Outlaws MC Clubhouse Raided in Anderson Indiana

Anderson, Indiana, USA (May 3, 2021) - Anderson Police, Madison County Sheriffs deputies and Indiana State troopers raided the Anderson, Indiana headquarters of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club Saturday.

Law enforcement were looking for a suspect and any evidence in a near fatal stabbing from middle April. “A warrant was executed, a warrant was obtained, and with two or three SWAT teams that warrant was executed last night at the Outlaws clubhouse. We took some evidence. What the value of that evidence is right now we really don’t know for sure. There may be some value there.” Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said. 

 

Cummings said investigators were searching for evidence regarding the assault of a Chicago man in the restroom of Woody’s Tavern in Lapel last month. “He came here, stopped in a bar, had Outlaws motorcycle club gear and patches, and there happened to be two real Outlaws MC members in the bar,” said Cummings. “They weren’t too happy to find he was a guy wearing the stuff but really wasn’t part of their club, got into a conflict, he got stabbed several times.”



Police have already arrested Matthew Pope, 46, and are still seeking Chris Smith, 34. “They concluded he was not a real Outlaw and the conflict took off and after they stabbed him, they took his colors and his jacket and left,” said Cummings. “He didn’t have those anymore.”

Cummings said the Outlaws have traditionally kept a low profile in Madison County and as a result have not been the target of any extensive criminal investigations. “There’s been Outlaws here for decades,” he said, “but off-and-on, sometimes they come, sometimes they go, it appears they’re coming back, making an appearance here.”

Probate for Outlaws MC Charged by Police

Toronto, Ontario, (May 2, 2021) - Five people from Kingston and Whitby, including an Outlaws Motorcycle Club probationary member have been charged by police following a multi-jurisdictional investigation that yielded roughly $400,000 worth of drugs.

The street crime unit and drug enforcement unit narrowed their focus to the actions of a probationary member of the Kingston chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Once the investigation focused on him, the Provincial Biker Enforcement Unit became involved, OPP Staff Sgt. Scott Wade said. He noted that Kingston Police are a major partner in the Biker Enforcement Unit.

“While this investigation does not involve criminal organization charges, it certainly highlights the criminal activity that outlaw motorcycle gangs are involved in,” Wade said.

Police claim he and his associates were selling drugs in the Kingston area. Later in the investigation, police learned residents of Whitby were also involved, Cunningham said. “They were higher-end drug dealers, and that cell has been disrupted,” Cunningham said. “I would say it will make a serious impact on the cocaine and fentanyl trafficking in Kingston.”

Bringing in assistance from the Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit and Durham Regional Police, investigators decided to search four residences on April 24. Two were in central Kingston, one was the Outlaws clubhouse in Wilton, and the fourth was in Whitby.

During the local searches, officers found fentanyl, cocaine, suspected hydromorphone pills, digital scales, cash, prohibited weapons, rifles, body armour and cellphones. Four vehicles were also seized as offence-related property. 

Sgt. Ed Cunningham of Kingston Police’s Street Crime unit said some items were seized from the clubhouse but could not say what.

The Outlaws MC said in a statement to the Whig-Standard on Sunday that no one was at the clubhouse at the time of the search and it was later turned back over to its members. Two men were arrested at the Kingston residences while they were being searched, and he was arrested later, Cunningham said.

During the searches at the four residences, police seized 381 grams of cocaine, 1,035 grams of fentanyl, approximately $120,000 in cash, an Outlaws MC probationary vest, 42 hydromorphone pills, digital scales, six vehicles, a cash-counting machine, nine long guns and ammunition, a collapsible baton, a conducted energy weapon baton, throwing stars, a crossbow with bolts, a ballistic vest and drug packaging.

Police estimate the drugs are worth about $400,000 and the vehicles are worth about $250,000.

Police have charged him, who resides in Kingston, with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of hydromorphone for the purpose of trafficking, possession of dangerous weapons, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000. Cunningham said police are still investigating further firearms offences. None of the charges have been proven in court. 

The Outlaws MC association said in an email to the Whig-Standard that it is shocked by the news release sent by Kingston Police. It also clarified that a “probate” is not an official member of the association. The statement says that no weapons, drugs, vehicles or large amount of cash were seized from the clubhouse.

The association said it would not support those charged through the court process and stood by the statement on its website that says it is not a criminal organization. The Probationary Outlaw MC vest was likely seized because it was relevant to the charges, Wade said. “The vest and the colours are important to outlaw motorcycle gangs because it’s how they project or show their power,” Wade said.

SOURCE: Ottawa Citizen  

Ex Outlaws MC Boss Gets Early Prison Release

Chicago, IL, USA (April 16, 2021) - A federal judge has released former Outlaws motorcycle club leader Orville Cochran from prison six months early. 

The judge ordered a “compassionate” release for Cochran, who had asked before getting infected because he had health problems that could make COVID especially dangerous for him.

His release came despite prosecutors’ objections. They argued Cochran already had gotten off relatively easy by getting a sentence of only five years in prison.

 

While serving a five-year sentence at a federal prison hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, Cochran wrote to the warden in April 2020 to apply for early release. He cited health problems and his fear that, if he got COVID, he wouldn’t be able to cheat death one more time.

“Since I have been incarcerated, I have received the following medical treatment: hospital stay for four days in Chicago, IL, hospital stay at Dodge County, WI, both for irregular heart beat,” Cochran wrote. “High blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, pre-diabetes, depression and anxiety, constipation, blood clots, fluid reduction, pain disorder, panic attacks, low mood disorder.”

“My current physical and mental health problems include: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with constant phlegm discharge, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure, irregular heart beat, abdominal scar tissue that causes pain when touched, advanced age that has caused chronic back, hip, knee and shoulder pain: eye floaters, leg spasms, depression and anxiety.”

 

Decision And Order from Judge

He listed 10 medications he was taking and told the warden: “I believe that I am at very high risk of complications if in contact with COVID-19 because the heart and lungs are the two most dangerous conditions to have with COVID-19.”

SOURCE: ABC News

MC Member Charged with Soliciting a Minor

Philippi, West Virginia, USA (April 14, 2021) - A Barbour County man, who is described as being part of a motorcycle club, is facing several felony charges.

On Tuesday, April 14, West Virginia State Police arrested Chad McLean 50, of Belington, a member of the War Dogs Motorcycle Club, for the felony of Soliciting a Minor and Displaying Obscene Matter to a Minor; the victim being a 14-year-old girl.

 

The girl told troopers that McLean had grabbed her genitals and asked her for various sexual acts through Facebook messages. McLean also sent the girl nude photographs of women, troopers said.

During a subsequent search of McLean’s residence, troopers found six marijuana plants and additional marijuana seeds, troopers said. He is further charged with cultivation of marijuana.

The Philippi Detachment of the West Virginia State Police is actively investigating the case with the assistance of the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department and Philippi Police Department.

McLean is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with bail set at $70,000.

