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Showing posts with label Biker Trash Network. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biker Trash Network. Show all posts

Friday, May 20, 2022

Pagan's MC Members Convicted of Assault

Milton-Freewater, Oregon, USA, (May 20, 2022) - Two Milton-Freewater men, members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club were recently convicted of assault in Georgia for attacking a restaurant patron in that state last May.

Dustin L. Wendelin, a corrections officer at the Washington State Penitentiary at the time he was arrested, and Charles Montgomery pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and were found in violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act on April 25, according to a Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office release.
 


Both charges are felonies in Georgia. The men were given credit for serving more than five months in jail and could get up to 12 years of probation, the release said.

Wendelin and Montgomery were part of a months-long investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies across the country that began with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Officials with the agencies traced the men to Walla Walla and contacted the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office to assist in the investigation. Wendelin and Montgomery were arrested on a grand jury indictment in September 2021 and extradited to Georgia to face charges.

According to law enforcement, the two men are members of the Pagan motorcycle club. They hold leadership roles in the local chapter of the club in Umatilla County.

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Two bikers killed and five injured in Bar fights

Biker Trash Network: April 6-7, 2019 -- A bloody weekend for Bikers as two separate fights break out in two separate States leaving two dead and five injured as riding season gets underway in many areas. The first was in Killeen, Texas and the one ending in Indianapolis, Indiana resulted in two deaths.

Both stories are developing 


Killeen, Texas (April 6, 2019) BTN — Two people are hospitalized after a shooting between two rival motorcycle clubs outside of a Killeen bar Saturday morning, according to a Killeen Police Department press release. One victim remains in serious condition at AdventHealth Central Texas, and another is in serious condition at a Baylor Scott and White hospital, according to the press release.

The Killeen Police Department responded to a call around 1:40 a.m. Saturday about a "large" fight on the road outside of MJ's Bar and Grill at 1310 S. Fort Hood Road. As officials were on their way to the scene, two people were shot during the fight, according to the press release.

SOURCE: KCENTV

Indianapolis, Indiana (April 7, 2019) BTN — Two people are dead and another three are injured after an early morning shooting on Indy’s near northeast side. Police referred to the location as a “motorcycle club hangout.” According to the Indianapolis Metro Police Department, the shooting occurred shortly after 1 a.m. in the 3600 block of Roosevelt Avenue at a brown brick building that has no name, but is a known hangout for motorcycle clubs. Police believe at least two or three different motorcycle clubs were inside the building at the time the shooting occurred.


After police arrived on scene, they discovered one male and two females suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One of the female victims was pronounced dead at the scene by Indianapolis EMS. The second female was transported to the hospital in serious but stable condition. The male victim was also transported, police said, but was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to police, two more victims that were suffering from gunshot wounds associated with the motorcycle club shooting later arrived at the hospital. One of them was listed as being in critical condition.


The severity of the fifth victim’s injury isn’t known at this time. Detectives with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department continue to investigate the shooting. IMPD stated a physical altercation may have lead up to the shooting, but they are still working to try and determine a motive. At least two IndyGo buses were loaded up with potential witnesses to be questioned by IMPD. The names of the deceased have not been released, as next of kin has not yet been notified.

SOURCE: FOX59


Sunday, March 31, 2019

Hells Angels and Pagan's scare local police

Rochelle Park, N.J., (March 31, 2019) BTN — Police from several towns are patting themselves on the back after they defused a potential fight between a group of Hells Angels and Pagan's at the Bergen Harley Davidson store in Rochelle Park -- and cops say they expect more trouble in the future. A Hells Angels member was buying a motorcycle at the Essex Street shop on Saturday when a Pagan reportedly told him "this is Pagan territory," according to Rochelle Park police.


They began to argue, after which several members of each club showed up "to support their member," according to a police report. "The situation was de-escalated by a large police presence," the report said.

Rochelle Park police thanked their colleagues from Lodi, Maywood, Saddle Brook, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and the Bergen County Regional SWAT team, who all responded.

"Intelligence obtained after the incident indicates tensions between the two motorcycle gangs [are] going to escalate," they added. "You're going to see a lot more incidents between these [two]," one officer said. "They're fighting for territory."

SOURCE: Daily Voice

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Biker bar busted in gambling sting

McDonough, Georgia, USA (March 28, 2019) BTN — An investigation into alleged gambling activities landed one McDonough business owner behind bars Wednesday night.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ Commercial Gambling Unit and McDonough Police, in cooperation with the Georgia Lottery Corporation and Georgia Department of Revenue, raided Motorheads, 650 Macon St., where they say cash poker tables and cash payouts on coin-operated amusement machines were going on. “There’s two separate sections of the establishment,” said GBI Special Agent in Charge Cindy Ledford, “so you have a bar, and then you have a room where you have poker, and you can come freely between the two, so it’s one establishment. They were actually in the middle of playing a poker game, so the tables were full, and then there were several people around the bar, as well.”

Traci McDonald, owner of the popular biker bar Motorheads, was arrested during a gambling raid late Wednesday night

In a press release, the GBI said “undercover agents were able to participate in the games, place bets, and win cash” over the course of a year-long investigation. Agents seized evidence and cash in the raid. In Georgia, it is illegal to pay out cash instead of credits on coin-operated amusement machines. The Georgia Lottery licenses those machines. The credits can be exchanged for Georgia Lottery tickets or for store merchandise, but not for cash. Ledford estimated “40 or 50” people were in Motorheads at the time.

Those who were gambling were cited by the McDonough Police Department. McDonough Police Chief Preston Dorsey said, “The citations were issued for disorderly conduct, ‘Any person who shall assemble or congregate with others and engage in or attempt to engage in unlawful gaming.’” Dorsey added that more arrests are pending and referred further questions to the GBI.

