RCMP confirm an ex-member of the Hells Angels has been arrested. Billy Bowden has been picked up in Whistler, British Columbia.
Winnipeg police Constable Jacqueline Chaput says the arrest was made on the strength of a warrant for failing to appear in court.
Bowden was due to appear in court to face charges of firearms and drug possession stemming from when he was stopped on January 20th, 2007 in the back lane behind the 500 block of Corydon Avenue.Members of the Winnipeg Police Services organized crime unit were investigating a member of the Hells Angels being in possession of a handgun.The one-time member of Manitoba's Hells Angels chapter was arrested last week in Whistler, B.C., a source said. Bowden was wanted on an arrest warrant that was issued Jan. 10 after he failed to appear in a Winnipeg court on drug and gun charges. One of the last times he was seen in public in Winnipeg was Nov. 18 at The Empire Cabaret. Jeff Engen, 24, was fatally stabbed in the bar's basement lounge that night. No one has been arrested. It's believed Bowden left the city in November or December. The rumour mill has been working overtime since then. There were rumours Bowden was killed in Vancouver and, days later, whispers he was fatally shot in Saskatchewan. Police heard the rumours, too, but quickly dismissed them, a source said. Bowden was kicked out of the Hells Angels last October, a source said. He has had a number of high-profile run-ins with the law in recent years. In March 2005, he was shot in the leg at Dirty Laundry, a Corydon Avenue bar now known as NV.