SOURCE: 12WBOY

Court Challenge Win by Hells Angel Member

British Columbia, Canada (January 26, 2021) - A Supreme Court Justice has ruled that Gaston Methot should get a second hearing in provincial court to make his case about why he deserves to have his licence renewed. Earlier, a provincial court judge upheld a decision made by the province’s chief firearms officer to deny the renewal based on Methot’s membership in the West Point Chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

But Marzari said the original judge did not apply the right standard in reviewing that decision. She said the provincial court should have taken an independent look at all the evidence in the case instead of determining whether the firearms officer’s decision was “reasonable.”

“The reference judge’s reliance on the reasonableness standard permeates the decision to uphold the firearms officer’s decision, both with respect to the factual matrix and the evidence found to be relevant, and with respect to the result. The decision must therefore be set aside,” she said in written reasons released Monday.

Marzari did not accept Methot’s suggestion that she simply renew the licence because she said she didn’t have all the evidence before her that was before the lower court. Methot had a firearms licence from June 2012 to April 2018 “without incident,” the ruling noted. 

He applied to renew it in March 2018. An Royal Canadion Mounted Police firearms officer sent a ‘notice of refusal’ to Methot that June, saying he was being denied “because it was not desirable in the interest of public safety that he have the licence.” 

“As you are a full patch member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, West Point Chapter, I find you represent the Hells Angels and are bound by rules that allow for violence and criminal acts and that the police are your adversary,” the letter said.

“You made a decision to be involved with an organization that has a reputation for violence and criminal acts. … I find that it would not be desirable in the interest of public safety that you be issued a firearm licence at this time. Accordingly, I refuse to issue you a licence.”

Methot then filed a review application to provincial court, which was heard in 2019.

Cpl. Sergio Da Silva, a biker expert with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, testified at the provincial court hearing that Hells Angels rules forbid members from co-operating with police. So if a firearm is ever stolen, an Hells Angel member would not report the theft to the police.

Marzari noted that some of Da Silva’s evidence was “admittedly based on indirect hearsay evidence” because Hells Angels don’t talk to police. She said that “it was incumbent upon the reference judge to consider the weight that the evidence of Cpl. Da Silva was entitled to after a fresh analysis of the relevance and reliability of that evidence.”

Meanwhile, in Quebec, provincial police announced last month that they had revoked 11 firearms licences from people connected to the Hells Angels. In the news release, the Sûreté du Québec said the revocation was the second phase of a project begun two years earlier with the revocation of 75 gun licences linked to Hells Angels support clubs.

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

HA Member Arrested For Weapons and Cash

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA (January 21, 2021) - A Hells Angels motorcycle club member was arrested for having a knife, handgun, and $7,000 cash that cops believed to be from gambling proceeds while he was riding as a car passenger in Bayonne, police said.

Bernard W. Krynicki III, 31, of North Arlington, was charged with possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a firearm, certain persons not to possess a weapon, gang criminality, possession of gambling records, and promoting gambling, according to Police Capt. Eric Amato. 

Krynicki was taken into custody at approximately 10:15 p.m. yesterday. Officers conducted a stop of a vehicle in which Krynicki was a passenger. During the stop, while seated in the rear passenger compartment, Krynicki proceeded to make movements while gripping items concealed in his pants pocket.

After officers requested that he show his hands, an officer was able to observe a knife protruding from his pocket. Krynicki was then removed from the vehicle, leading to the recovery of a knife and a 9mm handgun from his pockets.

During the incident, Krynicki was wearing clothing indicating that he was affiliated with the Hells Angels motorcycle club and it was later confirmed that he was an active member of the Newark chapter of the club.

Krynicki was additionally found to be in possession of gambling records and over $7,000 in gambling proceeds. He was also later determined to be classified as a certain person not to possess a weapon, authorities said.

SOURCE: NJ.com

Hells Angels Lend a Hand at Christmas Giveaway

Patchogue, New York, USA (December 21, 2020) - It was angels helping angels. And they were all helping families in need Sunday in East Patchogue for the massive “Christmas Miracles 2020” gift giveaway.

Once again, the Suffolk County Hells Angels joined with the Angels of Long Island nonprofit group for the annual event. It was held in the parking lot outside the Angels of Long Island thrift shop and outreach center off East Main Street.

There, moms and dads currently facing hardships were able to shop for brand-new items for their kids.

All for free. “We wanted children across Long Island to have an amazing Christmas this year,” said Angels of Long Island co-founder Debbie Loesch. “With this coronavirus pandemic our children’s worlds have changed overnight. “But still, Christmas morning needs to be magical.”

Parents from over 200 families got to shop.

Nine families every half-hour (for social distancing purposes) perused the tents. They picked presents from among new toys, bikes, scooters, skateboards, electronics and more. They also got a bundle of stocking stuffers. 

All the families left with hats and gloves, and a complete Christmas meal of turkey, ham, hot and sweet Italian sausage, and other groceries. “We couldn’t have done it without the amazing support of the Suffolk chapter of the Hells Angels and a long list of local businesses and Long Island residents,’ Loesch said.

The Hells Angels motorcycle club first heard about the Long Island Angels’ giveaway last fall, when the nonprofit was struggling to meet demand. Then they swooped in with toys like a bunch of Santa's with their sacks. Then they did it again Sunday for this year’s event.

Normally secretive, the local Hells Angels charter has been quietly involved with helping nonprofits across Long Island. “We got word that the Angels of Long Island needed toys and we wanted to help them out,” Billy, a sergeant of arms for the group who couldn’t give his full name, said last year.

“We start collecting early on in the year with different events, including our Christmas party, where everyone brings an unwrapped gift to donate,” he said.

SOURCE: Greater Patchogue

Retired Undercover Cop Decides to Write a Book

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (December 17, 2020) - A retired Ontario Provincial cop from Sudbury has released a book of his career. He titled it '1% Hatred' and it details Dan Rocheleau's experiences, starting as a rookie cop in Chapleau, to serving in Sudbury and being involved in major undercover drug investigations in Ontario and Quebec.

"There is a lot of humor in it and there is a lot of the undercover work that I did in two provinces," said Rocheleau. "And dealing with everything from serial killers to outlaw bikers to traditional organized crime." He states that he wrote the book when COVID forced people to stay home. He said that he hopes it helps readers see the different aspects of policing.

"When you are working in organized crime like that, it changes hourly almost it feels," he said. "It's not like working in uniform where you have a schedule and pattern to go through. When you work in organized crime it's completely different." 

 

The tiny book details the his experiences negotiating drug deals with so called outlaw bikers, chasing drug smugglers by boat on the St. Lawrence River and of course, being shot at. "It's bizarre cause now it sort of flashes back up where for 30 years I never thought of it," Rocheleau said. "I just walked away from very bad scenes and just forgot about them."

The officer said he now suffers from PTSD and wants to share a message. "There is help out there, you don't have to be Superman, you can ask for help," said Rocheleau. He also hopes to give back to the community. A small percentage of the proceeds from the book will be donated to NEO Kids and The Hospital for Sick Children.

