Hells Angels Gather In Woodbridge For Biker Funeral
Posted December 8, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was a funeral where black was just one of the many colours on display.
Police were trying to keep a low profile in Woodbridge Friday, as hundreds of bikers from various gangs and cities attended the funeral of one of their own.
David Buchanan was celebrating his 32rd birthday at a Vaughan strip club last Saturday when he and two other members of the Hells Angels were allegedly gunned down by a man who may be a rival gang associate.
Cops say Buchanan was well known to them and was a sergeant at arms with the notorious biker group.
But friends and fellow riders call the father of three a wonderful family man.
Authorities were keeping a close eye on the gathering, which brought dozens of Angels and their Red Devil associates from across Canada to the city above Toronto.
Officers with telephoto lenses snapped pictures as the bikers dressed in their colours gathered to remember and salute their slain colleague.
Authorities claimed they were only there to keep the peace but few bought that explanation.
“We view outlaw motorcycle gangs as criminal organizations, specifically the Hells Angels, and we take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about this criminal organization and gather intelligence to further our investigations,” outlines Insp. Tom Carrique of York Regional Police’s organized crime unit.
A man cops say is one of only two members of the Bandidos biker gang left in Ontario is accused of the slaying. Francesco Lenti has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons offences.
But the portrait of the man he’s alleged to have killed is vastly different from the one being painted by police.
The Hells Angels website is filled with tributes to their slain colleague and disparaging remarks about the man accused of gunning him down.
“Sure, Dave was a Hells Angel — so what?” one mourner writes in a tribute. “That’s not all he was. I know Dave as a proud and devoted father, a brother, a son, a friend, a boyfriend, an uncle and most importantly, a Buchanan.”
“In my life, I have never met a closer or tighter family that would do anything and everything to help one another or their friends. I am proud to say that they are my friends and will always be like a second family.”
The Angels call Lenti an “imposter” and a “fraud”, referring to him as one of those “little men” who was never actually a member of the Bandidos.
But police maintain he has clear ties to the now nearly extinct group. “It is our belief that he is a Bandidos member and his role with the Bandidos was to rebuild and strengthen their presence in the Toronto area,” Carrique concludes.
It was the first ever slaying of a Hells Angels member in Ontario since the club expanded into this province six years ago, and it sparked fears an internal gang war may be underway.
But the Angels insist rumours of any divisions simply aren’t true.
“Police and the media now hype a gang war,” a website posting reads. “They hope to inflame tensions between two respected motorcycle clubs that have a cordial relationship.”
Hells Angels’ expert Yves Lavigne agrees. “There is no war with the Bandidos, there are no real Bandidos,” he claims.
He concurs with the club’s assessment of the man accused in the shootings and those like him. “They are just like a kid who puts on a Maple Leaf jersey and goes down to the A.C.C. and calls himself part of the team.”
The motive for the crime remains uncertain but police believe Lenti was a part owner of the bar and may have deliberately tried to provoke the motorcycle members, who operate under a twisted code of honour.
But Lavigne feels it’s a sign of challenge to the club. “What it demonstrates to me is that the Hells Angels have lost control of their organization.”
But while we may not be in line for a biker war, Lavinge worries the incident will sparks something else.
“Here’s what I fear. That other street punks will realize the Angels can be killed, that if the Angels keep pushing people around, more of them will die and that gangbangers wishing to make a name for themselves will make it a sport to kill a Hells Angel.”
And that could lead to more bloodshed – and more scenes like the one Friday morning in Woodbridge.
Biker wars in Quebec took many lives and led to countless violent outbursts, but with the exception of a few sporadic incidents, that problem has never surfaced in Ontario. Eight members of the Bandidos were found dead in a field near the town of Shedden last April, in what authorities referred to as a ‘cleansing’ of the gang.
It effectively wiped out the group in Ontario, and led to the arrest of eight people, including a Winnipeg police officer.
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