The owner, Traci McDonald, was arrested and charged with commercial gambling. As of press time, McDonald had bonded out of the Henry County Jail. McDonald’s bar has hosted several charity events in recent years.


The Henry Herald has learned that law enforcement is investigating alleged gang activity at Motorheads.
On March 10, McDonough Police responded to a battery call about a fight at Motorheads involving several people. According to a police report, Rebecca Leigh Harrup, 42, of Locust Grove and her daughter, Kourtney Ann Adams, 25, also of Locust Grove, were at the bar to celebrate Adams’ birthday.

Harrup told police they were outside when she heard someone yell “Rachel,” which she said “was her bar name.” When she answered, she said another woman said, “I wasn’t (expletive) talking to you.” A few minutes later, according to Harrup, the same woman said, “Are you going to eat these tater tots, Rachel?” Harrup told police she jokingly said, “Hell yeah, I want some.”

Then, she told police, a woman yelled at her that she was being disrespectful and needed to leave. Harrup said that when she tried to apologize, the altercation turned physical. Harrup told police a woman slammed her against the front window. A fight ensued, with a man holding Harrup’s arms above her head and two groups of people separately jumping both her and her daughter.

Harrup told police she pulled a pocket knife in self-defense. She said a man took her knife and she took it back, then went inside the bar, where employees rendered first aid. Harrup told police she used Facebook to identify several people who she says jumped her and her daughter, and that she had contacted McDonald about security video of the incident. “Ms. Harrup advised that Ms. McDonald does have the incident recorded on the video surveillance system,” according to the police report, and that Harrup “is requesting prosecution for all involved.”

Although the case was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division earlier this month, Maj. Kyle Helgerson told the Herald, “The fight at Motorheads earlier this this month was determined to have gang implications.” Helgerson said the case was turned over to Henry County Sheriff’s Office Gang Investigators.
Meanwhile, Motorheads’ Facebook page shows that the band The Talking Monkeys is scheduled to play at 9 p.m. Friday night, adding, “The show must go on!”

SOURCE: Henry Herald

Friday, March 22, 2019

Hells Angels MC brought brother to last rest

Överkalix, Sweden (March 22, 2019) BTN — Several hundred members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club had chosen to attend when a full member was buried. Kent Nilsson recently died after a long-term illness. At the time of his death, the 65-year-old had many years behind Hells Angels. When Kent Nilsson was taken to the last rest on Friday, a large number of Hells Angels members from all over Europe chose to attend the funeral in central Överkalix.


Just over an hour before the funeral service began in the church, Hells Angels members began to gather. Cars filled the parking spaces in the small community while men, dressed in vests with the infamous emblem, stepped off buses and transported them from Luleå. Jörgen Eriksson, president of Hells Angels department in Luleå, and the full member Miika Silvennoinen received those who chose to attend the funeral outside the church. The large number of people who applied for Överkalix came from the 15th century fully-fledged departments located in Sweden.

Alongside them, men from Norway, Finland, Denmark and several other countries in Europe traveled all the way to Norrbotten. A man carried an emblem on his vest which showed that he was the president of the Costa del Sol in Spain. Another represented the organization in Austria. In addition to the large number of full members, there were also minions in the form of members of the clubs' Red and White crew departments in place.


A large number of men from support clubs like Red Devils MC also participated in the funeral in Överkalix. According to one source, the police management chose to keep the guard in Överkalix. To Norrbottens Media says Lars Öberg, Local Police Area Manager in East Norrbotten: - We know it is a funeral of a full Hells Angels member today, and we have a certain guard.

So much can I say. I don't want to say much more. The funeral service took just over an hour before the coffin with Kent Nilsson was carried out to the burial of Jörgen Eriksson.

SOURCE: NSD

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Outlaws MC: Harry "Taco" Bowman dead at 69

Butner, N.C. (March 3, 2019) BTN — Midwest biker baron Harry (Taco) Bowman died behind bars of cancer over the weekend at 69. The legendary Outlaws Motorcycle Club President ran his empire from Detroit and brought the Outlaws to prominence nationwide, presenting a formidable challenger to Hells Angels founder Ralph (Sonny) Barger as America’s most powerful biker boss at the apex of his reign in the 1990's.


Called “Taco” for his dark complexion and resemblance to someone of Hispanic heritage, Bowman, simultaneously feared, beloved and respected, was serving a life prison sentence in a federal correctional facility for racketeering and murder. He was found guilty at a 2001 trial in Florida, many of the offenses charged being connected to beatings, bombings and coldblooded slayings ordered during the Outlaws ongoing war with Barger’s West Coast-based Hells Angels. Barger and Bowman both took out murder contracts on each other.

Bowman was a gangland chameleon and the consummate underworld politician. He forged strong ties to Detroit’s Italian mafia and Eastern-European criminals in the area and would often shed his long hair, beard and Outlaws “rocker” for a businessman’s cut and three-piece suit in order to build valuable relationships in the white collar world. Living in a mansion on “Mafia Row” in posh Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, he was often chauffeured around town in a custom-designed Rolls Royce and sent his children to an exclusive private school.

When he was elected International President of the Outlaws in 1984, Bowman moved the club’s headquarters from Chicago, where the club was established, to his hometown of Detroit and spearheaded a campaign to take over all of Florida, previously and somewhat currently considered a biker’s no-man’s land, a place where everybody can operate free of territory disputes. A magnetic leader, Bowman also pushed for the diversification of Outlaws street rackets, expanding from an investment structure based primarily on narcotics to a portfolio boasting gambling, loansharking and extortion to augment the drug proceeds.


Upon being indicted in 1997, Bowman went on the run. With the help of the Detroit and Chicago mobs, he avoided arrest for two years. Making it on to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List, he was eventually apprehended in a suburb outside Detroit in the summer of 1999. Years earlier, he had beefed with the Detroit mafia over gambling turf but finessed his way out of a murder contract placed on his head and quickly repaired his bond with local mob chieftains.

