Family ties, familiar faces: The connections between 12 men charged in Project Bombard
Several Viking members and associates have been charged before
The RNC and RCMP moved in step Wednesday, sweeping up eight members and two associates of the Vikings Motorcycle Club in a series of raids in St. John's and Cupids.
Meanwhile, club members Allan Potter and Daniel Leonard have been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Dale Porter.
- Vikings Motorcycle Club affiliated with Hells Angels, police say
- MD's arrest in motorcycle gang bust drags notorious St. John's address back into the headlines
If any of these men seem familiar, that could be because many were already known to police.
No strangers to the court room, some have been joined by previous criminal enterprises, while others are bonded by blood.
All in the Leonard family
First up is Leonard who, along with Potter, fetched the most serious charge of second-degree murder.
Back in a 2014 RCMP affidavit, Leonard and Potter were named as suspects in the case. At the time, Potter was arrested briefly while Leonard remained free until Wednesday afternoon.
Leonard's father, Vincent, is charged with trafficking cocaine and temazepam. Daniel Leonard's brother, Vincent Jr., is also charged with trafficking cocaine.
A fourth Leonard, Shane, is charged with conspiring to traffic oxycodone. His relation to the other three men is not yet known.
Daniel Leonard has prior convictions of assault and mischief, in 2001 and 2006 respectively. His father, meanwhile, has a list of 33 priors, starting with seven convictions for breaking and entering in 1982.
On Friday, Shane and Vincent Thomas Leonard were each released on $15,000 bail. They are both due back in provincial court on Nov. 16.
James Curran
A resident of Cupid's Crossing, James Curran was arrested on March 22 in the Trinity-Conception area. He was charged with possession of hydromorphinol and carrying a handgun. His lawyer, Bob Buckingham, said those charges were later withdrawn by provincial and federal prosecutors.
Buckingham said his client possessed a few dozen pills and the handgun was a wooden replica.
Curran is now facing charges of trafficking heroin and fentanyl, as well as participating in the activities of a criminal organization.
Following Wednesday's raid, residents near the Vikings clubhouse in Cupids identified Curran as the owner of the property. Due to health conditions, Curran did not appear in court with the others and has until Oct. 7 to turn himself in.
Buckingham told CBC arrangements to surrender were being made.
Curran has a record, with four impaired driving convictions between 1982 and 1997. He was also found guilty of damaging property and causing a disturbance in the early '80s.
Wayne Johnson
Johnson popped up in the 2015 assault trial of Allan Potter when he and other Vikings members sat in the back of the courtroom. It was a move the Crown alleged was an attempt to intimidate witnesses.
Johnson is perhaps better known as a serial drunk driver, and the mechanic who falsified a safety inspection certificate for a Pontiac Grand Prix the day before it was involved in a fatal accident in 2009.
Lawyers for both sides agreed Johnson was not to blame for the death of 23-year-old Kayla Reid. However, the car had several problems that should have warranted a failed inspection, some of which influenced the vehicle's steering. He was also charged with driving while being disqualified.
Two years after the accident, Johnson was convicted and sentenced to 11 months in prison, largely due to his staggering 11 previous impaired driving convictions and 12 previous convictions for driving while disqualified.
Johnson leads the Project Bombard pack with 50 prior convictions.
He now faces charges of trafficking cocaine and participating in the activities of a criminal organization.
Kenneth Kerrivan and Allister Hayley
Kenneth Kerrivan and Allister Hayley were first bonded by the criminal justice system in 2012, when both men were swept up in Operation Raptor.
Both were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
Kerrivan and Hayley were two of eight people caught in the 2012 cocaine trafficking ring that saw RNC crash locations on Cabot Street and Vail Place.
Both now face charges of conspiring to traffic oxycodone and participating in the activities of a criminal organization.
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