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Showing posts with label Motorcycle Club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motorcycle Club. Show all posts

Monday, October 10, 2022

Former Grim Reapers MC Prez Sentenced

Evansville, Indiana, USA (October 10, 2022) - A federal judge handed down a long prison sentence this week to the former president of the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club chapter in Evansville, Indiana. On Wednesday, U.S. Southern District of Indiana Judge Richard Young sentenced Gary Forston to serve 16-and-a-half years in federal prison for his role in an alleged drug trafficking scheme.

The former GRMC president pleaded guilty to four out of the 12 counts originally listed in his indictment back in July.
 


According to the agreement, Forston admitted he conspired to distribute more than 550 grams of methamphetamine and used a firearm to further a drug trafficking operation.Forston was arrested in November 2019 after local and federal law enforcement officers swarmed the Grim Reapers' club house in the former SheLounge strip club off Diamond Avenue.

RELATED | Grim Reapers MC Members Busted In Drug Raid


At the time of the raid, Forston, a convicted felon, allegedly had in his possession a 0.40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, leading a grand jury to indict him on weapons charges. Ten pounds of meth, 23 guns and $35,000 in cash were seized during the raid, according to then U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler. The drugs reportedly had an estimated street value of more than $250,000.

In February 2020, a federal grand jury indicted 17 people from Indiana and Kentucky, including Forston, for allegedly operating the methamphetamine trafficking ring affiliated with the motorcycle club. Of the 17 people indicted, 13 were from Evansville. When those indictments were announced, Minkler called the Grim Reapers Motorcycle club a "criminal organization."

Central Holman IV, of Owensboro Kentucky, is alleged in federal court documents to have been the club's main supplier of methamphetamine. Besides Holman and Forston, the other 15 people indicted were believed by law enforcement to be "mid-level distributors," records show.

Some of their cases are still ongoing. In September, Holman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve 18 years in federal prison. He has since appealed his conviction, according to court records.

Source: WTVW  

Monday, August 29, 2022

Mongols MC member faces murder charge

Largo, Florida, USA - (August 29, 2022) - A Pinellas grand jury has indicted a member of the Mongols motorcycle club who is accused of killing another motorcycle club member he believed to be a police informant. Paul Mogilevsky, 48, faces a first-degree murder charge in the April shooting death of Dominick Paternoster, 46, in Palm Harbor. 

Paternoster was a member of the Raiders MC, a feeder group for the Mongols MC. The two share a clubhouse in Tampa, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference Monday. “Paternoster was not just killed. He was executed,” Gualtieri said. 

He declined to say, however, whether Paternoster was an informant. Mogilevsky and Paternoster were at the Mongols clubhouse in Tampa together on April 27, the night Paternoster was killed, Gualtieri said. They then went to Paternoster’s Palm Harbor home with another person.
 


Video evidence and witnesses placed the suspects at Paternoster’s home on the night of the shooting, Gualtieri said. Mogilevsky initially said he and another person left Paternoster asleep in a recliner at home, according to court documents. However, investigators said Mogilevsky lied about the timeline of events that night.



A confidential witness also told authorities that Mogilevsky had planned the shooting and admitted to killing Paternoster, court documents say, and authorities were able to verify some of the information the witness provided. Mogilevsky and the other suspect got rid of some evidence in Tampa Bay, Gualtieri said. Members of the sheriff’s office dive team helped recover the evidence.

Gualtieri said multiple guns were used to shoot Paternoster in his home, where he was found dead about 4:30 p.m. on April 28, according to court documents. Law enforcement is still investigating the death and plans to make other arrests, the sheriff said.

Monday, August 22, 2022

Hells Angels Money Launder to Serve Time in Prison

Quebec, Canada (August 22, 2022) - Four people who were convicted six years ago on charges alleging they helped members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Quebec launder money have been ordered to report to penitentiaries within 48 hours to begin serving their sentences. The order was issued Monday as part of a decision made by the Quebec Court of Appeal.
 


All four were first charged in 2009 in Operation Diligence, an investigation led by the Sûreté du Québec, into how members of the Hells Angels MC based in Quebec had infiltrated specific segments of the province’s construction industry. As part of the same investigation, they were found to have helped full-patch members of the motorcycle club's charter in Trois-Rivières hide their money.