SOURCE: CTV

Ex-Hells Angels Charter President Denied Jail Release

San Francisco, California, USA (December 16, 2020) - In a court hearing that included a tense back-and-forth between the prosecution and defense attorneys, a federal judge denied a former Hells Angels charter president’s latest bid for release.

Raymond “Ray Ray” Foakes, 57, argued through his attorney that his due process rights were being violated as he’s spent 27 months in jail while still legally presumed innocent with — his attorney argued — as many as three more years to go before his cases even goes to trial. Federal prosecutors countered that courts, including the Ninth Circuit, have routinely found two years to be an acceptable amount of pretrial detention when the defendant is facing serious charges. 

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said at a Wednesday court hearing that Foakes demonstrated a “continuing pattern” of law violations throughout his life, so he wasn’t confident Foakes would comply with pretrial release conditions if he was freed from jail.

“Mr. Foakes has not conformed, on numerous occasions, time after time, with orders from the courts. That simply cannot be ignored,” Chen said. He added, though, it was “not inconceivable” a similar motion could succeed at a future date if Foakes ends up spending a lengthier time in jail.

Foakes’ attorney, George Boisseau, said that Foakes’ jail stay has been so long that it has “become punitive” and amounted to a due process violation. He said Foakes has a job offer in Oakley and is willing to stay on house arrest with “stringent conditions.”

RELATED | Former Hells Angels Prez Wants House Arrest

Boisseau also argued that witnesses in the case haven’t been threatened or intimidated by Foakes nor his co-defendants, even though their names and locations are commonly known. When it was his turn to speak, assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Barry called that remark “a form of intimidation.”  “Mr. Boisseau’s argument that, ‘we know who the witnesses are and we know where they live’ is a form of a threat,” Barry said.

Later in the hearing, Boisseau shot back at Barry and sharply denied he’d threatened anyone.

“I take offense to that,” Boisseau said. “I’ve been an attorney for a long time with an unblemished record, probably longer than Mr. Barry has been an attorney.”  “I didn’t read Barry’s comment as saying you were a risk,” Chen said to Boisseau.

Foakes, who was once president of the Hells Angels Sonoma Charter, is accused of an “hours-long” beating of a victim that occurred in November 2016, and that prosecutors say culminated with someone forcibly tattooing the victim’s face, and Foakes declaring he would shoot the victim until fellow members of the motorcycle club dissuaded him. The charge is part of a racketeering case aimed at 11 alleged Hells Angels members.

Both pretrial services and the U.S. Probation department opposed Foakes being released. Chen said the “yardstick mark” for Foakes’ motion is how much time he’s actually spent in jail, not how much time he could potentially spend awaiting trial, and agreed that 27 months was acceptable.

The basis for Boisseau’s motion was that Foakes is set to go on trial after a number of his co-defendants — who, unlike Foakes, are accused of participating in a murder and illegal cremation of a fellow Hells Angels member in Fresno — are tried in October 2021. But Barry said that federal prosecutors are working to get Foakes into the earlier trial. “We want him in the first trial group,” Barry said. 

SOURCE: The Mercury

Dutch Court Upholds Ban on Hells Angels MC

Arnhem, Netherlands (December 15, 2020) BTN - The Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal issued an appeal in the case in which the Public Prosecution Service claimed that Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Holland and Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation The Netherlands will be banned.

Activities contrary to public order in the Netherlands

The court finds that the global organization of Hells Angels should be seen as a foreign corporation and the organization of the Dutch charters as an informal association. The court finds that the Public Prosecution Service has sufficiently demonstrated that the activities of these two organizations are contrary to public order in the Netherlands and considers a prohibition of these organizations necessary.

Violent culture

There have been frequent violent incidents and possession of weapons involving members of Hells Angels, both worldwide and in the Netherlands. This is a structural situation that cannot be seen in isolation from the culture of violence that exists at Hells Angels. An important factor is the violent image, in which that violence is encouraged and glorified in various ways. 

Another factor in their decision is the rivalry with other motorcycle clubs, which regularly leads to power struggles and accompanying violent confrontations. These conflicts between different motorcycle clubs are fought more than once amidst the public on the street. Intimidation of members and former members, victims and witnesses furthermore makes action by the police and the judicial authorities much more difficult.

RELATED | Hells Angels Want Club Ban Reversed

The prohibition of Hells Angels and Hells Angels Holland that has been pronounced by the court therefore remains in force.

The charters

The court also finds that the charters are sub divisions of Hells Angels Holland, but also meet the characteristics of an informal association. They have the freedom to regulate the course of events at the local level, bottom-up structure. The charters are therefore legal entities themselves and therefore do not fall under the prohibition and dissolution of Hells Angels Holland. 

Nevertheless, the court finds that once the prohibition of Hells Angels and Hells Angels Holland is irrevocable, the activities of the charters and the members, as Hells Angels in the Netherlands, are prohibited. This means, for example, that Hells Angels are no longer allowed to wear their colors in public and the charters are no longer allowed to use this name.

Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation 

The organization in the US that holds the trademark rights of Hells Angels is not banned because it does not appear that those activities are also contrary to public policy.

SOURCE: Dutch News

Bandidos MC Members Rides Into Salvation Army

Spokane, Washington, U.S.A. (December 13, 2020) BTN - A Bandidos Motorcycle Club chapter in Spokane began a new holiday tradition Saturday as it unloaded hundreds of dollars in food, blankets, hygiene products and toys from a trailer and onto pallets for the Salvation Army.

“A lot of us belong to groups and we’re constantly wondering how can I or my group impact a community,” Salvation Army Maj. Ken Perine said. “It helps the group with their cohesiveness and it also helps people who they’ll never meet but who will be forever thankful.”

Bandidos MC club members said collecting donations for the Salvation Army was a spur-of-the-moment idea that grew into an organized effort. As they unloaded the donations, a few men wore sequin Santa hats with their red and gold leather or denim jackets. 

Local club leaders asked their members to bring “as much stuff as possible.” They also set up about 15 holiday-wrapped bins outside local businesses in Spokane, Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene for shoppers to drop donations.

The local Bandidos chapter organized a food drive at a Grocery Outlet in Cheney. The club spent $400 on food and the store matched it, filling giant plastic bins with nonperishable goods.

Cassandra Cram, Community Services Program Manager with the Salvation Army, said the club called her and asked to set it up. She said she expected a regular food drive, but it developed into a drive for a variety of products, plus an event in which Bandidos rode in on their bikes to unload the truck of food.

She hopes it will inspire other clubs to jump in to help their community. “All they gotta do is notify us,” Cram said . “If they want to do something, just do it.”

Perine told the group, despite all their work, they won’t get to see the people receiving their donations. “But we do,” Perine said. “One of the reasons we get to do what we do is because of people like you.”

Perine described how during a recent toy drive at Target, a woman came in with several interactive, animatronic teddy bears to donate. “We’d helped her years ago and she said it was her chance to give back,” Perine said. “She was just so happy to be able to give back.”

