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Jeff McLeod
Jeffery McLeod (born 1955) is a Canadian biker who was one of the Port Hope 8, members of the Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club accused of murder. McLeod's conviction for second degree murder is controversial.
McLeod was born into a middle-class family in Scarborough (modern Toronto). As a student at Warden Avenue Public School and at Corvette Junior Public School his grades were outstanding until his parents divorced, which caused him to fell into depression and a related decline in his grades. A talented hockey player who was abnormally tall as a child as he stood 5'11 by the age of 12, McLeod had ambitions of becoming a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League. McLeod played for the Toronto Marlboros, the junior A team for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but at the age of 15 McLeod was expelled on the account of him being too overweight to play hockey successfully. McLeod's most notable character trait was his compulsive over-eating, which led him to become obese and which ended the possibility of him ever playing for the Maple Leafs. He dropped out of high school in grade 11 and worked as a loader of newspapers in the garage of the Toronto Star newspaper. McLeod's task was to place bundles of Toronto Star newspapers onto the trucks that delivered them all over the greater Toronto area.
In 1974 at the age of 19, he began to associate with members of Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club and in 1975 he joined Satan's Choice. McLeod explained his reasons for joining Satan's Choice as due to the sex appeal he garnered as an outlaw biker as he asked rhetorically "where else could a 320-pound man go to get laid?" Many women are attracted to men who embody the "Bad boy archetype" and in this way the obese McLeod found himself becoming a major sex symbol in Toronto after he started to wear a biker's vest with the Satan's Choice patch on the back. McLeod had no interest in motorcycles and he only joined Satan's Choice for the sex. His work ethic declined after he joined Satan's Choice as he was often too hung-over from parties to work and he became arrogant at the Toronto Star office as he become convinced that he was superior to anyone else because of his membership in Satan's Choice. In July 1976, he was fired from the Toronto Star for his poor work ethic and therefore officially lived on unemployment insurance payments.
McLeod denies that he worked as a drug dealer, using the fact that he lived at home with his mother as he could not afford to rent an apartment as evidence that his Satan's Choice career was not making him wealthy. He stated that only 10% of Satan's Choice bikers worked as drug dealers, who jealously guarded their lists of clients, and his role merely to assist occasionally those bikers who were drug dealers. McLeod described himself as a "bum" who refused to work for a living and lived on the charity of others, mostly his mother and his biker "brothers" to support himself. The American journalist Mick Lowe described McLeod as "the very archetype of a big, dumb biker, truly frightening in demeanor and appearance" with his bushy beard and moustache along with his red hair tied into a long ponytail. McLeod's practice of pausing when asked a question led people to assume he was stupid, but in fact McLeod was as Lowe noted "keenly observant, highly analytical and sometimes judgmental to a fault". His practice of pausing when asked a question was seeking to avoid giving a glib and superficial answer by thinking through the question. Peter Edwards, the crime corresponet of the Toronto Star described McLeod as "quick witted" and "far more intelligent than his looks suggested". At times, Satan's Choice presented him with difficult moments as when member, John Harvey, pointed his pistol at his head. Lorne Campbell who was present at the scene recalled: "All he had to do was twitch and Jeff would have had half his head blown off. It was scary. Was he joking? Who knows?"
McLeod's only criminal conviction prior to the Port Hope 8 case occurred in 1976 when he was convicted of making death threats to a Toronto police officer. McLeod had been pulled over by a Toronto policeman who gave $300 worth of tickets for his various defects in his motorcycle, leading McLeod to say "Yeah, I'll see you later". McLeod was convicted of making a death threat against a police officer and had to pay a $1,000 peace bond. In June 1978, McLeod along with his fellow Satan's Choice bikers Gary Comeau, Larry Hurren, and Gordon van Haarlem were charged with a brawl at the Alderville Indian Reserve when they gate-clashed a party at the reserve, which led to a number of fights.
McLeod was the best friend of Gary Comeau. On the night of 13 October 1978, when Comeau asked for volunteers to go with him to the Queen's Hotel in Port Hope to confront William "Heavy" Matiyek of the rival Golden Hawk Riders, McLeod accepted the offer and went in Comeau's car. McLeod and Comeau arrived at the Queen's Hotel in the company of Richard Sauvé. McLeod was engaged in a conversation with a bar patron when Matiyek was killed, and he immediately fled in terror from the Queens Hotel via the exit to John Street. McLeod was not entirely certain who was shot or who had fired the shots, and instead fled as fast as possible when he heard a gun being fired. As he sat in the back of Comeau's car, he kept saying: "I didn't do nothin' I didn't do nothin'".
