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Showing posts with label Harassment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harassment. Show all posts

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Former Hells Angels MC clubhouse demolished

Nanaimo, B.C., Canada (November, 16, 2023) - A clubhouse that once belonged to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is now demolished, just weeks after a court ruling confirmed the British Columbia government has the right to seize the property. Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general, says in a statement that the clubhouse in Nanaimo, is coming down immediately.
 


In February, the appeal court ordered the forfeiture of three properties and the province became the registered owner of the properties. However, Angel Acres Recreation and Festival Property Ltd. and all others interested in the properties appealed. They sought a restraining order to prevent the province from disposing of the land pending a decision from the high court in Ottawa.
 
"After more than a decade of legal action, government is now in legal possession of three properties previously used as Hells Angels' clubhouses in Nanaimo, Kelowna and East Vancouver to coordinate criminal activities, and today we will be demolishing the clubhouse in Nanaimo,” Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said.



A Supreme Court of Canada ruling upheld a British Columbia court's decision finding an "inescapable" inference that the Nanaimo clubhouse and other Hells Angels properties in Kelowna and east Vancouver were used for criminal activity.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Hells Angels MC Members Arrested

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (November 14, 2023) - The National Police have arrested six people in different locations in Tenerife for their involvement in crimes including belonging to a criminal organization, damages, serious threats, and coercion. The detainees are members of the Canary Islands charter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
 


The police investigation, conducted jointly by the General Information Commissioner and the Provincial Information Brigade of Tenerife, began three years ago when it was discovered that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club intended to expand its influence to the island of Tenerife.

The expansion of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Spain has been gradual, with an increasing number of members across the country, especially in recent years, targeting strategic points for organized crime, such as the Costa del Sol, the entire Levantine Coast, the Costa Brava, and the Canary Islands.



The operation carried out by the National Police is part of the European police forces' fight against the establishment of these "outlaw" motorcycle clubs linked to organized crime, led by Europol through the (AP) Monitor Project.

Various police operations have already been conducted against different chapters of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) in Spain, for crimes including belonging to a criminal organization, drug trafficking, coercion, extortion, violent robbery, and illegal possession of weapons.

Thursday, November 9, 2023

No police escort for annual Christmas toy run

Fairfield, California, USA (November 9, 2023) - Police Chief Dan Marshall said he would quit his job if the city forces his police officers to assist with a Christmas toy run, all because the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club are involved.
 
Photo: Operating Engineers Local 3

Over the decades-long Samoa Mission Christmas Toy Run, hundreds of motorcyclists, including Santa, parade down Fairfield streets. Fairfield police have served as an escort in the past. The chief says no more.



Community members asked Police Chief Dan Marshall to reconsider his stand. He stood firm, saying he doesn't want to put his officers in harm's way. The past two years Hell's Angels have participated, he said. "We do not support any criminal organization," he said during public comments at Tuesday night's city council meeting.

Toy Run will continue despite no police escort

The event is nearing its 20th anniversary. Last year, more than 400 toys were distributed, Gene Ahu, of Mission Samoa, said. Past toy runs have been done without a permit as a favor, Marshall said. He emphasized as long as the bikers follow the rules of the road, there should not be an issue. "I'm glad they are doing it," Marshall said.



Mayor Catherine "Cat" Moy and councilmembers Scott Tonnesen and Rick Vaccaro praised the event and offered their support for Marshall's decision. Many bikers involved in the ride stood in the council chamber's entryway during the discussion. The Toy Run is sponsored by Bad Boyz MC, Operating Engineers Local No. 3 and Mission Samoa.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Florida sheriff warns public about MC toy runs

Key West, Florida, USA (October 25, 2023) - Rick Ramsay, Monroe County Sheriff is urging the public to be aware of holiday toy drives that are being hosted by the Pagan's Motorcycle Club.
 