SOURCE: The Spokesman Review

FBI Nabs Wanted Motorcycle Club Member

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (December 11, 2020) - Federal authorities were looking for a man who is wanted as part of an ongoing investigation into the Pagan's Motorcycle Club. Dominic Quarture was taken into custody Thursday evening, according to the FBI. Richard Lee White III was in custody earlier in the day. 

Thirty other members and associates of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club are in federal custody after they were charged with drug trafficking and firearms charges, U.S. attorney Scott Brady announced Wednesday.

RELATED | Feds Charge Pagans MC Members

“The Pagan's have used violence to control cocaine, heroin and meth trafficking in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Erie, Fayette and Washington counties,” Brady said in a video that was released on Youtube.



Following a yearlong investigation, law enforcement executed search warrants on 11 locations, finding several firearms including an Uzi; “significant amounts” of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl; and $28,000 in cash and jewelry.

“This is the most significant motorcycle club prosecution in this office since the 1980's,” Brady said. “It is a good day for the good guys.”

R. Joseph Rothrock, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh division, said the members engaged in a “wide array of organized criminal activity, which included significant narcotics and firearms trafficking and violence.”

The investigation, which was widespread, also resulted in identifying large-scale suppliers of narcotics not only to members and associates of the Pagan's, but to drug traffickers and suppliers within the greater Pittsburgh region.

Former Hells Angels Prez Wants House Arrest

Sonoma, California, USA (December 11, 2020) - In an attempt to keep a former Hells Angels charter president incarcerated while he awaits trial in a racketeering case, federal prosecutors have revealed new allegations about the November 2016 beating he’s charged with committing, alleging that the victim was assaulted for hours, pistol-whipped, forcibly tattooed, and nearly murdered.

Raymond Foakes, AKA "Ray Ray" a prominent Hells Angels member and past Sonoma charter president known for setting off the River Run Riot, has made a new bid for freedom, arguing through his attorneys that he’s willing to be placed on house arrest in Oakley in lieu of imprisonment at the Santa Rita Jail. His attorneys have also argued it’s unfair to keep Foakes locked up when he’s not scheduled to go to trial for at least a year. 

“In sum, there has been little or no progress made in getting Foakes’ case to trial and the earliest feasible trial date for him will be sometime in 2022,” his attorney wrote in a Dec. 2 court filing. “By that time Foakes will have been detained for almost 60 months.”

In their response, federal prosecutors argued Foakes “poses both a flight risk and a danger to the community” and that his motion is essentially a rehashing of prior failed attempts to get out of jail. They also detailed the main crimes Foakes is accused of committing: the 2016 beating and a subsequent sexual assault of a woman connected to the beating victim.

In court records, both alleged victims are referred to by pseudonyms to protect their identities. The alleged victim of the beating is referred to as “Victim 5.”

“During that assault, another Hells Angel pistol-whipped Victim 5; he was beaten with a baseball bat; and he was repeatedly punched and kicked. Victim 5’s tattoos were forcibly covered over with a tattoo gun, and (Foakes) took that tattoo gun and crudely etched lines in Victim 5’s face,” prosecutors wrote. “During the beating, (Foakes) indicated that he was going to take the firearm that was used to pistol whip Victim 5 and was going to shoot the victim with it. Other Hells Angels stopped him from doing so, however.”

During the beating, Foakes allegedly called a woman — referred to in court records as “Victim 6” and said that he “needed to explain to her what was happening to Victim 5,” prosecutors wrote.

“Victim 6 drove to meet (Foakes), and when she picked him up, defendant took her to a secluded location and sexually assaulted her,” the prosecution memo added.

A federal judge is scheduled to rule on Foakes’ motion for release next week. The motion may yet succeed, as some of Foakes’ co-defendants, including other Hells Angels members have already been granted release in this case. Last September, the president of the Sonoma Hells Angels Charter, Jonathan “Jon Jon” Nelson, was granted release from Santa Rita with pending murder charges after his attorneys argued he had strong ties to the community and would not associate with other members of the club while out of custody.



Foakes was one of 11 alleged Hells Angels members charged in 2017 as part of a large-scale federal investigation. The defendants have since been divided into two groups: Those facing charges of luring a fellow Hells Angels member to a clubhouse in Fresno, murdering him, and illegally cremating the body, and those, like Foakes, who aren’t facing any murder charges. 

The former group is expected to go to trial in October 2021, and the latter group will likely get their day in court sometime the following year, according to court records.

SOURCE: The Mercury 

Feds Charge Pagan's MC Members

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA (December 10, 2020) - As part of a long-term investigation into the Pagan's Motorcycle Club in Western Pennsylvania, FBI agents got permission to tap 10 phones.

Over a period of several weeks, they said they heard members of the Pagan's, their suppliers and sources talk about the kind of heroin they were selling; where they store their drugs for sale; people cooperating against them; their drug debts and where to get better prices for their cocaine supply. 

On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady announced that 30 people from Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio have been charged with drug trafficking and weapons possession as part of that investigation.

“For decades, the Pagan's have used violence to control cocaine, heroin and meth trafficking throughout Western Pennsylvania: That stops now,” Brady said. “For decades, they avoided prosecution, until today.”

Three separate indictments were returned on December 1st and unsealed Tuesday. All 30 defendants have been arrested, Brady said, following arrest and search warrants that were served on 11 locations Tuesday — including the group’s clubhouse in McKees Rocks.

In all, the prosecutor said, some 300 law enforcement officers and seven SWAT teams participated in the arrests and searches, which yielded large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl. Also recovered were 10 Rolex watches, jewelry and $28,000 in cash, Brady said.



According to Brady, these are the most significant indictments of a motorcycle club in this district since the mid-1980's. Brady called the Pagan's one of the big four outlaw motorcycle clubs in the country and also one of the most violent. They have about 1,500 members in 41 chapters, he said.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI office in Pittsburgh, R. Joseph Rothrock said the Pagan's are a highly structured criminal organization.

“They had a complete disregard for law enforcement and the communities where they operate,” he said. “They don’t care what kind of violence or damage or pain they inflict on the community.”

The grand jury returned three separate, but related indictments for narcotics trafficking — including cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, as well as firearms possession.

Brady said the indictments have disrupted the Pagans’ criminal organization. The investigation began in August 2018, and included the use of confidential sources; a series of controlled buys; physical and electronic surveillance.

According to an application for a search warrant authored by FBI Special Agent John Ypsilantis, wiretaps were conducted on 10 phones belonging to six people, including members of the Pittsburgh Pagans’ chapter, from August through November.