Bowman’s downfall resulted from the flipping of his main enforcer Wayne (Joe Black) Hicks, who Bowman assigned the task of overseeing Outlaws activity in Florida and getting other motorcycle clubs in the region in line. Hicks came up through the club’s ranks in the Toledo, Ohio chapter. - Scott Burnstein
SOURCE: The Gangster Report
SOURCE: Death Records

Friday, February 22, 2019

Hells Angels might sell their 3rd Street clubhouse

New York, NY (February 22, 2019) BTN — The word coming from Third Street is that the Hells Angels are selling their clubhouse (No. 77) between First Avenue and Second Avenue with a springtime move planned. According to public records, there's a Memorandum of Contract (the form preceding a contract of sale) dated this past Dec. 21 between Church of the Angels, Inc. (aka — The Church of Angels) and 77 East 3rd LLC .


The document is signed by Bartley J. Dowling, president of the NYC Hells Angels chapter, and the purchaser, Nathan Blatter of Whitestone Realty Group. Attorney Ron Kuby, who has represented the Angels in legal matters through the years, said that he was unaware of any sale. "I have heard nothing about it," he said on the phone yesterday. He also said that he doesn't handle real-estate law. At this time, it's not known where the NYC clubhouse may be relocating or what the reasons are for doing so.

The Hells Angels have had a presence in 77 E. Third St. since 1969. They eventually bought the six-floor building, which includes their clubhouse and member residences, Realtor.com lists 14 units from Birdie Ruderman in the Bronx for a reported $1,900. The deed on file with the city from November 1977 shows the then-dilapidated building changed hands for $10.

Memorandum of Contract

In 1983, chapter president Sandy Alexander took over ownership of the building. The deed from that time states that Alexander, his wife Collette and their family could live on the premises rent free. In addition, in the event that the building was sold, she would stand to receive half of the proceeds. This agreement was later the basis for a legal tussle in 2013 between the clubhouse and Alexander's family. (Sandy Alexander, who spent six years in prison for dealing cocaine, died in 2007.)

According to the Post in 2013: 

They are suing his second wife, Alison Glass Alexander, of Jamaica, Queens and his daughter from another marriage, Kimberly Alexander, of Needles, Calif. to prevent them from making a grab for the property. A source told the Post that the members have no immediate plans to sell 77 E. 3rd St. — which is on the periphery of New York University’s $6 billion expansion plan and in a once-crime ridden neighborhood where one-bedrooms now rent for $3,500 a month — but they wanted to clear up the "cloudy deed." 


Deed in 1977 shows it changed hands for just $10.00

That deed was eventually reversed in April 2018, per public documents.

The U.S. government unsuccessfully tried to seize the building starting with a drug bust in 1985. The feds charged that the clubhouse was used to make drug deals. However, a jury ruled against the forfeiture in February 1994, per The New York Times. At another time we may note more of their legal run-ins here through the years. Most recently, in late December, the Post reported that a deliveryman was allegedly sucker punched by a member when he parked his car in front of motorcycles outside the clubhouse.


And here's a portion of the 1983 documentary "Hells Angels Forever" that highlights the Third Street clubhouse at the two-minute mark.

SOURCE: New York Post
SOURCE: Ev Grieve

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Hells Angels MC members face 300 years in prison

Mallorca, Spain (February 21, 2019) BTN —  Five years after the Mallorca chapter of the Hells Angels was shut down, 46 alleged members are set to be tried and are facing a combined 300 years in prison. The suspects were arrested in connection with 16 crimes which include drug trafficking, prostitution, threats, bribery, possession of weapons, money laundering and extortion in S’Arenal and Palma.


And among the defendants are two local police officers and a Guardia Civil sergeant from Palma, who face between five and seven years each for criminal involvement and bribery. The National Police dismantled the ‘powerful criminal gang’ at the end of July 2013 in the so-called ‘Operation Casablanca’, in collaboration with the Guardia Civil. Investigations have been ongoing and the magistrate of the Central Court of Instruction, 6, of the National Court, has now announced all 46 will be brought to trial at the Criminal Chamber.

At the recent hearing, an order was made for the ‘precautionary seizure of assets, both real estate and vehicles’, together with documents and money. The magistrate also set civil liability bonds of more than €4 million for several of the money laundering suspects. The alleged European leader of the organisation, German Frank Hanebuth, could face 13 years in prison for criminal organisation, threats, money laundering and illegal possession of weapons.

Video of the Raid on July 24, 2013

His two suspected ‘lieutenants’, the Youssafi brothers, Khalil, considered the vice president of the chapter of the motorcycle club in Mallorca, who could get 38 and a half years in prison for a string of crimes. Abdelghani, believed to have acted as treasurer, faces 33 and a half years. The club reportedly settled on the island because of its location, the existence of alternative businesses, and the possibility of money laundering and drug trafficking.

SOURCE: Euro Weekly

Monday, February 11, 2019

Bandidos MC publicly deny drug bust involvement

Melbourne, Australia  (February 11, 2019) BTN —  Two men faced court over a major $1.3 billion drug bust linked to a Mexican cartel as the Bandidos bikie club made an extraordinary statement condemning meth trafficking.

Federal police revealed on Friday that they had intercepted 1.7 tonnes of methamphetamine bound for Australia – the largest meth seizure ever recorded on US soil and the biggest intercepted drug haul bound for Australia. Police said the record haul demonstrated a clear link between local outlaw bikie clubs and extremely sophisticated Mexican drug cartels.


Bandidos MC Clubhouse in Melbourne

But the Bandidos motorcycle club released an unusual statement on Monday, hotly denying having any link to the major haul. The drugs were "artfully concealed" inside a shipment of loudspeakers on a ship in Los Angeles, US authorities said.

Van Dung Le, 31, and Chi Cuong Vu, 25, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court after being extradited from Sydney last week.