The sheriff seen an ad in the local paper for the "End of the Road Toy Run" by the PMC and LMC - The Pagan's Motorcycle Club and the Legend Motorcycle Club. Ramsey said that both clubs are criminal, outlaw motorcycle gangs that are involved in crime involving drugs, guns and violence in the community.



In his social media message, Sheriff Ramsay says the Department of Justice has labeled the Pagan's as a criminal outlaw gang. Ramsay ended the video by saying “there are great organizations that people can team up with, but PMC is not one of them.”

Friday, October 13, 2023

Hells Angels MC Clubhouses Seized by Court

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (October 13, 2023) - The Supreme Court of Canada says it will not hear an appeal from the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club over properties the province of British Columbia seized from the club in Kelowna, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

On Thursday, the country's highest court dismissed a leave to appeal from Angel Acres Recreation and Festival Property Ltd. that sought to challenge a decision by a lower court in British Columbia, that said the clubhouses would likely be used for criminal activity in the future.
 


The Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the province to sell the three properties, which were seized outright and the locks changed in April. Thursday's ruling ends a 16-year legal saga regarding the clubhouses.

Lawyers representing the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club went to court to stop the province from selling the properties, which it is allowed to do under the Civil Forfeiture Act. The act came into place in British Columbia in 2006 and is meant to "ensure that people cannot profit from unlawful activity or use property in a way that may harm other persons."

The British Columbia's forfeiture office first made a move to seize the Nanaimo clubhouse in 2007, and then  attempted the same with the Kelowna and Vancouver clubhouses in 2012. The properties are located at 805 Victoria Road in Nanaimo, 837 Ellis Street in Kelowna and 3598 East Georgia Street in Vancouver.



In its attempt to stop the seizures, the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club initially won a decision in British Columbia Supreme Court in 2020. But, that was overturned in February by the British Columbia Appeal Court, which found there was little evidence the club would have suffered "irreparable harm" if the properties were sold.

At the time, the civil forfeiture office said it would return the contents and belongings in the three clubhouses, as those were not subject to forfeiture. It would then sell the properties.

Monday, October 9, 2023

Police raid Mongols MC clubhouse

Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia (October 9, 2023) - A Mongols Motorcycle Club clubhouse has been raided ahead of the group's national run this week. Police searched an industrial complex at Blacktown in Sydney's west on Friday night and said they seized several items "consistent with the illegal sale and supply of alcohol". This included bar stools, lounges, fridges, and alcohol.
 
@State of NSW

The Mongols MC is preparing for its national run in Victoria, which will run from Wednesday to Saturday this week. Detective Acting Superintendent Stuart Gordon said NSW Police will work with Victoria Police to ensure riders comply with the law and road rules.



"We have assigned a significant number of resources to join our southern counterparts in policing the run, including officers attached to the southern region and traffic and highway patrol command," Gordon said. 

"No illegal behaviour will be tolerated – either on or off the road – and, as well as minimising the impact of the ride to other motorists, police will be targeting any anti-social behaviour."



Sunday, October 1, 2023

Bandidos MC member shot during run

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia (October 1, 2023) - A member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club was reportedly shot near a clubhouse during the MC's annual run to regional Victoria. The 29-year-old man was admitted to Ballarat hospital shortly after 1:00 A.M. on Sunday with non-life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound.
 


Police believe the Bandidos MC member was in the area of the Bandidos clubhouse when the shooting took place. This comes as members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club descended on Ballarat and nearby Buninyong for their national run. Victoria Police’s Echo and VIPER Taskforce, supported by local police monitored the event to ensure public safety.

RELATED | Bandidos MC gather for national run




Detectives attached to Echo Taskforce took over the investigation into the shooting in Ballarat.

Friday, September 29, 2023

Bandidos MC gather for national run

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia (September 29, 2023) - Hundreds of members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club from around Australia gathered on Friday in Ballarat for the their national run event. The Bandidos MC members are expected to travel to nearby Buninyong before returning over the weekend.
 