Those charged include: 

• Bill Rana, 40, of Cheswick 
• Eric Armes, 42, of Cheswick 
• Jason Evans, 44, of Pittsburgh 
• Hasani James, 49, of Detroit 
• Cody Bonanno, 25, of Uhrichsville, Ohio 
• Phillip Bonanno, 54, of New Philadelphia, Ohio 
• Dominic Quarture, 52, of Washington 
• Mark Stockhausen, 39, of Erie 
• Patrick Rizzo, 45, of McKees Rocks 
• Anthony Peluso, 38, of Hampton 
• Marissa Botta, 28, of Hampton 
• David Pietropaolo, 23, of Glenshaw 
• Thomas Snelsire, 45, of Baldwin 
• Wayne Webber, 42, of Duquesne 
• Ronald Simak, 37, of Verona 
• Anthony Scatena, 22, of Pittsburgh 
• James Stewart, 41, of Pittsburgh 
• Dorin Duncan, 42, of Glenshaw 
• Jeffrey Kushik, 29, of Pittsburgh 
• Gary Hairston, 40, of Pittsburgh 
• Darian Wofford, 27, of Pittsburgh 
• Stephanie Zilka, 27, of Baldwin 
• Misty Walker, 39, of Pittsburgh 
• Richard White, 18, of Pittsburgh 
• Randy Camacho, 34, of Pittsburgh 
• Damian Cherepko, 26, of Elizabeth 
• Brandon Hulboy, 29, of Pittsburgh 
• James Crivella, 27, of Glenshaw 
• Seaira Collins, 32, of Pittsburgh 
• Jessica Taranto, 37, of Pittsburgh

According to the filing, the agent learned that the Pagan's had parties at the McKees Rocks clubhouse involving “party favors,” of meth, ecstasy and other club drugs. There was also prostitution there.

According to the prosecution, the Pagan's held weekly meetings on Thursdays, which they called “church,” and also large gatherings at their clubhouse. Investigators set up a pole camera outside the clubhouse to record the comings and goings, the affidavit said.

Mongols MC Targeted in Police Operation

Victoria, Australia (December 4, 2020) - Police have arrested six people and seized 14 firearms as part of a National Day of Action targeting the Mongols Motorcycle Club. Officers searched a club house and address in Echuca, along with several properties in Greater Melbourne.

The six people have been charged with a range of drug, firearms, weapons, and explosives offences.

A number of items were also seized from the properties, including firearms, cash, explosives, and a range of drugs like cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, steroids, and prescription medication. 

Police also served firearm prohibition orders on 12 Mongols MC members and conducted compliance checks on a number of existing firearm prohibition order subjects.

Earlier this week, police seized 12 firearms from two patched Mongols MC members.

Police also searched a South Morang address and seized a suspected stolen Harley Davidson, drugs, ammunition, and a conducted energy device. Two men, who are patched members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, were also served with firearm prohibition orders and were expected to be charged in relation to the seizures.

Members of the Echo Taskforce, public order response team, licensing records division, dog squad, bomb response unit, and local police – as well as the Australian Federal Police national anti gangs squad – were involved in the day of action on Thursday.

Across Australia, a number of people were arrested and a range of items including firearms, drugs, and cash.

Crime Command Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Frewen said it was imperative that law enforcement agencies across Australia continued to work to together to target motorcycle clubs.

“This is a group we know have traditionally been involved in violent crimes such as shootings, assaults, arson, drug trafficking, extortion and intimidation,” Mr Frewen said.

“These activities bring immense harm to communities across Australia and often significantly impacts innocent people who have no links to the outlaw motorcycle gangs.”

“In Victoria alone, the Mongols have been linked to a number of firearms incidents including multiple homicides and non-fatal shootings over the past 15 months.”

“Organised criminal groups such as the Mongols aren’t a state-based problem.”

“They remain a significant issue for law enforcement right across Australia and days of action such as this one provides the ideal opportunity for us to work together to target their offending and also gather intelligence.”

SOURCE: Bendigo Advertiser

Motorcycle Club Leaders Arrested

Auckland, New Zealand (December 2, 2020) - Senior leaders of the Comanchero MC and The Rebels MC have been arrested and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash seized following a raft of armed police raids across Auckland and Christchurch.

Police have arrested 12 more people today as part of Operation Cincinnati and located drugs, some of which was ready for sale, and a shotgun after executing 24 search warrants

Police searched 21 properties across Auckland and three in Christchurch

New Zealand Customs staff, Armed Offenders Squad members, Asset Recovery Unit and Police Dog Section staff assisted police with the searches. 

It follows the first phase of Operation Cincinnati in October when 26 people were arrested and kilos of drugs was seized, along with multiple firearms and more than $10 million in assets.

Police said the nine-month investigation, run by the National Organised Crime Group, targeted a core group that are alleged to be involved in the importation, distribution and manufacture of methamphetamine and MDMA, and other drugs in the two cities.

Today’s arrests include a leader of the Comanchero MC, who allegedly formed a partnership with a senior member of The Rebels MC in Christchurch, with both allegedly running drug distribution networks in their areas, police said in a statement. 

A further 10 motorcycle clubs members and their associates have also been arrested in relation to their alleged roles in the network, which saw drugs and cash transported between the two cities, police said.

National Organised Crime Group acting Detective Inspector John Brunton said police were determined to target the leaders and key members of these “criminal gangs” involved in illicit drug distribution, intimidation and violence.

“We want to reduce the harm these gangs are causing in our communities,” he said. “I also want to acknowledge the great work carried out by the Operation Cincinnati team, who are committed to preventing organised crime of any sort impacting on our communities.”

Those arrested today are aged between 20 and 42 and will appear in Auckland District Court in the coming days on various drugs-related charges.

SOURCE: ExBulletin 

Bandidos Clubhouse Search Results in Charges

Devonport, Australia (December 2, 2020) - Three members of the Bandidos motorcycle club have been charged following a search of their clubhouse in East Devonport yesterday. 

Police conducted a search at the clubhouse where a quantity of stolen property, a firearm, ammunition and a small quantity of drugs have been located. 

As a result of the search a 36 year old man, a 33 year old man and 25 year old man who are all members of the Bandidos motorcycle club have been charged with a number of offences including consorting, wear prohibited insignia and contravene the conditions of a notice.

The 25 year old man has been bailed to appear in the Devonport Magistrates Court on 19 January 2021. The 36 year old man and the 33 year old man have been held for court.

Public Release: The material in this public release comes from the originating organization and may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. View in full HERE.

Mongols MC Boss Granted Bail

Melbourne, Australia (November 26, 2020) - The head of a Melbourne Mongols MC already out on bail has been granted it again after he was arrested today. Mongols boss Toby Mitchell was arrested by the Echo Taskforce following an incident that took place in Melbourne on November 15 event. He was knocked unconscious during an early hours brawl at Queens Bridge Square in Southbank.

Earlier in the night he had been partying at Soho Bar. CCTV footage shows Mitchell walking with a group of friends along the Southbank promenade and engaging in a verbal altercation with a man sitting on the ground who he then punched in the face twice. 

Mitchell was pulled away by his group of friends, but he approached that man again and that’s when the he was struck unconscious. The Mongols leader was charged with affray and committing an indictable offence while on bail. He faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court via video link, and was granted bail for the second time in less than eight weeks today. The leader was in court last month, also on assault charges but released on bail. 

Toby Mitchell

The alleged serious assault occurred outside a cafe on Domain Road in South Yarra on October 4. Police allege he struck the male to the head three times. As part of his bail conditions Mr Mitchell was not to associate with any members of the Mongols. 

