Hell's Angels biker gangs shut down in Frankfurt

 Displaying the Hell's Angels badges is now an offenseHell's Angels motorbike gangs have been outlawed from the German city of Frankfurt. State authorities banned the bikers after accusing of them of criminal activity and seizing control of the streets.  State authorities have banned the Hell's Angels motorbike gangs in Frankfurt, on the grounds that they were engaged in criminal activity.Boris Rhein, interior minister for the...

Authorities say they have arrested a former Hells Angels leader at a park in Honolulu.

 FBI agents and Honolulu police took Stephen Sanders, former head of the San Diego Hells Angels, into custody without incident in Ala Moana Park on Thursday, Agent Tom Simon said. The 42-year-old Sanders was wanted in California in connection with a 2007 robbery and kidnapping. The Hawaii arrest comes the same day that more than two dozen members of the Hells Angels and their associates were apprehended in a series of San Diego County raids. FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth told the San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/rmikpu ) that the...

Hells Angel slaying suspect arrested in San Fran

 University of California, San Francisco police have arrested the suspect in the slaying of the president of a Hells Angels chapter at a Nevada casino. UCSF Assistant Police Chief Paul Berlin says 53-year-old Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez was taken into custody after he was spotted by an officer just a block from campus police headquarters around 8:20 p.m. Thursday. Gonzalez was apparently in a parked 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. He is being held pending the arrival of police from Sparks, Nev., where he is accused of killing Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew...

Prosecutors demand tough sentences in Hell's Angels drug case

 Prosecutors are demanding long prison sentences for those suspected of involvement in an international drug smuggling case. The proceedings got underway on Thursday at the Helsinki District Court. Nine defendants, all of whom belong to the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang face a variety of charges. Eight are accused of aggravated narcotic offences. Other offences include drug offences, money laundering, and the importation of illegal goods and firearms offences. One of the accused is a member of the Rogues Gallery group while two others belong...

Police say they have dismantled one branch of the Hells Angels bike gang in eastern Ontario after a series of raids.

 In a news conference Thursday morning, Ottawa police, Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP announced they had worked together in a yearlong investigation called "Project Finale."Police towed away this Hells Angels motorcycle from a clubhouse Wednesday after a raid also found drugs, weapons and Hells Angels paraphernalia. Ottawa policeThe culmination of that work ended up in all three tactical units executing 16 search warrants, including...

Family and friends mourn local Hells Angel president

 Police are preparing for hundreds, perhaps thousands of bikers expected to ride into Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose sometime next month to honor the memory of Jeff "Jethro" Pettigrew, the president of the city's Hells Angels chapter who was shot to death in a gun battle at a Sparks casino. There will be Henchmen, East Side Riders Car Club, Devil Dolls, Top Hatters and more. Alongside them, also paying their respects, will be members of the South Yard Heavy Equipment Crew. That is not a motorcycle club. It is the San Jose Department of...

Long History Of Violent Rivalry Led To Biker Shootings

 One person died, two were wounded when rival biker gangs, in town for the Street Vibrations motorcycle meet, traded shots on a casino floor. . According to law enforcement agencies, the shootings at John Ascuaga's Nugget shortly before midnight Friday and a possible retaliatory driveby shooting that followed were only the latest clashes in a long standing feud between two outlaw motorcycle gangs. The Department of Justice which says both the Hells Angels and the Vagos outlaw motorcycle clubs have been involved in drug distribution and a...

State of emergency lifted in Sparks

 The city of Sparks ended its state of emergency at 5 p.m. today that was declared in the city on Saturday due to the potential of further violence stemming from shootings between rival motorcycle clubs Friday night.. No further violence has occurred from these incidents. "We will not allow, nor will we tolerate violent behavior by any groups or individuals in the City of Sparks." said Sparks Mayor R. Geno Martini. "The special event held in Sparks was intended for motorcycle enthusiasts and attracts thousands of people annually, including...

Eight Coloradans among alleged outlaw bikers indicted on gun and drug charges.