Mr Vu, who appeared in court wearing a grey T-shirt with the word "obey" on the front, is charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin between October 28 last year and January 23. Mr Le, from the Sydney suburb of Hinchinbrook, is accused of importing methamphetamine to the Victorian town of Donnybrook as recently as last week.

Australian Federal Police display some of the drugs that were seized

He is charged with importing drugs since October last year.

Mr Vu, from Sydney's Bonnyrigg Heights, and Mr Le were remanded in custody.

The court heard Mr Le was withdrawing from cocaine.

Their appearances came after American nationals Nasser Abo Abdo, 52, and Leonor Fajardo, 46, who were both living in the Victorian town of Woodstock, faced court last Friday alongside 31-year-old Tuan Ngoc Tran, of Keilor Downs.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald revealed Mr Abo Abdo, 52, had been a prominent figure in the audio equipment industry in California and ran a series of companies selling stereos, speakers, subwoofers and digital amplifiers.

The Alphasonik-branded audio equipment case used to smuggle the methamphetamines

Photos distributed by police showed the intercepted drugs were hidden inside boxes carrying the names Audiobahn and Alphasonik, two of the speaker companies operated by Mr Abo Abdo.

US court records show that Mr Abo Abdo filed for bankruptcy in California in 2008, claiming liabilities of US$4.6 million. His debts were discharged in 2010.

All five men have been remanded in custody and are due to return to court on June 17.

The Bandidos motorcycle club has rebuffed any suggestion it is linked to the drug haul, saying the distribution and possession of ice goes against the club's spirit and culture.

Bandidos MC Statement

"We, like most Australians, shared a sigh of relief that these drugs never reached our shores," the Bandidos said in a statement on Monday.

"The Bandido Motorcycle Club vehemently distance ourselves from this insidious scourge on humanity, in every way, shape and form.

"We categorically refute any suggestion of involvement whatsoever, in this or any other matter concerning ice." 

-Bandidos Motorcycle Club

AFP assistant commissioner Bruce Hill said on Friday a Mexican cartel, which he declined to name, was allegedly behind the drugs.

"The cartel is among one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking syndicates in the world," he said.


SOURCE:  Bay 93.9

Friday, February 8, 2019

Hells Angel MC member home raided

Providence, R.I. (February 9, 2019) BTN —  A full patch member of the Rhode Island Hells Angels motorcycle club who was charged with gun and drug crimes after a search of his North Providence home has been ordered held without bail.


Douglas Leedham, 54, is charged in Rhode Island federal court with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond ordered him held without bail because of the seriousness of the charges, some of which carry mandatory minimum sentences of five years.

“Certain of the offenses charged against him trigger the presumption under law that there are no bail conditions or combination of bail conditions that I can set that would reasonably assure the safety of the community or the defendant’s appearance to future court proceedings,” he said.

A “full patch” member is someone who has made it past the prospect phase and is given full membership, and can wear the full “Hells Angel” rocker patch. Leedham appeared in court Friday.

Federal authorities searched Leedham’s residence on Thursday, according to an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island by Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Colin Woods.

Authorities found two pistols, a shotgun, a body armor vest, 44 grams of meth, 19 grams of cocaine, 35 knives, four hatchets, nine batons, a set of brass knuckles, $6,422 in cash and a suspected drug ledger, according to a court document. “Leedham admitted that the guns and drugs seized from the residence were his,” Woods wrote in the affidavit.

The Department of Justice recognizes the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as an “outlaw motorcycle gang.” The gang, federal authorities said, has been involved in producing and selling methamphetamine, and other criminal activity including assault, extortion, homicide and money laundering. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club’s Rhode Island chapter is based in Providence, the FBI agent’s affidavit said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Daly Jr. told the judge that Leedham should be held because he is dangerous.

“The defendant had many weapons at this residence, of the variety... that would be useful as a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang,” he said. “So we believe, your honor, that this defendant does present a danger to the community.” There is also a possibility that Leedham could attempt to flee due to the seriousness of the charges against him, Daly said.

The 44 grams of methamphetamine found in Leedham’s home has been sent to a forensic lab for testing, and if it turns out to be 11-12 percent pure, Leedham would face a mandatory five-year minimum sentence, he said. Leedham’s attorney, William Dimitri, argued that Leedham didn’t present a danger or a flight risk.

His past gun conviction, Dimitri said, was due to the fact that Leedham had a license to carry in Massachusetts that had expired and he was waiting for it to be renewed. “It doesn’t negate the conviction...” he said. “But there were underlying circumstances that led to that conviction.”


According to the affidavit, Leedham was arrested by the Rhode Island State Police in December 2012 and charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a weapon other than a firearm. Leedham was riding a motorcycle and had a vest identifying him as a “full patch” Hells Angels member, federal authorities said.

During the stop in 2012, Leedham had two knives, a ball peen hammer and a loaded pistol, the FBI agent’s affidavit said. He pleaded guilty in Superior Court to carrying a pistol without a license and got a five-year suspended sentence with five years of probation. Dimitri also said that Leedham has never been charged with a violent crime. In fact, he was the one who flagged down North Providence police on Dec. 29, 2018, he said.

That day, Leedham flagged down a North Providence police officer because one of two women driving in a gray GMC truck with him on Mineral Spring Avenue had become unconscious, according to the affidavit. Leedham told the police officer that the woman had taken either heroin or crystal methamphetamine, the affidavit said.

While the officer was giving the woman the overdose-reversal drug Narcan, the other one also became unconscious, apparently due to an overdose. Both went to a local hospital and survived. Dimitri said there isn’t necessarily a connection between the drugs the women overdosed on and the drugs found at Leedham’s residence.

