Victim's mother reacts to murder conviction

Edwardsville, Georgia, USA (April 12, 2019) BTN – Former Alton resident Brandon Chittum may spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, but the victim’s mother has an additional punishment in mind.

“He will burn in hell,” said Elizabeth Kovach, the murder of victim Courtney Coats after the hearing. “It’s been a very long time, too long; I’m so happy he was convicted on all three counts.”

Chittum, 35, a former member of the Alton Outlaws motorcycle club, was found guilty Monday of dismembering a human body and concealment of a homicidal death, in addition to the murder charge. State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons said his office, including assistant state’s attorneys Crystal Uhe and Lauren Heischmidt have been fighting for the victim and her family.

Related | Grisly allegations open Chittum trial 

“After five long years fighting to get this case to trial, it is a great relief to know the remaining half of this murderous duo has finally been held fully accountable for this most gruesome crimes against this innocent young woman. This case is a most terrible example of the real-life destruction caused by an alcohol and methamphetamine-fueled life of violence.

He was charged after the Nov. 23, 2013, murder of Coats.

Her boyfriend, Patrick Chase, then violently choked her to unconsciousness, then slit her throat. Chase and Chittum, on a 12-hour bender of liquor and methamphetamine, then dismembered her remains, put them in trash bags and dumped the bags in the Illinois River near Hardin. The bags were found along the store in Greene County.

Chittum, who was charged on Dec. 20, 2013, finally faced trial after five years’ delay caused by an appeal, multiple defense continuances and changing of defense attorneys.

Police investigated the case for 27 days as a missing person. Chase eventually confessed and lead authorities to the spot at which the body was found.

In prison, Chase radically changed his appearance and testified in Court that Chittum was sleeping the entire time he, Chase, was choking, cutting and dismembering the victim.

Assistant State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe argued it is unlikely a man could sleep through such a horrific event. She also noted that Chase’s room mate, Brian Northcutt, was advised to leave the apartment, then returned to find Chittum awake, not wearing a shirt. The water was running in the bathroom, and Chittum told Northcutt to leave again.

“There are things going on here you don’t need to know about,” Chittum said, according to Northcutt’s testimony.

During his testimony, Chase was asked why Thursday was the first time he mentioned to Uhe that Chittum was not involved in the killing. “It slipped my mind,” Chase said.He admitted Chittum drove the body to the Joe Page Bridge, where it was dumped.

He claimed he liked when he detailed in a police interview the way Chittum “coached” him through the death process. Defense attorney Evelyn Lewis suggested the jury may find her client of concealment, which carries a much lighter sentence that murder or dismembering a human body.

She said the idea that the member wanted to “put her out of her misery” amounts to a “mercy killing,” which she termed “a crazy story.”

“Courtney’s death took a terrible toll on so many people around her and, indeed, on our entire community,” Gibbons said Monday in a press release. “I pray this verdict will grant some peace to everyone who knew and loved her and to the Citizens of Madison County.


We can all sleep much safer knowing he will never walk the streets of our community again.”

The murder charge carries a sentenced of between 20 and 60 years in prison. The dismembering charge carries a sentence of between six and 30 years in prison. He has a previous conviction for felony aggravated domestic battery and a misdemeanor conviction for battery and domestic battery.

SOURCE: The Neighbor

Hells Angels Motorcycle Club headed to Clemson

Clemson, South Carolina – (April 12, 2019) BTN – The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is headed to Clemson. According to Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon, around 750 members of the club will descend upon Tigertown as part of their annual summer rally.

Dixon said the Hells Angels were initially planning a visit back in 2017 but ultimately chose another city. Last November, he said he was contacted by the group about their upcoming summer plans. “They gave me an 11-month heads-up to start preparing for their being in Clemson” Dixon said. “These guys are not dumb. They know their reputation.”

Dixon stressed that his department has been in communication with other police and sheriff’s offices that have also had the group visit their towns and cities. He believes it’s in their best interest to work with the bikers, not against them.

