Outlaws MC member can't have job back

Tampa, FL (February 5, 2019) BTN — A federal arbitrator says Hillsborough County was justified in firing a Fire Rescue medic who belonged to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, noting the negative attention his membership brought the county.

Clinton Neal Walker, 35, of Bradenton, was fired a year ago after an internal investigation concluded he had “unwavering loyalty” to the Outlaws, long considered the state’s dominant motorcycle club.

He was the first Hillsborough employee to be investigated for gang activity under a series of county ordinances that prohibit membership in any organization the state or federal government considers criminal, including the Outlaws St. Petersburg Chapter where Walker was a member.

Arbitrator Charlotte Gold released her ruling in mid-January, ending a year-long fight by the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters to save Walker’s job. Her report provided new insight into biker gang culture within the county’s fire department and throughout the Tampa Bay area.

“HCFR employees, including chiefs and a fire medic, attended MC (motorcycle club) events,” Gold wrote, and “many of its members were ex-military.”

Walker earned a Bronze Star, among other medals and awards, while in the U.S. Marine Corps. And as a county firefighter he was awarded a Medal of Valor. 

But Walker also had a long disciplinary history and “conducted himself in a manner that was detrimental to the department,” Gold wrote.

“The conclusion is inescapable that he affected the county’s standing in the community,’’ Gold wrote in her report. “His behavior ultimately reflected poorly on the county and his profession in general.”

Walker testified he had resigned from the Outlaws in October 2016, before the county issued a directive prohibiting all employees from “being a member of or voluntarily participating with any outside gang, as defined in the FBI’s 2015 National Gang Report.” The ban came two months after Walker was arrested in Key West for throwing the first punch in a bar fight that left two employees injured and involved as many as 15 other Outlaws, one wearing a T-shirt with a swastika on it and others who used racial slurs.

Walker ultimately negotiated a plea deal for the Key West fight and received a paid suspension from the county for 30 days. He was still serving that suspension when now-retired Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Captain James Costa, then president of the Outlaws St. Petersburg chapter, was shot by members of the rival 69ers Motorcycle Club while riding his motorcycle in south Hillsborough in July 2017. 

According to the report, Costa fired back. The shooting has since been tied to the shooting death of another Outlaw, Paul Anderson, in December 2017.

Walker was one of about 10 Outlaws who got a call from Costa and another Hillsborough County Fire Rescue medic telling them that Costa was being taken to a medical center in Manatee County with bullet wounds. 

Though he wasn’t on duty, Walker dressed in his Fire Rescue uniform and accompanied Costa into the hospital, taking his motorcycle vest with Outlaw insignia and initially refusing to turn it over to law enforcement.

“By wearing his HCFR t-shirt at the hospital, he gained favor for himself in violation of the county’s uniform regulations,” Gold wrote in her report. “He then proceeded to place the interests of a friend and mentor — an individual who continued a strong relationship with a motorcycle gang — over and above those of law enforcement.”

According to the report, Fire Rescue management has known about both Walker and Costa’s membership in the Outlaws since about 2008. Costa joined the Outlaws in 2002, and recruited Walker while working as his supervisor in Sun City Center’s Fire Station 28.

The new rules, and the ensuing investigation into Walker’s conduct, happened as a wave of bar brawls, bad behavior and execution-style killings between rival biker gangs swept across the Tampa Bay area, implicating firefighters in Hillsborough, Polk and Pasco counties.

SOURCE:  Tampa BayTimes

Two Pagan's MC members plead guilty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SOURCE:  WOKV

Former Bandidos MC member found guilty

Jones County, Texas (February 1, 2019) BTN – A jury found Wesley Dale Mason guilty of murder in the shooting death of an Abilene man Wednesday.

Mason, who is a former member of the Bandidos motorcycle club, shot and killed Dusty Childress in March 2017 on County Road 341, just east of the Abilene Environmental Landfill.

Mason asked the jury to decide his sentence. The jury began the sentencing phase Wednesday afternoon and continued Thursday morning. The defense brought four character witnesses to the stand in front of the jury on Thursday.

Mason's bail bondsman, who also rented a residence to the defendant, told the court that he had never had trouble with him.

A friend of Mason's for approximately five years, stated that she never felt in danger around Wesley. She mentioned that she had been around gatherings of Bandidos, but did not feel unsafe around them. She was woman that Wesley went to after the shooting in 2017.

The defendant's father, testified that he has maintained a positive and healthy relationship with his son. He stated that Wesley was in the U.S. Navy for several years and that he had two daughters. "Wesley never harmed anyone growing up, and he loved kids." Chuck is not known to have ties to the Bandidos.