In a statement, Victoria Police said on Thursday that officers were “aware” of the national run. “Echo and VIPER taskforces, with local police and specialist units, will be closely monitoring to ensure the safety of all road users,” they said. 




“There will be an increased police presence in the Ballarat area over the weekend before members are expected to depart on Sunday. “Police will be ready to take swift action in the event any Bandidos MC members involved commit criminal, road safety or public order offences.”

Western Region Superintendent Frank Sells said that police would not be intimidated and their presence would be increased. Ballarat has hosted the Bandidos several times before, with the annual general meeting held last year at popular local restaurant Lazy Moe’s.

Friday, September 15, 2023

Mongols MC affiliates crash going to national event

Amberley, New Zeland (September 15, 2023) - Two people affiliated with the Mongols MC crashed on their way to Christchurch for a planned event. Detective Inspector Joel Syme said police were aware of a planned event in Christchurch this weekend involving members and associates of the Mongols MC.



On Friday morning, police were called to a crash involving two motorcycles travelling to the event. The crash on State Highway 1, north of Amberley, was reported to Police at 11:25 AM. “Nobody was injured and the road was not blocked.”



Syme said additional police staff would be deployed in the city over the weekend to “closely monitor the behaviour” of those attending the event. “Our expectations around these types of events are very clear and I can assure the community that we will have resources in place to respond to reports of unlawful behaviour.

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Hells Angels MC Banned from Ponde Compound

South Australia (September 14, 2023) - Hells Angels members will be barred from a regular meeting place after state parliament passed a law designating the property a prescribed place. The Ponde compound, about 100km east of Adelaide, was home to a rock music festival until 2002 but will now be off bounds to club members after the government's latest move to block its use by the bikie gang.
 


"We do not want to see outlaw motorcycle gangs getting a hold back in South Australia," Attorney-General Kyam Maher told reporters on Thursday. "We will do everything that is in our power to make South Australians safer and that includes changing the law very quickly when we need to."

The High Court in August invalidated an attempt by the previous Liberal government to ban the bikies from Ponde, but Mr Maher was adamant his law would face no such obstacles as it amended the legislation itself and was not just a regulation. "What we've done through the passage of this legislation in parliament, is to make it as bulletproof as possible," he said.



The declaration of the site as a prescribed place means any members of a listed criminal organisation cannot visit. But the Law Society of South Australia criticised the bill, arguing it was based on a flawed regime. In a submission to Mr Maher, the society's president James Marsh said the law increased the risk that individuals could have their property unjustly confiscated.

"The society queries the justification in abrogating any citizen's right to procedural fairness," he wrote. Mr Maher said the society's representations "fell on deaf ears." "We will do absolutely everything we can to make sure bikies have as little influence in this state as possible," he said.

In 2019, police found a burnt-out car on the property that had been linked to a bashing murder. At one stage the government tried to seize the land as a criminal asset but later dropped that bid.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Outlaws MC Member Accused of Fleeing Deputies

Daytona, Florida, USA (October 25, 2022) - A member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club faces seven charges after a deputy sheriff spotted him going over 100 miles per hour on a motorcycle in Flagler County after fleeing a traffic stop in Ormond Beach.
 


Among the new charges are two felony counts of fleeing and eluding with disregard of safety to persons or property. He’s also received seven traffic citations in connection to this incident, including reckless driving, failing to obey law enforcement and knowingly driving with a suspended license.







The Ormond Beach Police Department (OBPD) also filed fleeing and eluding charges against Wilson and his motorcycle was seized by FCSO.



Source: Flagler County Sheriff's Office

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Hells Angels MC on the move in Toronto

On The Road (July 20, 2022) - A large procession of up to 1,000 Hells Angels members has left Newmarket, Ontario and is now headed for Toronto's east end. The ride is in honor of long-time Toronto Hells Angels member, Donny Peterson, who died at 74 of natural causes.



Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Police issue warnings about Hells Angels event

Durham, Ontario, Canada (July 19, 2022) - A very large police presence will be in Brooklin this coming weekend with as many as 1,000 Hells Angels MC members and their associates descending on the community.

