Self proclaimed MC experts warn public

Toronto, ON, Canada (June 6, 2019) BTN — As the weather turns warmer, a new joint effort by police across Canada is focusing on educating people about the risk motorcycle clubs pose to communities.

The RCMP, in a joint effort with the Canadian Integrated Response to Organized Crime, is co-ordinating a social media effort with the hope of raising the public's awareness of the dangers motorcycle clubs pose.

"In the Bombard investigation, we had murder, drug trafficking, there's other types of violence," said Supt. Deanna Hill, the federal criminal operations officer for RCMP N.L.

Supt. Deanna Hill, left, and Glenda Power are part of a Canada-wide campaign to educate the public about motorcycle clubs. (Paula Gale/CBC)

Hill said it's taken her years of working exclusively on motorcycle clubs units to learn how to identify a member easily, but the general public may not know how to read the signs.

That's the point of their campaign, she said.

"The Hells Angels continually adapt. They adapt their strategies, they adapt how they infiltrate communities, and it's all about making money through crime," she told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

"For us to be effective we need to continually adapt as police agencies both in our technologies and our strategies, and this particular effort, we hope, will set the tone and raise awareness for the public, just the level of intimidation and violence."

While there isn't a Hells Angels chapter in Newfoundland and Labrador, Hill said there is a support club called the Vikings Motorcycle Club as well as the Bauchus Motorcycle Club and the Outlaws.

The RCMP effort to raise awareness about motorcycle clubs warns people not to be fooled by charity work. (RCMP)

The campaign is also a way for police to counter public relations strategies launched by these kinds of clubs, who get involved in charities and donations.

"The motivation is to put out there that they are harmless, and they are simply not harmless. They commit crime that impacts our community," Hill said. "They're engaged in money laundering, they're engaged in every kind of effort that will result in a profit, and in order to get that profit they'll engaged in violence and intimidation. So it impacts innocent people. It impacts all of us on a broad scale, although you might not see it on a daily basis."

They want you to report interaction with motorcycle club members 

Hill acknowledges the average person might not be able to tell a bike gang member from a regular motorcycle owner.

"There are a lot of absolutely harmless riding clubs, motorcycle clubs out there, that are just the general public doing absolutely nothing wrong," she said. "Generally a three-piece patch with a 1% diamond on there, on any of their paraphernalia, is indicative of some kind of outlaw motorcycle gang."

Glenda Power, RCMP N.L.'s director of strategic communications, said the campaign is not about trying to make people afraid.

"We're not trying to scare the public here. We're trying to inform," Power said. "Often, gang violence is directed at other gangs, not against public citizens — although we have seen that recently here in this province. But you need to be informed to make good choices."

Power said anyone who thinks they may have had an interaction with a motorcycle club member, but isn't sure, should contact police. "Our advice for the public is, call your local police if you feel you might be dealing with someone who's part of an outlaw motorcycle gang. Report that interaction," she said.

"But if you are aware that someone is in an outlaw gang, we certainly recommend that you do not engage."

SOURCE: CBC

Mongols MC member testifies in own defense

Los Angeles, California, USA (June 6, 2019) BTN — A man charged with killing a Pomona SWAT officer testified Wednesday that he fired a “warning shot” because he feared members of a motorcycle club to which he belonged were trying to break into his family’s home in San Gabriel and he did not know that police were at the front door.

Testifying in his own defense, David Martinez said, “I would never fire at police or law enforcement ever. I have family that’s (in) law enforcement.”

The 41-year-old termite inspector — who is charged with the killing of Pomona police Officer Shaun Diamond — told the downtown Los Angeles jury that he reached for a shotgun by his bed because he heard loud banging sounds and thought someone was trying to break into the house he shared with his parents, common-law wife, two young children and his adult sister, who has Down syndrome, during the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2014.

The defendant said he fired after seeing what he perceived to be the barrel of a gun pointed toward his father.

“I fired a warning shot … what I perceived to be a warning shot,” he said, telling jurors that he didn’t see anyone on the front porch.

Diamond was helping to open a metal screen over the front door of the home as part of a multi-agency operation serving a warrant targeting the Mongols motorcycle club when an interior door was opened and a single shotgun blast rang out, striking him in the neck. The 45-year-old officer — who had 16 years of law enforcement experience with the Los Angeles, Montebello and Pomona police departments — died the next day.

Martinez said he did not see anyone outside the home who appeared to be injured after firing the gunshot — although his father had been injured in the gunfire — and that he did not learn until later that an officer had been struck. He said it’s hard for him to accept that he may have shot his own father and thought then that his dad had been wounded by police.

Police never identified themselves 

When defense attorney Brady Sullivan asked if he heard anyone identify themselves before he fired the shot, Martinez said, “I never heard anybody identify themselves as police.” He said he was startled to hear screaming and that he turned around, dropped the shotgun, laid down and said he was sorry.