They managed to avoid having to serve time behind bars because they appealed the convictions. Their appeals went through a very lengthy and complicated process. Initially, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled it took too long for the Crown to prosecute the case and ordered a stay of proceedings on all charges.

The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled Monday on the other issues raised by the appellants, including arguments that there was insufficient evidence of a conspiracy was involved in what what happened. The appellate court disagreed and ordered that the four accused begin serving their sentences in two days.

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette  

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Alleged HA member drops water balloons on homeless

Vancouver, British Columbia (August 20, 2022) - An alleged Hells Angels MC member had his TikTok account banned recently after posting photos of himself dropping water balloons from a Vancouver apartment building onto homeless people below.
 


Jaimie, an alleged member of the Hells Angels MC Hardside charter, began posting the videos a few months ago, though lamented last week in an Instagram post that his TikTok account had been banned. “That didn’t take long,” he wrote over a screen shot of the note from TikTok banning the account, which used his nickname ‘Jewsifer.’

Jamie did not respond to a message sent through Instagram asking for comment. But less than an hour afterwards, all his social media accounts disappeared. He had also posted the same water balloon videos on his Instagram account under the heading “Wet and Wild.”

In one of the videos, he fills a red water balloon at a kitchen sink, commenting about substance users blocking his garage door below. He then opens the window and throws the balloon at someone lying down on a blanket in the alley. The victim shouts “ahhh” as the balloon hits the ground nearby and splashes him.



Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Driver found not guilty in 2019 fatal crash

Concord, New Hampshire (August 10, 2022) - A jury on Tuesday acquitted a pickup truck driver of causing the deaths of seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club in a head-on collision in northern New Hampshire back in 2019.



Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, had pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of negligent homicide, manslaughter, driving under the influence, and reckless conduct, although some of the charges were dropped during the trial. He has been in jail since the crash on June 21, 2019, in Randolph. His trial began on July 26.

Read More: Driver Acquitted in Deaths of Jarheads MC Members




Monday, August 1, 2022

Police say new MC's linked with Hells Angels

Vancouver, B.C. (August 1, 2022) - New motorcycle clubs that police say are linked to the Hells Angels MC are sprouting up around the province, alarming police who suspect the older club is expanding its reach. 

Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, of the 'anti-gang' Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, says there are now about 30 of the support clubs in B.C., compared to 10 chapters of the Hells Angels.
 


“There’s been four or five new ones pop up in the Lower Mainland in the last year,” he said. “The farm team system for the Hells Angels is very alive and well.”

Houghton said six of the approximately 30 support clubs “are self-identified one percenters, so they wear the little one per cent diamond on their leather vest.” That means they identify as “outlaw” motorcycle clubs, he said, of the expression that dates back to the formation of the Hells Angels in 1948.

After more than two years of COVID restrictions, Hells Angels and their supporters are hosting large “rides” and other events that had been cancelled throughout the pandemic. That has allowed police to gather intelligence on how the biker landscape has changed.

Many of the new motorcycle clubs are showing up at Hells Angels events, Houghton said.
 


“The concern, as these clubs proliferate, is that the people in these clubs, will continually confirm their dedication and their loyalty and their subservience to the Hells Angels,” Houghton said.

RELATED | Hells Angels MC support club throttled


Last week, Houghton said that the Throttle Lockers puppet club, which had tried to expand in Kamloops, was basically defunct after a major CFSEU drug investigation that resulted in charges against two of its former members and an associate.

Brad Stephen, a retired Vancouver Police biker specialist, said puppet clubs were not common in B.C. until the past decade, “due to the fact that they’re kind of a conduit into the Hells Angels and there’s some vulnerabilities there.”

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Alleged Mongols MC hangout caught up in raid

Queensland, Australia (July 30, 2022) - Operation Viking, which began 6:00 am last Monday, resulted in more than $150,000 cash, seven firearms and a raft of prohibited drugs like methylamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana allegedly being seized across northern NSW and southeast Queensland. The combined street value of the drugs is estimated to be more than $4.5 million.
 


The operation was established by NSW Police in partnership with the NSW Crime Commission, Queensland Police, Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to gather intelligence and disrupt bikie activities across the Northern Rivers and Gold Coast border regions.



