More bikers arrested in beating

November 28, 2012..... City police have arrested two rival bikers in connection with the violent beating of a Loners Motorcycle Club member in July. A 47-year-old member of the Loners was taken to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre with injuries to his arm after he was attacked July 22 near the rail tracks on Park St., police said. Police have now arrested four people in connection to the assault, three of whom are previous Loners members now in “bad standing” with the club, police said. Garry Coppins, a 53-year-old Minden resident who has been living in Peterborough, was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon dangerous to the public. Police also arrested Chris Graham, 40, Wednesday at a Perry St. home and charged him with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon dangerous to the public. Both Coppins and Graham are former members of the Loners and are now associated with the new Vagos Motorcycle Club in Peterborough, which has a clubhouse at the corner of Park and Perry streets. Det. Sgt. Len Isnor, with the OPP's biker enforcement unit, said the July assault was likely linked to a split within the local Loners chapters. There are now two rival gangs – the Loners and the Vagos – operating in the city. Whenever two gangs are competing in the same territory, there is always the potential for violence, Isnor said. “Outlaw motorcycle gangs are very territorial. You have an outlaw motorcycle gang, the Loners, that are wearing their insignia and a group that was part of the Loners that have broken away. I guess there are some hard feelings,” he said. “There is always the possibility of violence, but we’re prepared. We’re going to stay on top of this. We know who they are and we know where they are.” But given the alleged assault took place before the Vagos officially opened a chapter here, Isnor said he’s not expecting to see any retaliatory violence. “The incident happened before the group became the Vagos, so to be fair, I’m not really sure that it will spark any further incidents,” he said. “We have taken all the precautions. We are watching these guys like a hawk.” The more likely scenario is that the two groups will find a way to work together, Isnor predicted. “The landscape of outlaw motorcycle gangs changes all the time. These guys, one week they’re enemies, the next week they are friends,” he said. “Eventually it comes down to the point that they have to make money. How do they make money? They have to co-exist. Once they get their hurt feelings taken care of, it is going to come down to a point where it’s just business.” That business is usually drugs, Isnor added. “We’re doing everything we can to prevent that from happening. We don’t want a flood of drugs into Peterborough,” Isnor said. “I think we have been keeping a good grip on the situation in Peterborough since all this outlaw motorcycle activity started.” Graham was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday (Nov. 28) while Coppins will appear for a bail hearing Thursday (Nov. 29). Police previously arrested two people, a former Loners member and a former Loners associate, in August in connection to the same assault. Pierre Maurice Aragon,30,was charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon and uttering threats. Shane Alfred Gardiner,46,was charged with aggravated assault.

Two former members of the Loners charged in connection with July 22 assault....... August 22, 2012..... Two former members of the Loners have been charged with a violent attack on a current member of the Loners Motorcycle Club. A 47-year-old member of the Loners was taken to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre with injuries to his arm after he was attacked July 22 near the rail tracks on Park St. Pierre Maurice Aragon, 30, was charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon and uttering threats. Police charged Aragon when he appeared in court Wednesday morning. Shane Alfred Gardiner, 46, of no fixed address, was charged Tuesday with aggravated assault. He appeared in court Wednesday and was remanded to custody. Police said both men are members in bad standing. That means they’ve been tossed out of the Loners and can’t join another motorcycle club until they’ve resolved their differences with the Loners. These new charges are a triple whammy for Aragon, who’s already facing charges in two separate cases. Aragon was in court Wednesday to speak to charges relating to an Aug. 2 robbery that took place in the Home Depot parking lot. During that altercation a man wearing a “Support Your Local Loners” shirt had the shirt forcibly taken from him. He was also charged during Project Kingfisher, a police investigation into the heroin and cocaine trafficking in Durham region and the city. Aragon was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2012/08/22/two-former-members-of-the-loners-charged-in-connection-with-july-22-assault