A tattooed biker who planted a pipe bomb under a van belonging to a rival’s dad during a ‘bizarre’ motorcycle gang feud has been jailed.
Daniel Laponder, 43, targeted David Rollo’s work vehicle parked up outside his home in Lennoxtown, East Dumbartonshire, on June 8 this year.
Mr Rollo’s son, also named David, is a member of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club – claimed to be the oldest ‘outlaw’ biker club in Europe.
Laponder used to belong to the same crew before splintering off and forming his own Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club.
Glasgow’s High Court heard the two clubs are ‘engaged in a feud’ with each other.
Laponder was later found with a shotgun which he kept on his barge where he lived in Kirkintilloch.
He pleaded guilty in September to wilful fire raising and possession of the shotgun without the authority of the Secretary of State or Scottish Ministers.
Judge Lord Arthurson said the background to the offences were ‘somewhat bizarre stemming from a feud between the Blue Angels and Mad Dogs after you left the Blue Angels’.
The judge added: ‘A very substantial custodial disposal is inevitable in this case.’
An earlier hearing was told Mr Rollo Sr parked his BT Openreach Vauxhall Vivaro van near his home on June 7.
Late the following night, an off duty fire fighter was told of a vehicle which was ablaze on Benvue Road.
Prosecutor Lorraine Glancy KC said: ‘He attended to assess the situation and saw the vehicle on fire.
‘He observed a device made up from bottles, wires and an apparent electrical component with a battery compartment.’
Fire crews attended and found a device lying underneath the front of the van.
The court heard the crude device consisted of two plastic bottles and copper pipe taped together, attached to an RF receiver with and an antenna.
A major incident was later declared which resulted in an emergency evacuation procedure as well a 100 metre cordon until the device was made safe.
Due to the nature and severity of the incident, teams from Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, the Scottish Ambulance service and a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit attended.
Ms Glancy said: ‘At 5.45am, confirmation was received that the device was a viable pipe bomb which had been detonated
‘There were traces of accelerant located at the front offside wheel and an area underneath the engine.’
Police inquiries led officers to the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club Facebook account which featured Laponder and another man with a Range Rover.
The same Range Rover was caught on video doorbell footage as the vehicle driven by the perpetrators.
The pair even posted themselves on Facebook on the day of the attack with the caption: ‘Hooked up with this reprobate today, interesting stuff.’
Laponder and the other man purchased duct tape and a bottle of water which were identical to those used in the making of the bomb. Laponder’s DNA and fingerprints were also recovered from the bottles and tape.
A forensic investigation on the device found that it comprised of petrol and ball bearings with a remote activation attached to it.
When quizzed by officers, Laponder told detectives: ‘I’m not a Blue Angel anymore, I retired a year ago.’
Laponder was asked about the bomb and replied: ‘Link the dots, we’ve been getting attacked all the time.
‘What is a remote detonator? It goes off with a remote, perhaps it was a shot across the bow.’
The Blue Angels Motorcycle Club was formed in Glasgow in 1963.
It is the oldest outlaw biker club in Europe and one of the biggest and most powerful MCs in the UK.
Rumours have suggested ‘Blue’ stands for ‘b*****ds, lunatics, undesirables and eccentrics’, although the true origin is more likely to be found in the colour of the Saltire.
The MC’s ‘colours’ – or patches – consist of a winged skull wearing a Stahlhelm with a top ‘rocker’ bearing the club’s name and a bottom ‘rocker’ displaying the member’s country of origin.
Members also bore ‘1%’ patches, with ‘one-percenter’ being a nod to a comment widely attributed to the American Motorcycle Association stating 99% of motorcyclists are decent and law-abiding.
Prospective members must be nominated by two full members and can be voted in by others after completing a stint as a ‘prospect’.
The MC is said to have six chapters in Scotland, four in the north of England, seven in Belgium – where police have designated it a criminal gang – and two in Spain.
A garage linked to the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club was raided and two remote firing systems similar to the one used in the bomb attack were recovered.
John Scullion KC, defending, told the court there had been targeted attacks by the rival gang in the preceding months.
He added: ‘[Laponder] said it was his intention to end the feud by retaliating to those involved in the previous incidents.
‘He accepts full responsibility for his actions, and he bitterly regrets his involvement in the offences.
‘He expresses remorse which appears genuine and has insight on the impact the offences have had on his family as well as the wider community.’
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