“He’s the one that flagged down police, your honor, they weren’t chasing him,” Dimitri said. “To make the leap, I submit, that because methamphetamine was found on Feb. 7, that the methamphetamine or heroin whatever it was that they were O.D.ing on on Dec. 29 is somehow connected to Mr. leedham, there’s no nexus there.”

Leedham’s case will next be submitted to a grand jury, Dimitri said.


SOURCE: WPRI News

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Two Pagan's MC members plead guilty

Jacksonville, FL (February 4, 2019) BTN – Two local men are among the 17 people who have been taken down as part of an anti-drug trafficking operation targeting what the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida calls “outlaw motorcycle clubs”.

Prosecutors say these conspirators, some of who are part of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club, are responsible for hundreds of grams of meth being on the streets of Florida, including in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.



Robert Foster, of St. Augustine, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess meth with intent to distribute and possession of meth with intent to distribute. His plea agreement says he took part in a group that was responsible for distributing kilos of meth from Georgia to other trafficking groups in Florida. The drugs were largely moved to Central Florida, but the plea agreement says they were brought to St. Augustine as well. Foster specifically admits to conspiring to distribute at least 150 grams of meth. He further admits to, on a single occasion in April 2018, purchasing 137 grams of meth that was 99% pure.

Salvador Rivas, of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to his part in a related organization, although not directly the operation that Foster was involved in. He faces one count of possession of meth with intent to distribute and two counts of distribution of meth. The leader of the organization Rivas was in is responsible for distributing kilos of meth in Florida, according to court records, with some of that coming to Jacksonville. Rivas served as a runner, and his plea agreement says he conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of meth from around November 2017 through September 2018. He further admits to distributing nine ounces of 96% pure meth in exchange for $1800 in one incident in Daytona Beach, and exchanging 561 grams of 92% pure meth for $3800 in an incident in Jacksonville.



The other suspects who have pleaded guilty as part of this targeted investigation include 47-year-old Barbara Caylor-Hernandez, of Ormond Beach; 44-year-old Ramiro Fraire-Chavarria, of Dalton, GA; 47-year-old Michael Babin, of Daytone Beach; 28-year-old Melanie Kerr, of Daytona Beach; 41-year-old Keith Simmons, of Oak Hill; 51-year-old Carla Ray, of Oak Hill; 49-year-old Spencer Burkard, of New Smyrna Beach; 54-year-old Daniel Barbarino, of Daytona Beach; 33-year-old Andrew Shettler, of Palm Coast; 47-year-old Brian Burt, of Port Orange; 55-year-old Lawrence Sann, of Bunnell; 33-year-old Michael Andrews; 38-year-old Jason Stringer, of Daytona Beach; 35-year-old Melissa Ford, of Daytona Beach; and 53-year-old Theodore Bilski, of Daytona Beach.

Both local suspects could face up to life in prison. Their sentencing dates have not yet been set.

These indictments stemmed from FBI and DEA investigations that involved controlled drug purchases by an undercover officer and several confidential informants, as well as intercepted telephone conversations.

SOURCE:  WOKV

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Bandidos MC member allegedly threatens cop

St. Marys, New South Wales, Australia (January 8, 2019) BTN — A senior member of the St Marys Bandidos Motorcycle Club has fronted Penrith Court on Monday after he allegedly threatened a St Marys police officer last week.

Police allege the 29-year-old St Clair man went to the St Marys police station on Thursday and threatened one of the officers.



The man was being investigated after Strike Force Raptor detectives raided his home in November of last year and allegedly seized drugs, various prescription medications and a gun safe containing a 12-guage shotgun, ammunition and various documentations.

The raid was part of ongoing operation Strike Force Raptor which served a firearms prohibition order to the then 28-year-old man at a St Clair home on Saturday November 3.


Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Hells Angels MC member targeted for murder

Surrey, B.C. (November 20, 2018) BTN —  A man described by homicide investigators as a member of the Hells Angels has been identified as the victim of a suspected targeted slaying in Metro Vancouver.

Cpl. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the body of 43-year-old Chad Wilson was found Sunday morning in Maple Ridge, where he was living.



Jang says Wilson was a member of the Hells Angels and describes the killing of a member of the biker-club as “unsettling news.”


He says detectives will be working with gang enforcement experts to avoid any retaliation.

Wilson had a previous criminal conviction in the United States stemming from a shooting in South Dakota in 2006 that injured five affiliate members of a rival motorcycle club and Jang says officers are looking into his past.

Police are also appealing to Wilson’s friends in the Hells Angels to come forward.

Jang said Tuesday that members of the Hells Angels may have “intimate knowledge” of what happened and he urged them to speak to officers, regardless of their current involvement in criminal activity.


“We will go to wherever you are, we will sit down and speak with you and we will treat you with the utmost respect. We want to solve your friend’s — your associate’s — murder as much as you do,” Jang told a news conference in Surrey.

The cause of Wilson’s death has not been released but Jang says the homicide team is working with Ridge Meadows RCMP, forensic specialists, the BC Coroners Service and gang enforcement units from across Metro Vancouver.

Wilson’s body was found near the banks of the Fraser River under the Golden Ears Bridge.

In November 2008, Wilson and a co-accused were acquitted by a jury in South Dakota of attempted murder for a 2006 gunfight that injured members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Five people were hurt in an exchange of gunfire. Wilson told his trial that he fired in self-defence after the Outlaws started shooting.

Following his acquittal, Wilson was subsequently convicted by the same South Dakota court of being a non-immigrant alien in possession of a firearm and sentenced to four years in prison.

SOURCE: The Province

Monday, November 19, 2018

Hells Angel MC member found dead under bridge

Vancouver, British Columbia (November 19, 2018) BTN —  A full-patch Hells Angel MC member with the Hellside Chapter was found murdered under the Golden Ears Bridge Sunday.

Chad Wilson, a former Hells Angel in San Diego, then Haney, joined the clubs’s newest chapter when it formed last year. Some of his buddies had reported him missing the night before his body was found in the 20000-block of Wharf Street, Postmedia has learned.

