Seven members of the Hells Angels and Throttle Lockers Motor Cycle Clubs and their associates were arrested Tuesday on second degree murder charges

Seven members of the Hells Angels and Throttle Lockers Motor Cycle Clubs and their associates were arrested Tuesday on second degree murder charges in the brutal slaying earlier this month of Kelowna resident Dain Eldon Phillips, 51, who died of injuries after he was savagely beaten near his home.
The seven include Robert Leonard Thomas, 46 and Norman Robert Cocks, 31, both full patch members of Kelowna Hells Angels; Robert Charles Cocks, 52, president of Throttle Lockers, a Hells Angels support club; and four associates Daniel Joseph McRae, 20, Matthew Thomas McRae and Anson Lloyd Schell both 19, and Thomas Allen Vaughan, 22.
The early arrests under Project E-Nightshade were made in a sweep by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) of British Columbia, the Kelowna RCMP and the Southeast District Drug Section., were possible as some of the same people were involved in a separate ongoing police investigation code named E-Pixie into gang warfare in Kelowna and Prince George following the attempted murder in September 2010 of a 27-year-old Edmonton resident in downtown Kelowna near Leon Avenue and Abbot Street when his vehicle was riddled with bullets by unknown attackers.
“In recent years, police and citizens alike have seen the troubling trend of gangs and organized crime groups exporting violence from Metro Vancouver into the southeast and northern regions of British Columbia. These individuals show absolute contempt and disregard for society. The gunplay and savage violence on our streets is simply unacceptable,” said CFSEU’s Chief Officer, Supt. Doug Kiloh in a police release.
“When the Province announced a sweeping plan to aggressively target gangs and organised crime in 2009, we wanted to make sure we didn’t just displace gang violence from the Lower Mainland. It was about going after gangs wherever they set up shop in B.C.,” said Solicitor General Shirley Bond. “That is why we expanded the CFSEU units to Kelowna and Prince George and this is further proof that these integrated units are working hard to make our communities safer for B.C. families.”
“The arrests of these members of the Hells Angels or any other criminal group show that we will aggressively pursue any individuals who use violence or threats to protect or to expand their criminal enterprises anywhere in British Columbia,” said Supt Pat Fogarty head of CFSEU’s organised crime section.