Defence wraps at Bandidos massacre trial

Closing arguments in the Bandidos murder trial will start on October 13, after the defence closed its case on Tuesday.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Thomas Heeney told the jury that the Crown and defence need time to prepare their final submissions, in a case that began with opening arguments on March 31.

The jury heard from dozens of witnesses during the six-month trial, but not the central figure in the proceeding.

The lawyer for Wayne Kellestine told the court that his client would not be testifying. There is no requirement for a defendant to testify and it is up to the Crown to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mr. Kellestine, Dwight Mushey, Michael Sandham, Marcello Aravena, Brett Gardiner and Frank Mather are on trial, each facing eight counts of first-degree murder.

They are accused of participating in the execution style killings of eight members of the Toronto chapter of the Bandidos biker gang in April 2006, at the farm near London, Ontario that was owned by Mr. Kellestine.

The jury heard that senior Bandidos in the United States ordered Mr. Kellestine to “pull the patches” (the memberships) of the Toronto members because of a long running dispute with that chapter.

Mr. Sandham and other members of the Winnipeg chapter were ordered to travel to Ontario to assist Mr. Kellestine, the jury heard.

Instead, the eight Toronto Bandidos ended up dead, shot to death and their bodies crammed into vehicles that were found only kilometers from the home of Mr. Kellestine.

Mr. Sandham and Mr. Aravena were the only defendants at the trial to testify and both insisted that there was no plan to kill the Toronto members.

Mr. Sandham admitted that he fatally shot Luis “Chopper” Raposo in the barn on the Kellestine property, but insisted it was self-defence. Mr. Sandham, who was previously a Winnipeg-area police officer before joining the Bandidos, tried to portray himself as a victim and said he was too afraid of Mr. Kellestine to stop the execution of the other seven bikers.

Mr. Aravena denied shooting anyone and suggested he was paralyzed by fear, the night of the mass killings.

After Mr. Kellestine allegedly shot and killed John “Boxer” Muscedere, he threatened Mr. Aravena, the defendant claimed in testimony last week.

“I ain’t doing 25 years for you. If you say anything I will kill you and your family,” Mr. Kellestine promised, said Mr. Aravena.

A former member of the Winnipeg chapter who can be identified only as M.H. because he is in the witness protection program, testified this summer that Mr. Kellestine made the decision to execute the Toronto members and shot six of his biker colleagues. M.H. implicated Mr. Sandham in two of the deaths and said he and Mr. Mushey both shot the final Toronto member to be killed.

National Post