Richard (Ricky) Alexander leaves the Victoria courthouse in April. Alexander remains on bail pending a new trial on first-degree murder charges, after a mistrial was declared. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST
The former president of the Devils Army motorcycle club in Campbell River will remain on $600,000 bail after a mistrial was declared at his murder trial last month.
Richard Ernest Alexander, 66, is charged with the first-degree murder of John Dillon Brown, a promising MMA fighter and young father from Saanich. Brown was found dead inside the trunk of his grey Honda Accord on March 12, 2016, near Sayward, northwest of Campbell River.
He was last seen leaving a Campbell River residence about 1 p.m. the day before.
Alexander was arrested and charged with Brown’s murder in October 2018. He was released on $600,000 bail in January 2019. Publication bans cover the submissions and evidence made at that bail hearing.
There is also a publication ban on the mistrial and his recent half-day bail hearings in B.C. Supreme Court.
The Crown intends to proceed with a retrial. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for June 9.
Defence lawyer Richard Neary, who is not representing Alexander at the retrial, said Wednesday he intends to prepare a comprehensive submission to the B.C. Prosecution Service outlining why the Crown should not proceed.
At the conclusion of the bail hearing Monday, Justice Kate Ker relaxed some of Alexander’s bail conditions and removed others.
The condition that allowed police to search Alexander’s house, car or person once a month has been deleted, said Neary.
He must live at his home on the Lower Mainland and his curfew has also been relaxed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., to 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Alexander must report to his bail supervisor once a week in person and must not leave B.C. without the written permission of his bail supervisor.
He is not allowed to speak to any potential witnesses and is prohibited from having any contact with 26 individuals named in the bail documents.
Alexander must have no contact with any prospect, former member or member of any motorcycle club, including the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and the Devils Army Motorcycle Club, and must stay away from their clubhouses.
He can travel to Vancouver Island to attend court or meet with his defence lawyer and for personal travel, such as camping with his son or visiting family, with 72 hours’ notice to the bail supervisor. But he is not allowed to be within 75 kilometres of Campbell River.
Alexander has been ordered to surrender all his travel documents to the RCMP. He is allowed to have one cellphone with one phone number and must give his bail supervisor and the RCMP a copy of his monthly cellphone bill with details of all phone, text and instant message activity.
Every month, Alexander must turn in his cellphone to the nearest RCMP detachment to allow them to search it. He must not delete any calls, texts or instant messages. He must cancel or disable all other mobile communication devices and surrender any other cellphones to the RCMP.
He is prohibited from travelling in his son’s Cessna 172 airplane and any other aircraft that is not a commercial airline, unless he has the prior written approval of his bail supervisor.
Alexander must not possess any weapons or firearms or live in a residence where they are kept.
He must cover up his Hells Angels and Devils Army tattoos while he’s out on bail.
He must not wear or own any clothing or jewelry with the names, logos or insignias of the Hells Angels or the Devils Army.
