2 Hells Angels associates sentenced in B.C. court

Two associates of the Hells Angels who were convicted of possession and trafficking of cocaine following an RCMP investigation in Kelowna, B.C., were handed jail sentences Monday.

Justice Anne MacKenzie sentenced David Revell, 44, to five years in prison and Richard Rempel, 25, to four years.

The judge noted that neither had a criminal record and both had expressed remorse for their crimes.

MacKenzie noted that Rempel had committed a minor offence since his arrest in April 2005 but that, while deterrence and denunciation were primary considerations in sentencing, the two had shown "substantial potential for re-integration into society."

Still, the judge said their crimes were "brazen, arrogant offences motivated by greed.

"In the end the real victim is society," said MacKenzie, adding that some studies have suggested that 90 per cent of crime is linked to drugs and drug trafficking.

Rempel will be given double credit for the 19 months he spent in pretrial custody, leavingnine months to be served.

Prosecutor Martha Devlin had asked the B.C. Supreme Court judge to sentence Rempel to eight years and Revell to 10 years for convictions on one count each of possession and trafficking.

During the sentencing hearing, the Crown described the men, neither of whom is a drug addict, as being at the top of the drug-dealing hierarchy.

Full-patch member found not guilty in March

In late March, when the two were convicted, an effort by the Crown to have a full-patch member of the Hells Angels convicted of working for a criminal organization failed when MacKenzie ruled she didn't have enough evidence to come to that finding.

MacKenzie ruled the Crown's case against David Giles was weak and she found him not guilty of a drug offence.

As a result, she said she couldn't find him guilty of the charge of committing an offence as part of a criminal organization.

But Giles, 58, was found not guilty of possession of cocaine and not guilty of committing an offence for a criminal organization.

Rempel and Revell were found guilty of cocaine possession and guilty of cocaine trafficking, but not guilty of the criminal organization charge.

The case had been seen as a possible landmark since it might have resulted in the Hells Angels being labelled in court as a criminal organization.

Itfocused on about nine kilograms of cocaine seized from three locations in Kelowna, B.C. The Crown alleged the Vancouver-based East End Hells Angels had moved into Kelowna, calling themselves the K-Town Crew, in order to establish a new chapter and take over the lucrative illegal drug trade in the Okanagan Valley.

The verdicts followed a 10-month trial that ended in February.