A former Hells Angels member who was gunned down steps away from his east Hamilton home was "a real sweetheart" who treated neighbourhood children to rides on his motorcycle for their birthdays.
James "Lou" Malone was shot dead on Kenilworth Avenue at Hope Avenue just after 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, only about 250 metres from his house on Robins Avenue.
Police say the shooting was "targeted." Malone's killers chased him through the neighbourhood, said Hamilton homicide detective Peter Thom, and then sped away in a pickup truck while the 49-year-old lay bleeding on the sidewalk.
Thom said the police have made no arrests in the case, but are looking for two men who fled the crime scene in a grey Dodge Ram.
Mia, a resident of Robins Avenue, said Malone was a "really sweet guy" who was kind to the children in the neighbourhood. She said Malone — a muscular, bald man, who, according to police, was once a member of the Hells Angels — would give her two daughters change to buy goodies at the convenience store.
"All the kids on the street would get a ride on the back of his motorcycle on their birthdays," said Mia, who asked for her last name not to be published. "He was a real sweetheart."
Malone lived with his girlfriend, Julie, and regularly took the couple's dogs out for walks, Mia said.
Another Robins Avenue resident described Malone as "a great neighbour." She said there was no sign that he was involved in any activities that would render a him a target.
Man had 'extensive' criminal record: police
What little information police have given about Malone paint a vastly different picture of the man. Det. Peter Thom, the lead investigator in the case, said Malone was "previously a member of the Hells Angels" and had accumulated an "extensive and violent criminal record."
The Hamilton Hells Angels' clubhouse is located on the northeast corner of Gage Avenue North and Beach Road. (Cory Ruf/CBC)
It's not clear precisely when and why Malone left the biker gang. Thom said he believes Malone left the club two years ago and went on to work stints in construction.
A CBC Hamilton reporter arrived at the Hamilton Hells Angels' clubhouse — a two-storey brick building with a windowless main floor and locked doors fortified with steel panels — looking for comment from the chapter.
A man, who didn't identify himself, responded from behind the screen of a second-storey window. He said the Hamilton Hells Angels would not discuss Malone nor the circumstances surrounding his death.
"It's not something we care to talk about."
'This is east Hamilton. What do you expect?', neighbour says
Saturday morning's brazen shooting has cast a pall on the east Hamilton neighbourhood where Malone lived. Dozens of residents spent the day indoors, trapped inside a cordoned-off crime scene that spanned several city blocks.
"It's a nice neighbourhood… but now I'm anxious about going outside," Steven Bearfoot, who lives in an apartment above the storefront where Malone was killed, said on Monday.
A police officer holds the scene of fatal shooting in Hamilton on Saturday morning. A man was shot on Kenilworth Avenue North at Hope Avenue just after 1:20 a.m. (Cory Ruf/CBC)
Bill, a Robins Avenue resident, said gunfire from an apparent armed foot chase sprayed his front door, located more than third of a kilometre from where Malone was shot.
"Everybody's a little upset," he said. "But this is east Hamilton. What do you expect?"
Many residents of the neighbourhood, as well as patrons at Kenilworth Avenue bars, were reluctant to speak about the shooting and Malone's presence in the area.
Explaining why he and his friends were unwilling to comment on the matter, a customer at the Get Together Bar and Grill said, "We don't want to be next."
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