Jean-Winsing Barthelus, confidant and right-hand man of gang leader Gregory Woolley murdered last November in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was arrested with firearms on Friday morning.
Barthelus, 45, was intercepted by investigators from the Multisector Team Dedicated to Firearms (ÉMAF) of the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) while he was in his vehicle, in the Old Longueuil.
Bloodhounds first found a loaded pistol in his vehicle and another later in the day in his residence located on the South Shore of Montreal.
Jean-Winsing Barthelus appeared Saturday at the Longueuil courthouse where he was notably accused of possession of weapons.
Barthelus, who comes from blue street gangs, was a long-time traveling companion of Gregory Woolley with whom he was part, during the 1990s, of a group called the Syndicate which controlled drug trafficking in downtown Montreal on behalf of the Hells Angels.
Today, Barthelus is still considered by the police as a biker relation.
Under ban
Barthelus is already under an order prohibiting him from possessing a weapon. This was renewed the last time in March 2019 when Judge Marc David, of the Superior Court, sentenced him to 57 months in prison for gangsterism, conspiracy and cocaine trafficking.
But subtracting the period of time spent in preventive detention, he only had one day left to serve.
Barthelus and Gregory Woolley were arrested in November 2015 in Operation Magot-Mastiff through which the Sûreté du Québec decapitated a mafia-biker-gang alliance that had led Montreal organized crime since the natural death of former godfather Vito Rizzuto.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE SÛRETÉ DU QUÉBEC
An image of Gregory Woolley (left) and Jean-Winsing Barthelus captured during Operation Magot-Mastiff, in 2014
A statement of facts filed in court revealed that the head of a drug trafficking network operating in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district — who became a collaborating witness for the police — had communicated several times with Barthelus to order kilograms of cocaine.
Barthelus has other criminal histories involving drugs and weapons possession. He was sentenced to 30 months for gangsterism, possession of a firearm and drug trafficking in 2006. He received another 17 months for gangsterism and possession of property obtained by crime in 2010.
In 2012, he was arrested again with a weapon, while under a ban, and was sentenced to 30 days.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.