Bancroft OPP Charge Preston Kowalchuk, 48, Nicholas Mourtzis, 29, and Jacob Sirett, 39, With Firearm, Flight and Dangerous Operation Offences After a Reported Shooting Damaged a Bancroft Business the OPP Associate With the Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club, and a Handgun Is Seized (October 29, 2026)

Three men face firearms and dangerous-driving charges after a reported shooting damaged a building in Bancroft, Ontario, that the OPP associate with the Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club. InQuinte.ca and Quinte News report that a Bancroft OPP officer saw a speeding vehicle on Monck Street shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday, October 23, that the driver fled an attempted traffic stop, and that Bancroft OPP and Peterborough County OPP later stopped the vehicle on Highway 28 in Apsley and arrested its three occupants. Police also received reports of a shooting at about 3 a.m. at the Bancroft business; the building was damaged and no injuries were reported. Police say officers determined the vehicle and its occupants were connected to the shooting, and several items were seized, including a handgun. Preston Kowalchuk, 48, of Toronto, and Jacob Sirett, 39, of Niagara Falls each face 12 charges, and Nicholas Mourtzis, 29, of Toronto faces 10.

Legal status: Charged. None of the allegations has been tested in court and all three accused are presumed innocent.

The Traffic Stop and the Reported Shooting

InQuinte.ca and Quinte News report that the two events ran together in time. A Bancroft OPP officer saw a vehicle speeding on Monck Street in Bancroft shortly after 3 a.m. on October 23, and the driver fled when the officer tried to stop it. Bancroft OPP, assisted by Peterborough County OPP, stopped the vehicle on Highway 28 in Apsley, and the three occupants were arrested there. At about the same hour, police received reports of a shooting at a Bancroft business. Quinte News words it as a business “associated with the Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club,” and the OPP said on October 23 that the shooting occurred at a location they associate with the club. The building was damaged and no injuries were reported.

Police say officers determined the vehicle and its occupants were connected to the shooting. Several items were seized, and the one identified is a handgun. The OPP-led Biker Enforcement Unit and the OPP Forensic Identification Services Unit are assisting Bancroft OPP, who lead the investigation.

The Charges

All three men are charged, as InQuinte.ca and Quinte News word the charges, with possession of weapon for dangerous purpose; firearm – use while committing an offence; discharge a firearm into or at a place in a reckless manner; unauthorized possession of a firearm; possession of a prohibited device or ammunition; careless use of firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition; occupant of motor vehicle knowing there was a firearm; mischief under $5,000; flight from peace officer; and dangerous operation.

Kowalchuk additionally faces possession of firearm or ammunition contrary to prohibition order and possession of a prohibited weapon contrary to prohibition order, for 12 charges in all. Sirett additionally faces have care or control of vehicle or boat with cannabis readily available and drive motor vehicle – perform stunt – excessive speed, also 12 charges. Mourtzis faces the ten shared charges. Together that is 34 charges.

OPP Staff Sgt. Trevor Pitts, the Bancroft detachment commander, said “violence and the reckless use of firearms have no place in our communities.” Detective Staff Sgt. Gerrit Brouwer of the Biker Enforcement Unit said police are aware of ongoing tensions between outlaw motorcycle gangs and continue to monitor the situation closely.

All three accused are presumed innocent, and none of the charges has been tested in court. The allegations are those of the Ontario Provincial Police, as reported by InQuinte.ca, Quinte News and My Bancroft Now. The OPP’s reference to the Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club concerns the location of the shooting; the OPP have not described any of the accused as a member or associate of the club.