State Crime Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Jason Weinstein, said it was the result of two weeks of intensive overt and covert operations to shadow outlaw motorcycle club activity. During the search, officers allegedly located a bar at the rear of the home that contained Mongols paraphernalia, alcohol and an amount of marijuana.

All items were seized and the bar was dismantled.



Friday, July 29, 2022

Redbubble Ordered to Pay Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

Melbourne, Australia (July 29, 2022) - Online merchandise store Redbubble has been ordered to pay the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club more than $78,000 for selling items depicting the MC's logo without permission, in the second ruling against the company in three years.

Redbubble is an online marketplace that allows users to upload images to be printed on merchandise such as stickers, mugs, T-shirts, masks and other items, which are then offered for sale.
 


After winning $5,000 from Redbubble for trademark infringement in 2019, the club launched legal action again last year after discovering more items for sale bearing the Hells Angels MC logo. The company uses keyword filtering to pick up on uploads that may violate the copyright or trademarks of organisations that have sought to protect it, such as the Hells Angels MC.

Redbubble proactively moderates uploads for 477 organisations, and told the court that 2 million artworks uploaded to the site had been moderated in the past five years – including 114 related to the Hells Angels MC since the 2019 court decision.

However, the Hells Angels MC trademark officer in Australia was able to buy a number of items bearing the Hells Angels logo despite the previous court ruling. Over the course of the case, 11 different listings were discovered.

While the only people who had bought items bearing the logos were members of the Hells Angel Motorcycle Club who were seeking to determine whether the items were still for sale, Greenwood did not award damages on the basis of sales but instead for the injury suffered for the use of the trade marks without authorization.

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Antifa Picks a fight with a Motorcycle Club

Salem, Oregon, USA (July 27, 2022) - On July 16 of this year, members of Antifa followed through on threats to disrupt a gathering at the Honky Tonk Bar in Salem, Oregon.

The result of the group’s actions is what some are predicting to be a war between them and several motorcycle clubs throughout Oregon.



Thursday, July 21, 2022

Hells Angels MC Clubhouses Raided

Westport, Massachusetts, USA (July 21, 2022) - A large law enforcement presence at a Hells Angels MC clubhouse in Westport on Thursday. Numerous armed law enforcement officers were spotted at the club located on American Legion Highway.


The FBI says the agency is conducting court-authorized activity in connection with an ongoing federal investigation.


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.

Police raid Rock Machine MC clubhouse

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (July 19, 2022) - Regina police say they have arrested and charged multiple people believed to be members of a motorcycle club while a another investigation netted a large quantity of drugs. 

Over the course of a couple of weeks, police executed nine search warrants in Regina, including the Rock Machine MC clubhouse, as part of an investigation led by the unit.
 


Police seized $12,700 cash, seven firearms and ammunition, 320 grams of cocaine, 19 grams of meth, six motorcycles, five vehicles, one heavy equipment skid steer loader, multiple cellular devices and evidence supporting vehicle thefts and fraudulent processes for changing VIN numbers. 

Multiple charges were laid against six people, including three “Members of the Rock Machine” according to police. The three men all made their first appearance in Regina Provincial Court.



In a separate investigation led by the Regina Police Service’s drug unit, officers seized 10 kilograms of cocaine, six kilograms of methamphetamine, $155,000 cash and  “other proceeds of crime, including motorcycles” after searching several addresses in the city. Three men are facing multiple charges, including a member of the Silent Soldiers MC.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Pagan's MC member police chase

St. Marys, Georgia, USA (July 18, 2022) - A member of the Pagan's motorcycle club is facing multiple criminal charges after police say he and another unidentified man led them on a motorcycle chase that began when an officer attempted to pull them over for street racing, according to the St. Marys Police Department.
 

The incident happened back on July 10, but the police dash cam and body camera video were just made public on Monday. The man has bonded out of jail. His next court date is Aug. 19. 


The motorcycle was registered to a friend whom police confirmed allowed Hubbard to use the motorcycle. Police have yet to identify the other motorcyclist involved in the chase.