SOURCE: 9News

Hells Angel Member Faces Gambling Charge

Burnaby, B.C., Canada (November 26, 2020) - A full-patch member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club and three other men have been charged with illegal gambling after an investigation by B.C.’s anti-gang agency. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit searched Big Shots Café, at 3980 East Hastings St. in Burnaby, on July 4, area residents said.

This week, a charge of being “found in a common gaming or betting house” was laid against café owner Francisco Batista Pires, as well as Jay Arnold Franco, Richard William Kosterman and Andrew David MacFarlane. Pires is a longtime Hells Angel member, currently with the Nomads chapter. 

The provincial court database confirmed that Pires appeared in Vancouver provincial court Wednesday on the charge. The other three accused are scheduled to appear on Friday. CFSEU’s media officer, Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, said Wednesday that she couldn’t yet comment on the case.

The date of the alleged offence is June 18, 2020. Sources say the charge relates to illegal gambling that, allegedly, was going on in the back of the business.

Corporate records indicate that Pires incorporated Big Shots on June 10, 2004 with another man. The second director was replaced by Hells Angel member Rob Alvarez on January 1, 2005, the records state. Alvarez ceased being a director on June 8, 2008, though the City of Burnaby 2020 business licence lists both Pires and Alvarez as café operators.

An earlier drug trafficking conviction of Pires was cited in a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling against the director of civil forfeiture’s attempt to get three Hells Angels clubhouses forfeited as instruments of criminal activity.

Justice Barry Davies accepted that Pires and others had used the East End clubhouse for trafficking on three occasions, but said that alone “does not establish that the East End Clubhouse was used in the past as an instrument of unlawful activity.”  The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office is appealing Davies ruling, which allowed the them to retain control of the East End and Kelowna clubhouses and returned the Nanaimo clubhouse to the local chapter.

Pires, now 57, and Hells Angel member Ronaldo Lising were convicted in 2001 of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and sentenced to 4½ years in jail. They appealed and lost, first in the B.C. Court of Appeal and in November 2005 in the Supreme Court of Canada.

At their 2001 sentencing, Justice Kenneth Smith found the two men were joint operators of a wholesale cocaine business that supplied two well-known Vancouver strip bars. He said the two bikers were “criminals in the true sense” because they walked down a criminal path “deliberately and for selfish reasons.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Hells Angels MC Clubhouse Searched

Surrey, BC, Canada (November 22, 2020) - Surrey RCMP executed a search warrant overnight Friday at the Hells Angels Hardside clubhouse in connection with a gun investigation. Mounties continued with the search Saturday at the rented rancher in the 18000-block of 96 Avenue.

The search is connected to the arrest Friday morning of Gurpreet Dhaliwal, a prospect with the Hardside chapter and an associate named Meninder Dhaliwal, who is linked to the Brother Keepers club. Gurpreet Dhaliwal was a passenger in an SUV allegedly driven by Meninder when it collided with a sedan Friday just after 8:00 a.m. near 180th and Golden Ears Way. 

Surrey RCMP said in a news release Friday that “the driver of the SUV fled the scene on foot while the passenger, who had minor injuries, remained at the scene.”

“As the investigation unfolded, the officer observed a handgun inside the SUV and subsequently arrested the passenger for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. The driver of the sedan remained at the scene and had minor injuries,” Cpl. Joanne Sidhu said. “At approximately 10 a.m., the driver of the SUV was located and apprehended with the assistance of the Integrated Lower Mainland Police Dog Services.”

Sidhu said the driver was arrested for failing to remain at the scene of a collision, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. She did not release the identities of either suspect. “Both the driver and the passenger of the SUV are known to police and are believed to have ties to organized crime,” Sidhu said.

RELATED | Hells Angels Clubhouse Targeted

Sidhu also said Friday that “the investigation is ongoing as officers work to determine the circumstances that led to the collision.”  Neither Dhaliwal has yet been charged in the current investigation into the firearm.

Retired Vancouver police biker specialist Brad Stephen said Saturday that “it’s not common for a Hells Angel member or prospect in B.C. to carry a firearm.” Speaking generally, Stephen said they would only do so “if they feel for some reason they need to defence themselves personally or there is a threat against the club.”

And he said in several previous cases of members or prospects who’ve been caught with firearms, they not only faced charges, but also repercussions from their biker brethren. “They’re held accountable and they have to explain themselves to the club,” said Stephen, who spent 20 years investigating motorcycle clubs.

The Hells Angels opened the Hardside chapter in March of 2017 — the 10th HA chapter to start since the motorcycle club set up in B.C. in 1983.

SOURCE: The Province 

Trial Set for Hells Angels Prospect

Kelowna, BC Canada (November 21, 2020) - A Kelowna Hells Angel prospect who's charged with assaulting a woman will go to trial next spring. In August, 43-year-old Jason Townsend was arrested and charged with simple assault and assault by choking, for an alleged incident that occurred in the early hours of Aug. 7 on Kelowna's Yates Road.

"Frontline officers immediately attended the scene and found the male suspect had fled the residence prior to police attendance," said Kelowna RCMP's Const. Solana Pare at the time. "Officers spoke with the female victim who had been assaulted and suffering non-life threatening injuries."

On Thursday, Townsend's two-day trial was set for May 3, 2021. 

The Vancouver Sun's Kim Bolan reported that Townsend had become a Kelowna Hells Angel prospect in the fall of 2019, after his former club, Prince George's Renegades motorcycle club, disbanded. A prospect is the final stage before members become full-patch members of the Hells Angels.

Townsend's former Facebook profile photo shows him wearing a jacket with red and white patches that say “PROSPECT” and “KELOWNA.”  Townsend remains out of custody after he was released on $1,000 bail following his arrest.

This is not Townsend's first run-in with the justice system. In 2014, he was sentenced to three years in jail for a 2013 assault on two men and a woman outside a Prince George nightclub, but the BC Court of Appeal took a year off his sentence in 2015.

RELATED | Hells Angels Associate Set For Trial

Townsend's trial will begin on the same date as the trial for another man affiliated with the Kelowna Hells Angels. Colin Bayley will face trial in Kelowna's Supreme Court for an aggravated assault charge stemming from a May 2019 incident that allegedly put a 41-year-old man in hospital. Kelowna RCMP described Bayley as a "known associate" of the local Hells Angels. His trial has been delayed several times, but it's now scheduled to also begin on May 3. He is also out of custody on bail.

In a BC Supreme Court decision from last spring, a judge ruled against the BC Civil Forfeiture Office's attempts to seize Hells Angels clubhouses in Kelowna, Vancouver and Nanaimo. Throughout the lengthy trial, the B.C government identified 14 members of the Kelowna Hells Angels since the chapter was started in 2007. At the time of the 2018-19 trial, the province also identified one prospect and two official “hangarounds.”

The province is appealing the decision.

SOURCE: CASTANET

Cops Concerned About Increase in MC Activity

Nova Scotia, Canada (November 20, 2020) - Police in Cape Breton say at least two motorcycle clubs are recruiting on the island and their memberships are increasing. Police say they have reason to suspect a new clubhouse is also being established in the Coxheath area. 

