Alleged Outlaw biker charged after man wearing rival gear assaulted
"This is probably the first time we’ve seen this level of violence, but obviously our concern is that things could always escalate"
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An alleged member of the Outlaws motorcycle club is facing charges for the third time in less than a year after Sarnia police say a man wearing a rival club’s biker support gear was assaulted in a grocery store parking lot.
The incident prompted the city’s deputy police chief to warn the public about the risks of wearing motorcycle club support gear.
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A 54-year-old man, who was wearing clothing associated with a biker club, was talking on Exmouth Street near Indian Road in Sarnia on Aug. 8 when an occupant of a passing vehicle identified himself as a member of a different motorcycle club and confronted the pedestrian, police said.
The pedestrian continued walking to the No Frills grocery store, where others showed up and attacked him, causing minor injuries, police said.
The parking lot was full of people at the time and members of the public intervened before the attackers fled, police said.
“This is probably the first time we’ve seen this level of violence, but obviously our concern is that things could always escalate,” said deputy police Chief Ron Hansen, who warned the incident highlights the risks of wearing biker support gear.
“One of the concerns is the availability and the ease of access to support wear,” Hansen said of the clothing that’s available online, at stores and at large gatherings like the Friday the 13th event in Port Dover. “You don’t really understand what you’re buying.”
Motorcycle gangs have strict rules that only allow members to wear clothing with their names and logos, but anyone can sport the clubs’ support gear, which doesn’t feature the gang’s name or logo.
Hells Angels support merchandise features the numbers 81 – representing H, the eighth letter in the alphabet, and A, the first – or the words Big Red Machine.
The head of the OPP’s biker enforcement unit echoed Hansen’s warning about the risks of wearing biker support gear.
“We would like to take the opportunity to remind members of the public that although it is not illegal to purchase, sell or wear OMG (outlaw motorcycle gang) support clothing, given the violence that arises between rival OMGs, wearers of support merchandise may unknowingly be impacting their own safety,” Det.-Insp. Scott Wade, whose unit assisted Sarnia police in the investigation, said in a statement.
Both Hansen and Wade declined to name which biker club’s support gear the victim was wearing, citing concerns for public safety.
The Outlaws have a long, bitter rivalry with the Hells Angels that has led to violence in the past.
The Hells Angels, the largest outlaw motorcycle gang in the world, have more than two dozen support clubs in Canada, including the Gatekeepers, Red Devils and One Order in Southwestern Ontario.
The Outlaws are the second-largest outlaw motorcycle gang and have a chapter in Sarnia.
Investigators used surveillance footage to identify suspects in the grocery story clash. Police searched two homes – one in Point Edward, the other in Sarnia – and arrested two men and seized evidence, police said.
Arthur Shura, 65, of Point Edward, and a Sarnia man, 43, are charged with assault, causing a disturbance and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Shura, an alleged member of the Outlaws’ Sarnia chapter, has been charged three times in the past 10 months following public disturbances.
He was charged with causing a disturbance and breaching a court order after trying to lay a black wreath at the Cenotaph during a Remembrance Day ceremony at Veterans Park. The incident, which was captured on video, prompted the Outlaws to release a statement criticizing police for unfairly targeting its members at a public event.
Shura was charged with causing a disturbance in a public place and disobeying a court order following a clash in Sarnia’s Canatara Park on Canada Day.
Shura was released on bail following the latest arrest, while his co-accused was released on an undertaking, a document created by either a court or police that places the charged person under certain conditions.
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