Author: terry.katz

Officials identify men killed during Forest Park motorcycle club gathering

By Kevyn Stewart and Alli Levine Fox 5 Atlanta Georgia Updated April 28, 2025
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/deadly-shooting-forest-park-motorcycle-club-gathering

FOREST PARK, Ga. – Two people are dead, and two others are injured after gunfire erupted at a motorcycle club gathering in Forest Park on Sunday.

More than half a day after the shooting, police say they do not have any suspects in custody.
What we know:

Officials say police first responded to a shots-fired call coming from a mechanic’s shop on First Street between Jones Road and Old Dixie Highway shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday.

When they got to the scene, officers found several people who had been shot. Two succumbed to their injuries. Local hospitals are treating three others.

“It looks to be that it was some type of motorcycle gathering, a party. Ultimately, several individuals were shot. We believe there had to have been some type of altercation, but we’re still gathering facts at this time,” Forest Park Chief of Police Brandon Criss said.

A large police presence could be seen late into Sunday evening as investigators tried to piece together what happened. According to Criss, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office were assisting in the investigation.
During a press conference on Monday, officials said that about 150 to 200 people had gathered for the motorcycle meetup. They also said that it took place at a commercial site without a current business license and the city’s code enforcement office is now involved to ensure the business doesn’t reopen.

Chief Criss also identified the two people who were killed – 25-year-old Isaiah Mack and Anthony Hearns, age unknown, of Philadelphia.
No suspects are in custody, but investigators say they do not believe there is an active threat to the community.
Local perspective:

Neighbors were surprised to learn of the violence and disappointed by the circumstances.

“We have great residents in Forest Park, and things like this don’t happen. So this is heartbreaking for all of us to know that those who aren’t from the community are coming in and committing these types of crimes,” Councilwoman Latresa Akins-Wells told FOX 5.
“The city of Forest Park is a very safe city and this is very unique for us,” Chris said.

Forest Park Mayor Angelyne Butler also released a statement about the incident on Monday afternoon:

“First, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to all those who were impacted from a recent shooting incident that occurred during the afternoon hours of Sunday, April 27. What happened yesterday is not only tragic — it is an affront to everything we stand for in Forest Park. Those responsible for this senseless violence will be found, prosecuted and removed from our community. We will not allow criminals to think they have any place in our city. Forest Park is a community built on pride, resilience and respect. We have no tolerance for reckless behavior that endangers the lives of our residents and undermines the progress we have made. Forest Park is not a playground for lawlessness. If you believe you can bring violence here, know this: we will hunt you down with every legal tool at our disposal, and you will face consequences. The Forest Park Police Department is moving swiftly and relentlessly to bring those responsible to justice. We are not standing by — we are standing up. Forest Park will continue to be a place where families can live, work, and thrive without fear. To be clear, if you come to Forest Park to cause chaos, we will find you, we will hold you accountable and we will protect our city without hesitation.”

What we don’t know:
Authorities have not shared the names of the victims or identified any possible suspects in the shooting.
What you can do:

If you have any information about the shooting that could help authorities, call the Forest Park Police Department.
The Source: FOX 5’s Alli Levine reported this story out of Forest Park. Additional information was provided by the Forest Park Police Department. This story was updated to correct the number of those injured after a press conference on Monday.

Hitman chronicles bloody life and times of Hells Angels killer Yves (Apache) Trudeau

By Brendan Kelly April 24, 2025 Montreal Gazette
https://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment-life/books/article890321.html#storylink=cpy

Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman are co-authors of the book Hitman the story of notorious Quebec Hells Angels killer Yves (Apache) Trudeau. Fitterman and Sher in Montreal on Wednesday April 2, 2025. Dave Sidaway Montreal Gazette

Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman didn’t want their book about Yves (Apache) Trudeau to be biker porn. They wanted to chronicle the life and times of a guy that they describe as Canada’s most prolific killer and that’s exactly what you’ll find in the just-published Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin. Trudeau was a Hells Angels murderer but he wasn’t above selling his services to other outfits, notably east-end gangs and the Irish mob in the west end, if the price was right.

