Former Hell’s Angels member denies death threats
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A former Hell’s Angels member on trial for uttering death threats admits he threatened to hurt a Saskatoon business owner who he used to work for, but denies ever saying he would kill the man or his family.
Jesse Lee Bitz is charged with three counts of uttering threats after his former boss, Leonard Banga, accused Bitz of threatening to kill him on at least two separate occasions between Dec. 23, 2012 and June 24, 2013.
Banga owns Xtreme Mining and Demolition, a Saskatoon company where Bitz worked for about three years. Banga testified that he called Bitz on Dec. 23, 2012 to confront him about sleeping on the job and threatening other employees. He said he told Bitz that he would fire him if it were true.
“Nobody fires a f—ing Hell’s Angel,” Banga testified Bitz said during the phone conversation, in which he also alleged Bitz threatened to kill Banga and his family.
Banga said he called Bitz a second time and recorded their conversation. Although Bitz can be heard screaming “I’m going to f— you up,” Banga admitted during cross-examination that the recording did not contain any death threats.
Between Dec. 23 and Dec. 31, Banga testified that he spoke with the company’s manager, who was also a senior member of the Hell’s Angels, about Bitz’s behavior. The man assured him that everything would be fine, but suggested the two men meet up to make amends, Banga said.
Court heard the men drove to a location about two miles south of the Grasswood Esso on Dec. 31. Banga said they got into an argument over his not giving Bitz a reference for a new job at Agrium, and that Bitz punched him in the nose. Banga recorded the conversation, but once again, no death threats were made at that time.
However, Banga said Bitz could be heard saying “don’t you dare hit a f—ing Hell’s Angel.”
The two men did not see each other until five months later while shopping at Cabela’s in Saskatoon. Banga said Bitz grabbed his arm, asked him to talk outside and exploded when Banga asked him to wait.
“He said ‘The only reason why you’re still alive is because you have Hell’s Angels working for you’,” Banga testified. He said Bitz told him that as soon as Banga no longer had employees who were Hell’s Angels, he said “I’m going to get the club together and kill you and your family.”
Banga said he called the senior Hell’s Angels member and was again told that the club members were going to talk to Bitz and calm him down. He testified that he soon realized nothing was changing, and worried that the club was supporting Bitz.
That possibility prompted Banga to go to police. He said his family had precautions in place, including a surveillance system and hidden cell phones in the backyard in case one of them was chased outside during a home invasion.
But nowhere on the recordings does Bitz threaten to kill Banga or his family, defence lawyer Morris Bodnar pointed out during cross-examination. Out of the four conversations the men had, Banga alleges the death threats were made during the two conversations that were not recorded.
Banga insisted that he fired Bitz during their initial phone conversation on Dec. 23, and denied that Bitz had quit. According to Bodnar, the fact that his client said “it’s over. I will not go back,” and “we’re done” on both of the recordings is proof that Bitz had in fact quit. While an amended version of Bitz’s Record of Employment (ROE) stated that Bitz was fired, Banga told Bodnar that he did not know what was on the initial ROE.
Bodnar questioned whether Banga was trying to “bait” Bitz on the recordings because he was upset that one of his employees, who had recently received his ticket to be a mining supervisor, was leaving Banga’s company to go work for Agrium. Banga said that wasn’t the case.
Bitz took the stand in his own defence, testifying that at first, Banga appeared supportive about Bitz pursuing a job at Agrium. Things changed once Banga realized he was actually going to get the job, Bitz said. He believes Banga accused him of slacking off because he was upset that Bitz was leaving. The allegations were untrue, Bitz told the court, so he quit. He testified that his initial ROE stated that he had been laid off, and that at no time did Banga mention he was fired.
He admitted texting his former boss “you better not f— my opportunity with Agrium” after their phone argument on Dec. 23. He told the court that Banga caused him to lose the Agrium job, and that he wanted to confront Banga about it when he saw him at Cabela’s. Bitz testified that while he did threaten to hurt Banga, “I did not threaten to kill him or his family.”
He said Banga was angry that he was leaving the company because he needed workers like Bitz. But Crown prosecutor Jennifer Claxton-Viczko questioned why Bitz would quit Xtreme Mining to take an approximate $20,000 pay cut working for Agrium.
She also asked Bitz if he was trying to intimidate Banga by repeatedly mentioning the Hell’s Angels.
“Not at all,” Bitz replied.
The Crown and defence closed their cases Tuesday afternoon at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench. Closing arguments will take place Wednesday morning.
news@panow.com
