DA: End of the road for local motorcycle club

Columbus, Georgia , USA (July 24, 2019) BTN — Lloyd Jefferson Harris, a member of the Iron Cross Motorcycle Club, was sentenced to 20 years to serve three after pleading guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and violation of the Georgia Street Gang and Terrorism Prevention Act.

According to Investigator Ryan Foles with the Coweta County DA’s office, the Iron Cross had been on the radar of law enforcement prior to an incident in 2016, which saw the group thrust into the spotlight.

Foles also stated "The sentencing of four local men associated with an outlaw motorcycle group has signaled the end of that group in Coweta County – and a victory for local law enforcement in their battle against gangs."

In November 2016, two teenage girls were chased along U.S. Hwy. 29 into Newnan by members of the Iron Cross and Knights of Solomon motorcycle clubs after a biker lost control of his bike and crashed.

Confiscated patches belonging to the Iron Cross Motorcycle Club

Club members blamed the driver of the car and began pursuing her. At one point during the chase, Harris pointed a firearm at the occupants and shot at least one round in their direction.

The chase ended after the bikers were intercepted by deputies near the intersection of Bullsboro Drive and Ga. Hwy. 154. A handgun was recovered at the scene.

After the chase, Harris was arrested and charged with discharging a weapon near a public highway, pointing a gun at another, and reckless conduct.

Three other members of the club were ultimately sentenced to probation.

Stephen Maxwell Kemp was given 12 months probation for aggressive driving, while Thomas Joseph Lewandowski and Ricky James Hartfree were both sentenced to six months’ probation. All four men were ordered to have no contact with the Iron Cross Motorcycle Club or any other motorcycle clubs.

District Attorney Herb Cranford Jr. said his office could not prove the other bikers involved in the incident knew Harris pulled a gun on the girls while chasing them, so the office only pursued felonies against the most culpable defendant.

“This case was about a group of bikers, all wearing their club patches, chasing down two teenage girls because the girls had disrespected the bikers on the road,” Cranford said. “The girls did not get in a wreck with any bikers, and there was no lawful reason to chase them.

“Nevertheless, we are satisfied that the defendant who pulled a gun and fired one round into the air was sentenced to prison following his non-negotiated guilty plea,” Cranford added.

Following the shooting, the investigation into the group escalated, resulting in the search of its clubhouse on East Jones Street in March 2017.

The house was allegedly being run and managed under the name of a deceased Iron Cross member and was serving as an illegal alcohol establishment for those in the biker culture.

Defunct Iron Cross MC Clubhouse in Columbus, Georgia 

Inside, investigators reportedly recovered two truckloads of evidence connecting the bike group to gang culture, hate groups and other “1-percenters” across the state and nationwide – including membership documents and oaths.

Foles said the search of the clubhouse was successful for many reasons, one of which included the discovery of over 50 Christmas cards sent from other 1-percenter clubs across the country – each card containing the names, pictures and addresses of its members.

Foles shared this – and other information collected from the clubhouse – during the summer conference of the Georgia Gang Investigators Association.

The Iron Cross case was significant, Foles said, because local law enforcement agencies are rarely successful at shutting down motorcycle clubs. It is a task typically handled by federal agencies.

Foles said the success was in part to the Security Threat Group Unit (STGU), which operates in the Coweta County Jail, where detention officers help identify gang members and collect evidence for prosecution.

“From the help of the 911 operator to the officer who made original arrests all the way to the detention officers collecting evidence for gang charges – the case was a success because of everyone working together,” Foles said. “They’re pioneers in what they’re doing and are continuing to make the program even better.”

Cranford said biker clubs who associate with the Outlaws, a widely known motorcycle club like the Hells Angels, should be scrutinized by law enforcement and should not be allowed to intimidate and threaten the citizens of Georgia.

“Those Outlaw affiliated biker clubs, like the Iron Cross, give a bad name to law-abiding motorcycle clubs and others who simply enjoy riding motorcycles,” Cranford said. “The sheriff's department should be commended for this investigation which appears to have had the result of removing this Outlaw-affiliated biker gang from our community."

SOURCE: The Newnan Times-Herald

Pagan's MC: Ruling could toss out evidence in case

Providence, R.I. (July 19, 2019) BTN —In what could be a major blow to a criminal case that targeted two motorcycle clubs, a judge ruled a mass of wiretapped phone conversations should be tossed from trial.

The decision came after defense attorneys successfully argued the wrong judge signed off on an extension of the order to authorize wiretaps in the case.

On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Netti Vogel ruled in favor of the defense, saying the wiretap extension was improperly signed off on and the evidence at the center of the case for many of the defendants could not be used at trial.

In May, state police, along with federal and local authorities, arrested 50 people in what authorities called the single largest take down in R.I. State Police history.

The raids were the result of a year-long investigation called Operation Patched Out, which focused on two motorcycle clubs – the Pagans and Kryptmen – operating in northwestern Rhode Island.

Related | Rhode Island grand jury indicts MC members and associates

Among those arrested was Deric “Tuna” McGuire, who police identified as the head of the Pagan's motorcycle club. McGuire was hit with 221 drug-related counts.

It’s unclear how much of the evidence could be affected. Kristy dosReis, a spokesperson for Attorney General Peter Neronha, did not answer that question, but said in an email, “We respect the court’s decision in this case and intend to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.”

