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Showing posts with label Killing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Killing. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Pagan's MC Leader Gunned Down

Bronx, New York, USA (May 5, 2020) BTN - Francisco Rosado, 51, who headed the Bronx chapter of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club has been gunned down by two masked men on Saturday.

The suspected execution took place on Hollard Avenue near Boston Road in the Allerton section of The Bronx at around 3.20 pm.


The video begins with a pair of men dressed in all black and wearing blue surgical masks getting out of a dark-blue Jeep and drawing pistols equipped with silencers to muffle the sounds of gunfire.

They sprint across the street aiming their guns, then return just moments later, jump back in the Jeep Cherokee and speed away. The video has no audio and does not show the victim getting shot.



According to police, Rosado was talking to someone in a parking lot when he was struck in the head and torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Surveillance footage shows the moment two masked gunmen exit their car in the Bronx before fatally shooting.

Moments later, the two men run back to the SUV and speed away, making their getaway by driving across the sidewalk and making an illegal U-turn. Rosado was struck in the head and chest and declared dead at the scene, police said.

No arrests had been made as of Monday night, according to police.

SOURCE: New York Post

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Shootout in Texas Bar Leaves One Dead

February 19, 2020 BTN — Few details of the shooting that took place on February 16, 2020 at Your Place Bar located in Midland, Texas are not being released as of today. According to several main stream news media outlets, they say the local police are still on a fact finding mission.

Scene outside the Your Place bar in Midland, Texas

One killed, three hurt in shootout between motorcycle clubs at Texas bar


Midland, Texas, USA (February 16, 2020) BTN — One person died and three others were taken to the hospital after police say they were shot in an incident between rival motorcycle clubs at a Texas bar.

According to the Midland Police Department, officers were called to Your Place bar in Midland, Texas, at 8:26 p.m. Sunday, February 6th. When police arrived at the scene, they found that four people had been shot, one fatally.


The three surviving victims were taken to the hospital. One is in critical condition, a second suffered major injuries and the third suffered only minor injuries.

No names have been released at this time.


Officers learned there had been a shootout at the bar between rival motorcycle clubs. They believe that multiple suspected club members were involved. The suspects were last seen heading westbound towards Odessa.

Police Dept. cancels news conference 30 minutes before its scheduled


Midland, Texas, USA (February 17, 2020) BTN — A City of Midland spokesperson told CBS7 Monday that the police department would not have any updates today on Sunday night's biker gang shooting. One person was killed in the shootout between the rival clubs, according to police. The last update we got Sunday night said that two others were in critical condition and a fourth had minor injuries.

CBS7 has also learned that once the gang members arrived at the Midland Memorial Hospital emergency room, the hospital placed the ER on lock-down. We're told that's standard procedure during an incident like this.


The city says the other bikers were last seen riding West towards Odessa.

The city also scheduled a news conference late Monday morning for 4:30 p.m. to discuss the "state of biker gangs in Midland." Thirty minutes before it was supposed to begin, we were told it was canceled because they needed to do more research. The shooting happened at the Your Place bar at 3704 West Wall Street.

TABC suspends liquor license at bar where motorcycle club shooting happened


Midland, Texas, USA (February 18, 2020) BTN — The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has suspended a Midland-area bar’s liquor license for seven days following a deadly Feb. 16 shootout between rival motorcycle gangs which left one person dead and three others injured.

Your Place, 3704 West Wall Street, will remain suspended until Feb. 24 as TABC agents and Midland police investigate the scene.

The seven-day suspension, also known as a summary suspension, was requested by the Midland Police Department and was served by TABC the afternoon of Feb. 17, according to TABC Executive Director Bentley Nettles.

“The goal of the suspension is to allow TABC agents and local police the opportunity to safely investigate the scene of a deadly incident without fear of retaliation or additional violence,” Nettles said. “TABC’s investigation will seek to determine whether the bar’s actions or policies played any role in the incident. We will also examine the bar’s security policies and procedures to find out whether appropriate steps were taken to ensure guests’ safety.”