“The last time I checked, this is America, and also the last time I checked we don’t have gates at each end and entrance to our city where our officers raise them up and let you come in and go,” Dixon said.

However, the U.S Deptartment of Justice says otherwise. According to its website, the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is listed as an “outlaw motorcycle gang” and is involved in drugs and criminal activity.

The primary concern people in downtown Clemson had about the bikers coming to Tigertown dealt with parking. “Parking is a major problem in Clemson all the time, so this would definitely present a problem,” said downtown store worker Connie McKee. “I’m an open-minded person, and so I think everybody deserves a chance to come in and let us see. Let us experience what they’re like, and maybe we won’t want them to come back, maybe we would.”

WYFF News 4 conducted a Facebook poll to gauge community opinion on the matter. At the time this article was written, 2,500 people voted “let them come” while 380 voted “stay away.”

SOURCE: WYFF News 4

Cornwall police signs target motorcycle clubs

Cornwall, Ontario – (April 12, 2019) BTN – The Cornwall Police Service (CPS) is striving to reduce the presence of motorcycle clubs locally by launching a “No Gang Colours, No Gang Clothing” program.

“As Cornwall experiences an increased presence of outlaw motorcycle gangs, it is important to send a clear message that the city is not ‘open for business’ to the activities of any criminal enterprises…(this) is a partnership between the police and participating businesses in an effort to stop outlaw motorcycle gangs from intimidating other patrons, and preventing future crimes from occurring on their property,” read a statement in a CPS press release.

The CPS will supply signs to interested local businesses, which clearly state the “No Gang Colour, No Gang Clothing” policy is being enforced through the Trespass to Property Act. The CPS will have authority to enforce the Act for patrons violating the dress code by wearing gang colors or clothing where a sign is posted, in effort of fostering safer and more secure local environments.

“Drug trafficking, fraud, human trafficking, and contraband smuggling are all known to be criminal activities conducted by outlaw gangs, and we want to help our local business community ensure these activities are not occurring on their premises,” explained Det. S/Sgt. Robert Archambault, Criminal Investigations Division.

The CPS will work with participating businesses to help differentiate between outlaw motorcycle gang colours and law-abiding motorcycle clubs. Outlaw gangs often wear patches and pins that denote club status.

In March, the Ontario government announced an investment of $16.4 million over two years towards a Gun and Gang Support Unit, which will enhance major investigations and prosecutions, as well as province-wide intelligence gathering. The province also established a Gun and Gang Specialized Investigations Fund to support joint forces operations.

“In communities across Ontario and here in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, our government is sending a clear signal that we support the work of the Cornwall Police Service and SDG OPP and community partners to fight back against gun crime and gangs that prey on our young people and put everyone’s safety at risk, ” said MPP Jim McDonell in a press release. “When we help protect at-risk young people, we create safer and stronger communities.”

“In June of 2018, the CPS assisted the Toronto Police Service Gun and Gang Task Force in a gun smuggling investigation, resulting in the seizure of 60 prohibited handguns,” said Stephanie MacRae, CPS Communications Coordinator. “The CPS will continue to work with all partnering agencies in order to assist in preventing these types of weapons from entering our community, in addition to countering organized crime and gang activity in the City of Cornwall.”

The government also announced that it will work with communities to establish justice centres across the province that move justice out of a traditional courtroom and into a community setting.

SOURCE: Seaway News

Gypsy Joker MC murder trial continues

Portland, OR (April 12, 2019) BTN – The star government witness in the torture-style killing of a former Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club member is the man who wielded the fatal blow with a baseball bat strike to the head, a defense lawyer said in court Thursday.

The prosecution’s case largely rests on the words of the actual murderer, Tiler Evan Pribbernow, who has cooperated with the government, said attorney Matthew Schindler, who represents one of the co-defendants in the case.

Schindler called it “outrageous” that prosecutors would allow Pribbernow to plead guilty to only racketeering to leverage his testimony against others. The deal allows Pribbernow to avoid accountability for the killing and save his own life by avoiding a potential death sentence, the lawyer said.