The Brooklin charter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club will be hosting the Canada Run from Friday, July 22 to Sunday, July 24 and Hells Angels MC charters from across the country are expected to attend.
 


During a news conference on Monday, July 18, Durham Regional Police Deputy Chief Dean Bertrim said, “Rest assured, our primary focus on managing this event is to ensure we get through this event safely and uneventful for all. We anticipate that events like this are highly visible and that our visitors will be on their best behaviour."

He noted on social media, supporters of the Hells Angels MC say the club is being unfairly characterized. “Let me be clear today. They are an organized crime group who have consistently been proven to be responsible for all manner of crimes, be it drug trafficking, illegal gambling, human trafficking, firearms and acts of violence perpetrated through their members or by support clubs.”



He said the Hells Angels have probably been planning the event for the past year. “The Canada Run is an event for all Hell Angels chapters to get together once a year to discuss, to socialize and to get a photography of the chapters. Beyond that, the majority will go for a ride, so a ride will take place. At some point during the weekend, there will be a large amount of motorcyclists travelling our roadway,” Bertrim said.

OPP Det.-Insp. Scott Wade said, “The Hells Angels, they are one percenters. One per cent of motorcycle riders who believe they live outside the law.”


“Traditionally, events like the Canada Run aren’t a significant safety risk. Our goal in having a police presence during the Canada Run is to focus on the safety of anyone impacted by this event,” he noted. “We will take a zero tolerance approach to any unlawful activity and we encourage the public to immediately contact us if they have any concerns,” he added.

Friday, September 11, 2020

Hells Angels Member Wins Lawsuit

Denver, Colorado, USA (September 11, 2020) BTN- Five Colorado police agencies paid $25,000 and issued an apology to a Hells Angels member after an officer two years ago joked that he’d shoot the man to get “paid vacation.”

The settlement stems from a federal lawsuit filed in April by Anthony Mills against the city of Greeley, the town of LaSalle and the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, as well as individual officers from those jurisdictions and from the Kersey and Garden City police departments.

The suit came in response to an April 8, 2018, incident in which David Miller, a LaSalle police officer, pulled over Anthony Mills for speeding.


Saying he “loved getting to (expletive) with” the motorcycle club, Miller asked the other officers who had responded to make sure their body cameras were off as they shared stories about the violent acts they had committed against members of the group, Mills’ attorney, Sarah Schielke, said in a news release announcing the settlement.

“Officer Miller then announced to the group that if Mr. Mills did anything he didn’t like: ‘I’m shooting him! I need some paid vacation!’ ” Schielke said, citing footage from the officer’s own body camera, which he’d left on.

As part of the settlement, Miller issued an apology to Mills, and has since resigned from the department, Schielke said.

“When police officers openly discuss with one another their disdain for one group of citizens that they are sworn to serve and protect, and make jokes about killing those citizens for ‘paid vacation leave,’ they normalize police misconduct and murder,” Schielke said in a statement. “Cop jokes about some lives not mattering inevitably fosters a culture of police officers who are much more willing to pull the trigger on those same lives later.”



The incident marks at least the third time in recent decades in which Colorado cities have paid money and have been forced to apologize to Hells Angels members.

Denver settled two cases — one in 2003 and another in 2008 — over lawsuits alleging illegal searches and traffic stops against bikers.

In November, federal agents in Denver raided the motorcycle club’s Highland neighborhood headquarters, arresting 14 members on organized crime charges. Those cases are still working their way through the courts.

SOURCE: The Denver Post

Monday, April 13, 2020

Cop Busted Threatening HA Member

Greeley, Colorado, USA (April 13, 2020) BTN — A lawsuit filed in federal court claims officers of the Greeley Police Department, LaSalle Police Department and Weld County Sheriff’s Office violated the First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights of Anthony Mills, a Hells Angels Motorcycle Club member, during a 2018 traffic stop.