McLeod was first tagged as a suspect when one of the witnesses to the murder, the waitress Cathy Cotgrave, picked him his photograph out of the photo array presented to her by Constable Donald Denis of the Ontario Provincial Police. On 10 November 1978, McLeod was interviewed by Constable Colin Cousens. McLeod denied knowing who Matiyek was or anything about the murder, and claimed not have been in Port Hope on the night of the murder. On 5 December 1978, the police obtained an arrest warrant for McLeod on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On 6 December 1978, McLeod was at the Scarborough Mid-Centre Youth Arena when Comeau informed him of the arrest of David George Hoffman in Kitchener, which caused both much mirth. Afterwards, McLeod and Comeau went to the Satan's Choice Toronto clubhouse where both men were arrested. The Toronto police smashed their way by having a truck pull out the steel door of the Toronto clubhouse. Terry Hall of the OPP's Special Squad personally arrested McLeod. Along with McLeod, Hurren, and Comeau were both arrested at the clubhouse. McLeod was taken to the OPP's headquarters where he and another Satan's Choice biker Larry Hurren were left in a car with the key in the ignition. McLeod believes that the police wanted him to try to escape to provide an excuse to kill both him and Hurren. Afterwards, McLeod was taken to Port Hope to be held in the county jail.
On 18 December 1978 at a bail hearing at Osgoode Hall, McLeod was denied bail because of his lack of employment and ordered to remain in jail until his trial. McLeod hired as his lawyer the former Crown Attorney Bruce Affleck to serve as his defense counsel. Affleck, a man with a genius level IQ had been a successful Crown Attorney lauded as the most able prosecutor in Canada had shocked many with his sudden decision in 1977 to work as a defense lawyer. McLeod hired Affleck as his lawyer under the grounds that a who had so successful in convicting Satan's Choice bikers was the best man to secure their acquittal. Affleck also knew and had a rivalry with the Crown Attorney who was to prosecute the Port Hope 8, Chris Meinhardt, which was a bonus from McLeod's viewpoint. Meinhardt whose nickname was "Chris Mean Heart" was one of the most hated Crown Attorneys in Ontario who was known for his ruthless methods in winning cases. Affleck suspected that the room in the Cobourg jail where he met McLeod was bugged and as such he communicated with his client via notes. McLeod felt that Affleck was optimistic in his appraisal about his chances of winning an acquittal even though Affleck had often warned him: "Look, this is major league stuff. Murder One. We can't screw around". Affleck came to have a strong dislike for his client who provided him with a false alibi that he was in Kitchener on the night of the murder, a line of defense that Affleck refused to take under the grounds that it was a lie. Affleck told McLeod that as a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, he could not present such a dishonest defense in court. At McLeod's insistence, Affleck served as the lead defense counsel in the trial of Regina vs. McLeod, et. On 4 February 1979 McLeod along with Comeau, van Haarlem, and Hurren were convicted of unlawful assembly with regard to the brawl on the Alderville First Nation reserve and sentenced to 2 years of probation.
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Jeff McLeod
Jeffery McLeod (born 1955) is a Canadian biker who was one of the Port Hope 8, members of the Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club accused of murder. McLeod's conviction for second degree murder is controversial.
McLeod was born into a middle-class family in Scarborough (modern Toronto). As a student at Warden Avenue Public School and at Corvette Junior Public School his grades were outstanding until his parents divorced, which caused him to fell into depression and a related decline in his grades. A talented hockey player who was abnormally tall as a child as he stood 5'11 by the age of 12, McLeod had ambitions of becoming a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League. McLeod played for the Toronto Marlboros, the junior A team for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but at the age of 15 McLeod was expelled on the account of him being too overweight to play hockey successfully. McLeod's most notable character trait was his compulsive over-eating, which led him to become obese and which ended the possibility of him ever playing for the Maple Leafs. He dropped out of high school in grade 11 and worked as a loader of newspapers in the garage of the Toronto Star newspaper. McLeod's task was to place bundles of Toronto Star newspapers onto the trucks that delivered them all over the greater Toronto area.
In 1974 at the age of 19, he began to associate with members of Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club and in 1975 he joined Satan's Choice. McLeod explained his reasons for joining Satan's Choice as due to the sex appeal he garnered as an outlaw biker as he asked rhetorically "where else could a 320-pound man go to get laid?" Many women are attracted to men who embody the "Bad boy archetype" and in this way the obese McLeod found himself becoming a major sex symbol in Toronto after he started to wear a biker's vest with the Satan's Choice patch on the back. McLeod had no interest in motorcycles and he only joined Satan's Choice for the sex. His work ethic declined after he joined Satan's Choice as he was often too hung-over from parties to work and he became arrogant at the Toronto Star office as he become convinced that he was superior to anyone else because of his membership in Satan's Choice. In July 1976, he was fired from the Toronto Star for his poor work ethic and therefore officially lived on unemployment insurance payments.
