pickton Missing Women Inquiry is off to a fiery start. The headline on the front page read: "Breathtaking Incompetence." Looks like the distraction is all about venting on the police for taking so long to find the mass murderer. Not a word was said about the others who may have been involved.

Robert Pickton was originally charged with 6 murders. The crown held in reserve another 20 charges in case his conviction on the original 6 charges wasn't upheld. His conviction was upheld after appeal so the other 20 charges weren't pursued because it wouldn't have seen him serve any more time in jail.

Take a look at the wall in the background of the first picture. The title states "Missing Women of the Downtown East side." I count 61 on the wall not 26. Are we going to blame Robert Pickton for the murder of everyone missing from the downtown East side? His conviction on the six murders was upheld because the jury was told he could be convicted even if he wasn't the primary party. They were told he could be convicted even if he was just an active participant. That direction to the jury was appealed and upheld and opened Pandora's box. Did Robert Pickton not act alone?

That is what the Inquiry should be about. Instead we see the smoke and mirrors drama blaming the police for not taking the investigation seriously enough at the time and delaying the conviction of the murderer. The real focus of the inquiry should be examining the evidence that implied others were involved now that the publication ban has been lifted.

Dave Pickton knew where the bodies were buried. He cut a deal and told the police where they were buried so the police wouldn't dig up his whole farm. Dave Pickton was a Hells angels associate. So the defence claimed. The Hells Angels not only attended parties at Piggy's Palace, they ran the bar. They had a grow op on site. So the court was told. What else was the court told? These are very important facts that need to be part of the public inquiry.

One reporter contacted me and said they distinctly remember hearing in the news a huge Hells Angels drug and weapons bust right before Pickton was formally charged. They claimed that nothing was heard about that bust ever again and shortly thereafter Robert Pickton was given up to take the fall for the murders. Interesting timing indeed.

An Editorial in the Vancouver Province complained about the use of a First Nations blessing to kick off the inquiry. Where's your respect for our cultural heritage? Chinatown may well be the heartbeat of Vancouver but First Nations is the Ancestral Spirit of Vancouver. A large portion of the missing women from the Downtown East side are Aboriginal Women. David Ramsay was a court Judge in Prince George who was convicted of abusing under age Aboriginal prostitutes.

Wally Opal wearing an Aboriginal blanket is not a breech of impartiality, it's a sign of respect for the cultural traditions of those murdered. Eileen Mohan held a birthday Mass in memory of her son who was murdered in Surrey. It's sign of respect. The problem is Wally Opal was the wrong choice. He was the Attorney General of BC. He's a former court judge himself. He was a limp fish enabling the judicial dilution of justice. Him chastising anyone including the police for dragging their heels in this case is nothing but ironic.