 

Motorcycle clubs first started cropping up on the island in 2015 and Constable John Campbell of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service said growing activity is tied to a flourishing drug trade.

Four known Motorcycle Clubs

"Right now we have four motorcycle gangs: the Outlaws, the Black Pistons, the Highlanders and the Salty Souls," Campbell said. "There's a huge market here for cocaine right now and they'll take any opportunity they can to make money for their club, for their organization, and it's strength in numbers."

Campbell said clubhouse members often portray themselves as good neighbors and motorcycle enthusiasts. "They do fundraising for different events or for special causes," he said. "They want that to stick out in people's minds so that when the police do enforce them, then the community is wondering, 'Why are the police bothering these decent people?'"

Police educating the community

Cpl. Andy Cook, an organized crime expert based in Prince Edward Island, led an education session Thursday for members of the downtown Sydney business community. Additional meetings were held with representatives of Membertou First Nation, the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education and community development organization Bay-It-Forward in Glace Bay.

Cook said crime groups are intrinsically linked to violence. He warned against buying, or even wearing, clothing that supports criminality. "They put money into their coffers that they can use for other things," he said. "And it spreads their message into the community."

In recent months, Cape Breton Regional Police executed at least three search warrants and seized more than $130,000 in drugs, cash and weapons tied to motorcycle clubs.  Robert Walsh, the acting police chief, said his department is proposing a signage campaign that would ban people from wearing outlaw club logos in business establishments. 

Police will also be approaching the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in hopes of creating a bylaw to ban such emblems on municipal properties. “By being proactive and partnering with our community, we can better prevent these organizations from establishing themselves here,” Walsh said.

Business owners concerned about criminal activity were told by Walsh that there is “safety in numbers.” Cops warn members of the public not to confront or engage with someone suspect of motorcycle club activity.

SOURCE: CBC

Police Raid Hells Angels Clubhouse

Lahti, Finland (October 31, 2020) - Police confiscated drugs, weapons and explosives during a sweep of motorcycle clubhouses on Friday. According to Detective Superintendent Pälvi Suokas of the Häme police department, the operation targeted the Hells Angels motorcycle club.

In Lahti, about 100 kilometres north of Helsinki, authorities searched premises rented by a new motorcycle club called Red Roots. A preliminary investigation determined that the facility is now used by the Hells Angels. Other sites were searched, including a Hells Angels clubhouse in the eastern city of Lappeenranta.

Police said they detained an unspecified number of people on Friday. Three of them were prospective Hells Angels members who this month had been granted “hang-around” status, the first step toward full membership.

 

The Häme police department led the operation with extensive cooperation from the Southeast Finland, Helsinki, Eastern Uusimaa and Western Uusimaa police departments as well as the National Bureau of Investigations and the Criminal Sanctions Agency. Police declined to provide more details, citing the ongoing preliminary investigation. 

The Finnish News Agency STT reported in September that a new motorcycle club called Red Roots had been established in Lahti. Police first observed motorcyclists wearing Red Roots vests and insignia last spring.  Police say that Red Roots dissolved in August, splitting into two groups. Since then both groups have been involved with the Hells Angels, officials say.

Red Roots was set up to replace the Lahti chapter of the United Brotherhood (UB) club. At the same time an associated group called Redrum was also established, corresponding to a UB affiliate called Bad Union, according to police.

This week Eastern Uusimaa District Court extended a temporary ban on UB’s activities, which was originally imposed in January. Legal proceedings aimed at shutting down UB permanently are scheduled to begin in late November.

UB was launched in 2010 through the merger of three organisations, known as Rogues Gallery, Natural Born Killers and MORE.

SOURCE: Nord News

Cape Breton Police File Firearms Charges

Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (October 20, 2020) - Two people are facing firearm offences in connection with an ongoing investigation by Cape Breton Regional Police into the activities of so called outlaw motorcycle clubs.

James Robert Osmond Berthiaume, 53, and Jennifer Lynn Chisholm, 50, both of Ben Eoin, are charged with unauthorized possession of firearms, careless use of a firearm and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. 

They have been released from police custody on conditions and are to appear in provincial court November 30 to enter pleas. Among the conditions of their release, the accused are not to associate with any other members of the Outlaws or Black Pistons motorcycle groups or attend their clubhouses.

The pair were charged after police executed a search warrant in connection with an East Bay Highway property last week. Police seized two firearms, including one that was loaded, ammunition, and clothing affiliated with motorcycle clubs.

In September, regional police made arrests in Glace Bay resulting in charges against three individuals including drug trafficking and weapon possession.

RELATED | Outlaws MC Clubhouse Searched

The Glace Bay arrests are also linked to the Black Pistons and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Police seized more than $120,000 worth of drugs including 600 grams of pure cocaine, cannabis resin, Ritalin and hash. Officers also seized $12,000 worth of cash.

SOURCE: The Chronicle Herald

Hells Angels Want Club Ban Reversed

Haarlem, Netherlands (October 7, 2020) - The ban on the Hells Angels motorcycle club in the Netherlands must be reversed. If the Angels are accused of engaging in crime and violence, it should be attributed to individual members and not to that of the club or other members, Hells Angels lawyers argued in court on Wednesday.

The court in Utrecht banned the club last year, at the request of the Public Prosecution Service. The Angels have appealed against this. 

Lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops said before the court in Arnhem that the Public Prosecution Service is wrongfully portraying the Hells Angels as a criminal organization. Justice, according to counsel, uses a media strategy that relies heavily on "tabloids from the tabloid press and obscure, dubious websites". The image that arises from this is that the Angels pose a threat to public order.

Smear campaign

That image is incorrect, says Knoops. His argument was reinforced in court by contributions from two members of the Angels. They denounced the "smear campaign" that the judiciary would have launched against the Hells Angels in order to kill the club. That campaign is creating a reputation for a collection of "murderers, looters and rapists". The Angels believe that neither themselves nor their club should be the victim of members who engage in crime. "I just go to work with my lunch box," said one of them.

In the procedure that the Public Prosecution has started to have the Hells Angels banned in the Netherlands, it has mapped out nearly 1,500 incidents (worldwide) that must support the main argument for that ban: the Angels are not an association for tough Harley riders, but there is a strong, criminal culture of violence that bother society.

Departments

In its argument before the Arnhem court, the Public Prosecution Service cited, among other things, the liquidation of the Delft criminal Karel Pronk, for which a Hells Angel was convicted in June this year. The judiciary also pointed to escalating conflicts with rival motorcycle clubs and to an ongoing, international drug case in which Angels from Friesland figure as suspects.

The Hells Angels in the Netherlands has eighteen local branches (so-called chapters or charters) with a total of 241 members. The club was founded in the United States in 1948 by mainly former military personnel. About forty years ago the club also became active in the Netherlands.

A few years ago, the judiciary started a renewed offensive to get so-called Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) banned by the courts. A number of cases are still ongoing, against clubs such as Satudarah, Bandidos and No Surrender. 

