Hells Angels "puppet club" with links throughout northern Alberta.
The operation - dubbed Project Goliath - "completely handicapped them (the White Boy Posse). They are not functioning as of this moment," said EPS Staff Sgt. Kevin Galvin. It was shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday that police, acting on search warrants, began a series of raids on four homes and a Beverly-area business to take down 17 members of the Posse. They all face drug-related charges, while police also have warrants out for five other people still at large. Const. Brent Dahlseide, one of the main investigators on the case, called the Posse a puppet club of the Hells Angels. Many Posse members aspire to join the notorious biker gang, which oversees the importation of drugs in order to distribute them to street-level groups like the Posse, Dahlseide noted. Two police tactical teams made the morning arrests without incident since, Dahlseide said, "everybody was caught napping, sleeping." Those charged include two teens, one of whom got involved with the Posse as a girlfriend of a gang member. Police say the Posse is active throughout northern Alberta, with cells in places such as Grande Prairie, Slave Lake, Edson, Whitecourt, Jasper, Lloydminster, Wainwright and Provost. A parallel RCMP investigation called Project Krystal also resulted in 16 charges targeting so-called dial-a-dope operations in communities surrounding Edmonton. They include Strathcona County, Spruce Grove, Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan. But while police hailed the arrests, Galvin acknowledged they alone won't put a major dent in Edmonton's booming drug trade.
"That consumer base will go somewhere else to find their product," he said.
Still, RCMP Supt. Brian McLeod vowed to continue to clamp down on what he called the "merchants of misery" who traffic drugs.
Edmonton police Chief Mike Boyd echoed those sentiments and called on the public to keep calling cops with the types of tips on gang activity that led to the Project Goliath arrests. "This needs to be a signal to those gang members out there that we will not stop working together to bring a change in our communities," he said.
The homes raided Thursday included one in the Old Strathcona area as well as three in north Edmonton in Clareview and Castle Downs. The arrests, as well as smaller raids earlier in the investigation, resulted in the seizure of about two kilograms of cocaine, $47,000 in cash and weapons, including swords and knives. The White Boy Posse is one of 24 gangs police estimate are active in Edmonton. But while the name White Boy Posse indicates a racial origin of the group, Const. Dale Johnson said it's not only white people and racists who join it. "Does somebody need to be a racist or a Nazi to be part of this group? I would say no," Johnson said. He added that Posse members are very overt about the group, often wearing memorabilia such as ballcaps and sweatshirts with gang insignias. "They use it to their advantage. It sends a message to people that see them," Johnson said.
The following are facing charges as a result of a combined police operation against the White Boy Posse:
Matthew Lavigne, 21. Trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession of cocaine for purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime. Christopher Rayworth, 23. Trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. Michael Robert, 33. Trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. Chase Callihoo, 20. Possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Tylor Collins, 18. Trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime. Jeffrey Quintal, 22. Trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime. William King, 20. Trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.
Matthew Etherington, 19. Possession of a controlled substance and breach of recognizance. Brandon Saint, 20. Possession of a controlled substance and breach of recognizance. A 17-year-old girl. Possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime. Dmitry Vinokurov, 30. Trafficking cocaine and possession of property obtained by crime. Chris Mitchel, 24. Possession of a controlled substance. Ryan Hodgins, 19. Possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and breach of recognizance. Daniel Fields, 22. Trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Graham Schaump, 19. Possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
A 17-year-old girl. Possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Mark Demeria, 21. Possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Cody Roemer, 19, Tyler Corbett, 23, James Surret, 20, and Bobby Jo Gladue, 26, have warrants out for their arrest. Joel Hanson, 24, has two warrants out for his arrest.