A Hells Angel can't hang out with his buddies as long as he's before the court on criminal charges.
Joseph Bruce Skreptak, 45, wanted his bail changed so he could have contact with members of the notorious gang and other motorcycle clubs, a usually reliable source said at the Kelowna Law Courts. He must continue to stay away from any motorcycle club, including the Hells Angels.
Skreptak, dressed in blue jeans, hoodie, a lumber jacket and orange reflective vest, applied to vary conditions of his bail Tuesday without a lawyer. A court-ordered ban forbids publication of the submissions made, but we can publish the results.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames made a slight change to Skreptak's curfew so he must now be home from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. He can leave the Central Okanagan to work as long as he notifies his bail supervisor.
And Skreptak can have indirect contact with the Hells Angels by speaking to Vancouver lawyer Kenneth Westlake about a civil forfeiture that names him as a defendant or respondent.
The forfeiture is believed to be the B.C. government's action to seize the gang's clubhouse on Ellis Street in Kelowna and its clubhouse in east Vancouver. The director of civil forfeiture argues the houses are linked to drug dealing, extortion and even murder.
Skreptak pleaded guilty in October to aggravated assault in the beating of a Kelowna man in his home. He was accused of punching the victim's son as well as breaking into the home when the beating happened in November 2010.
Those charges will be stayed. Even though he has no criminal record, the Crown will ask for jail time, prosecutor Catherine Fedder said last fall.
Skreptak is believed to have helped set up the Hells Angels' Kelowna chapter in 2007. His sentence hearing is set for Feb. 25.
He's also charged in connection with a large seizure of weapons in Salmon Arm a few weeks after the Kelowna assault. Police stopped a car and found numerous firearms, including a sawed-off shotgun, a large amount of ammunition, three handguns and marijuana. All the weapons were loaded, RCMP said.
Officers arrested Skreptak and three other men, all wearing the gang's insignia. They also found a bullet-proof vest, baseball bat, ax handle, knives, bear spray and a radio-jamming device used to block outgoing transmissions, police said.
The case goes to trial in Kelowna in July.
Skreptak is working as a dump-truck operator and clearing snow, a source said. He has made several requests to change his bail conditions, prompting prosecutors to challenge his applications each time.
Skreptak is trying to sell his house at 124 McIntosh Rd. in Kelowna and a property in Mexico.