Hells Angels annual ride honors slain member

Vancouver, B.C. (April 6, 2019) BTN — About 80 Hells Angels and associates gathered at the bikers East End clubhouse Saturday morning for their annual ride to pay tribute to fallen comrade Dave (Screwy) Swartz. Specialized police officers, who investigate so called motorcycle clubs, were also on hand to take photographs and videos as the riders arrived.

Police watching and taking photos club members

Vancouver police traffic enforcement officers checked vehicle registrations of several Hells Angels, prompting East End chapter president John Bryce to head out to talk to police. Some of the bikers muttered insults at officers, who were stationed across from the clubhouse, located at 3598 East Georgia St. VPD Sgt. Jason Robillard said police were out in force “to monitor and ensure that the rules of the road are followed.” “Public safety remains our top priority,” Robillard said.

Swartz was a full-patch member of the East End chapter when he was gunned down in Surrey on April 6,1988, by a friend after an all-night drinking party. The friend then killed himself with the same gun. Swartz’s son is now a member of the Vancouver chapter of the notorious biker gang. The Hells Angels were joined Saturday by “support clubs” from around B.C., including the Langford Savages, the Dirty Bikers, the Jesters, the Teamsters’ Horsemen, the Shadow Club and the Devil’s Army out of Campbell River.

Forfeiture case nears end

The East End clubhouse, assessed this year as being worth $1,275,000, is one of three that the B.C. director of civil forfeiture is fighting in court to seize because of alleged links to criminal activity. Just this week, lawyers for the Hells Angels were in B.C. Supreme Court arguing the director’s lawsuit, first launched in November 2007, should be thrown out. The Hells Angels’ latest petition alleges the RCMP violated the constitutional rights of the bikers by passing on information to the B.C. government’s civil forfeiture office. 

And it also says the section of the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Act that allows information sharing with police violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “The director therefore has no lawful authority to collect information from the RCMP. As such he had no authority to initiate proceedings on the basis of such information,” the HA’s petition states. “In the circumstances, the petitioners seek orders quashing the decisions to initiate proceedings and prohibit the director from continuing, commencing or conducting proceedings on the basis of such information.” The director says in his response to the petition that it is merely a delay tactic and that the bikers have known about the sharing of police information since at least 2008.


The Hells Angels “could and should have brought this judicial review at least 11 years ago,” the court document says, adding the bikers have “offered no explanation for its extraordinary delay in seeking this relief.” The director also said it did not receive any “personal information” about the Hells Angels from the police. A lawyer representing the RCMP also argued before Justice Barry Davies Friday that Canada’s national police force had the power to share information with the director of civil forfeiture. Sitting in court was Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello, who spent part of the morning filing his fingernails.

The trial, which began last April but has been adjourned several times since, is scheduled to last another three weeks. So far, the government side has called a former Hells Angel and a police agent who infiltrated the East End Hells Angels, as well as a series of police officers. Last month, parts of an expert report by retired Ontario Provincial Police Det. Staff Sgt. Len Isnor were ruled inadmissible because Davies said they were full of biased, unsubstantiated claims about the biker club.

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Two bikers killed and five injured in Bar fights

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

Both stories are developing 

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

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

SOURCE: KCENTV

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

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


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

SOURCE: FOX59

Grisly allegations open Chittum trial

Edwardsville, Georgia, USA (April 5, 2019) BTN – Murder defendant Brandon Chittum was allegedly standing behind his best friend, Patrick Chase, coaching him on how to strangle Courtney Coats during her murder in 2013, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

“Do it harder; do it quick,” Chittum was allegedly telling Chase, as he was choking his girlfriend to “put her out of her misery,” Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Heischmidt told the jury in her opening statement. “The defendant was behind Chase, coaching him, giving him tips.”

