| Francois "Frank" Hinse |
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| Francois Hinse was born in the mid-1960s and became a member of the Hells Angels Trois-Rivieres Chapter. According to a news report, his younger brother later became a member of the Rockers Montreal Chapter, a Hells Angels affiliate.
In January 1995, Rock Machine Normand Baker was gunned down as he sat with friends at a Hard Rock Café in Acapulco, Mexico. The gunman, whom witnesses reportedly identified as Hinse, walked up to Baker’s table, said “Happy New Year,” and shot him in the head. |
| The gunman then jumped through the restaurant’s plate-glass window and tried to escape, but was tackled by patrons and waiters. Hinse, who was then a Hells Angels prospect, was arrested by Mexican police and charged with the killing.
Hinse had been vacationing in Mexico at the time along with several members of the Hells Angels Trois-Rivieres Chapter, including Louis “Mélou” Roy and Daniel “Johnny” Royer, and their families. Hinse was released from prison about a week later due to lack of evidence. Rumours quickly surfaced that a $700,000 bribe was paid in order to purchase the biker’s freedom. Shortly after the murder, according to RCMP reports, biker informant Danny Kane told his police handlers that the Nomads had extensive contacts in Mexico and were busy paying off officials and convincing witnesses not to testify in order to get Hinse off the hook. Hinse, who had since became a full-patch member of the club, was among the bikers who suffered from the backlash of Hells Angels hitman Serge Quesnel becoming a government informant. Quesnel confessed to numerous murders and implicated several members of the Hells Angels Trois-Rivieres Chapter. In October 1997, Hinse, fellow Trois-Rivieres Hells Angels Sylvain Thiffault, Claude Giguere, and Mario Brouillette, as well as Clermont Carrier, a member of the Hells-affiliated Blatnois gang, pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy charges. In exchange for the pleas, the government agreed to drop charges against Hells Angels leader Louis “Mélou” Roy. Hinse was sentenced to four years in prison. According to news reports, Hinse was supposedly present when Hells Angel Claude Giguere gave Quesnel the contract to kill Gino Hallé, a man with links to the rival Rock Machine. |