All alcohol retailers who operate under a TABC-issued license or permit are required to ensure the safety of their premises and guests. As Texas’ sole regulator of the alcoholic beverage industry, TABC’s law enforcement agents frequently investigate violent incidents which take place at licensed businesses such as bars, clubs, or liquor stores.

While Your Place will be able to resume normal operations on Feb. 24, it’s likely the investigations by TABC and the Midland Police Department will continue for several weeks.

UPDATE: Motorcycle gang shooting 


Midland, Texas, USA (February 20, 2020) BTN — The motorcycle clubs involved in the shooting on Sunday, February 16, 2020, were the Bandidos and the Mongols. According to the City of Midland, the deceased victim has been identified as Alex Canales Villarreal, 45 years of age, from McAllen, Texas. Next of kin has been notified, the investigation is ongoing. SOURCE: Your Basin

SOURCES: WMC5 - CBS7

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Long Vagos MC trial continues in Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (February 5, 2020) BTN — A federal prosecutor spent a second day Tuesday telling a jury in Las Vegas that eight accused Vagos motorcycle club members were members of a broad criminal racketeering enterprise responsible for crimes including the killing of a rival Hells Angels leader from California in a northern Nevada casino in 2011.


Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Schiess drew frequent objections from defense attorneys as he pointed jurors toward evidence that he said showed Vagos agreed according to “laws of the street, not laws of society” to commit years of acts of murder, robbery, extortion, kidnapping and drug dealing in addition to the shooting death of Jeffrey Pettigrew.

Vagos members “operate by violence and by silence,” Schiess said. “The silence is to protect the violence,” and crimes were committed “as a pattern in order to run the business.”

Related | Judge rules Vagos MC members will face charges
Related | Star witness in Vagos MC trial lied
Related | Jury selection begins in Vagos MC case

Closings were expected to continue this week, with defense attorneys poised for chances to describe a case they say the government has not proved.

The trial has had a bumpy history and narrowly avoided a mistrial after prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro to throw out testimony of a central witness to the shooting who acknowledged after more than three days on the witness stand that he lied.

The jury had been told during opening statements in August that they would hear from ousted Vagos member Gary “Jabbers” Rudnick about a “green light” go-ahead issued by Pastor Fausto Palafox, the Vagos international president, to kill Pettigrew at the Nugget casino in Sparks.

Rudnick admitted in September, after more than three days of testimony, that there was no “green light.”

The eight co-defendants - Palafox, Albert Lopez, Albert Perez, James Gillespie, Bradley Campos, Cesar Morales and Diego Garcia - each face up to life in prison if they are convicted.

When Schiess referred during closings to Rudnick’s testimony, defense attorney Mark Fleming objected and accused the prosecutor of vouching for his own disavowed witness.

Navarro said the jury will decide what and whom to believe.

“The decision about credibility of a witness is yours,” Schiess told the panel. “You get to decide whether he’s credible. That’s your call.”

SOURCE: Associated Press

Friday, November 22, 2019

Judge rules Vagos MC members will face charges

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (November 22, 2019) BTN — A little more than two months after a major disruption in a federal trial against eight reputed members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, a federal judge has ruled that the most serious charges of murder and conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise will not be thrown out.


The motion to dismiss the charges surfaced after the government’s star witness — an ousted Vagos member who had been cooperating with authorities and agreed to testify against his former allies — admitted to repeatedly lying on the witness stand in September.

Gary “Jabbers” Rudnick had spent more than three days telling jurors that Vagos members had plotted to kill a rival biker in 2011 in Sparks.

