KELOWNA – Guilty on all counts. That’s the judge’s ruling Tuesday in the trial of a full-patch member of the Kelowna Hells Angels and an alleged associate of the biker gang.
Joseph Skreptak and Cory Montemurro were each charged with a dozen offenses after RCMP pulled over a speeding vehicle near Salmon Arm on a snowy night in November 2010.
Police found three loaded handguns, a sawed-off shot gun, knives, clubs, masks, body armour, bear spray and an electronic jamming device to prevent cell phone communication.
They also found a hand drawn map to a residence on Bolton Road in Tappen.
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Montemurro didn’t testify in his own defence. But Skreptak told the court he had no idea any of the weapons or other items were in the vehicle, despite having a latex glove with nine rounds of .38 calibre handgun ammunition tucked into his sock.
Mr. Justice Geoff Barrow didn’t believe most of the testimony of the Hells Angel, saying: “His entire account of events that evening are so improbable as to be beyond belief.”
Crown Counsel, Sandra Dworkin, says the men were “up to no good” that night, speculating it was a drug enterprise involving possible violence, but says we’ll never know for sure what their intentions were.
Skreptek testified he was inspecting a rural property he was considering buying and didn’t know why Montemurro was along for the ride. The judge rejected that testimony.
The two men will be sentenced at a later date. Some of the weapons charges they were convicted of carry mandatory minimum sentences of three years imprisonment.
Skreptak was also found guilty of possessing a small amount of marijuana.
Two other men were also in the vehicle that night. The charges against Dennis Minor and Carl Ennis were stayed by the Crown.
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