Hells Angels biker Robin Moulton faces 12 new drug and weapons charges, denied bail
48-year-old Fredericton man was arrested as part of police probe of outlaw motorcycle gang activity in N.B.
A Fredericton man, identified by RCMP as a full-patch member of the Hells Angels, was denied bail Thursday after learning he would face 12 new charges, most involving firearms.
Robin Moulton, 48, appeared in Saint John provincial court in the morning on charges of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a restricted firearm — a 9 mm Beretta — without a licence.
But federal Crown prosecutor Nicole Angers withdrew those two charges and presented a new 12-count information to Judge Andrew LeMesurier.
Most of the charges relate to firearms, namely a high-powered rifle with a silencer and a loaded handgun, which Moulton has been banned from possessing for life, according to the information.
He is charged with improperly storing a 9 mm handgun; possessing a restricted handgun without authorization; possessing a loaded, restricted firearm without a licence, and possessing a handgun while barred from doing so for life.
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He is also charged with unsafe storage of a .308-calibre rifle; possession of a silencer for a dangerous purpose; possession of a silencer without authorization; possession of a firearm while barred for life, and possession of ammunition while barred from doing so for 10 years.
The three drug charges are trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of a press for use in trafficking.
All of the charges are alleged to have occurred on or about Aug. 22, at or near Woodstock.
Moulton, a heavily tattooed, bearded man, who listened attentively to the proceedings from the prisoner's box, showed no reaction to the additional charges.
The Crown objected to releasing Moulton, who has been in custody since Aug. 22, when RCMP say he was arrested near Woodstock as part of an ongoing joint-force investigation into outlaw motorcycle gang activities in New Brunswick.
An hour-long bail hearing was held during the morning session, but there is a publication ban on the evidence presented.
The judge reserved his decision until 2 p.m. and then denied bail, saying Moulton had failed to satisfy the reverse onus on him to show why he should not be kept in custody.
He remains remanded at an undisclosed location until Oct. 12 at 10 a.m., when he is scheduled to return to Saint John court to set a date for entering pleas and choosing a method of trial — either by a provincial court judge, or by judge alone or judge and jury in the Court of Queen's Bench.
'Proud' aunt
"I mean, we're relations, so we'd love to see him home, we'd love to give him a big kiss and say, you know, 'We love you.' He knows that, we love him," Robinson told reporters outside the courthouse.
He's a good kid, he is. He was brought up decent.- Shirley Robinson, aunt
She said she is "proud" to be his aunt.
"He's a good kid, he is. He was brought up decent."
Robinson, who lives in Saint John, said she hasn't seen Moulton "for a while," but he grew up in the city.
"I just remember this little blond-head guy growing up; long blond hair. When I look at him, that's what I see."
None of Moulton's other supporters, including a heavily tattooed bald man with a bushy goatee and a young blond woman with a tattoo of two handguns on her left shoulder, offered any comments as they left the courthouse.
The chapter, which was established in the province last fall, is made up of longstanding, elite Hells Angels members, police have said. The organization is called Nomads because, unlike traditional chapters, it doesn't have its own clubhouse.
Police have searched Moulton's Fredericton residence on Brunswick Street and "several" other locations across the province and seized numerous items, according to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh.
As part of the same investigation, one of Moulton's "known associates," Marie Antonette Bugay, 40, of Fredericton has been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a prohibited weapon. She remains remanded in custody until her next court appearance on Friday at 10 a.m.
The arrests came on the heels of the homicide of Ronald Richard, 50, a former member of the Bacchus motorcycle club, near Minto. Bacchus is a New Brunswick-based club affiliated with the Hells Angels.
RCMP have said they do not believe the homicide was random but have not released Richard's cause of death or any other details.
The matter was set over without pleas to give Moulton time to consult with his lawyer.
There were no obvious signs of stepped-up security in the Saint John courtroom on Thursday.
As far as we're concerned, Thursday is a regular day of business in the Saint John Law Courts building.- George Oram, head sheriff
The regional sheriff for the southern district of New Brunswick had previously declined to say whether extra sheriffs or police officers would be brought in.
"As far as we're concerned, Thursday is a regular day of business in the Saint John Law Courts building," George Oram had said.
"We place, at sheriff services, a great deal of emphasis on courtroom and building security on a daily basis.
"If we at times receive any intelligence that dictates we have to change or modify the way we deal with things or our approach to things, we deal with that on an as-needed basis."
Unlike the Woodstock courthouse, the Saint John Law Courts building has underground access, so an accused person doesn't have to walk outside from the sheriff's van to court.
Numerous RCMP and Woodstock police officers, as well as sheriff's deputies were on hand for Moulton's Woodstock court appearance on Aug. 25.
Police circled the courthouse for about 90 minutes before Moulton arrived in a white sheriff's van, in the middle of a procession of marked and unmarked police vehicles.
Moulton was arrested Aug. 22 after being stopped while driving on the Trans-Canada Highway near Woodstock at around 7:20 a.m. A search of the car led to the seizure of "a quantity" of what is believed to be cocaine, said Rogers-Marsh.
Items seized during the execution of search warrants include:
- Full-patch Hells Angels jacket.
- Hells Angels "support club" patches.
- A quantity of drugs.
- Drug paraphernalia.
- "Support 81 Maritimes" clothing, which police say is a metonym for Hells Angels — the eighth letter of the alphabet being H, and the first letter of the alphabet being A.
Moulton was convicted of drug trafficking and possession of a prohibited weapon in the Toronto area in 2008 and was sentenced to 64 months in prison.
He was arrested in Las Vegas on March 25, 2008, and held in Nevada on an immigration violation while awaiting extradition to Toronto to face the cocaine trafficking and firearms offences.
The current RCMP-led operation also involves the Canadian Border Services Agency, Saint John Police Force, Fredericton Police Force, Kennebecasis Regional Police Force and Edmundston Police.