Brandon Chittum

Chittum, 35, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, a count of dismembering a human body and concealment of a homicidal death. Coats went missing in late November 2013. Chase has since pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Chittum, formerly of Alton and a former member of the Outlaws motorcycle club, has been in the Madison County Jail awaiting trial since December 2013. Testimony at trial was that Chase was a member of the Black Pistons motorcycle club , which was like a “farm club ” for the Outlaws. Chittum said during a recorded interview that the two became friends when they were members of an alcohol recovery group.

Heischmidt said Tuesday that Coats and Chase were in an argument at their home in the 2500 block of College Avenue, and Chase pushed her, causing her to hit and badly injure her head. Chase said he wanted to “put her out of her misery,” so he and Chittum allegedly dragged her into a bedroom, where the first attempt at strangling her failed.

The prosecutor said that Chittum felt for Coats’ pulse and told Chase she was not dead. They then dragged her into a bathroom, where Chase slit her throat. Chittum then allegedly said, “Now she’s gone,” Heischmidt told the jury. “They senselessly, violently and brutally murdered her,” the prosecutor said.

She then described how Chittum allegedly called his wife and asked to borrow her car. She then drove it to Alton and left, and the two suspects then cut up the body, placed it in bags and took the remains up to the Joe Page Bridge near Hardin. The remains were found near, and in, the Illinois River in Greene County.

When Coats’ mother, Elizabeth Kovach, began to notice her daughter was not contacting her, as she always did, she reported her missing. Police launched a 27-day search for Coats, but an investigation led the a confession by Chase, who led authorities to the remains. Crime scene specialists from Illinois State Police then performed a detailed search of the College Avenue apartment where the murder took place.

Investigators found blood in the bathroom. “Scratched into the soap scum in the bathtub was the word, ‘Help,’ Heischmidt said. The prosecutor said Chittum will say he left before the murder and returned to Collinsville, but phone records from Chittum’s phone showed he was in Alton, then in East Hardin, then in Alton.

Defense attorney Evelyn Lewis said her client went to sleep on the couch during the killing. “Brandon did not kill her. He wasn’t even aware of it.” She claimed Chase told police that Coats injured her neck, yet there is no evidence of a neck injury. She said Chittum never called police about the incident because “he was in the Outlaws, and he was afraid what was going to happen to him.”

Testimony in the trial began Tuesday. The trial may last into next week.

SOURCE: The Telegraph

Waco Biker massacre cases dismissed

Waco, Texas. USA (April 2, 2019) BTN —  Recently elected District Attorney Barry Johnson said in a release that, "following the indictments, the prior District Attorney had the time and opportunity to review and assess the admissible evidence to determine the full range of charges that could be brought against each individual who participated in the Twin Peaks brawl, and to charge only those offenses where the admissible evidence would support a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In my opinion, had this action been taken in a timely manner, it would have, and should have, resulted in numerous convictions and prison sentences against many of those who participated in the Twin Peaks brawl. Over the next three years the prior District Attorney failed to take that action, for reasons that I do not know to this day."

Johnson said that when he assumed office in January, the statue of limitation expired on most of the offenses.

"I believe that any effort to charge and prosecute these individual charges at this time would only result in further waste of time, effort and resources of the McLennan County judicial system and place a further unfair burden on the taxpayers of McLennan County," Johnson said.

Related | Governor wants new anti-gang center for Waco

Related | Waco: Police Opened Fired On Bikers Witnesses Say

Archive | Waco Shooting History

On May 17, 2015, a shootout erupted at the Twin Peaks located in the Waco Central Texas Marketplace. The shootout was between two motorcycle clubs - the Bandidos and the Cossacks.

Nine bikers died in the shootout and dozens were injured. Following the incident, nearly 200 bikers were arrested.

Of those 177, 155 were indicted with various charges.

The first trial was held in September of 2017. The defendent, Jacob Carrizal, was being charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and directing activities of a criminal street gang. His trial lasted one month and ended with a mistrial.

After his trial, the amount of money spent on these cases totaled more than $1 million.