Related | Gypsy Joker MC national president released
Related | Gypsy Joker MC members face charges

“Tiler Pribbernow did it because he’s a lunatic. That’s why,” Schindler said. “We’ve seen one witness statement, and that statement is the statement of the murderer. … He killed this guy.”

Racketeering, kidnapping and murder charges are pending against five others in the 2015 death of Robert “Bagger” Huggins, 56. Loggers found his battered body dumped in a Clark County field. He had a fractured skull, a broken rib, a broken leg, a removed nipple, nails driven through his boots, slash wounds to his back and face and many blows to his face, authorities said.

Schindler was arguing for the pretrial release of his client, Ryan Anthony Negrinelli, now 36. At the time of the killing, Negrinelli was a “prospect’’ to join the club. After the killing, he became a full member who went by the nickname “Striker” before splitting from the club in mid-2018, a prosecutor said.

Schindler said the government has no physical evidence placing Negrinelli at the scene. Negrinelli has no prior criminal record, he said. The lawyer also pointed to Negrinelli’s full custody of his 14-year-old daughter and ties to the community. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones ordered Negrinelli to remain in custody, citing the gravity of the alleged offense. But the judge said he wasn’t willing to let the defendants languish in county jail indefinitely while waiting for “some bureaucrat’’ at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., to “make up their mind” and decide whether to pursue the death penalty in the case.

He said he was told it could take up to a year for the decision, and that’s not acceptable. Schindler also urged the judge to discount Negrinelli’s statement to two Portland detectives after his arrest, saying it should be suppressed because the detectives failed to acknowledge Negrinelli’s repeated requests for a lawyer, placed him in a holding cell for eight hours without food and then plied him with leading information about the attack. Negrinelli also told the detectives he suffered from a childhood brain injury that impairs his memory.

The judge said he’d rule on a motion to suppress any statements at a later date.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Bolstad said Negrinelli was involved in a “premeditated, planned hunt of someone who angered the group he was part of.” According to Pribbernow, Portland’s Gypsy Jokers president Mark Leroy Dencklau ordered the attack on Huggins and others helped. The June 30, 2015, kidnapping and subsequent killing was in retaliation for Huggins’ burglary and robbery at Dencklau’s Woodburn home earlier that month, the government alleges. Dencklau is also charged in the killing.


Huggins had targeted Dencklau’s home after getting kicked out of the club for stealing and breaking club rules, Bolstad said. Dencklau’s then-girlfriend was tied up and Huggins stole some of Dencklau’s property, including guns, the prosecutor said.

While Pribbernow is a key witness and has implicated co-defendants, he’s not the only witness, Bolstad said. Information Pribbernow shared with investigators has been corroborated, including use of a Chevy Tahoe by some of the defendants to carry Huggins’ body and dump him in Ridgefield, Wash., she said. DNA from blood found under carpet in the trunk of the Tahoe matched that of Huggins, she said.

According to Bolstad, Negrinelli helped grabbed Huggins in the driveway of a Portland home and put him into an SUV, where he and four others beat him and drove him to a shed in Woodlawn, Wash. Negrinelli helped place Huggins in the shed, where the defendants continued to torture Huggins, according to Bolstad. In his own words, Negrinelli told Portland detectives after his arrest that he “blasted,’’ or punched, Huggins a few times, Bolstad said.

Negrinelli also used water-boarding on Huggins, placing a scarf over his mouth and pouring water into it, triggering a choking response, Bolstad said. He also helped apply burning hot wire to Huggins’ body, she said. While others dumped Huggins’ body, Negrinelli and two co-defendants drove away in another car to discard weapons, throwing baseball bats into brush off the side of a road, Bolstad said.

Kenneth Earl Hause, the national president of the Gypsy Jokers Outlaw Motorcycle Club, is the only one of the defendants who has was released from jail this year to home detention with electric monitoring as he awaits trial. Hause’s circumstances are different, Bolstad argued, because Hause is charged only in the alleged racketeering conspiracy and not with murder.

SOURCE: Oregon Live