In all he killed 43 people, by his own admission. He made the confession when he became a police informant in 1985 and in return for becoming a Crown witness, he pleaded guilty to 43 charges of manslaughter, not murder. As Sher and Fitterman point out in the book, he was a disaster as a witness for the Crown in various biker trials and so essentially got off light without particularly helping the cops put bikers behind bars. “I’m not interested in true crime in the sense of whodunnit,” said Sher, in a recent interview alongside Fitterman in the condo they share on the Lachine canal just around the corner from the Atwater Market. They are a married couple.

“The books I’ve written are always why-done-it,” continued Sher. “Why did something happen? When I did my books on the Hells Angels, it was why did the Hells Angels get away with murder for so long? Then I realized Hitman is the story of Canada’s deadliest killer. There’s nobody that killed more people than he did in Canada’s history and he literally got away with murder. He was never caught. He turns himself in, confesses, doesn’t get much of a punishment… it’s all about the failings of the justice system.”

Sher has co-written two previous books about biker gangs, Angels of Death and The Road to Hell. He also co-wrote and directed the hit 2022 Crave documentary feature Kings of Coke about the West End Gang. Fitterman is a former Gazette reporter who has written extensively about biker trials. The odd thing about Hitman is even after reading all 237 pages, you still don’t fully get who Trudeau really was. He died of bone marrow cancer at age 62 in 2008, so they couldn’t talk to him and since his murders happened decades back, it was difficult to find first-person testimonials.

“I always saw him as a cypher,” said Fitterman.

Adds Sher: “That’s what makes him fascinating. We’re trying to do a portrait of evil and, as in any good book, you want there to be surprises. You want people to say ‘Oh he’s not this cartoon villain. He’s much more complex.’ Then you discover he didn’t torture cats as a kid. He didn’t come from a broken family. By luck, he ends up getting a job at a bomb-making factory. If you’re going to be a future assassin,it’s kind of useful to work in a bomb factory.”

In fact, his most famous murder was a bombing. In November 1984, he agreed to kill Paul April, who was suspected of having killed West End Gang boss Frank (Dunie) Ryan. Trudeau said he was hired by Ryan’s successor, Allan (The Weasel) Ross. The bomb Trudeau built was delivered to April’s downtown apartment and the blast killed April and three other men, while at the same time blasting a huge hole in the side of the apartment on de Maisonneuve Blvd., just east of the Forum.

They write in the book that Trudeau’s bloody career in a way paved the way for the murderous biker wars that followed. Without Trudeau, you wouldn’t have had Maurice (Mom) Boucher, the notorious Hells Angels boss and murderer who died three years ago, said Fitterman.
“Trudeau set the stage for bikers to realize ‘Hey, I can kill with impunity, I can do what I want,’” said Fitterman.

Neither Sher nor Fitterman ever met Trudeau or attended his trials, which is one reason why they interviewed current Gazette crime reporter Paul Cherry, who covered the National Parole Board hearing in 2008 when Trudeau, 62, with just months to live, was freed from prison. He was serving a four-year sentence for sexually abusing a young boy.

Cherry told the authors Trudeau was a shadow of his former self: “I thought there was no way this guy could literally hurt a fly, let alone another human being. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. The monster was gone.”

When Sher’s agent first called to say HarperCollins wanted him to do a book on Trudeau, Sher said “No. I don’t want to do another biker book.” But then he said, “What about if I do it with Lisa?”

They have been together a quarter of a century but they had never collaborated on a book before.

“Lisa had covered the biker trials,” said Sher. “In fact, when we started dating she was covering the biker trials. I was investigating the Hells Angels. So it was like going back to our roots. Then both our agents contacted us and said, ‘This could be a bad idea, this could lead to disputes.’ So, only with some trepidation did we start but it turned out to be a blast”

Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman will be speaking at the Atwater Library Lunchtime Series at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. For free tickets: https://atwaterlibrary.ca/

Hidden room & Hell’s Angels: Lakeshore man sent to prison for drug trafficking

By Michelle Maluske CTV News April 25, 2025 Windsor, Ontario Canada
https://www.ctvnews.ca/windsor/article/hidden-room-hells-angels-lakeshore-man-sent-to-prison-for-drug-trafficking/

Jesse Thibert, 45, was recently sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for his implication in Project Coyote.

