Rock Machine biker gang boss Jean-François Émard charged with drug, weapon possession
Émard stated publicly last month he was trying to reform Rock Machine in Hawkesbury, Ont.
Jean-François Émard, the presumed boss of the Rock Machine biker gang, has pleaded not guilty to a variety of charges after being arrested by Quebec provincial police Sunday night.
The Sûreté du Québec arrested him in Valleyfield, about 45 minutes west of Montreal, after stopping him for a traffic infraction.
On Monday, Émard pleaded not guilty at the Valleyfield courthouse to charges including possession of cannabis, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possession of a dangerous weapon.
He will remain in custody until a new hearing is convened to determine the parameters of his conditional release.
Reforming the Rock Machine
Last month, Émard publicly stated he was trying to revive the biker gang in Vankleek Hill and Hawkesbury in Ontario, just across the Quebec-Ontario border and not far from Valleyfield.
Since then, authorities in and around Hawkesbury have been actively working to dissuade the reformation of the gang on their territory.
The Rock Machine battled the Hells Angels in Montreal in a bloody turf war in the mid-1990s.