Source: WJXT

Sunday, July 17, 2022

HA Request Sonny Barger Service at Coliseum

Oakland, California, USA (July 17, 2022) - Members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club have requested to have a memorial service for Sonny Barger at the Oakland Coliseum complex, that is just a couple of miles away from the Foothill Boulevard clubhouse where he founded it. Sonny Barger died June 29 at his home surrounded by loved ones.


 

A funeral at the coliseum may or may not happen, but it is up for discussion. Henry Gardner, the executive director of the Coliseum Authority, plans to discuss the club’s proposal with his board.

RELATED | Sonny Barger Dead at 83


In a memo to the board, Gardner said the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club have asked to use the stadium’s parking lot for a service in August, but he’s waiting to hear back from authorities.

“We have consulted with the city’s leadership, including the Oakland Police Department, to seek guidance on whether or not this event can be safely and securely managed,” Gardner wrote. “The group estimates there will be approximately 2,000 of their members in attendance".

"The Oakland Police Department is taking the lead in determining a safety plan and will be providing us with their recommendations on whether and how we should proceed.” it continued

Events at the Coliseum, which is publicly-owned, do not necessarily need the approval of the Coliseum board, which is made up of members of the Oakland City Council, county Board of Supervisors, and members appointed by both government bodies.

Read the memo here: Oakland Coliseum Authority 

Dutch Court Rules Hells Angels MC Illegal

Amsterdam, Netherlands (July 17, 2022) - The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ruling that means the Hells Angels motorcycle club is illegal and an illegal association. The ruling means, among other things, that it is not allowed to wear clothes that are associated with the motorcycle club.
 


This is the third time that a court has now ruled that the Hells Angels motorcycle chub should be dissolved. The first time was in 2019 at a court in Utrecht. That judgment was appealed to the Court of Appeal in Arnhem-Leeuwarden, which, however, came to the same conclusion. Since then, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which on Friday set the final sentence in the case.

In the past, the Satudarah motorcycle club has also been declared illegal in the Netherlands by the Supreme Court.

RELATED | Dutch Court Upholds Ban on Hells Angels MC


In Denmark, the Loyal To Familia (LTF) has been all the way past the Supreme Court. In 2021, the court affirmed that the club was an illegal association and therefore should be dissolved. The Hells Angels motorcycle club are also represented in Denmark and has been in the country for many years.

In November 2020, the long-standing unofficial spokesperson Jørn Jønke Nielsen was reportedly thrown out of the Hells Angels, he co-founded the club in Denmark and had been a member for almost 40 years. He has previously been convicted of violence and murder, as have a number of other members of Hells Angels in Denmark.

Police Investigate Shooting at Pagan's Clubhouse

Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA (July 17, 2022) - Pawtucket police said one person was sent to the hospital after being shot in the city on Saturday night. Law enforcement are on high alert since the Massachusetts State Police issued a warning to area police agencies about a fundraiser by the Pagan's Motorcycle Club.
 

According to police, the gathering of the members of Pagan's motorcycle club are a concern to the police because they are in conflict with the Hells Angels motorcycle club.



A large turnout was anticipated this weekend to raise money following a conflict in May in which multiple people were reportedly assaulted in Fall River. “This incident is believed to be directly related to the long-standing feud between the Pagan’s and the Hells Angels,” police said.

News sources said there were shots fired in the neighborhood but no one called police to report the incidents. Providence and state police responded to assist officers at the scene on Lafayette Street.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Police Raid on Hells Angels MC net Cash and Drugs

Auckland, New Zealand, (July, 16, 2022) - More than $2.4 million in cash, a firearm, methamphetamine and cannabis have been seized by NZ Police as part of an investigation into the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
 


Police executed a series of search warrants at several residential and commercial addresses across Auckland last week as part of the National Organised Crime Group investigation, code named Operation Samson.

Operation Samson is investigating people and entities connected to the New Zealand chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. A 30-year-old patched member of the Hells Angels has been charged with money laundering and has appeared in the Auckland District Court.



Detective Inspector Albie Alexander, of the National Organised Crime Group, said this type of offending undermines the wellbeing of our communities.

“We will continue to target those who accumulate assets and wealth through illegal means,” Alexander said. “In conjunction with Operation Cobalt, we will also continue to target and suppress illegal gang activity in order to enhance the safety of our community and staff – and hold those responsible for this type of offending, to account.”