“I kept saying I was sorry. I didn’t know it was the police,” Martinez said. “I thought it was the Mongols.”

The defendant said he had reached for the shotgun by his bed after hearing “a lot of banging,” and headed from the bedroom to the living room, where his parents had been sleeping.

He testified that he unsuccessfully tried to urge his father to wait to open the wooden front door because he wanted to answer the door himself.

“I remember telling my dad twice, `Wait, wait,’ but I don’t think he heard me,” Martinez said. “He was opening the door … I aimed the shotgun towards the door because I thought someone was trying to break in.”

Under cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake, the defendant said, “I took aim and I pulled the trigger.”

“You shot to kill that day?” the prosecutor asked.

“I shot to protect my family,” Martinez responded.

“You shot to kill the target that day?” the prosecutor said.

“There was no target, sir,” the defendant said, maintaining that he was trying to defend his family when he fired the shot, and never saw any police officers until they were coming into the house after the shot was fired.

Martinez said he had pondered dropping out of the Mongols after having a change of heart about his involvement in the motorcycle club, but had heard stories about other members who tried to quit and was concerned for the safety of himself and his family.

He said he grew more concerned about his safety following two freeway shootings that targeted Mongols members, and “got a sense of not feeling safe in my home.” A night earlier, he had argued with a fellow Mongols member, he said.

In his opening statement last month, Blake told jurors that Martinez was warned loudly and repeatedly that police were at the door before the shot rang out.

“(Their) uniforms are covered with patches and insignia that identify them as police,” and “they made announcements repeatedly” calling out “Pomona Police Department … open the door,” the prosecutor said.

“Throughout this awful incident … the Pomona SWAT team remained calm and professional,” still proceeding to search the house and detain family members, he said. “They did not return fire. They did not shoot up the house … they did not use force on a single person.”

The prosecutor contended that Martinez’s claim that he thought that Mongols were at his door was “false,” telling the jury that those comments were “calculated.”

Defense attorney Brady Sullivan referred to the events surrounding the shooting as a “perfect storm,” telling the jury, “Sometimes in life, a series of unexpected, unanticipated events combine, they come together and result in a tragedy.”

“When David Martinez came out of his bedroom and heard unknown people breaking into his house … he acted to defend his family,” the public defender said. “He had no idea it was the police and, in fact, expected that it was going to be his rivals.”

Martinez made a “regrettable decision to join the Mongols,” Sullivan said, calling his client a motorcycle enthusiast who “liked the brotherhood.”

“He was afraid to quit (because) the scary truth is that you don’t just walk away from the Mongols,” the defense attorney said. “They come and take your vest, they come and take your motorcycle and they exact a little physical punishment.”

Martinez could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. Prosecutors opted earlier not to seek the death penalty against him.

SOURCE: My News LA

Over 30 arrested at Hells Angles MC event

Surrey, South East England (June 1, 2019) BTN — More than 30 people have been arrested as thousands of Hells Angels take part in a three-day event to mark the club’s 50th anniversary in the UK. Surrey and Sussex police said 34 people had been detained on suspicion of drugs offences and possession of offensive weapons in connection to the Hells Angels Euro Run.

The event, which included a private celebration at a hotel in east Surrey, commemorates the anniversary of the first branch of the California-based motorcycle club being set up in the UK. It will culminate in a mass “ride out” from Pease Pottage, near Crawley, to Brighton on Saturday, with more than 3,000 bikers expected to take part.

Earlier this week, officers were granted powers to stop and search people within a designated area across Surrey and Sussex in an attempt to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Related | Police on alert as Hells Angels come to town

Twelve people – five Germans, three Hungarians, one Swiss, one French, one Czech and one Greek man – have been charged. Seven appeared in court on Friday and were given suspended prison sentences, while the remaining five were due to appear in court on Saturday.

Three others remained in custody and the rest were either cautioned or released without charge.

The assistant chief constable of Surrey police, Nev Kemp, who is leading policing operations across both counties this week, said: “We have been very clear with those attending the Hells Angels event, many from overseas, that we will not tolerate criminal and antisocial behaviour.

“Our activity over the last few days has been about keeping people safe, which is why I put the section 60 order [for stop and search powers] in place.

“The fact that we have had seven people go through the courts and be sentenced so far, as well as the numerous arrests, has justified our actions and use of section 60 this week.

“This weekend, especially Saturday, sees one of the busiest for both forces in the last 12 months and we continue to work hard to keep our residents and those visiting safe.

“Officers will be out in high numbers so expect to see us on patrol responding and responding quickly to any incidents.”