According to Mills’ attorney, Sarah Schielke, he was pulled over by a La Salle police officer for speeding the night of April 8, 2018. He was ticketed for driving 20-25 mph over the speed limit.

But during the 90-plus minute stop, Schielke argues officer and deputies treated her client like a criminal and was harassed strictly for his association to the Hells Angels MC. Schielke says body camera video she obtained through an open records request shows officers abused their power that night.


At one point during the body camera video, an officer is allegedly heard saying, “I’m shooting him. I need some paid vacation.”


“An officer can say, ‘I’m going to shoot him. I need more vacation time!’ and that’s a joke? And that gets laughter,” questioned Schielke.

She also points to a part in the footage that she says reveals the officers wanted the body cameras turned off and the one officer who did have his camera rolling must have done so by mistake.

READ: The lawsuit filed on Mills’ behalf

Schielke says her client wants an apology and to see changes to the departments involved.

“To take police seriously, to trust police to police us, those kinds of conversations can’t happen,” added Schielke.

A check on Mills’ background shows he was charged in 2017 with burglary, witness intimidation and assault. All three charges were dismissed.

In response to the lawsuit, the La Salle Police Department said it launched an internal investigation and the officer involved was notified of that investigation.

A spokesperson from the Weld County Sheriff’s Office said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

The Greeley Police Department did not respond to a request for comment as of Friday night.

SOURCE: WKRG

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Charges Dropped Against Vagos Members

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (March 29, 2020) BTN — About a month after eight members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club were acquitted in a lengthy racketeering trial, federal prosecutors on Friday dropped all charges against each of their co-defendants awaiting trial, except one.


In a three-page court brief, prosecutors dismissed all charges against 11 more defendants.

Prosecutors still are pursuing two counts against one local biker, John Halgat. While a racketeering count against him was dismissed, he still faces charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to the crime charged.

Related | Vagos MC Members Acquitted
Related | Long Vagos MC trial continues in Vegas 
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

Last month, after a trial that started in July, jurors acquitted eight members of the club, including its president on federal charges of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, murder and using a firearm to commit murder.

The Las Vegas trial centered around the fatal September 2011 shooting of a Hells Angels leader inside a Sparks casino during Street Vibrations, an annual motorcycle festival.

SOURCE: Las Vegas Review

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Outlaws MC Member Disputes Claim

Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland (March 3, 2020) BTN — A member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club is disputing the RCMP’s depiction of their activities.

Cops seen this belt during the raid, liked it and confiscated it

Operation Barbarian last week resulted in eight cocaine trafficking arrests after the Outlaws Clubhouse in Grand Falls-Windsor was raided last weekend.

Two of the accused were members of the Outlaws and four others were associated with a support group known as the Fallen Few. Police say the investigation continues and more arrests are pending.

RELATED | Outlaws MC Members Charged 
RELATED | Arrests at Outlaws Clubhouse

At the time, RCMP warned that while the Outlaws try to depict themselves as motorcycle enthusiasts who give back to the community through charitable acts, their activities are linked to organized crime.

Mark Hancock takes exception to that. He admits they like to “party and have fun,” but says you’ll find people getting into trouble in any group.

He says to-date, the Outlaws Motorcycle Club has not been charged for being organized crime.

SOURCE: CBC

Monday, March 2, 2020

Chapter President Pleads Not Guilty

Providence, Rhode Island, USA (March 2, 2020) BTN —As his legal troubles mount, the president of the Hells Angels Rhode Island chapter is accusing the authorities of trying to entrap him and going easy on a “star witness” with a violent history.

Joseph Lancia, 28, of Smithfield, pleaded not guilty in District Court on Monday morning to two misdemeanors stemming from an altercation at the Cadillac Lounge strip club Saturday night. Police said they saw him punch a man, later identified as a strip club bouncer, in the face.


He will remain locked up because authorities say he violated the conditions of his bail in a case from June, when police said he shot at a man — a former prospect for the motorcycle club — driving by the Hells Angels Providence clubhouse in a truck.