Hardside chapter of the Hells Angels, From left, Chad Wilson (formerly of the Haney chapter); Suminder Grewal (formerly of the Haney chapter); and Jamie Yochlowitz (formerly of the Vancouver chapter)


Firefighters were first called to the scene about 11:30 a.m. Sunday. They immediately called in the Mounties when they found Wilson’s body.

Friends of Wilson’s, wearing their death head patched Hells Angels vests, soon showed up at the scene.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is working with Ridge Meadows RCMP on the case.

Wilson’s name had not yet been released by police, but fellow bikers and family were already paying tribute to the dead 43-year-old on Sunday night. Wilson was a high-profile and popular member of the Hells Angels and his murder is expected to increase the volatility in the Lower Mainland motorcycle club landscape.

Police are saying only that Wilson’s death was targeted and that he was known to police.

In fact, he was known to police in several parts of the world.

In 2013, Wilson was charged in Spain with B.C. Hells Angel Jason Arkinstall and two associates after police there seized half a tonne of cocaine from a sailboat that had arrived from Colombia.

The Spanish government said one of the B.C. bikers was on the vessel, while the others were waiting in Spain. They were arrested in a restaurant in Pontevedra, a port in the northwest of Spain.

Officials said the drug conspiracy was linked to a member of the San Diego chapter of the Hells Angels – the same chapter that Wilson had joined as a prospect on Jan. 28, 2005. Wilson became a full-patch Hells Angel a year later on Jan. 28, 2006.

Within a few months he was sitting in a jail cell in South Dakota, charged along with fellow HA member John Midmore, with attempted murder for an Aug. 8, 2006 gunfight with members of the rival Outlaws biker club.

Several bikers and passersby were struck. One Outlaw was paralyzed by Wilson.

But both he and Midmore claimed self-defence and were later acquitted.

Video on the Hells Angels put out by the Vancouver Sun

Wilson, however, pleaded guilty in April 2009 of being an alien in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to four years in jail.

In his letter to the judge, Wilson claimed that he would have been killed if he had not shot at the Outlaws when he did.

“To have to go through this nightmare I have been through for the past 983 days…to have people people think I am somehow at fault for the extreme injuries that not just Mr. Neale, but others suffered as well – psychological and physical – that is just outright wrong to do to me,” Wilson complained. “Don’t think for one second that I don’t live with the nightmare in my head.”

He said he had replayed the events that led to the shootout “over and over again in my head.”

“I come up with the same answer every time. If I did not have a gun that day – Auig. 8, 2006 – and I did not shoot back, I would be DEAD!!” he said. “This situation was 100% out of my control. I have the right to defend myself. I want to go home. I have everything great waiting for me, my drilling job, my kids, my wife and my dog and the number one thing, my LIFE!!”

He said being in jail is “true hell that I’ve been through.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Police raid locations targeting motorcycle club members

Montreal, Canada (November 16, 2018) BTN — An anti-drug operation involving five police forces and targeting a motorcycle club linked to the Hells Angels MC saw 14 arrests and as many raids carried out Thursday as part of an investigation sparked by a string of fentanyl overdose deaths in 2017.

Officers from Quebec City, Granby and Laval are also involved in the operation.

Montreal police say there were 12 raids carried out in Montreal, including at a car parts shop on Henri-Bourassa Blvd. E. in Montréal-Est, while two sites were raided in Laval. The focus of the raids was the Minotaures West-Montreal, a motorcycle club affiliated with the Hells Angels that was formed last year.

Members of the support club are alleged to have headed a network that trafficked in cocaine and heroin even though the Hells Angels MC worldwide have a long-established internal rule that states: “All contact or use of heroin is strictly forbidden.”
  
Police officers seized 50 pounds of marijuana, 11 kilograms of cocaine, 75 grams of heroin and roughly 600,000 methamphetamine pills. They also seized an AK47 assault rifle, seven other types of firearms, $122,460 in cash as well as clothing and other items bearing the Minotaures MC logo, the horned head of the beast from Greek mythology.

According to a release issued by the Montreal police, the 14 arrests made on Thursday were part of a long investigation through which 20 other people have already been charged in the past. 

The people arrested on Thursday are expected to appear in court on Friday.
Officers from Quebec City, Granby and Laval are also involved in the operation.

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette 

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Hells Angels member and wife sentenced to death

Perth, Thailand (November 15, 2018) — A Perth father turned Hells Angels MC member and drugs trafficker and his wife have been sentenced to death in Thailand over a failed bid to smuggle half a tonne of crystal meth-amphetamine through the country to Australia.

Luke Joshua Cook, 35, and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak were arrested in December at Bangkok International Airport when he returned on a flight from Australia after local police linked him to a plot to import meth into Thailand two years earlier.


The Thai courts sentenced the pair to death for the plan to traffic the crystal meth, also known as ice, with an estimated street value of $300 million. Their sentences are expected to be commuted to life in jail.

Assets linked to the pair worth $800,000 including property, cash and cars are to be forfeited.

Veneer of boats, bars and baht fell apart in Thailand for Perth man Luke Cook. Cook, who is believed to have two children, was born in Duncraig in 1983 and spent part of his childhood in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea before returning to WA as a teenager.

According to a CV he posted on LinkedIn, from mid-2003 he spent several years working as a chef in fly-in, fly-out positions around WA including on a fishing boat and at mine sites, as well as at the Christmas Island immigration detention centre. After meeting his future wife online, he moved to Thailand where he bought a bar in the beach resort town of Pattaya, set up a business importing boats and marine parts and joined the Pattaya branch of the Hells Angels.

Police said that in 2015, Cook took a yacht into international waters off the Thai coast to collect 500kg of meth from a Chinese trawler. The illicit cargo was dumped overboard after the Thai Coast Guard came across the boat on its way back to port.