McLeod denies that he worked as a drug dealer, using the fact that he lived at home with his mother as he could not afford to rent an apartment as evidence that his Satan's Choice career was not making him wealthy. He stated that only 10% of Satan's Choice bikers worked as drug dealers, who jealously guarded their lists of clients, and his role merely to assist occasionally those bikers who were drug dealers. McLeod described himself as a "bum" who refused to work for a living and lived on the charity of others, mostly his mother and his biker "brothers" to support himself. The American journalist Mick Lowe described McLeod as "the very archetype of a big, dumb biker, truly frightening in demeanor and appearance" with his bushy beard and moustache along with his red hair tied into a long ponytail. McLeod's practice of pausing when asked a question led people to assume he was stupid, but in fact McLeod was as Lowe noted "keenly observant, highly analytical and sometimes judgmental to a fault". His practice of pausing when asked a question was seeking to avoid giving a glib and superficial answer by thinking through the question. Peter Edwards, the crime corresponet of the Toronto Star described McLeod as "quick witted" and "far more intelligent than his looks suggested". At times, Satan's Choice presented him with difficult moments as when member, John Harvey, pointed his pistol at his head. Lorne Campbell who was present at the scene recalled: "All he had to do was twitch and Jeff would have had half his head blown off. It was scary. Was he joking? Who knows?"
McLeod's only criminal conviction prior to the Port Hope 8 case occurred in 1976 when he was convicted of making death threats to a Toronto police officer. McLeod had been pulled over by a Toronto policeman who gave $300 worth of tickets for his various defects in his motorcycle, leading McLeod to say "Yeah, I'll see you later". McLeod was convicted of making a death threat against a police officer and had to pay a $1,000 peace bond. In June 1978, McLeod along with his fellow Satan's Choice bikers Gary Comeau, Larry Hurren, and Gordon van Haarlem were charged with a brawl at the Alderville Indian Reserve when they gate-clashed a party at the reserve, which led to a number of fights.
McLeod was the best friend of Gary Comeau. On the night of 13 October 1978, when Comeau asked for volunteers to go with him to the Queen's Hotel in Port Hope to confront William "Heavy" Matiyek of the rival Golden Hawk Riders, McLeod accepted the offer and went in Comeau's car. McLeod and Comeau arrived at the Queen's Hotel in the company of Richard Sauvé. McLeod was engaged in a conversation with a bar patron when Matiyek was killed, and he immediately fled in terror from the Queens Hotel via the exit to John Street. McLeod was not entirely certain who was shot or who had fired the shots, and instead fled as fast as possible when he heard a gun being fired. As he sat in the back of Comeau's car, he kept saying: "I didn't do nothin' I didn't do nothin'".
McLeod was first tagged as a suspect when one of the witnesses to the murder, the waitress Cathy Cotgrave, picked him his photograph out of the photo array presented to her by Constable Donald Denis of the Ontario Provincial Police. On 10 November 1978, McLeod was interviewed by Constable Colin Cousens. McLeod denied knowing who Matiyek was or anything about the murder, and claimed not have been in Port Hope on the night of the murder. On 5 December 1978, the police obtained an arrest warrant for McLeod on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On 6 December 1978, McLeod was at the Scarborough Mid-Centre Youth Arena when Comeau informed him of the arrest of David George Hoffman in Kitchener, which caused both much mirth. Afterwards, McLeod and Comeau went to the Satan's Choice Toronto clubhouse where both men were arrested. The Toronto police smashed their way by having a truck pull out the steel door of the Toronto clubhouse. Terry Hall of the OPP's Special Squad personally arrested McLeod. Along with McLeod, Hurren, and Comeau were both arrested at the clubhouse. McLeod was taken to the OPP's headquarters where he and another Satan's Choice biker Larry Hurren were left in a car with the key in the ignition. McLeod believes that the police wanted him to try to escape to provide an excuse to kill both him and Hurren. Afterwards, McLeod was taken to Port Hope to be held in the county jail.
On 18 December 1978 at a bail hearing at Osgoode Hall, McLeod was denied bail because of his lack of employment and ordered to remain in jail until his trial. McLeod hired as his lawyer the former Crown Attorney Bruce Affleck to serve as his defense counsel. Affleck, a man with a genius level IQ had been a successful Crown Attorney lauded as the most able prosecutor in Canada had shocked many with his sudden decision in 1977 to work as a defense lawyer. McLeod hired Affleck as his lawyer under the grounds that a who had so successful in convicting Satan's Choice bikers was the best man to secure their acquittal. Affleck also knew and had a rivalry with the Crown Attorney who was to prosecute the Port Hope 8, Chris Meinhardt, which was a bonus from McLeod's viewpoint. Meinhardt whose nickname was "Chris Mean Heart" was one of the most hated Crown Attorneys in Ontario who was known for his ruthless methods in winning cases. Affleck suspected that the room in the Cobourg jail where he met McLeod was bugged and as such he communicated with his client via notes. McLeod felt that Affleck was optimistic in his appraisal about his chances of winning an acquittal even though Affleck had often warned him: "Look, this is major league stuff. Murder One. We can't screw around". Affleck came to have a strong dislike for his client who provided him with a false alibi that he was in Kitchener on the night of the murder, a line of defense that Affleck refused to take under the grounds that it was a lie. Affleck told McLeod that as a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, he could not present such a dishonest defense in court. At McLeod's insistence, Affleck served as the lead defense counsel in the trial of Regina vs. McLeod, et. On 4 February 1979 McLeod along with Comeau, van Haarlem, and Hurren were convicted of unlawful assembly with regard to the brawl on the Alderville First Nation reserve and sentenced to 2 years of probation.