35 Hells Angels members in Quebec have their prison sentences reduced

MONTREAL – Thirty-five Hells Angels members who pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder have had their sentences reduced by between six and eight years.

A Quebec Superior Court justice ordered a stay of proceedings last October in the case of five other accused because the Crown had failed to communicate certain evidence it possessed.

That led to their release.

As a result, the 35 who avoided going to trial by pleading guilty sought to withdraw their pleas by asking for a stay of proceedings.

Discussions among the various lawyers led to an agreement which the Quebec Court of Appeal has endorsed.

The 35 accused were sentenced to prison terms of between 12 and 25 years, but with time already served they had between less than three years and 20 years left to serve.

Three of the accused have had their sentence reduced by eight years, five by eight years and the other 27 by six years.

For eight of the accused, the prison term is reduced to one day because they had only about six years left to serve.

The accused were arrested in 2009 as part of Operation SharQc, a police sweep against the biker gang.