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Thursday, December 7, 2017

Hells Angels MC members arrested in Thailand

Pattaya, Thailand (December 7, 2017) — A huge police operation swooped on five locations in the Pattaya area and arrested eight Hells Angels members. They all face at least expulsion from Thailand and possibly a lot more after police claimed they were a threat to Thai society and discovered a cache of guns, knives and ammunition.

Two cars were also seized in the raids at housing estates across Bang Lamung and Nong Prue.

The operation was mounted by the tourist police headed by chief Surachet Hakpan who has been tasked by the Thai government to clear up the foreign trash masquerading as tourists.

Confiscated Hells Angels MC Patches 

Surachet's men were assisted by 191 special branch, drugs suppression officers and cops from the Pattaya and Nong Prue stations who all appeared at tourist police HQ yesterday to announce the news.

Three of the men arrested were Australians and one Canadian. The nationalities of the other four were not reported yet.

Police recovered 9mm guns, BB guns, a host of knives and ammunition. An Audi sports car and a Ford G-T were also seized - the cars and all the individuals will be DNA tested to prove their link to crime.

Confiscated items from Hells Angels MC 

Police say the arrests are over money laundering, extortion and human trafficking. Penalties if those offences are proven could be severe.

But so far the eight individuals have had their permission to be in Thailand revoked with their visas removed.

The operation was given the title in Thai of "Clipping the Wings of the Angels".

SOURCE: Daily News

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Bandidos MC Members arrested over alleged drug supply

Albury, Australia (December 6, 2017) — TWO members of the Bandidos MC have been charged with drug supply offences in Albury as part of Strike Force Stoutland.

Police from the southern NSW city will allege the strike force unveiled a significant drug network run by Motorcycle clubs.

Local police today arrested a 34-year-old Bandidos member and charged him with a range of drug-related offences including five counts of supplying a prohibited drug, two counts of offering to supply a prohibited drug, two counts of fraud and participating in a criminal group.

Members of the Bandidos MC on a motorcycle run

Detectives also arrested a 66-year-old man, who is now facing charges of participating in a criminal group and multiple drug-supply charges.

A 26-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with offences relating to drug supply, proceeds of crime, using false documents and participating in a criminal group.

Across the Victorian border, a 26-year-old member of the Bandidos was also arrested.
He was extradited to Albury, where he faces a raft of charges including dishonestly obtain financial advantage, using false documents and participating in a criminal group.

The four faced court today, with police expecting to make further arrests.


Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Hells Angels MC verdict reached

Rockford, Illinois (December 5, 2017) — Three members of the Hells Angels MC are found not guilty of battery and robbery charges.

Christopher Lawson, John Savalick and Richard Todd were in court Monday morning for their bench trial for the beating and stabbing of then-president Josh Johnson.

Hells Angels MC Patch

"The defendants and attorneys are very grateful to Judge McGraw for being such a thoughtful jurist that he paid close attention to all the evidence, that he considered all of the evidence," says Attorney for John Savalik and Richard Todd John Palmer.

All three men were found not guilty of four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of armed robbery.

"Josh Johnson clearly was the aggressor in this situation," says Attorney for Christopher Lawson David J. Brown.

"Legally, if someone is attacking you, you have rights to defend yourself. And that's exactly what happened in 2013 with these guys. They defended themselves against a much, much larger, violent person says Palmer.

Investigators say Johnson was stabbed and beaten at the Hells Angels clubhouse at 1109 Rock Street back in June of 2013.


SOURCE: 23WIFR

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Kingsmen MC clubhouse showdown explained in bail hearing

Buffalo, NY (December 2, 2017) — Andre Jenkins was eager to distance himself from his murder of two fellow Kingsmen MC members in North Tonawanda, NY on a late summer day in 2014, when he hopped on his motorcycle and returned to the clubhouse in Tennessee, according to prosecutors.

But what greeted Jenkins was far from a welcome home party.

Inside, the Kingsmen also known as Little Bear discovered a scene right out of "Sons of Anarchy": a room covered in plastic and several Kingsmen Motorcycle Club members pointing guns at his head, prosecutors say.

Kingsman MC Patch

Jenkins pleaded for his life.

"He kept saying, 'Call Pirk, call Pirk, call Pirk," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said during a court appearance last week.

The call was made, Tripi said, and Kingsmen President David Pirk, the man accused of orchestrating the double murder in North Tonawanda, ordered the Tennessee chapter members to back off.