 Eight alleged outlaw bikers from Colorado are among the nearly 40 members of the Bandidos motorcycle gang indicted this week on gun and drug charges. Six alleged members were identified Tuesday, including Keith P. Allison, 39, arrested in Golden; Ronald C. Tenorio, 42, and Edward R. Goll, 42, both arrested in Denver; and Adam C. Chavez, 29, arrested in Thornton. Tommy Freyta, 49, was arrested in Rio Grande County. Joseph P. Windsor, 42, was already in jail. Two others, who were not named, were still at lar...

Attorney for alleged Hells Angels member seeks personnel records of sheriff, sergeant

 attorney for a Sonoma County man charged in connection with a June fight between rival motorcycle gang members is seeking access to the personnel records of Lake County's sheriff and other agency staffers, alleging political motivations in the case's handling. Oakland attorney Michael Clough filed the Pitchess motion for the personnel records of Sheriff Frank Rivero and Sgt. John Gregore, lead investigator in the case, on Sept. 12. Clough represents 33-year-old Nicolas Carrillo of Santa Rosa, arrested in August for a June 4 fight at Konocti...

Shootout erupted without warning

 While Sparks police continued their investigation into Friday's fatal shooting between rival motorcycle gangs inside John Ascuaga's Nugget, Washoe County's counterterrorism unit said it had no intelligence indicating a shootout was about to take place that night. Killed in Friday's incident was Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, 51, president of the San Jose, Calif., chapter of the Hells Angels and a heavy equipment operator for the city of San Jose. Two members of the Vagos, Leonard Ramirez, 45, and Diego Garcia, 28, were wounded in the gunfire...

Massive Phoenix drug sweep targets gangs, crack cocaine

 Phoenix police Officer Mercedes Fortune wanted to crack the "Rock Block," a south Phoenix area police say is ridden by rampant narcotics sales, home invasions and murders. Fortune got her wish as a lead investigator in a two-year probe that resulted in more than 40 arrests Tuesday of suspected gang members who had directed crack or "rock" cocaine sales in the South Mountain Village area. More than 300 officers from 10-plus agencies fanned out at 4 a.m. Tuesday to make arrests and seize drugs. A total of 71 indictments were made in the case....

40 biker gang members, associates arrested

 40 members and associates of the Bandido Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been arrested on a variety of federal drug and weapons charges. A Justice Department statement issued Tuesday says that 28 of those arrested were charged in Dallas with conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. One also was charged with possessing a machine gun. All were arrested Monday and Tuesday in the Dallas area but one, who was arrested Tuesday in San Francisco. Eight others were charged in Denver with conspiracy and possessing...

Hells Angels' president killed in Sparks shooting

 Police confirm the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hell's Angels, Jeffrey Pettigrew died while two Vagos club members are being treated for their injuries. Sparks Police say a group of members from the Hell's Angels and Vagos motorcycle clubs got into a fight near the Trader Dick's bar late Friday night. Police have made no arrests for the murder or shootings of the other victi...

Gang violence at Sparks Nugget Hotel results in shooting of Sacramento biker

 More details are becoming available in shooting death in Sparks, Nevada involving the Hells Angels and a rival motorcycle gang. The shooting late Friday night at the John Asguaga's Nugget Hotel resulted in the death of a Hells Angel leader from San Jose and injuries to 2 rival Vagos gang members. The gang members were among thousands of attendees at the annual Sparks "street vibrations" event. Concern about retaliation led local and state officials to declare a to a state of emergency, which was eventually lifted around 5...

Hells Angels chapter president died in a casino shootout with a rival biker gang.

 The city of Sparks, Nev., declared a state of emergency Saturday after a Hells Angels chapter president died in a casino shootout with a rival biker gang. Mayor Geno Martini also canceled the Street Vibrations biker festival that was under way in the city, which is located adjacent to Reno where an annual air show was canceled when a plane crashed into the grandstand earlier this month. The announcement came after the man killed in the Friday night shooting at John Ascuaga's Nugget casino was identified as Jeffrey Pettigrew, president of...