Mason's mother was the last character witness to take the stand Thursday. She stated that Wesley would never kill anyone on purpose.

Closing arguments were presented and the jury deliberated for sentencing.

On Wednesday additional people took the stand like Mason's probation officer. She said the Bandidos are a dangerous gang.

Also a self proclaimed motorcycle "gang" expert said he wouldn’t feel safe being in a room with Mason.

SOURCE: San Angelo LIVE

Mongols Motorcycle Club vows to fight trademark loss

Los Angeles, California (February 1, 2019) BTN  – The federal government said they're a convicted criminal gang, and Hells Angels consider them enemies. They call themselves the Mongols Motorcycle Club - and they're one of the largest Motorcycle Clubs in the world.

"It's about honor, respect and pride," David Santillan said.

But for this East L.A.-born brotherhood, the last few years have been a fight for survival. They've been under federal indictment for the last decade. And recently, a federal jury in Santa Ana convicted the national club of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy for murder, attempted murder and drug dealing.

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More than 75 of their members were convicted - including their former president Ruben "Doc" Cavazos. But the biggest blow of all - hit them where it hurts the most, they lost the rights to their trademarked emblem.

"What the patch means to me and to all my brothers when we ride, it's like a ring in a marriage. It symbolizes our loyalty and commitment to the Mongols Motorcycle when we're out there riding together as a club." Santillan said.

Santillan, known as "Little Dave" by club members, is the new national president of the Mongols. He's been on the front lines of the group's fight against the government, to keep the rights to their sacred symbol.

"This is a lifestyle. A culture. A way of life for us. To me, it's a lifetime commitment. I've been in this club going on 23 years," he said.

The infamous patch is a caricature of the founder of the ancient Mongol empire, Genghis Kahn. Prosecutors argue, in order to get or keep their patches, members are encouraged to commit crimes. It's why they've been fighting for years to strip the club of their logo.

There's still a lot of secrecy around the patches and how members obtain them. But if there's one thing club members, their lawyers and prosecutors agree on -- the symbol is a pivotal part of the club's identity.

"If they take away our patch, they can take away everyone else's. It would be a domino effect if they take the case in law for the future, so I don't see us going anywhere. We're just going to continue fighting until the wheels fall off," Santillan said.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also doesn't seemed to be fully convinced about stripping the club of their logo. He's invited civil rights groups, first amendment lawyers and trademark attorneys to weigh in on the implications.

"Never before in U.S. History has the government come and tried to ban a symbol. Think about that for a second. How many symbols are there in the United States, from wedding rings to religious symbols? All kinds right?

If the government can take and ban a symbol, where does that leave everyone else? And who's next? That's really what we have to look at. That's a really slippery slope," said Mongols general counsel Stephen "Bow Tie" Stubbs.

This case is getting the attention of other motorcycle groups. It's even rumored that their arch-rivals Hells Angels, despite their checkered and deadly relationship with the Mongols, are donating money to fight the cause.

Santillan said the club has spent more than $1 million over the past decade, through fundraisers, donations and club dues, and they won't stop fighting until they win.

"It's a matter of principle at this point - and pride. We're not going away and they're not going to kick us to the curb. Like I said before, we're going to do this until the wheels fall off. We don't care, at any cost," he said

SOURCE: ABC7

Gypsy Joker MC members face charges

Portland, OR (February 1, 2019) BTN  – Six members and associates of the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club have been charged by a federal grand jury, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Oregon.

The five-count superseding indictment includes charges of racketeering, kidnapping and murder.

From left to right top row: Kenneth Earl Hause, Mark Leroy Dencklau and Earl Deverle Fisher. From left to right bottom: Ryan Anthony Negrinelli and Jospeh Duane Folkerts.

Those charged include:

Kenneth Earl Hause, 61 of Aumsville, who is the National President

Mark Leroy Dencklau, 58 of Woodburn

Earl Deverle Fisher, 48 of Gresham

Ryan Anthony Negrinelli, 36 of Gresham

Jospeh Duane Folkerts 61 of Battleground

A sixth defendant was not named. All are members and associates of the club and are charged with conspiring to conduct and participate in the activities of a racketeering enterprise.

With the exception of Hause, the U.S. Attorney's Office said the other five defendants also face charges of murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping in aid of racketeering resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death and conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death for the June 30 to July 2, 2015 kidnapping and murder of Robert Huggins.