“This was one of the worst witnesses ever put forth in a courtroom,” Jess Marchese, an attorney for one of the eight men on trial, said Thursday. He and attorneys for the remaining defendants had asked U.S. District Chief Judge Gloria Navarro to throw out the murder and racketeering charges due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

Related | Star witness in Vagos MC trial lied
Related | Jury selection begins in Vagos MC case

After more than four hours of arguments Thursday, Navarro agreed with the defense that the case was “a lot weaker than it was in the beginning” but said that she weighed the “totality of the circumstances” when making her decision.

The trial, which began in August and was expected to last through the end of the year, resumes Monday morning.

The charges stem from a racketeering indictment in 2017 against 23 Vagos members arrested in Nevada, Hawaii and California.

Vagos, the Spanish term for “lazy,” is a reference to a vagabond. According to the indictment, the biker gang was formed in San Bernardino, California, in the mid-1960s and has spread to at least seven countries. It is said to have 75 chapters in the United States, 54 of which are in Nevada and California, the states where authorities have said most of the criminal activity occurred.

The eight men on trial — Pastor Fausto Palafox, Albert Lopez, Albert Benjamin Perez, James Patrick Gillespie, Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, Bradley Michael Campos, Cesar Vaquera Morales and Diego Chavez Garcia — also face one count of using a firearm to commit murder during and in retaliation to a crime of violence in addition to the murder and conspiracy charges.

The bikers are accused of a laundry list of violent crimes, including the 2011 fatal shooting of a rival Hells Angel club member at the Sparks Nugget hotel-casino — a crime described, at the time, as part of a broader criminal conspiracy that involved a coordinated cover-up and threats of retaliation against club members who cooperated with law enforcement.

Thirteen more defendants are awaiting trial in a case that prosecutors allege involves Vagos and crimes in Nevada, California, Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon and Utah.

SOURCE: U.S. News and World Report

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Sentencing in Outlaws MC Prez's murder

Tampa, Florida, USA (November 20, 2019) BTN – A federal judge will decide Wednesday if Christopher “Durty” Cosimano and Michael “Pumpkin” Mencher should spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes related to their involvement in the 69′ers Motorcycle Club.

Both men were found guilty this summer in a trial that centered on the December 2017 assassination of Paul Anderson, president of the Pasco County chapter of the rival Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Anderson was shot repeatedly while his pickup truck was stopped in rush-hour traffic off the Suncoast Parkway.


Prosecutors said the killing was the culmination of a months-long campaign of violence that began with the beating of two 69′ers and the theft of their biker vests.

The story of the feud and the resulting criminal cases against five 69′ers has been widely told. Less discussed are the details of how such groups operate in the Tampa Bay area and elsewhere. Images and documents used as evidence in the trial offer a look at the inner workings of the 69′ers, a motorcycle club governed by strict rules, part of a subculture seldom glimpsed by outsiders.

In the hours after Anderson was murdered on Dec. 21, 2017, investigators from Pasco County and the federal government turned their attention to a modest house on Riverview Drive east of U.S. 41 in Hillsborough County. The home sits a few hundred feet north of the banks of the Alafia River.

Shaded by tall oaks, with a flagpole and mailbox out front, the house doesn’t appear much different from others in the working-class neighborhood near a large phosphate mine. But behind its walls investigators found biker vests, weapons, drugs and photographs of 69′er gatherings. A front garage housed a set of motorcycles.

A photograph used as evidence in the federal trial of Chrisopher Cosimano and Michael Mencher shows the bar area inside the clubhouse of the local chapter of the 69'ers Motorcycle Club. [U.S. District Court] [U.S. District Court]

A rear garage served as the 69′ers “clubhouse,” a headquarters for the local chapter they called “Killsborough.” Inside was a liquor bar with walls adorned with banners and posters featuring the menacing red-tongued wolf that is the centerpiece of the 69′ers logo. There are framed snapshots of members donning their vests, which bear the patches denoting their status as part of the “1%” — the small fraction of bikers who shirk society’s rules.