In legal papers filed just days before the strip-club altercation, Lancia’s attorneys launched a number of accusations at the man police said he tried to shoot.

RELATED | HA Chapter President Arrested
RELATED | Cops stalking Hells Angels MC fundraiser
RELATED | Hells Angels Prez arrested for assault 
RELATED | Hells Angel MC member home raided 

The man, Richard Starnino, actually pointed a gun at Lancia first, and has threatened Lancia’s life a number of times, the filing says. Nobody was injured in the incident.

“The Grand Jury was never made aware of Richard Starnino’s drug habits, nor were they made aware of his violent criminal history or the numerous death threats he made against Joseph Lancia,” the filing says. “Furthermore, it was never disclosed to the Grand Jury that Starnino was an informant for the State Police, and that Starnino instigated and caused this incident.”

And Starnino has seen his own legal troubles quickly resolve in his favor — because he was cooperating with prosecutors in a long-running investigation into the Hells Angels, Lancia’s lawyer, Joseph Voccola, said.

Voccola said in a court filing that Starnino was arrested in May after beating a woman who’d gotten sand into his vehicle.

But by then, Starnino, 47, was already cooperating with the state police in an investigation into the Hells Angels, and had been for a number of months. So despite the fact that the victim reported suffering broken bones and needing 30 stitches, Starnino was charged only with misdemeanor simple domestic assault, the filing says.

Just days later, Starnino was charged again with violating a no-contact order after another assault, Lancia’s attorneys said. But he again was only charged with a minor offense, and authorities withdrew an accusation that he’d violated his bail on the earlier charge, Voccola said.

The charges against Starnino were eventually dismissed, according to court records.

Lancia now faces an accusation that he violated the terms of his bail in the June case after his arrest at the strip club over the weekend. That differs from the treatment Starnino received, Voccola said. “Everybody should be treated the same,” Voccola said. “That’s not the case here.”

Starnino’s attorney in his latest cases from 2019 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lancia will pursue a self-defense argument and an entrapment defense; the route Starnino took with his truck to drive by the Messer Street clubhouse “doesn’t make sense,” Voccola said.

Maj. Timothy Sanzi of the Rhode Island State Police said he could not comment on the specifics of Lancia’s arguments, but said: “The detectives do a terrific job and we stand by the investigations they produce.”

Lancia is expected to appear in Superior Court on Tuesday to face accusations that he violated the terms of his bail from his arrest at the strip club over the weekend. He rejected a deal that would have resolved the bail violation and the underlying misdemeanors from the weekend but would have resulted in him serving 75 days at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Voccola noted that the victim in the strip club case “doesn’t even want to come forward.”

But police said they saw him punch the victim, so he was charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. On Monday, a simple assault charge was added to the case.

SOURCE: TurnTo10

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Vagos MC Members Acquitted

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (February 24, 2020) BTN — Eight accused Vagos motorcycle club members were acquitted Monday of all charges alleging they were part of a broad criminal racketeering enterprise that committed violent crimes for more than a decade, including the killing of a rival Hells Angels leader in a casino shootout in 2011.


Gasps erupted in the Las Vegas courtroom as U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro read the jury’s not guilty verdicts for each man.

“This is what happens when the government tries to put people away with tricks and liars,” said Daniel Hill, attorney for Pastor Fausto Palafox, former international president of the Vagos Motorcycle Club and first-named defendant in the case.

Related | Long Vagos MC trial continues in Vegas 
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


The jury deliberated the equivalent of only about two days after more than five months of contentious testimony at the troubled trial that had some witnesses stunningly recant their own stories on the witness stand.

Defense attorneys lost bids during trial to have Navarro throw out the case as deeply flawed — including after prosecutors disavowed the testimony of their own star witness, former Vagos member Gary “Jabbers” Rudnick.

Navarro said repeatedly it would be up to the jury to decide the facts and reach a verdict.

