Organized Crime
Gangster Jamie Bacon’s Kelowna girlfriend found dead
KELOWNA – The Kelowna girlfriend of Red Scorpion gang member Jamie Bacon died of an…
RCMP connect abandoned, burnt out car to murder of Red Scorpions co-founder in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – Investigators have confirmed the burnt out car found after the shooting of a…
Two very different events brought hundreds of bikers to Kelowna on the weekend
KELOWNA – Hundreds of bikers were on the streets of Kelowna this past weekend for…
Alberta woman charged in gang-related gun and drug bust in West Kelowna last month
WEST KELOWNA – Charges of drug trafficking and possession of guns have been laid against…
Hells Angel sentencing could be postponed until after Christmas
KELOWNA - What was supposed to be a day of final submissions ahead of sentencing has turned into a multi-day examination into the lives of two men convicted of multiple weapons charges. Admitted Hells Angel Joseph Bruce Skreptak and alleged gang associate Cory Montemurro asked to postpone sentencing until early January so they can spend...
Gangster and girlfriend busted in Lake Country
LAKE COUNTRY – The resurgence of an organized criminal gang in the Okanagan has been delivered a blow following the arrest of a long-time member of the Independent Soldiers and his girlfriend on gun and drug charges. As a result of an investigation by the RCMP Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, which began in early...
Public can weigh in on Mixed Martial Arts ban
VERNON - The public will soon get a chance to provide input on a controversial Mixed Martial Arts bylaw. The City of Vernon has given first readings to the bylaw, which would ban professional MMA events. Members of the public can have their say on the bylaw at the start of the Sept. 8 council...
Former Kelowna gangster busted in Red Deer
KELOWNA – The arrest of a known gang member from B.C. shows the Red Scorpions are moving into Alberta. Cory James Lesperance, 29, was arrested in Red Deer last week after a long investigation by RCMP and police from several jurisdictions. “The investigation focused on the Red Scorpions drug trafficking operation and their infiltration of...
Vernon’s justification for MMA ban is a secret
POLICE REPORT TO COUNCIL HELD BEHIND CLOSED DOORS VERNON - City officials and the police say their hands are tied when it comes to sharing the information behind allegations that mixed martial arts events are connected to organized crime. Vernon council has asked staff to prepare a bylaw banning mixed martial arts (MMA) events in...