David Glasser would-be witness against a Hells Angel with a violent reputation had turned into a nervous wreck

 Friends say he lived in fear. In the months before his murder, those closest to David Glasser say the would-be witness against a Hells Angel with a violent reputation had turned into a nervous wreck. "He was getting really scattered and frantic the past couple of weeks. He couldn't even sit down -- he'd pace. You could see the fear written across his face," said Rick Reynolds, Glasser's longtime friend. "He was openly, admittedly terrified." Friends and acquaintances of Glasser's say prosecutors ignored his pleas for protection as a witness,...

Hell's Angels motorcycle club member facing charges in deadly casino brawl

 member of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club was facing charges including assault with a deadly weapon Sunday after a brawl between club members devolved into a gunfight that left one person dead. Police identified the victim of the shooting at John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada, as Jeffrey Pettigrew, 51, president of the San Jose, California, chapter of the Hell's Angels. Two other people, both of California and members of the Vagos motorcycle club, were in stable condition at hospitals after being shot in the abdomen and...

An alliance of Dhak, the Duhres, and some United Nations gang members may be facing off against the Red Scorpions, the Hells Angels, and the Independent Soldiers.

 An alliance of Dhak, the Duhres, and some United Nations gang members may be facing off against the Red Scorpions, the Hells Angels, and the Independent Soldie...

shooting in Surrey last week that left a gang member critically injured may be linked to the slaying of Jonathan Bacon in Kelowna

shooting in Surrey last week that left a gang member critically injured may be linked to the slaying of Jonathan Bacon in Kelowna last month, police say.Sgt. Bill Whalen with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — Gang Task Force said police are looking for a connection between Bacon’s assassination and the Friday 16 shooting of Jujhar Singh Khun-Khun, 24.“We are investigating links between the two incidents,” he said.Khun-Khun remains in...

Police step up watch on Hells Angels

 Police in Massachusetts are closely watching a local chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club as one of its high-ranking members sits in jail accused of triple murder. Adam Lee Hall, who court records list as the third in command of the Berkshire Hells Angels, has been charged with three counts of murder in connection with the Aug. 28 deaths of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell. Hall, 34, of Peru, Mass.; David Chalue, 44, of North Adams and Springfield, Mass.; and Caius Veiovis, 31, of Pittsfield, Mass., formerly of...

Violence expected as gang tensions flare in B.C.

 Two brazen, targeted shootings of known British Columbia gangsters in less than a month may be the kindling that sparks renewed gang warfare in the Lower Mainland, say police. The officer who heads the province's gangs task force issued an "unusual" alert Tuesday to anyone with links to two notorious crime families after a known gangster was shot and wounded last week in Surrey, B.C. Supt. Tom McCluskie told reporters both that incident and...

$1M bail for NY man over Mass. triple slaying

 A Canaan, N.Y., man is being held on $1 million bail for allegedly helping a ranking Hells Angeles member and others dispose of three murder victims in Berkshire County. A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of 62-year-old David Casey in Central Berkshire District Court on Monday. He is charged with accessory after the facts of murder, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney. Authorities say 34-year -old Adam Lee Hall, 44-year-old David Chalue and 31-year-old Caius Veiovis were involved...

Victims' burial site is in Becket

 The bodies of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell were found buried on private property in Becket, according to the District Attorney’s office. Authorities declined to be more specific and released no other new information about the case. Until this week, law enforcement officials had refused to even release the location of what they described as a "burial site," where the bodies of the three men were dumped and covered with boulders and dirt. Meanwhile, state and local police conducted what they described as a "high visibility...

Professor accused of leading biker gang says he’s not guilty

 Cal State San Bernardino professor accused of leading a motorcycle gang pleaded not guilty Friday. Stephen J. Kinzey, a 43-year-old kinesiology professor, allegedly led a local chapter of the Devils Diciples Outlaw motorcycle gang and a methamphetamine drug operation. During the brief court hearing, the professor’s father testified that the bail money he put up for his son was his ...