Although the patrol boat saw a man throwing bags over the side, he escaped in the dim, early-morning light. Four sacks containing about 50kg of the meth were found washed ashore on Mae Ramphueng Beach in Rayong province.

Thai authorities said Cook was given $15 million by high-ranking Australian Hells Angels bikie Wayne Schneider to buy and store the drugs for later shipment to Australia.

After the failed delivery, Schneider — a fugitive who was wanted in Australia on multiple warrants and was deemed at the time to be the biggest importer of narcotics into Australia — demanded his money back. He was murdered in November 2015 by members of his gang, his naked and mutilated body found in a shallow grave by the side of a road in Pattaya.

Cook was convicted and handed a suspended sentence over his involvement in the Schneider murder after trying to help former Sydney gangster Antonio Bagnato flee the country and cross the border to Cambodia. Bagnato was arrested, found guilty and sentenced to death over the murder but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday declined to comment on Cook’s sentencing citing privacy reasons.

Luke Joshua Cook, 35, and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak

A spokeswoman confirmed “the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian in Thailand”.

An Australian Federal Police spokesman said that it was not appropriate to comment as it was a matter for the Thai authorities. “The AFP was briefed in relation to this matter following the arrest by Thai authorities,” he said yesterday. “The AFP had no involvement in the Thai investigation that resulted in this man’s arrest and subsequent conviction.”

The arrest of Cook and his 40-year-old wife in December was part of a series of raids by the Thai police in an operation dubbed Clipping The Wings Of Angels as it sought to smash Australian Outlaw Motorcycle Gang-led bikie chapters in Thailand. Several Australians were arrested and deported and at least two remain on the run.

Thai police said the Australian men were involved in drugs, extortion, money laundering, weapons, human trafficking for the sex industry and posed a national threat to security.

An investigation last year found that in Thailand alone, 36 motorcycle club chapters had been established by Australian-led or affiliated gang members, particularly around tourist resort cities of Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai and the capital Bangkok.

Chapters have also been established in Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore.


Charges dropped against Pagans MC members in bar fight

Pittsburgh, PA (November 15, 2018) BTN— The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has withdrawn charges filed against members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club in the wake of a bar fight on the South Side last month.

The fight, which was caught on surveillance video on Oct. 12 at Kopy’s Bar, involved members of the Pagan Motorcycle Club and undercover officers.


“The video posed problems for law enforcement, as a result of the actions that occurred there. I think that… I was looking forward for an opportunity to start cross-examining the officers,” said defense attorney Lee Rothman.

Photo Credit: KDKA

Following the fight, Rothman’s client, Frank DeLuca, a known member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club, and three other members were charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy and riot.

But the Allegheny County DA’s Office released a statement Wednesday, saying those charges have been withdrawn based on evidence.

The full statement goes on to say they reserve the option to re-file the charges, and acknowledged the uniformed officers who responded to the incident:

“This afternoon our office withdrew all charges filed against 4 individuals in the wake of an altercation inside of Kopy’s Bar on Oct. 12, 2018. The withdrawal of the charges was based on evidentiary reasons and issues and our office reserves the option of refiling. Our office wishes to acknowledge the actions of the uniformed officers who responded to the altercation, doing so in a calm and professional manor despite being faced with a chaotic situation.”

Last month, defense attorneys said it was the undercover officers who should be charged in the incident. The attorneys say the officers were allegedly drunk, brandished firearms and provoked the entire confrontation.


DeLuca was seen in the video being pinned in place against the bar while an unidentified undercover officer repeatedly punched him in the head.

DeLuca’s attorney said Wednesday that his client never should have been charged.

“Those undercover officers acted in a manner that, I believe, was excessive, and that caused injuries to my client,” said Rothman.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police issued this statement Wednesday night in response to the charges being withdrawn:

“We respect the District Attorney’s decision to withdraw the charges, with an option to refile later. “The PBP takes all incidents that involve the use of force seriously, which is why we always conduct full reviews when such force is required. These internal investigations are a part of our protocol.

“We also prioritize transparency, which is why we asked OMI and the FBI to further investigate this matter. If it is determined that internal discipline or administrative actions should be taken, such actions will be taken. “The public and our officers deserve an impartial examination of the facts. There are three separate independent investigations regarding this incident, and we continue to cooperate with each of them.”

District Attorney Zappala and U.S. Attorney Scott Brady met last month about opening a possible federal probe into the incident.

SOURCE: KDKA2

Monday, November 5, 2018

District Attorney: Police not submitting evidence against Pagans MC in bar fight

Pittsburgh, PA (November 5, 2018) Editorial — What were members of the Pittsburgh police doing drinking in a South Side bar before fighting four men, all allegedly members of the Pagans motorcycle club, earlier last month? And why are the police stonewalling the district attorney’s office as the city attempts to figure out what led to that drunken melee?

These are the questions that must be answered as serious questions have been raised about the official police account surrounding the recent brawl.

Video still of bar fight with the Pagans MC and undercover police on October 13, 2018

The Oct. 13 dust up was ostensibly the result of a drug dealing sting gone awry. According to the police, the undercover officers had their covers blown before a Pagan allegedly started pushing and throwing punches. The officers claimed the use of force was necessary for bringing down the unruly men.

All told, four alleged Pagans were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy and causing a riot.

Video from the incident and testimony from others have revealed discrepancies in the official account

Surveillance cameras inside the bar captured officers drinking heavily for about five hours before the confrontation. Attorney Martin A. Dietz, who represents 28-year-old Erik Heitzenrater, estimated that some of the detectives had as many as 15 drinks, usually doubles and triples on the rocks.

The officers then verbally sparred with the alleged Pagans. One detective raised his shirt to display his firearm. More words were exchanged, then pushing, then fisticuffs.