Rudnick testified and then acknowledged fabricating his account that Palafox issued a “green light” go-ahead to kill Jeffrey Pettigrew, then-president of the Hells Angels chapter from San Jose, California.

Palafox, 56, watched Monday as the 10 women and two men filed out of the jury box, and he mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich declined outside court to talk about how the prosecution unfolded and whether the government will continue to trial for 13 other accused Vagos defendants in the case.

“I’m grateful for the court’s time, the jury’s consideration and the diligent work of the assistant U.S. attorneys,” Trutanich said, adding that he believed the jury reached a verdict it found “fair and just.”

The government chose to take the Vagos case to trial despite Rudnick previously recanting his testimony at a state trial that led to a murder conviction in Reno against Vagos member Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez. The Nevada Supreme Court threw out that result because of improper jury instructions. Gonzalez was awaiting a retrial when federal charges were brought.

Gonzalez, now 42, was among the defendants acquitted Monday. Others were Albert Lopez, Albert Perez, James Gillespie, Bradley Campos, Cesar Morales and Diego Garcia. None testified at trial. All are from California. They range in age from 36 to 70.

Collectively, they were accused of conspiring since 2005 to deal drugs and commit violent crimes including killings, robberies, extortion and kidnappings in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Nevada.

U.S. Justice Department attorney John Han told the jury a “war” between the Vagos and Hells Angels over territory and respect in California dates to 2005 and continues today.

The focus of the case was the shooting inside the Nugget casino in Sparks. The jury was told Rudnick argued with Pettigrew, and that Pettigrew threw a first punch before pulling a gun and firing several shots while casino patrons dived under blackjack tables and behind slot machines.

The melee continued for about two minutes before Pettigrew was shot by Gonzalez. His attorney, Michael Kennedy, maintained that his client was within his rights to defend himself and others when he shot Pettigrew.

The acquittals came in the same courtroom and before the same judge who in December 2017 found flagrant misconduct by prosecutors and dismissed criminal charges against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his sons and supporters in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents. An appeal of that dismissal is pending.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Media Blames Hells Angels for Shooters

New York City, New York, USA (February 13, 2020) BTN — After four decades, the infamous Hells Angels packed up their Manhattan clubhouse and relocated to the Bronx. Their presence quickly became known to residents after bullets flew into their clubhouse.

Hells Angels new clubhouse 

The Jan. 2 incident raised questions about the Hells Angels' intentions on the Throgs Neck block. Windows are now boarded up at the clubhouse, and police are keeping a close eye.

"It was a little concerning. But you can't really blame them. I mean it's like blaming a victim for getting shot at. Do you blame the shooter or do you blame the victim? So, now they are getting the bad rep for something that happened to them," said a resident.

Related | New Hells Angels Clubhouse Upsets Nosy Neighbors 

Related | Former Hells Angels MC Clubhouse Sold


Allegations of criminal activity mark the group, but they are also known for charity with their annual toy drive during the holiday season.

News 12's investigation discovered that their clubhouse at 241 Longstreet Ave. is not the only property the club has bought after selling their longtime East Village NYC chapter headquartered in Manhattan for more than $7.7 million.



Documents obtained by News 12 reveal that the Church of the Angels Inc., which is under Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, has purchased four properties in the Bronx.

Three of those purchased properties are in Throgs Neck and were acquired in October 2019. Listed on the deed documents is the Law Offices of Edmond Pryor. He would not directly tell News 2 that he worked with the Church of the Angels Inc.

"I have no pending matters for them," said Pryor. Pryor was also a part-time employee of Bronx Councilman Mark Gjonaj, which made some residents question the councilman's involvement with the club.

The office denied any connection to News 12, saying in a statement, "This was a private transaction that had no reporting requirement to any elected official or the local community board."

Some in the neighborhood are waiting until it gets warmer to see if Hells Angels and their slew of bikes will mess or mesh with the fabric of their community.

News 12 has reached out to the Hell Angels and Community Board 10 and has not heard back.

SOURCE: News 12