SOURCE: Haarlem Dagblad

Shots Fired At Clubhouse Sparked Killing

New York City, NY, USA (October 7, 2020) - The assassination of a Bronx motorcycle club leader was retaliation for someone opening fire on the Hells Angels new Bronx headquarters, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.

Hells Angels members Frank “Loose Cannon” Tatulli, 58, and Sayanon Thongthawath, 29, were arrested July 22 for for allegedly shooting Francisco Rosado, the head of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club’s Bronx chapter. 

Rosado, 51, was shot dead in a parking lot at Holland Ave. and Boston Road in Allerton about 3:20 p.m. on May 2, near the Bronx building where he worked as a super. He was shot in the head, neck and back. Another Pagan, identified as Javier Cruz, 42, was shot in the arm, officials said. 

Two masked suspects were caught on disturbing video jumping out of their Jeep Cherokee and opening fire on the two men. 

Related | Media Blames Hells Angels for Shooters 

Related | New Hells Angels Clubhouse Upsets Nosy Neighbors 

Related | Former Hells Angels MC Clubhouse Sold 

 
The Pagan's have been deemed an outlaw motorcycle club by federal authorities, and several of its members have been linked to drug dealing, violence and death, officials said.

Tatulli and Thongthawath were arrested on July 22 on charges of murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and assault charges A third suspect, Anthony Destefano, 27, a member of Satan’s Soldiers, was also arrested and charged with manslaughter and conspiracy. 

Francisco Rosado

The motive at the time was unknown.

A Bronx grand jury recently indicted Tatulli and Thongthawath on murder charges. Both are being held without bail on Rikers Island awaiting their next court date.

“The defendants allegedly shot the two victims, in retaliation for a January 2020 shooting outside the Hells Angels headquarters on Longstreet Ave. in the Bronx,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement Wednesday. 

“The defendants allegedly conspired and carried out this horrific violence in a residential area, near a busy intersection in broad daylight. These retaliatory shootings hurt our communities and must stop.”

SOURCE: New York Daily News

Cossacks MC Member Acquitted

Lubbock, Texas, USA (October 7, 2020) - Justices with the Seventh Court of Appeals of Texas ruled that a 54-year-old man’s membership in a motorcycle club was not enough to convict him on a misdemeanor weapons charge that prohibits club members from possessing guns. 

The September 28 ruling overturns 54-year-old Terry Martin’s February 2019 conviction of a class A misdemeanor count of unlawful carrying of a weapon. A jury in the Lubbock County Court of Law 2 found Martin guilty and levied a $400 fine with no jail time.

Justices stated in their opinion that while there was evidence he was a member of a group that met the designation of a criminal street gang, the state failed to show that he was engaged in criminal activity as a gang member. “Both gang membership and connection to criminal conduct are required,” the opinion states. 

Martin’s conviction stemmed from an April 17, 2018, traffic stop by a corporal with the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office for traffic violations including speeding, making an unsafe lane change and having a partially obscured license plate.

During the stop Martin told the corporal he had a weapon in his vest, which bore the Cossacks name and colors. Martin admitted to being a member of the Cossacks motorcycle club, which is recognized by Texas law enforcement as a criminal street gang, defined by statute as “three or more persons have a common identifying sign or symbol or an identifiable leadership who continuously or regularly associate in the commission of criminal activities.”

A gang member is one of three or more persons who continuously or regularly associate in the commission of criminal activities, according to statute. The unlawful carrying of a weapon charge includes a provision that prohibits members of a criminal street gang from possessing a firearm.

The corporal arrested Martin, who was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on the Class A misdemeanor. Under the statute, it is illegal for members of a criminal street gang to possess weapons.  Martin appealed his conviction citing 15 grounds, the last one citing insufficient evidence to show he met the criteria of a criminal street gang member prohibited from possessing a firearm.

However, justices ruled only on the insufficiency argument, saying his trial counsel failed to preserve the other grounds, which challenged the constitutionality of the statute, for his appeal by not raising them at his trial.

During Martin’s trial, prosecutors called on the arresting deputy, who told jurors he determined Martin was a member of the Cossacks based on Martin’s admission during the stop and his attire, which was the vest bearing the gang’s black and yellow colors.



He told jurors he was aware the Cossacks Motorcycle Club is a criminal street gang actively engaging in criminal activity in Lubbock. However, he said he did not know of any criminal charges filed against a Cossack members in the area.  “The only thing I do have is just intelligence,” the deputy said.

A member of the Lubbock Anti-Gang Center, who served as the state’s gang expert at trial, told jurors that the Cossacks is an outlaw motorcycle gang that operates nationwide engaging in assaults, threats of violence, intimidation and illegal firearms possession.

Among the criteria used by Texas law enforcement to determine gang membership include a judicial finding and self-identification by a person during a judicial proceeding. Martin was also entered in the Texas Gang Database by the McLennan County Sehriff’s Office and DPS in Waco.

Martin told jurors during the trial that he didn’t believe the Cossacks was a criminal street gang. He also told jurors he has never been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor crime, other than traffic violations. Among the evidence presented to the jury of Martin’s criminal record was a May 2015 arrest in connection with the fatal shooting in Waco involving the Cossacks, Bandidos and law enforcement.

The shooting resulted in nine deaths and the arrest of more than 170 people, including Martin who was charged with organized crime. However, the charge was dismissed and justices ruled that it was insufficient to prove that Martin was a gang member that “continuously or regularly associated in the commission of criminal activities.”

“Both gang membership and a connection to criminal conduct are required,” the justice wrote in the unpublished opinion. “This single arrest, on charges which were later dismissed, does not establish that appellant continuously or regularly associated in the commission of criminal activities.”

SOURCE: Lubbock Avalanche Journal 

Mongols MC Prospect Charged

Brisbane, Australia, (October 6, 2020) -  Investigators from the Organised Crime Gangs Group have charged an alleged prospect of the Mongols MC with drug and weapon offences following the execution of a search warrant at a Browns Plains residence on Friday.

During the search of the residence on October 2, police located and seized 1.3 kilograms of methylamphetamine, 551 grams of cocaine, two handguns, a silencer, ammunition and approximately $50,000 cash.

A cash counting machine and Mongols MC clothing were also located and seized.

A 24-year-old Browns Plains man, allegedly a prospect of the Mongols MC, was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a dangerous drug exceeding schedule, possession of category H firearms, possession of ammunition and possession of proceeds of crime.

Detective Inspector Larissa Miller from the Organised Crime Gangs Group said this was a notable seizure with the arrest reflecting the Queensland Police Service’s commitment to pursuing motorcycle club-driven crime. 

“OMCGs are motivated only by greed and profit, their activities are interwoven with the illegal possession of firearms, drugs and money causing significant harm to our community,” Inspector Miller said.

“To those thinking of joining a gang, know that we are resolute in our commitment to disrupting and prosecuting members and associates of OMCGS and protecting the community from their criminal activities.”

The man appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on October 3 and was remanded in custody.

SOURCE: Mirage