Ex-biker gang boss gets 14 years at closed hearing

 Ruben "Doc" Cavazos, the former national president of the notorious Mongols motorcycle gang who they say helped orchestrate murders, extortion and robberies, had pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, which carried a maximum life sentence. The discovery showed that Cavazos had entered his plea six months earlier, and only three months after federal agents arrested him and dozens of other Mongols members, which meant he was one of the first...

Hell’s Angels head for Oslo

 300 members of the motorcycle club Hell’s Angels are expected to descend on Oslo from all over Europe this weekend, to take part in the Oslo chapter’s 15th anniversary celebrations. Police are gearing up for the event but wouldn’t initially say whether they will deny Hell’s Angels members entry into Norway, as they did when another club party was held in Stavanger earlier this year. “We haven’t made a decision,” Einar Aas of the Oslo Police District told newspaper Aftenposten, but he added police were “considering” turning away those with...

Hells Angels boss faces charges over vicious dog attacks

Investigators are deciding what charges to bring against Hannover’s Hells Angels boss, after his two German Shepherds brutally attacked a number of people.In the worst-case scenario, Frank Hanebuth could face charges of grievous bodily harm. It is still not clear how the two dogs got out of his heavily guarded property. “The question of whether this was a deliberate act still remains,” officials said on Saturday. The aggressive dogs had been...

Police fear turf wars as motorcycle gangs expand operations

 Motorcycle gangs, who are considered by Finnish police to constitute organised crime groups, have significantly expanded their operations in the past decade.       The gangs have spread so extensively throughout Finland that police fear that violent conflict might break out among them.       Motorcycle gangs have set up clubhouses especially in the Helsinki region and in the south of Finland, but activities have branched out to other parts of the country as well.      ...

Hell’s Angels leaders suspected in massive drug case

 The drugs squad of the Helsinki Police and the West Uusimaa Police have uncovered an exceptionally large drug smuggling and growing operation, in which the main suspects are members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club.       Police managed to confiscate several kilos of amphetamine and cocaine as well as a number of unlicensed weapons and about EUR 200,000 in cash. Police also found the biggest cannabis growing operation ever discovered in Finland.       Detective inspector Jari Pynnönen...

Man stabbed in Stockholm Biker gang brawl

 A man was left nursing stab wounds to the neck after a mass brawl involving some 20 men belonging to rival biker gangs in central Stockholm on Tuesday.Another man is also reported to have required treatment after the brawl on the open street outside a bar on Södermalm in central Stockholm. According to witness reports some 15 members of the Red and White Crew, a supporter club of the Hells Angels, stormed the El Cocodrilo restaurant on Ringvägen. Armed with knives, tear gas and firearms the group attacked a rival gang, reported by the police...

Joshua Leo Johnson, vice-president of the Sonoma County Hells Angels, surrendered to Lake County authorities

 Joshua Leo Johnson, vice-president of the Sonoma County Hells Angels, surrendered to Lake County authorities in connection with the beating of a rival gang member and a companion at Konocti Vista Casino in June, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Johnson, 35, an iron worker, remains in jail pending a hearing on his $500,000 bail, officials said Tuesday. Two other Hells Angels — Nicolas Felipe Carillo, 32, and Timothy Robert Bianchi, 33 — were arrested during a warrant sweep in Santa Rosa and Petaluma last week, authorities said....

key witness in a case against a Hell's Angels member accused on drug and gun charges is missing

 key witness in a case against a Hell's Angels member accused on drug and gun charges is missing along with two other men, raising the suspicions of relatives and authorities in a western Massachusetts town. Police say 44-year-old David Glasser, 58-year-old Edward Frampton and 47-year-old Robert Chadwell, haven't made any banking or credit card transactions and haven't been in contact with family members since they vanished more than a week ago. The men shared an apartment in Pittsfield. "Three people, all in the same house, missing — yeah,...