The men who pose in the photos are mostly white, though some appear to be people of color. Some make obscene hand gestures for the camera. In the trial, prosecutors showed a jury a nine-page constitution which outlines the national rules governing all local chapters of the 69′ers Motorcycle Club.

A photograph used as evidence in the federal trial of Christopher Cosimano and Michael Mencher shows the inside of the Hillsborough clubhouse of the 69'ers Motorcycle Club. [U.S. District Court] [U.S. District Court]

All chapters are overseen by a collection of officers known as “The Council,” according to the document. The Council meets twice a year. Their task is to maintain standards for all 69′er chapters.

The document details each chapter’s internal structure. It mandates four officers, including a president who must “rule with an iron fist,” vice president, sergeant at arms and treasurer. The constitution dictates that each chapter must be registered as a non-profit, and that a club accountant must file a tax return for the group each year.

“It is the responsibility of all officers to maintain their position with the highest level of respect for all members, property, family and employment,” the document reads.

Related Outlaws MC President was killed over club colors
The membership requirements: you must be at least 18 years old, own an American-made motorcycle, possess a valid motorcycle license, have never been a member of law enforcement, complete a one-year period as a “prospect” and meet the approval of all members. A member can retire from the club with the approval of the Council after five consecutive years of service to the club. The document forbids fighting among members.

“Any member caught stealing from the club or banging another member’s old lady will be ejected from the club,” it states. “Old ladies are off limits.”

“Members shall not discuss club business with citizens,” the document states in large letters. “What’s said in the house stays in the house.”

A total of five men were charged with federal crimes related to Anderson’s murder. Three of them, Allan Guinto, Erick Robinson, and Cody Wesling, signed plea agreements. Guinto and Wesling testified against Cosimano and Mencher.

They were accused of following Anderson on motorcycles through traffic on the Suncoast Parkway and shooting him through the windows of his pickup truck as he stopped at a traffic light at the end of an off-ramp at State Road 54.

Cosimano and Mencher were both found guilty in August on charges that included murder in aid of racketeering.

SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Defendants point fingers for killing Outlaws president

Tampa, Florida, USA (July 31, 2019) BTN – Two men this week will stand trial in the 2017 assassination of a rival motorcycle club leader who authorities said was shot and killed while sitting in his pickup truck in rush hour traffic in Pasco County.

The two defendants, Christopher “Durty” Cosimano, 31, and Michael “Pumpkin” Mencher, 52, are both alleged members of the Hillsborough County chapter of the 69’ers Motorcycle Club.


They sat together at the defense table as their murder trial started Tuesday. But their lawyers told jurors that someone else was to blame for the slaying of Paul Anderson, 44, president of the Cross Bayou chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club:

Mencher’s attorney told the jury that Cosimano shot Anderson.

Cosimano’s attorney said someone else — he did not say who — was responsible.

But prosecutors said it was Cosimano who pulled the trigger, and if he missed then Mencher was there to finish the job.

Related Outlaws MC President was killed over club colors
Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie Adams walked the 16-person jury through the Dec. 21, 2017 assassination and the violent feud that led to it. Cosimano and Mencher rode motorcycles behind Anderson, tracking him. Both carried loaded guns, prosecutors say, and wore masks to hide their faces.

When Anderson took an exit on the Suncoast Parkway and stopped at a red traffic light near State Road 54, Cosimano walked up to the truck’s window, tapped on the glass, then shot the Outlaws leader several times with a Glock 45 semiautomatic pistol, according to prosecutors. “He was dead with his foot on the brake, and a phone in his hand,” said Adams as Cosimano and Mencher looked on, quietly.

The state accused Mencher of being Cosimano’s backup, prepared to kill Anderson if the 69’ers’ president messed up the hit. Anderson, the Outlaw leader, was killed “to claim territory, to demand respect,” Adams said. But Cosimano and Mencher’s attorneys challenged the state’s account of what happened and what motivated the shooting.

