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Vancouver — A B.C. judge has ruled that a full-patch member of the Hells Angels and two associates are not members of a criminal organization in a trial that was a key test of the recent federal anti-gang legislation.
Justice Anne MacKenzie did find Hells Angels associates Richard Rempel, 24, and David Revell, 43, each guilty of one count of possession of cocaine and one count of trafficking cocaine.
The third member who was on trial — full-patch member David Giles — was found not guilty of possession.
The judge said that because she found Mr. Giles not guilty of possession of cocaine, she had to find him not guilty of the second count involving a criminal organization.
All three accused were found not guilty of charges that the Hells Angels is a criminal organization.
During the 10-month trial, the Crown alleged the Vancouver-based East End Hells Angels had moved to Kelowna, where they were planning to establish a new chapter to take over the lucrative illegal drug trade in the Okanagan.
