Crown rejects accused’s selfless portrayal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/09/2009 (6119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON, Ont. — An ex-police officer on trial on eight counts of first-degree murder swore his motivations for being a biker were for the public good, not blind ambition.

On his eighth and last day in the witness box, assistant Crown attorney Tim Zuber attacked Michael Sandham’s self-portrayal, inferring Sandham would do anything, even kill, to have a Bandido patch on his back.

Sandham, 39, accused with five others of killing eight Toronto-area Bandidos at a southwestern Ontario farm, has told the jury he joined the motorcycle club because he wanted to infiltrate it and become a police agent.

Sandham has insisted he was a peacemaker and a bystander in the conflict between the Toronto bikers and the American mother chapter based in Texas.

In doing so, he has implicated virtually everyone but himself in the shootings at Wayne Kellestine’s farm on April 8, 2006.

Sandham has denied he was president of the Manitoba probationary chapter and that he was recruiting members. He’s denied there was a probationary chapter at all.

Zuber said the explanation doesn’t fit the evidence and said Sandham was “infatuated” with being a biker.

Zuber suggested Sandham was frustrated that the Toronto bikers who sponsored Winnipeg, specifically Luis (Chopper) Raposo, were against expanding the club beyond the Toronto chapter.

Kellestine envisioned a club spanning the country and Sandham agreed Kellestine spoke to him about creating a London chapter as well as a Winnipeg crew.

Kellestine was also being frozen out by his Toronto brothers and was upset about their drug use, Sandham said.

By December 2005, the American world chapter pulled the plug on Canadian operations. Zuber suggested that frustrated the ambitious Sandham.

Kellestine told him the Toronto bikers were considering burning their Bandidos patches and hooking up with the Outlaws — the club Sandham had tried to join in 2002 when he was still a police officer.

Those bridges were burned for Sandham and there was no way the Hells Angels, who had a stronghold of Winnipeg, would take him.

“You’ve come to the end of your rope. Through the actions of others you are done,” Zuber suggested.

Sandham denied entering a pact with Kellestine to eliminate the Toronto crew and contact the Americans to promote the Manitoba chapter and expansion.

Sandham maintained he was following directions from Kellestine, the national sergeant-at-arms.

He said Kellestine was given the order to kill Bandidos Canada president John (Boxer) Muscedere and Toronto chapter president Frank (Bam Bam) Salerno at a meeting with the Americans.

Sandham said Kellestine told him he wasn’t going to kill anyone, but would take Boxer’s patch.

Zuber said once the orders were completed, Manitoba would have its coveted chapter status, with Sandham at the helm.

But when told the orders had not been followed, Zuber said, Sandham loaded up his “crew” and drove to Kellestine’s.

By then, Zuber said, Sandham was suspicious two Toronto bikers were sent to Manitoba to kill him.

“I didn’t believe they were coming to do that,” Sandham said.

— The Canadian Press