Defense attorney Anne Borghetti said her client, Mencher, was told by Cosimano that he wanted to go riding on Dec. 17, 2017. That’s all.

Cosimano never mentioned anything about Anderson, she said, or any plan to execute him. She also tried to minimize Mencher’s ties to the 69’ers, saying the gang treated him poorly, even sometimes leaving him behind at club events. They called Mencher “the village idiot,” she said, and Cosimano’s plan “was to blame Michael Mencher” for the shooting.

Cosimano’s attorney, J. Jervis Wise, said someone else executed Anderson in 2017, but did not name that person. Instead, he described the incident as a “rogue act” that the leader didn’t know about. The attorney said prosecutors are relying on testimony from 69’ers members who will do anything they can to reduce their jail time for involvement in the case.

“They will tell the government what they think the government wants to hear,” Wise said.

Both Cosimano and Mencher faces charges of first-degree murder and a slew of related charges, including conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity and use of a firearm in a crime of violence causing death. If convicted, each faces up to life in prison. Mencher also faces drug-related charges for his involvement in a cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine ring that prosecutors accuse the 69’ers of running.


Members of the 69’ers, including at least one who has already pleaded guilty to charges related to this case, are expected to testify on behalf of the government, the state told jurors. Three members of the 69’ers — Allan Burt “Big Beefy” Guinto, Erick Richard “Big E” Robinson and Cody James “Little Savage” Wesling — were indicted along with Cosimano and Mencher and accused of taking part in the plot to kill Anderson. They took plea deals earlier this year.

Authorities said the 2017 murder of Anderson was part of an escalating conflict between local chapters of two prominent and motorcycle clubs, the Outlaws and the 69’ers, whose Hillsborough branch called itself the “Killsborough” chapter.

The trial is expected to take three weeks.

SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Former Hells Angels member a free man again

Quebec, Canada (February 21, 2019) BTN — A former Hells Angel who took part in one of the most notorious crimes committed in Quebec when he and other bikers slaughtered fellow club members three decades ago is a free man again, despite having recently pleaded guilty to assaulting someone during a road-rage incident in Montreal.


Jacques Pelletier, 63, was a full-patch member of the Hells Angels in 1985 when the club decided to slaughter several members of its now-defunct Laval chapter. The club members who were killed in what became known as the Lennoxville Purge were considered unruly drug dealers whose actions affected relations with other organized crime groups, notably the leaders of Montreal’s West End Gang who supplied the gang with cocaine.

On March 24, 1985, five Laval members were shot to death after they were summoned to a Hells Angels’ clubhouse in Lennoxville, just outside Sherbrooke. Several Hells Angels were present that day and played a role in the slaughter, but only four — including Pelletier — were convicted of first-degree murder and received life sentences.

Pelletier was granted full parole in 2013, but returned behind bars a couple of times for parole violations. For example, in October 2017, he was returned to a penitentiary after police noticed his motorcycle parked outside a strip bar frequented by known criminals.

In November, he was returned to a penitentiary again following his arrest, by Montreal police, for his role in a road-rage incident during which he got into a shoving match with another driver on Oct. 18.

According to court records, the incident was considered minor by the judge who ultimately sentenced Pelletier, on Feb. 6, to pay a $1,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to one count of simple assault. But Pelletier remained behind bars because he also had to explain himself to the Parole Board of Canada for having violated his release by not keeping the peace.

On Wednesday, the parole board decided to lift the suspension of his parole after having heard Pelletier’s version of events. According to a written summary of the decision, Pelletier feels he was the victim in what transpired in October.

He told the board he was driving home from work when he stopped at a light and the driver of another vehicle got out and challenged him to a fight. The other driver apparently felt that Pelletier had cut him off. He said he tried to discuss things with the man, who grew more aggressive and ended up tearing Pelletier’s jacket. The man pulled out his cellphone and took photos of Pelletier as well as the licence plate on his car.