SOURCE: The Sun

Outlaws MC member gets 60 years

Alton Illinois, USA (May 31, 2019) — A judge Friday sentenced former Alton resident Brandon Chittum, 36, to 60 years in prison after hearing a video statement of the defendant giving a detailed description of how he helped dismember and dispose of the body of victim Courtney Coats of East Alton.

Associate Judge Neil Schroeder handed down the sentence after prosecutors introduced a taped statement that was excluded from the trial in which Chittum was found guilty of first-degree murder, dismembering a human body and concealing a homicidal death.

Brandon Chittum

On the video, Chittum is heard telling about “getting rid of the blood” holding bags for disposal of body parts and moving the body into a bathroom where co-defendant Patrick Chase ended her life by cutting her throat.

In the video, Chittum never told officers he was asleep when the murder happened. That contradicted trial testimony of Chase, who claimed his friend, Chittum, was asleep during the entire murder process.

Chittum was found guilty under the accountability theory, which holds that he helped participate in the act and was accountable for the acts of Chase, who admitted to carrying out the fatal violence.

Assistant Madison County State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe argued that Chittum deserved the same 70-year sentence as Chase received for the murder. She had argued during the trial that Chittum coached Chase in killing Coats, his then girlfriend.

“But for Brandon Chittum, this case does not happen. There is no way he was less culpable than Patrick Chase. He was the one calling the shots,” Uhe said.

Related | Victim's mother reacts to murder conviction
Related | Grisly allegations open Chittum trial

During the trial witnesses said Chittum was a member of the Outlaws motorcycle club, which had authority over The Black Pistons, Chase’s club.

Chittum made no statement on his own behalf. Uhe argued that, while Chase confessed and pleaded guilty, Chittum has never accepted responsibility.

Family members said they were torn apart by the November 2013 loss of Coats, who went missing for several weeks before her body parts were found in trash bags in the Mississippi River in Greene County.

“She was always full of life; she never knew a stranger,” said her uncle, Richard Beach. “What you did was evil, cold and heartless, She was not piece of trash to be thrown off a bridge.”

Coats’ aunt, Jody Lessman, said Chittum played the system, delaying the trial for five years.

“Every day I think about how evil, cold and heartless the crime was that Courtney endured and what these two men did to her,” Lessman said. “Not only did Brandon Chittum aid in taking her from us, he put myself and our family through complete hell while he played the system for five and a half years before going to trial.

The victim’s mother, Elizabeth, said she is happy with the outcome. Uhe said the case could never have been won had it not been for the work of the Alton Police Department.

“What started out as a missing persons investigation has finaly come to a conclusin with both murderers being brought to justice,” she said. “We hope this finally gives Courtney’s family some peace.”

She also thanked the Illinois State Police Crime Lab Crime Scene Investigation and Division of Forensic Sciences.

SOURCE: The Telegraph

Dutch Bans Hells Angels MC

Utrecht, Netherlands (May 29, 2019) BTN — Dutch judges on Wednesday banned the motorcycle club Hells Angels and ordered all its chapters to close in the Netherlands, as authorities continue a clampdown on so-called outlaw motorcycle clubs.

"The Hells Angels is a danger to the public order," the court in the central Dutch city of Utrecht ruled.

"The Hells Angels sees itself as a one-percenter club, a club of outlaws," said the court, citing a slogan used by motorcycle clubs rejecting the authority of national laws or societal norms.

"It's a club where there's a culture of lawlessness and the authorities are kept outside their doors," the court added in a statement.

The court referred to a number of patches or so-called "colours" on the cut-off vests of the Hells Angels, called "cuts", saying "they are handed out to members who commit (serious) violence."

"The Hells Angels' profile is that of the largest and most powerful motorbike club. They believe other clubs should listen to them and that leads to long-running conflicts."

Dutch prosecutors, who have been trying for more than a decade to get the club banned, referred to an incident in the southern town of Kerkrade where a cafe frequented by rival motorcycle club, Bandidos MC was set on fire in 2015.


In another incident the following year, Hells Angels were involved in a massive brawl in the restaurant of a Rotterdam hotel, allegedly with members of another rival club. Shots were fired.

"These incidents portray an image of violence by and against the Hells Angels," the court said.

The banning of the club founded in the late 1940s in California, is the latest in attempts by Dutch authorities to shut down motorcycle clubs often involved in crimes such as drug and arms trafficking.

The same court in Utrecht in 2017 banned the Hells Angels' arch-rivals, the Bandidos, for similar reasons.

Judges also banned homegrown club Satudarah last year, saying it too "has been involved for many years in criminal activities including violence against other motorcycle clubs, manufacturing and trafficking in narcotics, the illegal possession of weapons and extortion."