Huggins was a former Gypsy Joker MC member and resident of southeast Portland. The five defendants are accused of killing Huggins to maintain and increase their positions in the criminal club.

“According to the indictment, since at least 2003, the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle club have engaged in a wide range of crimes, including kidnapping, murder, drug dealing, robbery, extortion, and witness tampering,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.

“Thanks to the efforts of ATF, the Portland Police Department, and federal prosecutors, we will work hard to hold accountable the leaders and members of this brutal and highly organized gang for their alleged crimes.”

“Kenneth Hause is the leader of a criminal organization that, through its many chapters and support clubs, has sowed violence and intimidation throughout the Pacific Northwest. This is an organization whose members and associates pride themselves on living outside the law and use kidnapping, assault, murder and other forms of violence to extend and maintain their power. 

Kenneth Hause and his co-defendants will soon face the consequences of their crimes thanks to a seamless partnership of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy J. Williams.

The superseding indictment states the Gypsy Joker MC preserves, promotes and protects its power, territory and profits through violence and intimidation as well as enriches its members through extortion, robbery and the distribution of narcotics.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Gypsy Joker MC is known for using fear through its members and associates as a tactic for establishing and maintaining its power.

Additionally, the club oversees several support clubs in both Oregon and Washington, including the Road Brothers Northwest Motorcycle Club, Solutions Motorcycle Club, Northwest Veterans Motorcycle Club, High-Side Riders, and the Freedom Fellowship Motorcycle Club.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Dencklau, Fisher and Tiler Evan Pribbernow, 37 of Portland, were first charged in a four-count indictment that was unsealed in July 2018.  Pribbernow pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to conduct and participate in the activities of a racketeering enterprise on November 7, 2018. Dencklau and Fisher are detained pending trial.

Along with the criminal charges brought against the five named defendants in the superseding indictment, the government is seeking forfeiture of a property in Salem that is used as a Gypsy Joker MC clubhouse.

SOURCE: FOX12 Oregon

Blue Angels MC members threaten rival club

Leeds, West Yorkshire (January 30, 2019) BTN – Leeds Crown Court heard the defendants were wearing “motorcycle club attire” when they turned up at the house and began “shouting and bawling” and making threats.  Howard Shaw, prosecuting, said the complainant - known as ‘Spike’ - had previously been a member of the Blue Angels until leaving the club in 2015.

Explaining the background to the incident on July 27 last year, the prosecutor said: “It appears some kind of falling out went on and he was warned in 2015 not to associate with any motorcycle club ever again and, according to the complainant, was assaulted.” Mr Shaw said the man then joined the rival Mongrel Mob club. He added: “He claims to have been high up within the ranks of the club, becoming the European Secretary.”

The court heard the four men turned up outside the property in Beeston around 9.30pm in a Nissan Navara while the man was at his home with family and friends. Mr Shaw said: “The four defendants were wearing motorcycle club attire and then engaged in shouting, bawling, threats and finger pointing. “They did not enter the garden but their conduct was such that the complainant threw out, from the first floor window, his motorcycle jacket which had the insignia of his own club. “With that, the defendants left and drove off.”

Mr Shaw said the man only contacted police because there was “an unwritten rule” among motorcycle clubs that no such visits would be paid to members’ homes when family were present. All four men were arrested and refused to comment. They were later identified at an identification procedure. The men were initially charged with robbery.

The complainant refused to attend court to give evidence against when they were due to go on trial on Monday The defendants pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour and were made the subject of 12-month community orders. 

Recorder Richard Thyne said: “The offence is aggravated on any view by the fact that it was planned, you were in a group, there was a history of bad feeling and it was in a residential street at night. “Each of you in the past has been capable of serious criminality and your conduct on that evening has to be viewed in that context.” 

Those sentenced were: David Hansbury, 49, of Midland Road, Hyde Park, Leeds.

He was made the subject of a two-month electronically-tagged curfew order. Hansbury has previous convictions for robbery, affray and firearms offences. 

David Torr, 55, of Miles Hill Avenue, Scott Hall, Leeds. Ordered to do 40 hours of unpaid work. He has convictions for robbery, assault and possession of an offensive weapon. 

Steven Clayton, 59, of Meadow Road, Bradford, Ordered to do 45 hours of unpaid work. He has convictions for affray, wounding and possession of an offensive weapon.

Martin Booth, 48, of Crook Farm Caravan Park, Shipley. Ordered to do 45 hours of unpaid work. Booth has previous convictions for possession of a prohibited firearm.

