| Serge Quesnel |
| Serge Quesnel was born in the early 1970s and became a fearsome enforcer and hitman for the Hells Angels Trois-Rivieres Chapter. He first became involved in crime as a teenager, shoplifting items from stores. He soon moved on to more serious crimes, including theft, armed robbery, and drug dealing. He also collected debts for bikers, who allowed him to keep 50 per cent of the money recovered. Quesnel committed his first murder at the age of 23. In what he later said was an attempt to further their underworld reputations, he and a friend killed drug dealer Richard Jobin. Quesnel said he bashed the 44-year-old over the head with an object and that his accomplice then stabbed Jobin in the back with a kitchen knife. |
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The following month, Quesnel committed his second murder. He and the same friend killed Martin Naud, who had worked for Quesnel as a drug dealer and knew details about the Jobin slaying. The duo ambushed Naud at his home and Quesnel stabbed him in the eye with a pair of scissors and then slit his throat. While Quesnel was not arrested for the murders, he served time in prison for other crimes. In 1994, shortly after completing a prison stint, he was approached by a lawyer, who offered to introduce him to Louis "Mélou" Roy, the head of the formidable Hells Angels Trois-Rivieres Chapter and one of the most influential bikers in Canada. Quesnel was invited to the gang’s highly-fortified clubhouse, where he was greeted by Roy. Quesnel later said that after some small talk, Roy asked him to become a killer for the Hells Angels. The Hells Angels leader allegedly explained that Quesnel would be paid $500 per week and $10,000 to $25,000 for each murder he committed. Quesnel was ecstatic about the opportunity and hurriedly accepted. As a show of good faith, Roy allegedly gave him $2,000 and bought him $800-worth of clothing. Shortly thereafter, the club gave Quesnel his first contract. He was ordered to kill Jacques Ferland, a PCP manufacturer who worked with the rival Rock Machine gang. Quesnel was to be paid $10,000 for the hit. He offered half to a friend, Michel "Pit" Caron, to help him. The duo struck in January 1995. As Caron waited in the getaway car, Quesnel snuck into Ferland’s Gordines home and shot him in the head. André Bédard, an alleged Ferland underling, was shot twice, but survived. The Hells Angels were pleased with their new hired gun. Claude "Le Pic" Rivard, an underworld figure linked to Montreal’s Pelletier Clan, was next on the hitman’s list. The gang offered Quesnel and an associate $15,000 for the murder. The duo caught up to Rivard in February 1995 and Quesnel shot him in the face as he sat in his car waiting at a red light. A police cruiser happened to pass by at that exact moment and a high-speed car chase was sparked. Quesnel eventually managed to avoid arrest after fleeing on foot. Quesnel was then offered $10,000 to kill rival drug dealer Richard Delcourt. The hitman used a different approach this time, convincing his victim in March 1995 to drive with him to Quebec City under the illusion people wanted to meet with him. Along the way, Quesnel pulled over to the side of the road and fired three bullets into Delcourt. He dragged the body to the side of the road and sped away. Life was great Quesnel. He was in the good graces of his Hells Angels bosses and dreamed of one-day becoming a member of the gang. He was also making a lot of money, at times carrying as much as $6,000 in pocket money. But Quesnel’s came crashing down after his accomplice Michel "Pit" Caron spilled the beans to police about the Ferland and Delcourt murders. Quesnel was arrested by the Surete du Quebec after they stopped his car in Quebec City on April 1, 1995. The contract killer was charged with the murders of Ferland and Delcourt. He cooperated with police as well, detailing to police all he knew about the Hells Angels. More than a dozen Hells Angels members and associates, including chieftain Louis “Mélou” Roy, were arrested on an assortment of charges two days later. Quesnel confessed to five murders and plotting to murder 13 others. He received a life sentence, with parole after 12 years in prison. He was also to be paid $390,000 for his testimony against his former comrades in crime. Quesnel testified at several trials, including that of Louis Roy and fellow Hells Angel Sylvain "Baptiste" Thiffault, charged with the murders of Jacques Ferland and Richard Delcourt. But juries were reluctant to take the word of an admitted murderer and acquitted the two bikers were acquitted. In January 2002, a judge ordered Quesnel to pay $36,300 to an inmate he tried to kill in Donnacona prison back in 1993, before the hitman cooperated with police. After prisoner Michel Landry complained of a backache, Quesnel offered to crack his back and stabbed him three times. Quesnel has since released a book about his underworld experiences. Written with Pierre Martineau, "I Was a Killer for the Hells Angels" pulls no punches about the sinister deeds performed by Quesnel during his time as a contract killer. |