Thibert pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking cocaine and one count of possession of anabolic steroids for the purpose of trafficking in a Belleville, Ont. court.

He was arrested in February 2023 through the joint police operation called ‘Project Coyote.’

Five police services, including Windsor, were involved in the investigation that took more than a year.

Authorities were investigating a “criminal drug trafficking network” based in Belleville, according to an Agreed Statement of Facts.
It started with a person identified only as the “drug distributor” who was a “full patch member” of the Hells Angels in Belleville.

Police determined “Jesse Thibert was one of the individuals who was supplying the drug distributor with cocaine,” according to court documents.

When police executed a search warrant at Thibert’s home on Patillo Road – they discovered a fake shelf in the laundry room.
The shelf swung inward to reveal a hidden room.

Inside, authorities discovered steroids, MDMA, psilocybin, hashish, and cannabis.

They also seized a bulletproof vest, brass knuckles with a flip-knife, more than $179,000 in Canadian currency and a “debt list.”

Police surveillance

During their surveillance of the drug distributor, they observed Thibert give the distributor cocaine.
One transaction worth $16,000. The other more than $17,000.
In both instances, the drug distributor drove to Tecumseh from Trenton – just outside of Belleville – exchanged cash for drugs and returned home.

Thibert in prison

Thibert was sentenced Tuesday to three and a half years in prison but was given a year of pretrial custody credit. He has approximately 2.5 years to serve before applying for parole.

When Thibert is out of prison, his DNA will be in the database and he has a lifetime ban on owning weapons.

Jury Will Decide Fate of Hells Angel Accused of Vicious OB Stabbing
By Paul Krueger / Special to OB Rag Ocean Beach California April 24, 2025

Jury Will Decide Fate of Hells Angel Accused of Vicious OB Stabbing

There’s no dispute that Troy Scholder is a Hells Angel. And Scholder’s lawyer now concedes that his client stabbed a Black man in the chest on Newport Avenue.

But the jury in Scholder’s criminal trial heard two very different stories about why Scholder attacked that victim, and what crime, if any, he’s guilty of.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, April 23 this year prosecutor Miriam Hemming urged the jury to convict Scholder of attempted murder and two allegations of felony assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.

“Troy Scholder was spoiling for a fight, and there is absolutely no reason to stab someone in the chest without an intent to kill,” Heming told the jury. She said the evidence — which includes surveillance video of the stabbing — helps prove that Scholder’s actions were “willful, deliberate, and premeditated.”

The June 6, 2022 stabbing was the culmination of a dispute over comments the victim made to the girlfriend of a Hells Angels’ associate outside a Newport Avenue bar.

According to the prosecutor, the victim and two of his friends — all of them black males — had left the bar and were walking down Newport when a group of bikers ran after them. One victim was beaten and another was stabbed. The third man managed to outrun his assailants.

The prosecutor said Scholder’s victim came literally “within an inch of his life” when Scholder stabbed him in the right chest, severing an artery and damaging his lung.

Scholder also faces a hate crime enhancement for his alleged crimes. Prosecutor Hemming showed jurors a photo of the bare-chested defendant, who has a large Iron Cross tattoo located just below his Hells Angels ink. An expert witness testified that the Iron Cross is a racist symbol, as are the Nazi “Lightning Bolts” and swastikas that adorn the clothing worn by Hell’s Angels and their associates.
Hemming argued that the victims were attacked only “because they were three Black guys hitting on a white girl.”

But Scholder’s attorney told jurors that “racial hatred” played no part in the alleged crimes.

Attorney Marc Kohnen said the three victims had been drinking and smoking marijuana for hours before the confrontation. He said the stabbing victim “battered” one of the women, who told her biker boyfriend that she was “terrified” and needed “protection.”
Kohnen said Scholder may have intended to “hurt or harm (his victim), but he never, never, never intended to kill him.

“He could have stabbed him ten, twenty, thirty times, but instead, he turned and walked away,” Kohen said.

Kohen said the evidence does not support a guilty verdict on the attempted murder charge or a separate allegation of assault with intent to produce great bodily injury on a second victim who Scholder “head-butted” during the melee.

But the defense attorney did not contest the allegation that his client committed the lesser crime of felony assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm in the stabbing.