SOURCE: DutchNews.nl

Firefighter fired because of Hells Angels membership

Amsterdam, Netherlands (May 23, 2019) BTN — An Amsterdam firefighter was fired for the first time because he is a member of a controversial motorcycle club, the Hells Angels. According to fire brigade commander Schaap, this is incompatible with a public function. The Hells Angels are not prohibited in the Netherlands, but there is a lawsuit against them.

Commander Schaap said last year that members of motorcycle clubs do not belong in a fire department. At that time it was not yet certain whether they could be expelled from the corps, such as with the police. "Membership of a motorcycle club does not mean that you cannot extinguish a fire," it was said. That is why he investigated what can be done about it.

Letter of resignation

Het Parool has the letter of resignation in which it says: "We find it undesirable that you are knowingly and unknowingly in environments with persons whom you can know that they are committing more or less structural crimes, advocating for it or publicly expressing it. " The board believes that employees should realize that they are part of the Amsterdam-Amstelland Fire Brigade 24 hours a day.

The dismissed man has been a member of the Hells Angels for around twenty years and has been working for more than 25 years with the fire department. He finds his dismissal unfair and therefore goes to court.

His lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops calls it very careless that the letter of resignation has been leaked to the press. The letter is sensitive to privacy and that is why the firefighter was surprised to see him partially in Het Parool this morning. In addition, Knoops finds the argumentation wrong. "The man has had an excellent track record all these years."

Strategy

The lawyer also finds the timing very remarkable. Next week's verdict in the lawsuit against the Hells Angels. "It seems like a strategy to put the Hells Angels in a bad light."

The Dutch Ministry of Defense announced yesterday that their declaration of conduct is being withdrawn because they have links with motorcycle clubs such as Satudarah or the Hells Angels. There is a good chance that this will lead to their dismissal.

SOURCE: NOS

Police on alert as Hells Angels come to town

Surrey, South East England (May 22, 2019) BTN — Up to 3,000 Hells Angels motorcycle club members  are expected in East Surrey for a three-day event culminating in a 700 motorcycle ride out to Brighton.

The ride out, which is the culmination of Hells Angels Motorcycle Club's (HAMC) ‘Euro Run’, is expected to cause major disruption in East Surrey and Sussex on Saturday June 1 while police have also warned motorists to expect a large number of bikers in the area for the duration of the event.

It is the first time the three-day event, between May 30 and June 1, has been held in the UK and is being done so to mark the 50th anniversary of the HAMC in the country.

Officers from Surrey Police and Sussex Police have had leave and rest days cancelled to cover the event, and others, in what is set to be an extremely busy week for police.


Assistant Chief Constable Nev Kemp, who is leading policing operations for both Surrey and Sussex during the period, said: “We are approaching an incredibly busy time with lots going on and thousands of visitors expected across both counties.

SOURCE: Surrey Live

Cafe shut down after fight between rival clubs

Plainville, Connecticut, USA (May 22, 2019) BTN — Central Café has been ordered to close indefinitely after police say a fight broke out between two motorcycle clubs, resulting in motorcyclists fleeing the scene in an unsafe manner.

Plainville Police Chief Matthew Catania reported that two similar incidents have occurred at the bar recently and stated that “it is not likely that we have seen the last of this type of behavior at this location,” according to a letter to restaurant permittee Shirley Papallo from Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull.

“Based upon the foregoing, DCP finds that public health, safety and welfare imperatively requires emergency action … and orders your café liquor permit suspended immediately and premises closed,” Seagull wrote in the letter. Papallo did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.

The incident Catania referred to occurred on May 16, 2019, when police responded to a fight at Central Café, 54 West Main St.

The letter says “Up to twenty motorcyclists were observed fleeing the premises at high rates of speed and driving over lawns, driving down the wrong side of the road, and driving around other vehicles in an unsafe manner, all while disobeying officers’ signals.”

Police noted that some of the individuals were seen wearing leather jackets and vests indicating membership in the two motorcycle clubs the “Diablos MC” and the “Outlaws MC.”

Inside the bar, one patron was found bleeding from a deep laceration on his head and a human bite on his arm. He refused to provide police with information beyond saying he was hanging out before being “jumped.” A second patron police believe to be an associate of the Outlaws MC was bleeding slightly from a head laceration and refused to cooperate with police.


The letter says an anonymous source told police that members of the Outlaws MC were on the outside patio when a “significant number of Diablos MC members” pulled into the parking lot and attacked the Outlaws.

All available officers were called to secure the building, where several Outlaws MC members remained, yelling obscenities at police. Upon more suspected Diablos arriving and watching police from the road, mutual aid from three surrounding towns was requested.

In an email Catania wrote to Town Manager Robert Lee, which is quoted in Seagull’s letter, he wrote, “It is common knowledge at this point that (Central Café manager Robert Papallo) has friends in the Outlaws motorcycle gang. His actual involvement with the gang has yet to be determined.”

SOURCE: WFSB News