At issue is who signs off on the paperwork that allows investigators to listen in on phone conversations. By law, the presiding justice of the Superior Court is authorized to do so. In this case, Presiding Justice Alice Gibney did OK the order on the original request, but was unavailable when detectives asked for an extension.


Legal experts say the next senior-most judge is then supposed to take the responsibility, but defense attorneys in the biker case say that didn’t happen.

Prosecutors argued Gibney assigned a different judge because there was a conflict of interest with the next jurist in line. But the argument didn’t resonate with Vogel, who issued her decision from the bench.

Veteran defense attorney Jack Cicilline represents McGuire and was one of the attorneys who spotted what they saw as a mistake in evidence gathering and filed the motion. His son, John M. Cicilline, represents Yevgeniy Mazo, of North Providence – known as “the Russian.” John Cicilline said he believes it will be a “significant amount” of the evidence that will have to be tossed from the case.

“This ruling could impact 20-something defendants,” said Cicilline.

Some defendants had already pleaded no contest in the case.

At the time of the arrests, the state police said several rival clubs were competing for turf in Rhode Island, “resulting in increasingly violent confrontations – including three shootings that were never reported to law enforcement.”

Because of the growing tensions, Lt. Col. Joseph Philbin said at the time the decision was made to execute the search and arrest warrants. Police said they obtained the warrants with evidence detailed in a 1,300-page affidavit, including thousands of phone conversations and text messages.

The Raids took place in several communities, including Woonsocket.

It is unclear when the state’s high court will take up the appeal.

SOURCE: WPRI 12

Another suspect arrested in Pagan's MC assault

Charleroi, Pennsylvania, USA (July 19, 2019) BTN -A 10th suspect has been arrested in a brutal assault by alleged members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club at a Charleroi social club in April.

Online court records indicate the suspect who solicited the assault, Brian A. Keruskin, 57, of Charleroi, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and sent to Washington County jail without bond.

Testimony at a preliminary hearing that morning for six other suspects in the case showed that Keruskin talked on the phone after the assault at the Slovak Club with the man who let the group of Pagan's into the bar at 700 McKean Ave.

“I told him it was really bad,” Zachary Yagnich, 26, a club officer testified about his conversation with Keruskin.

“I was scared,” he said.

Prosecutors have not revealed a motive in the April 18 assault of Troy Harris, who had left the Pagan's to join a rival group known as Sutars Soldiers.

Related | Pagan's MC members charged

Harris suffered severe trauma to his head, causing him to have a stroke and cognitive problems, his wife, Michele, testified Tuesday.

District Judge Larry Hopkins, who presided over Tuesday’s hearing, found sufficient evidence to hold the six suspects for trial, and he sent them all back to area jails without bond.

The suspects who were charged with attempted homicide and other offenses are: Corey Volk, 24, of West Newton; Paul Cochran, 54, of Charleroi; John Sadvary, 39, of Penn Hills; Matthew Vasquez, 30, of Monessen; Joshua Pagliei, 43, of Monongahela; and Jason Huff, 40, of Plum.

Washington County Judge John F. DiSalle has scheduled a bond reduction hearing for the suspects at noon today.

Yagnich also faces an attempted homicide charge, and he has waived his case to court. Vasquez’ fiancée at the time, Jamie Granato, is awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges including conspiracy.

Keruskin and another suspect who was arrested in the case this week, Joseph Olinsky, 45, whose address was not immediately known, are scheduled to appear for a preliminary heating at 10 a.m. Aug. 7 before Hopkins.

All of the cases remained sealed Wednesday.

Keruskin was sentenced in October 2002 to 27 months in a federal prison after pleading guilty to one felony count of assault with a dangerous weapon, online court records show.

He was among 73 Pagan's who carried out a surprise attack on a group of Hells Angels at a motorcycle and tattoo exposition in Long Island in February of that year. One member of the Pagan's died in the attack.

SOURCE: Observer-Reporter

Last suspect arrested in Hells Angels meth bust

Modesto, California, USA (July 19, 2019) BTN — Michael Pack, 32, a prospect with the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, has been arrested in connection with an alleged methamphetamine distribution ring.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said that Pack was subsequently arrested after federal agents failed to locate him during a June 25 sweep that netted club president Randy Picchi, 61; his wife, Tina Picchi, 51; and Michael Mize, 61. Pack, a Modesto resident, was arraigned in federal court in Fresno on Tuesday.

Related | Modesto Hells Angels President Arrested

Search Warrants Executed at Seven Locations

Officers executed search warrants at seven locations June 25 in Stanislaus County, including the Hells Angels clubhouse in Modesto.

Court documents allege that Randy Picchi led a drug conspiracy and directed his wife to regularly deliver drugs to Mize and others in Ceres. Randy Pichi also enlisted Pack to help obtain methamphetamine on at least one occasion. Pack was stopped by law enforcement officers and was found with 499 grams of meth on him.

In addition, the court documents allege that Randy Picchi directed Tina Picchi to drive from Modesto to Redding to deliver meth to a customer. On the way, Tina Picchi was stopped by law enforcement and found with approximately 4 ounces of meth, which she had wrapped in a plastic glove and hidden in a cup of soda.

Defendants Face 10-Year Minimum Sentences

This case involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force, the Modesto and Turlock police departments, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the California Highway Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Laurel Montoya are prosecuting the case. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine.

SOURCE: GV Wire