Scholder faces a prison term of 30-years-to-life if convicted of attempted murder.

His case is the first to go to trial in this sweeping grand jury indictment against the biker gangs.

Eleven defendants have pleaded guilty, two others are scheduled for trial in May, and prosecutors dropped charges against the three remaining defendants.

Extradition appeal delayed for Hells Angel accused in $35M fraud
Hells Angel and former mortgage executive were charged together in FBI fraud case

Matthew Claxton Langley Advance Times in British Columbia Canada April 23, 2025
https://www.langleyadvancetimes.com/local-news/extradition-appeal-delayed-for-hells-angel-accused-in-35m-fraud-7959594

Two B.C. men are still free on bail and six months away from hearings to appeal their extradition to the United States three years after they were accused by the FBI of helping orchestrate a $35-million fraud.

Courtney “Court” Vasseur and Curtis Lehner were charged in April 2022 with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering by the U.S. Justice Department.

Vasseur is a full-patch Hells Angel who has been identified by police as being associated with the elite Nomads chapter in the past.

The charges stem from an alleged “pump-and-dump” stock fraud scheme that also led to charges against Domenic Calabrigo, a Canadian living in the Bahamas, and German-Turkish citizen Hasan Sario. All the alleged crimes took place between 2013 and 2018, and some charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.

Persons charged with a criminal offence are considered not guilty until the charges are proven in court.

A pump-and-dump scheme involves fraudsters taking control of a large proportion of the stock in a small, low-value company. They can then use a variety of methods, including fake trades back and forth among each other, false press releases, or rumours and promotion on social media, to “pump” the stock’s value higher. The fraudsters then sell their stock – the “dump” – and exit the company, usually leaving the stock value to crater, with the new stock owners who bought at the inflated value facing losses.
The extradition process in this case has moved slowly.

After being charged in the spring of 2022, Lehner and Vasseur were in court in the fall and winter of 2023 for an extradition hearing. The judge ordered them to be extradited in January 2024. Both men appealed.

Both the original extradition hearing, and now the appeal hearings, have been scheduled, then delayed by months.

Vasseur was scheduled to appear for his appeal hearing on Friday, May 2, but that has now been moved to Sept. 12.
Lehner has, for some time, been scheduled to appear on Sept. 8, for a four-hour hearing.

By the time those appeals are heard, it will have been three and a half years since the charges were announced.

The federal Ministry of Justice, which appoints Supreme and Appeal Court judges and also appoints lawyers to handle the Government of Canada’s side of extradition hearings, provided a statement on the case.

“It is important to note that many factors may influence the duration of an extradition proceeding, including the availability of counsel, the availability of court resources, the length of the hearing, or any preliminary applications that must be heard,” the statement said, in part.

The Ministry also noted that the Minister of Justice has to sign off on each extradition request, after a judge has ruled it can go forward.

If they lose their appeals, both men could attempt to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. While appeals to the Supreme Court are rarely heard, that would result in a delay of a few more months.

Neither Vasseur nor Lehner has a criminal record in British Columbia.

Vasseur is a former employee of a paving company run by Langley’s Matthew Brooks, who was convicted of a $6-million fraud against Scotiabank. Brooks was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Vasseur was never charged or implicated, and Brooks insisted in an interview that the Hells Angel was not involved.

In the late 1990s, Lehner was a senior executive with Eron Mortgage Corporation. Former Eron president Brian Slobogian, and vice-president Frank Biller, eventually pleaded guilty to a fraud that swindled 3,200 investors, most in B.C., out of $170 million. Lehner was not charged in the scheme.

Motorcycle gang member, 3 others charged after drug trafficking probe in St. Catharines

Jane Stevenson Toronto Sun April 24, 2025
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/motorcycle-gang-member-3-others-180150000.html

Ontario Provincial Police said they have seized more than 100 kilograms of cocaine and charged a full patch member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and three other people with drug-related offences.

The charges follow a three-month probe spanning the Greater Toronto Area, the Niagara region and Nova Scotia into suspected drug trafficking activity by motorcycle gang members in St. Catharines.

Police allege the investigation revealed large quantities of cocaine were being trafficked throughout the GTA and distributed to Canada’s East Coast.

