The man who is not at his first encounters with the law appeared by videoconference on Saturday afternoon before Dominique Slater, magistrate at the Court of Quebec. He was pinned down by the police in possession of a Remington Wingmaster rifle.
He thus faces charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, all without the necessary license. In addition, given his criminal history, he was also prohibited from possessing such a rifle and he will also have to defend himself from having broken a prohibition order.
The two buildings on the site and three vehicles that were on site were combed through during Friday’s police operation. (Sylvain Mayer/Archives Le Nouvelliste)
Judge Slater still agreed to release the biker with strict conditions to respect, including those of not being at the Hells Angels den in Hérouxville, nor at that of the Satan’s Crew in Bécancour, and of reporting to the Court for the continuation of legal proceedings, to notify the court of any change of address and not to possess firearms or imitations of such objects.
A long roadmap
A veteran of the Trois-Rivières section of the biker gang, Sylvain Thiffault has been around the organization since the early 1990s. He was notably arrested during operations Nordik, Amalgame and SharQc.
Following this last raid, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but was able to benefit from a much shorter stay by subtracting the time spent in preventive detention, calculated twice at the time.
It was also the name of Thiffault which appeared in the official registers as the owner of the famous bunker of the Hells Angels on Saint-Jean Boulevard in Trois-Rivières-Ouest, which was destroyed in 2015.
The sixty-year-old was also allegedly involved in various criminal activities in the company of the defunct Blatnois de la Mauricie school club, dissolved in 2000.
Assessment of a punch operation
The old Trois-Rivières-Ouest bunker, destroyed in 2015. (Sylvain Mayer/Archives, Le Nouvelliste)
In addition to Thiffault, other suspects could face charges later, including a 45-year-old man for possession of prohibited weapons, as well as a 68-year-old man for possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.
In total, 16 individuals aged 27 to 71 were identified by the SQ on the Rang Saint-Pierre property in Hérouxville on Friday. These are essentially members and prospects of the Hells Angels or supporter clubs. The two buildings on the site and three vehicles that were on site were also examined with a fine-tooth comb.
Investigators seized a rifle, a telescopic baton, pepper spray, four knives and firearm ammunition. Methamphetamine tablets, some 30 grams of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and more than 975 liters of alcoholic beverages were also confiscated during the operation.
This aimed to “search for additional evidence linked to a group of individuals suspected of engaging in criminal activities and armed violence, in the context of conflicts for control of territories linked to the drug trafficking,” according to a press release from the police force.
Summary of Friday’s operation at the Rang Saint-Pierre bunker in Hérouxville, where the Hells Angels of Trois-Rivières are based. (Sylvain Mayer / Le Nouvelliste)
Jewelry bearing the image of the motorcycle club, as well as a member’s jacket and four prospects’ jackets were found by the agents, not to mention the jacket of a member of the Satan’s Crew from Bécancour and more than $2,300 in money cash.
Note that on three occasions over the last two years, the Hells Angels den in Hérouxville was reportedly the target of gunfire. These episodes would be linked to what is now customary to call “the conflict over royalties”.
According to several observers of organized crime in the province, it is the Trois-Rivières chapter of the gang which would have historically had control of the sale of narcotics in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, one of the main hotspots of the conflict which is currently raging.
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