B.C. Hells Angels Kelowna members plead guilty to manslaughter
Full-patch members Norman Cocks and Robert Thomas convicted in beating death
31-year-old Norman Cocks and 46-year-old Robert Leonard Thomas have pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the brutal beating death of 51-year-old Kelowna resident Dain Phillips in June of 2011.
It's the first time a full-patch member of the notorious motorcycle club has been convicted of killing someone in British Columbia, according to Crown prosecutor Joe Bellows.
Phillips was beaten to death when he went to make peace in a dispute between his sons and two other men. He was attacked by several men with hammers and baseball bats and later died in hospital.
Thomas and Cocks will be sentenced next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the trial for four other men facing second-degree murder charges in relation to the attack on Phillips is set to begin Monday in Vancouver. They are believed to be members of local clubs associated with the Hells Angels.
They include Norman Cocks' father, Robert Charles Cocks, Daniel Joseph McRae, Matthew Thomas McRae, Anson Lloyd Schell and Thomas Allen Vaughan.
Police say Robert Charles Cocks is the president of the Throttle Lockers, a Hells Angels support club.
Dain Phillips was once a hockey player in the WHL, a former team mate of NHL players Kelly Hrudy and Lindy Ruff.
with files from the CBC's Brady Strachan