Two full-patch members of the Hells Angels and one of their sons are among seven men now charged in the beating death of a Kelowna, B.C. man.
Kelowna RCMP and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. announced Tuesday they had arrested two members of the Hells Angels Kelowna chapter, one member of the Throttle Lockers Motorcycle Club -- an HA-affiliated gang -- and "known associates" in the beating death of Dain Phillips.
The 51-year-old received a fatal blow to the head with a baseball bat during the tussle at the side of a road near his home on June 12. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital several hours later with his wife and family at his side.
Charged with second-degree murder are Robert Leonard Thomas, 46, Norman Robert Cocks, 31, and his father Robert Charles Cocks, 52. Four men described as Hells Angels associates are also charged: Daniel Joseph McRae, 20, Matthew Thomas McRae, 19, Anson Lloyd Schell, 19, and Thomas Allen Vaughan, 22.
Mounties are still searching for Robert Leonard Thomas, another Hells Angels member, in connection with Phillips' murder.
CFSEU says in recent years gangs from Metro Vancouver have spread into the southeast and northern regions of B.C.
"These individuals show absolute contempt and disregard for society," said CFSEU's Chief Officer, Supt. Doug Kiloh.
Kiloh said the recent arrests send a message that police are aggressively targeting gang members.