"Pirk gave the stand-down word, and they let Jenkins go," Tripi told U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer.

Pirk's intervention on behalf of the man who eventually went to prison for killing Daniel “DJ” Szymanski and Paul Maue is proof that he planned and directed the murders, prosecutors allege.

Jenkins, who is also charged in the federal case, is serving life without parole.

The story of Jenkins' confrontation in Tennessee, revealed during a recent court appearance, is the latest development in a federal prosecution that cast a spotlight on the local and national biker scene.

At the core of the case is the allegation that the Kingsmen went from a small motorcycle club, founded in Lockport 60 years ago, to a violent outlaw gang.

Prosecutors say Pirk was the driving force, not only behind the murders, but behind the club's transition to a “one-percenters” club.

With Pirk's trial only six weeks away, it's clear the government's chief target is the 66-year-old North Tonawanda native with the distinctive long white hair and beard.

Obviously, his defense doesn't buy the federal prosecutors' theory.

"The government argues that because he ordered the Tennessee chapter to stand down, he's guilty of a crime," said William T. Easton, one of Pirk's defense lawyers. "It seems they got it backward."

Two years in the making, the trial before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford is the culmination of a case that rocked the local biker community.

Before the indictment early last year, the Kingsmen patch — a gold knight’s helmet and red feather — was a common sight in Western New York. Yes, there were other biker clubs here, but none as large or with roots as deep in the community as the one with the motto, “Live Kingsmen, Die Kingsmen.”

Pirk, a Florida resident, and 15 other Kingsmen were charged in the original grand jury indictment. Five of those defendants took plea deals, and some may testify against Pirk and the other Kingsmen on trial.

From the start, there were questions as to whether any Kingsmen would turn against the club, but the defendants who took plea deals acknowledged the club was a criminal organization that sold drugs and guns, and followed a strict chain of command with Pirk at the top of the hierarchy.

The two killings stemmed from a split in the Kingsmen between club members in Western New York who didn’t want to be one-percenters and the guys in Florida who did, according to the FBI.

Investigators say the murders were also a warning to Kingsmen thinking of leaving the gang for a rival club, the Niagara County-based Nickel City Nomads.

At every step in the prosecution, Pirk's lawyers — Easton and Cheryl Meyers Buth — have argued that he had nothing to do with the murders. He also pleaded not guilty to the other charges against him.

In custody since his arrest in March of last year, Pirk continues to be the subject of widespread media attention, and often the news accounts of his criminal prosecution come with a copy of his mug shot.

Easton and Meyers Buth have pointed to the pre-trial publicity in an effort to move Pirk's trial to Rochester.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, continue to argue that Pirk was instrumental in planning and carrying out the killings, and that Jenkins acted on his orders.

Kingsman MC Clubhouse

It was during a bail hearing early last week that prosecutor Tripi revealed the story about Jenkins' near-fatal confrontation in Tennessee and Pirk's alleged role in protecting him.

"It sounds a little too dramatic," said Michael S. Deal, one of Jenkins' lawyers, of the plastic on the floor and drawn guns. "But regardless, it doesn't implicate my client in any way."

Tripi said the Tennessee chapter knew Jenkins had been in Buffalo but didn't know about Pirk's involvement in the murders.

He also said Jimmy Ray Fritts, the Kingsmen who was seeking bail last week, was one of the Kingmen pointing a gun at Jenkins' head that day in 2014.

"They put him in a clubhouse, put a gun to his head and said they were going to kill him," Tripi said of Jenkins.

At that point, according to the government, Jenkins pleaded with his fellow Kingsmen to call Pirk, and that's when Pirk gave the order to stand down.

Tripi said phone records will verify the calls and that a government witness is prepared to testify about what happened inside the Tennessee clubhouse that day.

Fritts' defense lawyer says the 67-year-old Kingsmen knew nothing about the murders and is not implicated in any of the other violent acts outlined in the indictment.

"Mr. Fritts, who admits he was part of this organization, is being held accountable for the conduct of other people," said defense attorney Daniel M. Griebel.

Fritts was ordered released but restricted to home detention with an ankle bracelet.

With roots dating back to the 1950s, the Kingsmen grew over the years and, until recently, operated a dozen clubhouses throughout the region, including rural areas such as Attica, Arcade and Gowanda. They also have a presence in Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors say the clubhouses served as a venue for membership gatherings, also known as "church" meetings, but also doubled as a place to store drugs and weapons.