RCMP have charged their prime suspect with the December 2007 killing of a Manitoba gang leader.
Sean Michael Heickert, 41, was arrested Tuesday in Thompson. He is being held in custody and will appear in court today on a charge of first-degree murder. Police said more arrests may be coming.
Bekim Zeneli, founder of the LHS (loyalty, honour, silence) gang, was gunned down inside his apartment last winter in an apparent power struggle over control of the lucrative northern Manitoba drug trade. Heickert, described by police as an associate of the Hells Angels, was initially taken in for questioning, but later released without charge.
In a strange twist, his name surfaced days later -- as a victim of an apparent murder plot. His brother, James Heickert, and Thompson residents Dean Gurniak and Stanley Lucovic were allegedly intercepted by police planning Sean Heickert's death. James Heickert is a full-patch member of the Hells Angels chapter in Oshawa, Ont. The three men are expected to appear in court this morning to dispose of their case.
Sean Heickert nearly died in August after being shot in Thompson and medivaced to Winnipeg with serious injuries. Police have not made any arrests.
Court documents revealed police had listened in on a detailed plan to kill Zeneli just two days before his death, but never warned him about the apparent threat.
Undercover police agent Scotty "Taz" Robertson told several gang associates inside a Pembina Highway hotel room he would take out Zeneli for $20,000. Robertson was paid $650,000 to infiltrate the Hells Angels during the year-long undercover Project Drill probe that resulted in 18 arrests, including Manitoba Hells Angels president Dale Donovan and full-patch members from Ontario and British Columbia.
Zeneli was described by his rivals as a "terrorist" who was pushing the Hells Angels out of Thompson and needed to be stopped. Police also recorded detailed discussion about killing Sean Heickert, who was working with Zeneli at the time.
Talk of killing Zeneli began at the start of Project Drill in December 2006. Police sent Zeneli a warning letter, but took no further action, such as charging any of the men who had discussed the conspiracy.
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