Pelletier called his parole officer immediately to report the incident, and a co-worker who was riding in his car later told the police that Pelletier wasn’t the instigator in the dust-up. The judge who heard Pelletier’s short trial this month at the Montreal courthouse did not believe the other driver, who claimed Pelletier had punched him. The judge found Pelletier guilty of using excessive force while he tried to take the man’s cellphone from him.

According to the parole board, Pelletier quit the Hells Angels in 1995.

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette 

Monday, April 2, 2018

Man found dead inside Bandidos MC Clubhouse

Melbourne, Australia (April 2, 2018) BTN — A man has been found dead at a Bandidos MC clubhouse in Melbourne north following reports of a gunshot. Police were called to Weston Street, Brunswick, after someone heard a blast about 7.20 am on Easter Monday.

The man has not been formally identified but reports of full patched Bandidos MC members could be seen consoling each other outside.

Bandidos MC Clubhouse in Melbourne, Australia 

Police and paramedics were seen at Weston Street, Brunswick, near the Bandidos clubhouse on Monday morning and police are not searching for anyone in relation to the incident. The death was not believed to be suspicious.

The Bandidos MC clubhouse has CCTV cameras and iron gates - and now there are claims a body was found inside this morning


Bandidos MC Clubhouse in Melbourne, Australia 

Their local clubhouse sits down the road from the Barkly Street shopping centre.

The clubhouse was previously the site of a wine and produce company. 

SOURCE: Daily Mail

Monday, March 26, 2018

Family of shot biker still seeking justice 1 year later

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (March 25, 2018) BTN — This week will mark one year since a deadly shooting at a northwest Albuquerque car wash, in which Earl Roybal was killed while his motorcycle was drying in one of those car wash bays.


A year later, Roybal's family and friends say there has been no justice; the person who shot him hasn't been charged.
The district attorney's office reviewed the evidence and ruled that the March 26, 2017 shooting was in self-defense. Meanwhile, family members have hired a private investigator to review that evidence with the hopes that charges could still come in this case.

Earl Roybal

Now, they are doing what they can to keep his memory alive.

"We still don't feel justice was delivered in this case," said Raymond Gallegos of the New Mexico Motorcycle Rights Organization. "The DA did review the case. It was up to the DA to prosecute that, but we don't feel that the family saw justice. We don't feel that it was still a self-defense shooting. We don't feel like it was justifiable self-defense."

Roybal's loved ones will be gathering for a motorcycle ride and vigil on Monday. The ride will begin at Bullhead Park at 6:15 p.m. and go towards the Hose It Car Wash on Coors Boulevard, where they will gather for a candlelight vigil expected to start around 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Hells Angels MC member killed in shooting

Hells Angels member killed in Riverside gas station shooting

Riverside, California (May 22, 2017) – A member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was fatally shot at a Riverside gas station, and police are searching for his killer.

Officers responded to a call of a shooting at a Shell gas station at 3502 Adams St. in Riverside shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

A gas station employee, who made the 911 call, said the gunfire took place directly in front of gas pumps, Riverside police said.

NEWS VIDEO


According to authorities, five motorcyclists who appeared to be part of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club were passing through town and stopped at the gas station to fuel their motorcycles.

Suddenly, a silver four-door sedan pulled up, a passenger got out and started shooting at the group.

Two people were hit. One motorcyclist was grazed by a bullet that hit his helmet. Authorities said he will be OK.

A second motorcyclist was also struck by gunfire. Emergency crews from the Riverside Fire Department provided immediate medical aid and transported the victim to the Riverside Community Hospital, where he later died from his injuries, police said.

The coroner's office later identified him as James Duty, 31, of Orange.

After the shooting, the suspect got back in the passenger side of the sedan and the car fled westbound on the 91 Freeway.

Police are still trying to figure out why the gunman opened fire. Police do not have a description of the shooter.