SOURCE: Yorkshire Evening Post

Hells Angel MC member pleads guilty

Staunton, Virginia (January 29, 2019) BTN – In a surprising development, three members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club and a prospect pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with a September ambush at the Hometown Inn that saw a rival motorcycle club member shot and another beaten.

Both men survived the attack.

In Augusta County Circuit Court on Tuesday, one of the alleged shooters, Anthony Milan, 28, of East Elmhurst, New York, a Hells Angel prospect at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to malicious wounding by a mob and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Related | Pagans MC: We were ambushed by the Hells Angels MC

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"He was a triggerman," Augusta County prosecutor Tim Martin said.

Milan was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Three other defendants, none of them one of the two shooters, were sentenced to four years in prison. Nathaniel A. Villaman, 28, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Joseph Anthony Paturzo, 52, of the Bronx, New York; and Richard E. West, 53, of Baldwin, New York, all pleaded guilty to malicious wounding by a mob.

The second shooter is alleged to be Dominick J. Eadicicco, 48, of Staten Island, New York. He is scheduled for trial March 18.

Martin said he was pleased with the guilty verdicts, and noted: The shooting victim was not cooperating with authorities and wouldn't be a witness at trial.

Motions in the case were scheduled to be heard Tuesday before the plea deals were reached.

Two other Hells Angels members who were not charged in the attack face drug and gun charges.

Earlier evidence showed ambush

Motel video surveillance viewed at an earlier bond hearing in October showed five Hells Angels were lying in wait after two members of the rival Pagans Motorcycle Club were spotted across the street at the Pilot Travel Center during the early-morning hours of Sept. 10.

Roughly 90 minutes later, shortly before 3 a.m. as the two Pagans pulled into the motel parking lot on their motorcycles, an ambush was unleashed, video evidence showed.

One of the Pagans was shot, the other knocked off his motorcycle and beaten with a hammer.

Prior to the shooting, after the two Pagans were seen at the travel center, one of the motorcycle club members rousted four others from their rooms at the Hometown Inn, which is near Greenville.

After the men took off their Hells Angels gear and changed into different clothing, one of the Hells Angels kept close tabs on the Pagans across the street with binoculars. Another was seen holding an iPad in their direction as he presumably filmed them, video evidence showed. Other Hells Angels club members were nearby.

When the Pagans went to the Hometown Inn, the clerk, unaware there were now rival gang members registered at the motel, gave them a room next to one of three rooms rented by the Hells Angels, according to evidence.

As the Pagans pulled up to their room, one following the other, the second rider was knocked off his motorcycle as it was still moving. The rider in front wiped out as he attempted to escape the ambush, skidding his bike to the ground. As he ran, two Hells Angels opened fire on him, video showed. An investigator testified four to five gunshots were fired.

The victim was struck once in the lower left side of his back. He survived the shooting and was released from the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville after a week-long stay, according to testimony.

The beating victim was not seriously injured.

Both victims were members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club out of southern Virginia, the sheriff's office said.

Seven suspects were arrested at the scene. Two guns and a shell casing were recovered at the motel by investigators.

At a press conference held after the shooting, Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith said both groups were passing through the area following an unidentified convention.

SOURCE: News Leader

Hells Angel MC member arrested after car ramming

Franklin, Indiana (January 28, 2019) BTN – About 57 pounds of marijuana were found in a Franklin home early Saturday morning after police were called to the neighborhood because a vehicle was repeatedly ramming a parked car in a driveway.

The incident, which got the attention of neighbors and required the SWAT team come to the scene, unfolded in the Franklin Lakes neighborhood off U.S. 31 beginning at 2 a.m. Saturday. A resident called police to report that someone was repeatedly ramming a vehicle parked in a neighbor’s driveway, and the parked vehicle was eventually forced into the garage, damaging motorcycles that were parked inside, a Franklin Police Department report said.

After an hours-long incident, including getting a search warrant, police arrested Jamie Ray Harper on four felony charges — dealing marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a restricted drug injection device, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia.

Another resident, Christopher P. Tinney, 46, was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.

Police saw the damaged garage door and could smell marijuana, the report said.

Harper is known to police as a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, and the Johnson County SWAT team was called to the home as a safety precaution, the report said.

Police searched the home and found four large vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana. Together, they weighed 57 pounds, the report said. A glass pipe, scales, plastic baggies, syringes, vials labeled as testosterone and methamphetamine were also found in the home.

Harper was released from the Johnson County jail on $7,000 bond. Tinney, of Edinburgh, was held on $2,000 bond.

SOURCE: Daily Journal