'Angel' targeted by rival gang

By Sarah Portlock
BBC News

The group were a local chapter of the Outlaws - rivals of the Hells Angels

Seven men are facing long jail terms for the murder of Gerry Tobin - a Hells Angel shot dead on the M40 as he returned home from a biker festival.

The search for the killers led police to the South Warwickshire chapter of the Outlaws - a rival gang to the Hells Angels.

There were only seven members in the chapter, and they all played a role in the meticulously-planned killing.

Det Supt Ken Lawrence of Warwickshire Police, who led the investigation, said the public perception that any leather-jacketed biker was a Hells Angel was false.

There are a number of biker gangs including the Hells Angels, the Outlaws and other groups such as the Bandidos, who have fierce rivalries and can consider themselves to be outside the law, he said.

A retaliation may have already occurred, we don't know Det Supt Ken Lawrence Gerry Tobin's fatal journey

Animosity exists between the groups, members of which can be found worldwide, and some countries have banned them.

"There are many ongoing battles and retaliation attacks going on all the time around the world," he said.

"They rely very much on fear.

"We uncovered some incidents that were never reported because of the fear of repercussions. There is a shroud of secrecy around them."

Gerry Tobin was a "fully patched" member of the Hells Angels

Gerry Tobin was not targeted for personal reasons but because he was a "fully patched", meaning fully initiated, member of the Hells Angels.

Det Supt Lawrence said: "We have found no link between the defendants and Gerry Tobin himself. We believe it was because he was a Hells Angel.

"They [the Outlaws] had a plan. They placed themselves at locations where they knew bikers from the Bulldog Bash festival would pass."

The Bulldog Bash is a Hells Angel-organised festival, held annually at a disused airfield in Long Marston, near Stratford-on-Avon in South Warwickshire.

The South Warwickshire chapter of the Outlaws could have seen the event as an invasion of their territory, police said.

Repercussions

The question remains as to whether the South Warwickshire Outlaws took it upon themselves to stage the attack, or whether it was sanctioned by Outlaw members higher up the chain of command.

"We have no evidence, but there would have been some awareness and some sanction," Det Supt Lawrence said.

"I don't think a local chapter would take this action without some form of sanction because of the repercussions."

Hells Angel bikers turned out for Gerry Tobin's funeral

Prosecutors told Birmingham Crown Court Mr Tobin was first spotted by his killers as he rode along the A46, a main road leading to the M40. They are thought to have been in a Rover saloon, parked in a layby.

The car, with three men inside, then followed three motorcyclists, led by Mr Tobin, on to the M40 at junction 15 near Warwick.

The Rover passed two of the bikes before pulling alongside Mr Tobin and two shots were fired, one hitting Mr Tobin in the neck, passing through to his skull, and the other his rear wheel.

Two gunmen

Prosecutors said there must have been two gunmen as just one would not have been able to take careful aim twice with different weapons and at different parts of the bike.

The subsequent investigation quickly led police to the South Warwickshire Outlaws.

"We were mildly aware of them before the incident," Det Supt Lawrence said.

"They are clearly an organised a group of people who live by a certain code and rules."

The bullet that killed Mr Tobin skimmed his motocycle helmet

Their clubhouse, rooms behind a motorbike shop in Coventry, revealed guns and ammunition. Police also found a mannequin, which appeared to have been used as target practice.

"They had lethal weapons," Det Supt Lawrence said. "They obviously had the ability to be able to get hold of weapons and they also had the ability to use them.

"Mr Tobin was shot by someone in a car travelling at a speed of up to 90mph. It could have been a fluke, or it could have been a bull's-eye."

The danger now could be retaliation, he added. An incident could take place in one country and a retaliation take place in another.

"When we look at incidents around the world it is difficult to tell. A retaliation for this act could have already occurred, we don't know."