"Right now, we don't know what the motive is. We are confident that these five had some type of affiliation with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, but we're looking into where they were at. Was there some type of problem earlier? We don't know that yet," said Officer Ryan Railsback with Riverside police.

Investigators have collected surveillance video from the gas station but have yet to release the footage to the public.

Detectives from the Robbery-Homicide Unit and the Gang Intelligence Unit were investigating the incident.

SOURCE:  ABC7

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Man who admitted to shooting biker claims self-defense

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (May 17, 2017) BTN — The man who shot a motorcyclist in March told officers it was self-defense. Several calls flooded 911 in less than five minutes.

"Hurry. Hurry, please," one caller told dispatchers.

The caller was referring to the scene at the "Hose It" car wash near Coors and Quail. A man had just been shot three times.

Earl Roybal (Center)

One of the callers was the shooter himself.

"There was a shooting over here at the car wash. Hose It Car Wash. The guy said he had a gun. Hit me in the face. I had a gun too," he said.

Earl Roybal, 59, had just been shot. One of the people who ran to his side was Shawn Tillman. He told officers on scene that he was trained in first aid and ran over once he heard the shots.


Just minutes before the gun shots rang out, surveillance video from the car wash showed Roybal washing his motorcycle, while his girlfriend stood by his side. A black car pulled up near the front of the stall. Witnesses told police Roybal and the man from the car got into an argument.

Then you see a flash from the gun shots.

When officers detained the man who admitted to shooting Roybal, they found a gun and a knife in his pocket. But the entire time, he insisted he shot Roybal in self-defense.

"He said he had a gun. He hit me first," he said.

The Albuquerque Police Department has finished its investigation. The District Attorney's Office will now decide if the shooter should face charges or if it was self-defense.

Roybal did have a gun, but according to documents he never pulled it out.

 SOURCE: KRQE News

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Rebels MC killing their own?

Sydney, Australia (June 4, 2016) Rebels MC member Michael Davey was known as the Prince of Penrith, a title that earned him the praise of friends and fellow bikers alike.

But it appears this sense of brotherhood may have faltered in his final hours: police are investigating whether his comrades were behind his execution.

Mr Davey – nicknamed Ruthless – was gunned down on home turf in Sydney's west on March 30.
The 30 year old had been a stone's throw from the home he shared with his girlfriend in Stafford Street, Kingswood, when someone opened fire.

He had been a well-known member of the Rebels MC, members of which flocked in droves to pay their respects at his funeral.

Michael Davey in happier times

Davey had been on the police radar since his late teens and was facing trial for drug supply when he was killed.

Tattoos across his body pledged an allegiance to the club but Fairfax Media understands Mr Davey wanted to leave.

Homicide detectives are looking closely at a few potential motives for his death, including that Mr Davey was shot and killed under direction from his own club when he wanted to patch out.

However, police can't discount the possibility that a conflict between the Finks and Rebels motorcycle clubs in the city's north-west, or a disagreement stemming had something to do with his death.

Sources say he was close to Mark Easter, who held a level of seniority as sergeant at arms of the Rebels Sydney chapter.

Easter was executed nine months before his younger brother. Both men left behind young sons, whom friends say they cared for.

While the killings are thought to be unrelated, it is understood police believe Easter's murder was plotted from within the club after he put someone "off side".

Easter, remembered by friends as a "loving father and honest man", left his Little Bay home after having dinner with his partner Biancha Simpson in June 2015, and was not seen alive again.

Investigators say there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about him leaving the house that night, but they believe he was killed shortly afterwards.

Rebels MC at a glance

His body was dumped a few days later just off the Pacific Highway at Cowan, north of Sydney.

Police believe Easter's murderer didn't act alone.

"He is a fair-sized man and in order to dump his body, it would have required more than one person," Homicide Squad Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw said in April.

The club has been plagued by internal conflicts and patch outs ever since their national leader, Alex Vella, was left exiled in Malta when his Australian visa was cancelled.