The results of Carrizal's trial started a domino effect. No other biker was tried, and the district attorney at the time, Abel Reyna, began dropping Twin Peaks biker cases. At one point, 60 cases were dismissed at one time by Judge Strother.

The remaining 24 bikers were re-indicted on a riot charge.

"I do not believe that it is a proper exercise of my judgment as District Attorney to proceed with the further prosecution of what I believe to have been an ill-conceived path that this District Attorney’s Office was set upon almost four years ago by the prior District Attorney, and I do not believe that path should continue to be pursued," Johnson said.

SOURCE: KXXV

Hells Angels and Pagan's scare local police

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

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

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

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

SOURCE: Daily Voice

No Colors Allowed

Albuquerque, N.M., USA (March 29, 2019) BTN — It's a bold sign: "a gang-free zone, wearing of 'colors' not permitted." It's hanging at the front entrance to Mariscos Altamar at Coors and I-40.
"It is shocking to see that," said Raymond Gallegos. The sign references "gangs," but the symbol represents what is referred to as the "one percenters," also known as bikers who give the community a bad name. "They watch one television show and we're almost all criminals," said Gallegos.

Sign posted on the entrance to Mariscos Altamar restaurant 

Raymond Gallegos is with the New Mexico Motorcyclists Rights Organization. He said the sign is meant to kick out bikers like himself wearing his cut. "What I'm wearing would be considered colors, it's an insignia that represents the club that I'm in," he said. The majority of bikers are in 'bike clubs,' not gangs, and are good people raising money for charities and helping those in need. "To say that we're all gang members, that's a very broad spectrum brush," said Gallegos.


He said this isn't the first time. Ojos Locos in Uptown confirms it has a sign inside too. The NMMRO sends out lists to its members, showing which establishments are "no colors welcome," including places like the Santa Ana Casino and the Cottonwood Mall. "I've been asked several times from managers or staff that they don't allow gang colors," he said.

Albuquerque Police Department records confirm that earlier this month officers were called to Mariscos Altamar for an incident involving a "biker gang," but no police report was ever filed. The manager would only say the owner told him to put up the sign on Friday.

"We all stick together and when we see a business that no longer supports us, we will no longer support them," said Gallegos.

Their Facebook page is below.

Mariscos Altamar

KRQE News 13 did reach out to both Mariscos Altamar and Ojos Locos. Neither would speak to us on camera or comment on why they put up their signs. Gallegos says signs like this are a civil rights violation under the first amendment, but he says it would cost thousands of dollars to take a case to civil court.

SOURCE: KRQE

Biker bar busted in gambling sting

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

SOURCE: Henry Herald

Hells Angels MC prospect murderer sentenced

Brussels, Belgium (March 28, 2019) BTN — A man convicted of killing a 23-year-old biker last year was sentenced this week to 25 years in jail by the Namur Assize Court. The jury deliberated for more than six hours before finding Francis Estorez (48) guilty of the murder of Marc Dascotte, a Hells Angels prospect.

Marc Dascotte, the victim, was prospecting for the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

The incident took place on 27 August 2017 under a blistering summer sun in a shed decked out for a Hells Angel marriage. Estorez, who was on anti-depression medication and had consumed an enormous quantity of alcohol of various types, was so irked by what he saw as Dascotte’s puerile and exasperating behaviour that he threatened repeatedly to hand in his jacket, the symbol of his membership of the Hells Angels.

A final incident was the last straw for Estorez, who threw his jacket onto the table of his president, thus signifying his resignation from the club, before going to the bar, where he was attacked from behind, receiving multiple cuts on the head from bottles.

Partly blinded by blood, he first wounded a Hells Angel - who had nothing to do with the matter - on the leg, then fired three times at the victim, Marc Dascotte, killing him with a Browning 6.35, a discreet weapon. The trial lasted from 18 to 26 March.

The prosecution had asked for 30 years, along with a period of up to 15 years at the disposal of the sentence enforcement court. Estorez has 15 days to appeal.

SOURCE: The Brussels Times