Motorcycle gang member who planted a pipe bomb under a van is jailed

A tattooed biker who planted a pipe bomb under the van of a rival’s father’s amid a motorcycle gang feud has been jailed.

Daniel Laponder targeted David Rollo’s vehicle outside his home in Lennoxtown, Dunbartonshire, on June 8.

Mr Rollo’s son is a member of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club – stated to be the oldest ‘outlaw’ biker club in Europe. 

Ground worker Laponder, 43, is an ex-member who went on to form his own Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club after he left.

The High Court in Glasgow heard the two clubs are engaged in a feud with each other.

Laponder was later caught with a shotgun which he kept on his barge where he lived in Kirkintilloch. 

He pleaded guilty in September to wilful fire raising and firearm possession.

Jailing Laponder for nine years, Judge Lord Arthurson yesterday told him the background to the offences was ‘somewhat bizarre, stemming from a feud between the Blue Angels and Mad Dogs after you left the Blue Angels’. 

He added: ‘A very substantial custodial disposal is inevitable.’

An earlier hearing was told the van was reported to be on fire a day after Mr Rollo parked it on the road near his home.

Prosecutor Lorraine Glancy, KC, said an off-duty firefighter ‘observed a device made up from bottles, wires and an apparent electrical component with a battery compartment’.

The device consisted of two plastic bottles and copper pipe taped together, attached to a receiver with an antenna.

A major incident was declared and the 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.’

Inquiries led police to the Mad Dogs Facebook page featuring Laponder and another man. The pair had bought duct tape and a bottle of water identical to those used in the bomb.

A forensic investigation found that the device comprised petrol and ball bearings with a remote activation attached.

Police traced Laponder at the barge on July 3 and he told them about the shotgun. A garage linked to the Mad Dogs was raided and two remote firing systems were found.

John Scullion, KC, defending, said Laponder ‘bitterly regrets his involvement in the offences’.