After the fight broke out, video captured one defendant, 36-year-old Frank Deluca, being pinned against the bar by one officer as another struck Mr. Deluca in the head 19 times. Mr. Deluca was hospitalized with two black eyes, one of which was swollen shut, and bruising on his forehead.

Another alleged Pagan can be seen getting punched by an officer despite standing away from the scuffle. The officer then kicks that same man on the ground.

It is clear there are significant questions to be answered about this operation. But the police have not seemed too eager to answer them.

On Oct. 25, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. publicly questioned why the police have not been forthcoming with evidence and statements about the brawl.

Not enough evidence against the Pagans MC 


Mr. Zappala said that, as of this writing, he does not have enough evidence to prosecute any of the accused Pagans. He also stated that the police have not informed if the officers were actually undercover or on an assignment in the bar.

Are officers permitted to drink on the job? What latitude is afforded to undercover officers on assignment? What is the evidence supporting the charges facing the four alleged Pagans?

Mr. Zappala is right to criticize the department for its obfuscation, an approach he has effectively used in the past. The people of Pittsburgh need to know that their police officers are comporting themselves in a respectful manner and that the department will provide transparency and accountability. They deserve answers.

SOURCE:The Editorial Board - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Friday, November 2, 2018

Mongols MC: Rat brags how he gained trust with members

Santa Ana, California. (November 2, 2018) BTN — A veteran federal agent who spent years undercover after infiltrating the Mongols Motorcycle Club offered his first-hand account Thursday of a secretive culture of violence and intimidation during testimony in an ongoing federal racketeering trial.

The three years that Darrin Kozlowski and three other U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Officers spent embedded in the outlaw motorcycle club already has led to guilty pleas from 77 members of the Mongols. 



Now, the since-retired special agents’ efforts are at the center of the government’s attempts to seize legal control over the Mongols’ trademark name, a move that would bar the bikers from wearing the patches that now adorn their vests.

Related | Mongols MC: Feds going after clubs colors at racketeering trial

During a federal trial in Santa Ana this week, prosecutors have portrayed the Mongols as a criminal organization that encourages and rewards members who take part in violent, at-times deadly assaults, including riots in Laughlin, Nev. and a melee at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon near Palm Springs in 2002, and violent attacks in bars or restaurants in more recent years in Hollywood, Pasadena, Merced, La Mirada, Wilmington and Riverside.

Kozlowski, who previously infiltrated a Hollywood chapter of the Vagos motorcycle club and an East Coast chapter of the Warlocks motorcycle club, worked his way up the ranks of the Cypress Park chapter of the Mongols between 2005 and 2008, adopting the persona of “Dirty Dan” and telling other members of the club that he had Mafia ties fostered while growing up in Chicago.

It was a risky move, Kozlowski acknowledged during his testimony, particularly since he had already infiltrated one outlaw motorcycle club in Southern California. A photo of Kozlowski had also been printed in a book written by William Queen, a since-retired ATF agent who had infiltrated the Mongols years earlier, and whose work was well known throughout the motorcycle gang.

Kozlowski testified to buying crystal methamphetamine from several members of the Mongols, to being present for several brawls in clubs or parking lots, to helping members legally barred from having firearms hide their guns and to being told that other members of the club that they had killed members of the Hells Angels, whose bloody rivalry with the Mongols dates back to the 1970s.

“Members would often talk about doing things to elevate themselves within the Mongols by doing these acts of violence,” Kozlowski said. “It was talked about as a badge of honor.”

Kozlowski said some members of the motorcycle club were initially suspicious of him and the other undercover agents, forcing them to take polygraph tests before being allowed to join. He described for jurors the inner workings of the club, including detailing the various patches members can acquire for a variety of actions, from assaults and even murders of rivals to explicit sexual conquests.

To bolster his false identity, Kozlowski said he once offered to fly his chapter president to Chicago for a tour of what he claimed were his childhood neighborhoods. The chapter president unexpectedly accepted the invitation, Kozlowski testified, and law enforcement officials were forced to set up a dinner in Chicago with other agents posing as Italian organized crime bosses who told the Mongols leader they had worked with Kozlowski on past criminal endeavors.

There were several times Kozlowski said he believed the other Mongols were on the verge of realizing he was a law enforcement officer. He recalled once entering the home of Mongols leadership to see several members holding Queen’s book and looking at the photographs, and immediately believing he had been set up before realizing it was simply a coincidence. The president of his chapter eventually saw the photo of Kozlowski in the book, and had to be convinced it wasn’t him.

“Why would a member of the ATF who infiltrated the Vagos in this area come back and be a member of the Mongols?” Kozlowski testified about telling his chapter president.

Attorney Joseph Yanny, who is representing the Mongols, has acknowledged that members of the club broke the law, but told jurors that those individuals had been kicked out for their actions. On other occasions, Yanny told jurors, the club members acted in self-defense or were induced into drug deals by undercover agents.

Kozlowski testified that during his time with the motorcycle club he never saw anyone kicked out for illegal behavior, including individuals convicted of felonies. Prosecutors have previously indicated that if they are successful in their efforts to gain legal control over the Mongols’ trademark, they could literally take the jacket off the bikers backs anywhere in the country. The club traces its roots to Montebello in the 1970s.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is presiding over the trial, was angered late Thursday morning when four bikers, including one wearing sunglasses, appeared in the courtroom. The judge initially believed that it was a violation of an agreement the club had made to only have two of its members in the courtroom at a time, but learned that two of the visitors were from other motorcycle clubs.

Carter, who noted that 40 to 50 Mongol members attended some pretrial hearings, said anyone has a right to watch the trial. But he also made clear that for every member of the Mongol’s who attends, he will have an equal number of U.S. Marshal’s in the courtroom.

“You can have 50 people in here, but I’ll match them,” Carter warned the clubs leaders. “My jury is not going to be intimidated.”