Alleged Mob Hit Attempted on Victim Reputedly Affiliated with the Hells Angels

The Sûreté du Québec has taken over the investigation of a late-night attempted murder in a town southeast of Montreal because they suspect the shooting is related to organized crime.

Around 11 p.m on Saturday, officers with the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu-St-Laurent responded to reports of shots fired on Rancourt St. in St-Amable, a town about 40 kilometres southeast of Montreal. When they arrived, they found a man who had been shot at least once, an SQ spokesperson said.

“It is a man in his 30s and he was taken to a hospital. His life is not in danger,” the spokesperson said. “The Sûreté du Québec’s major crimes division is working with the Richelieu-St-Laurent police on the investigation. And the reason why the Sûreté du Québec is involved is because the event is related to organized crime.”

According to La Presse, the victim is a 39-year-old man who has been reported in the past to have been the president of the Devils Ghosts, a support club of the Hells Angels. The SQ spokesperson was unable to confirm the victim’s identity or his age.

According to court and municipal records, a 39-year-old man who was arrested and charged with seven other people, in 2016, currently resides on the same street and close to the intersection where the shooting occurred late Saturday night.

The eight people charged in 2016 were arrested as part of Operation Noria, an investigation by the Regional Mixed Squad based on the South Shore into a cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking network that was believed to be tied to the Hells Angels’ South chapter.

The 39-year-old man identified as the victim in La Presse’s story faced five drug trafficking charges in Operation Noria, but all five of the criminal accusations were placed under a stay of proceedings in March last year.

The same man has a criminal record that includes convictions for breaking and entering and impaired driving.

No arrests have been made in connection with the attempted murder.

Thanks to Paul Cherry.