Hells Angels MC members charged after attack

Lisbon, Portugal (July 11, 2019) BTN - Portuguese prosecutors charged 89 members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club with involvement in organized crime, attempted murder, robbery and drug trafficking. The club members were also charged with qualified extortion and possession of illegal weapons and ammunition.

"According to the indictment, the accused belong to Hells Angels Motorcycle Club," said the chief prosecutor's statement.

Dozens of the group's Portuguese and members from other countries have been arrested following a long investigation.

Out of the 89 members charged by Portugal, 37 are in pre-trial detention, five are under house arrest, and two are detained in Germany awaiting extradition to Portugal, the prosecutors said.

Related | Hells Angels MC members arrested

Prosecutors allege that the motorcycle club members tried to kill four people and seriously injured others last year at a restaurant on the outskirts of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. The restaurant was destroyed in the Hells Angels attack.

At the time of the restaurant attack, the Hell Angels was involved in a war for control of illicit guns and drug trade, according to authorities.

SOURCE: WSAV

Cops in Pagan's bar fight keep their jobs

Pittsburgh, PA (July 9, 2019) BTN — Four Pittsburgh police detectives who fought with members of the Pagan's motorcycle club on the South Side in October will remain on the police force, the city announced Tuesday.

Detectives David Honick, Brian Burgunder, David Lincoln and Brian Martin will, however, be reassigned to new positions within the bureau.

The Biker Trash Network as been covering this story from the start. 

Timeline stories below

Related | Undercover cops not charged in Pagan's beating
Related | Undercover cops drinks bought by city

Related | All 4 cops on paid leave after bar fight

Related | Pagans MC: Another member sues city officials
Related | Pagan MC member files lawsuit against City and Police

Related | FBI investigating Pagans MC bar fight

Related | Charges dropped against Pagans MC members in barfight

Related | District Attorney: Police not submitting evidenceagainst Pagans MC in bar fight

Related | Pittsburgh Mayor defends drunken cops who startedfight with Pagans MC members

Related | Pagans MC: Bar owner says cops would not leave MC membersalone

Related | Pagans MC: District attorney waits on criticalinfo from cops

Related | Pagans MC: Attorneys say new video shows copsstarted bar fight

Related | Pagans MC: The cops were drunk and started the fight

The move comes nearly nine months after the fight at Kopy’s Bar on South 12th Street, which brought heavy scrutiny to the police bureau’s narcotics and vice unit, prompted a lawsuit against the city and resulted in new internal police guidelines for undercover drinking by officers while on duty.

Police on Tuesday refused to say to where the detectives would be assigned or whether they will be working as patrol officers or as detectives in their new roles. Spokesmen for police Chief Scott Schubert, Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich and Mayor Bill Peduto said the officials declined to comment Tuesday.

Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the city’s Citizen Police Review Board, said she was stunned and disappointed by the decision to keep the detectives on the force.

“It’s unconscionable that they weren’t criminally charged in the first place,” she said. “And administratively, it’s shameful that they were not terminated for their behavior that night. It just is not the professionalism or the demeanor the Bureau says they aspire to.”

The Allegheny County district attorney’s office decided in February not to pursue criminal charges against the police officers, and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to prosecute federally.

The detectives had apparently been drinking at the bar for several hours before they fought with four members of the Pagan's motorcycle club on Oct. 12.

At one point during the brawl, one officer pinned a motorcycle club member against the bar while a detective punched him 19 times in the face.


The fight ended with the arrival of uniformed police officers. One sergeant deployed pepper spray into the faces of two detectives. The four Pagans members were arrested and charged with felonies; all those charges were later withdrawn. They have since sued the city, alleging excessive force.

The undercover detectives were placed on paid leave during the subsequent investigation into the incident, which revealed several other instances in which undercover police officers drank alcohol during operations. The city has assigned a new commander to the narcotics and vice unit.

Detectives Honick, Lincoln and Burgunder did not return requests for comment Tuesday. Detective Martin declined to comment.

Ms. Pittinger said the city’s decision to keep the four undercover detectives on the force erodes the public’s trust in the police bureau because they’ll continue to operate as police officers.