The investigation is ongoing, and police cannot rule out further arrests and charges being laid. “We are all committed to disrupting and dismantling these illegal trans-national networks operating in New Zealand,” Alexander said.

Police Warn Citizens about Outlaws MC Members

St. John's, N.L., Canada (July 16, 2022) - Police in Newfoundland and Labrador are warning residents of an anticipated increase in motorcycle club activity, particularly in central Newfoundland, this weekend.
 


Royal Canadian Mounted Police said through it's website and a Twitter post that it expects an increased presence of Outlaws Motorcycle Club members in the province starting Friday, July 15, and running through to Sunday, July 17.

The police then went on to describe what is a motorcycle gang, including the following:

"Voluntarily make a commitment to band together, abide by their organization's rules, and engage in criminal activities".



Monday, July 11, 2022

Maurice Boucher dead at 69

Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, Canada (July 11, 2022) - The former leader of the Quebec section of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, Maurice Boucher, better known by the nickname "Mom," has died, he was 69.

Maurice had been imprisoned in the Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines penitentiary for 22 years, where he was serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years. Maurice died Sunday afternoon of throat cancer.

He had been found guilty of having orchestrated the murders of Pierre Rondeau and Diane Lavigne, two prison guards murdered in the late 1990's, as well as for the attempted murder of a third prison guard, Robert Corriveau.
 


The Hells Angels motorcycle club battled with the Rock Machine for many years, claiming several innocent victims. In 1995, the death of an 11-year-old Daniel Desrochers, provoked public outrage. The Carcajou Squad had been created afterwards, leading to several arrests in various motorcycle clubs.

Maurice was arrested in 1997, when he was the leader of the Nomads section of the Hells Angels motorcycle club. He was acquitted in 1998 after a first trial, then arrested again in 2000. He then underwent a second trial, at the end of which he was charged on May 5, 2002.

In 2015, while still in prison, Maurice was again arrested and charged. This time, with conspiring to assassinate Raynald Desjardins, an alleged close associate of the Montreal Mafia. Police said Maurice had conducted a plot to kill Desjardins with his daughter, Alexandra Mongeau. She was acquitted, but Maurice was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison.

The coroner will look into the death of Maurice Boucher. "As is always the case when an inmate dies, the Correctional Service of Canada will review the circumstances of the incident," CSC said in a statement.

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Sonny Barger Dead at 83

Oakland, California, U.S.A. (June 30, 2022) - Sonny Barger, founding member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club has died at 83.
 

The announcement of Sonny’s death came on his official Facebook page with a post containing a farewell message written by Sonny.

“If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing,” the post says. “I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club.”
 


Sonny died of cancer, according to the Facebook post, which says he was surrounded by his wife, Zorana, and other loved ones.

Born Ralph Hubert Barger, the Modesto native moved to Oakland as a kid, enlisted in the U.S. Army as a teen, and gravitated toward motorcycles at a young age. In his autobiography, Sonny wrote that the Hells Angels were a small San Francisco club that almost gone before he joined. He and other bikers picked up the name and started the Oakland Hells Angels, which is now known as the club’s most significant charter.

“As a street tough, I looked the part. I wore my Levi’s jeans with one-inch-wide cuffs at the bottom, smoked Camels, had the attitude, and rode a motorcycle,” Sonny wrote in his autobiography, describing his formative years in Oakland before joining the Hells Angels. 

Barger was often a target of law enforcement throughout his life, he spent lengthy period in prison. In the early 1980's, Sonny was diagnosed with throat cancer and required the removal of his vocal chords. After surviving that health scare, Sonny began to publicly advocate against smoking, tailoring his message with the Hells Angels’ textbook anti-establishment attitude: “Want to be a rebel? Don’t smoke as the rest of the world.”

 

Sonny moved to Arizona in the late 90's for health reasons, but reportedly returned to Alameda County in 2016. In his final years, he largely kept a low profile, though his 81st birthday in 2019 was a major event that was hosted at the Hells Angels Oakland clubhouse.



His farewell message says he died peacefully and, despite his public persona, valued time with his family and friends the most.

“Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor,” Sonny wrote.

Our deepest condolences the Hells Angles Motorcycle Club, loved ones and family of your loss, 
MLH&R  from The Biker Trash Network