“They are not the finest we have,” she said. “It’s disgusting. It was an example of sadistic force. In the civilian world we would call it an assault.”

The Citizen Police Review Board has opened an inquiry into the policies and procedures that guide undercover operations, Ms. Pittinger said. She hopes the public process will shed some light on the city’s policies at the time of the incident as well as any revisions officials have made.

Pittsburgh police have refused to say whether undercover officers are allowed to drink on the job or to what extent. The police bureau’s public policy on alcohol and drug use prohibits all police members from being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while on duty.

Police said last month that the bureau established new “guidelines” for undercover alcohol use, but refused to make those guidelines public. The guidelines have not been formalized into actual policies or procedures.

SOURCE: CBS Pittsburgh 

Hells Angels MC member pleads guilty

Ontario, Canada (July 4, 2019) BTN — Mark David Heickert, 50, of Orillia pleaded guilty last week in Dartmouth provincial court to three charges: conspiracy to traffic cocaine, conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime and breaching his release conditions by having contact with members of the Hells Angels MC or affiliated clubs.

Heickert and an Eastern Shore man – Paul Francis Monahan of Ostrea Lake - were arrested in November 2017 following a nine-month police investigation that included undercover officers.

RCMP executed search warrants at homes in Ostrea Lake and Orillia and at the Hells Angels clubhouse in Musquodoboit Harbour.

Officers allegedly seized two kilograms of cocaine, a sawed-off shotgun, a large quantity of cash, motorcycle club paraphernalia, cellphones and electronics from the homes and a small quantity of hashish and marijuana, pills, gang paraphernalia, cellphones, electronics and cash from the clubhouse.

Ontario Hells Angels member Mark David Heickert is wheeled out of Dartmouth provincial court in November 2017 after his arraignment on drug conspiracy charges.

Police said Monahan is a “hang-around” member of the New Brunswick Nomads Hells Angels chapter and Heickert is a full-patch member of the Hells Angels chapter in Oshawa, Ont.

Monahan, 53, pleaded guilty this April to trafficking marijuana, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime.

According to court documents, Monahan committed the trafficking offence between February and July 2017. The conspiracy offences occurred between March and November of that year.

Heickert breached his release conditions this March while he was in Dartmouth for a court appearance.

The men will return to court in August for a sentencing hearing.

Crown attorney Mike Taylor said lawyers might have a joint recommendation for Monahan, but Heickert’s sentencing will be contested.

Heickert is free on $10,000 cash bail, while Monahan posted $7,000 with the court to secure his release.

SOURCE: The Chronicle Herald

Apache MC allegedly has colors pulled

Charleston, West Virginia, USA (July 2, 2019) BTN — Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Apache Motorcycle Club near St. Albans Saturday. The call was for a disturbance.

When investigators arrived, they found club members "bloody and beaten." The Apache club members said they were robbed by members of two other clubs: the Pagans and the Demons.

According to the criminal complaints, witnesses told deputies that rival club members "entered the Apache Club uninvited and after some communication between club presidents, a physical altercation ensued."

The complaint continues, "The victims were physically beat up, held down, and held at gunpoint in order to be removed of their 'cuts' or motorcycle club patches or insignia."

The suspects allegedly stole guns, knives, and clothing from the victims. Investigators say they were taken by force or threat.


Deputies investigated and ended up arrested eight people on felony charges. According to the criminal complaints, these eight suspects are accused of taking part in the robbery or being present for it.

The following four suspects are charged with armed robbery: James Grim, 37, of Poca, Rhonda Brisendine, 47, of Elkview, Roger Lee Prater, II, 33, of Delbarton, and Gary Steven McDaniels, 34, of Stollings.

The following four suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery: James Overby, Jr, 47, of Lorado, Christopher Scragg, 45, of Charleston, Douglas Bailey, 51, of Charleston, and Linda Paetz, 51, of Temperance, Michigan.

Only five mugshots were available Monday morning. Brisendine, Prater II, McDaniels, Overby, and Paetz are in the South Central Regional Jail.

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