On April 4, cops said a search warrant was executed at a Richmond Hill residence where approximately 101 kilos of suspected cocaine and more than $215,000 in Canadian currency was seized.

Randy McGean, 53, Sherry Stillwell, 44, and Cody Soulliere, 40, all of St. Catharines, have each been charged with possession of proceeds of crime and possession for the purpose of trafficking – cocaine.

David Crothers, 47, of St. Catharines, was also charged with possession of proceeds of crime and possession for the purpose of trafficking – cocaine.

On April 4, OPP said additional search warrants were executed at two St. Catharines residences and about 25 oxycodone/acetaminophen tablets, approximately five ounces of suspected cocaine, a money counter and a quantity of Canadian currency were seized.

The estimated street value of the seized drugs is $10.1 million, cops added.

A day later, OPP said they provided information to the Nova Scotia RCMP who then conducted a vehicle stop and located approximately five kilograms of suspected cocaine, a rifle, ammunition and high-capacity magazines.

The driver of the vehicle has been charged by Cumberland County District RCMP.

“Outlaw motorcycle gang involvement in drug trafficking networks and other criminality is a top priority for law enforcement,” OPP Detective Inspector Scott Wade, Specialty Services, Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement.

“The inter-provincial nature of this investigation demonstrates the importance of collaboration between law enforcement on a national level. The OPP is grateful for the partnership with York Regional Police, Niagara Regional Police Service and Halton Regional Police Service. I also want to thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their joint effort to disrupt this drug trafficking network and protect our respective communities.”

Anyone with information regarding illegal activity associated with outlaw motorcycle gangs is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or online at ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

Police dismantle alleged drug syndicate, seize $1 million worth of meth in Mildura
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-23/mildura-police-arrest-biker-alleged-methylamphetamine-syndicate/105206906

In short:

Police have charged three people over alleged drug trafficking in Mildura, seizing about 2 kilograms of meth.
A 35-year-old patched member of the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang was among those arrested and charged.
What’s next?

Police say the arrests show the town is “no safe haven” for drug syndicates and their intelligence gathering will continue.
Victoria Police has dismantled an alleged drug trafficking syndicate in regional Victoria and seized more than $1 million of methylamphetamine.

Four people were arrested, including a patched member of the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG), following a series of raids in Mildura in north-east Victoria.

Officers intercepted a car in Red Cliffs, south of Mildura, just before midday on Tuesday.

Police said the search revealed about 2 kilograms of methylamphetamine, valued around $1 million.

The driver, a 27-year-old man from Wyndham Vale, was arrested and charge with trafficking a large quantity of methylamphetamine.

Police then raided two other properties in Mildura where three other arrests were made, incluHe was charged with trafficking a large quantity of a commercial drug and remanded to appear in court at a later date.

A 37-year-old Mildura woman was also charged with drug trafficking, while a 38-year-old woman was released pending further enquiries.

Victoria Police Detective Inspector Dave Rowe said the arrests showed there was “no safe haven” for drug syndicates in Mildura.

“”Illicit drugs have a devastating impact on regional communities, which is why we’re committed to dismantling any local syndicates and cutting their supply before it hits the streets,” he said.

“Our work doesn’t stop here. We’ll continue gathering intelligence and we won’t hesitate to make further arrests if we uncover anyone involved with drug trafficking.”

Turkish authorities uncover international scam network linked to Hells Angels

By Newsroom•Apr 20, 2025
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/turkiye/turkish-authorities-uncover-international-scam-network-linked-to-hells-angels-147229/
Turkey Arrest

Turkish authorities have dismantled an international fraud network that scammed 46 German citizens, defrauding them of €2.8 million ($3.03 million).The victims were contacted by phone, where scammers falsely claimed their names were linked to criminal

organizations. This led the victims to transfer large amounts of money out of fear.

Following the fraud, German security forces reached out to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, initiating a joint investigation.
Multiple arrests in Türkiye

The investigation was led by the Istanbul Public Security Directorate’s Fraud Bureau, which carried out synchronized raids in Istanbul, Izmir, and Sakarya, resulting in the arrest of 10 suspects.

The individuals arrested are German-born Turkish nationals with ties to the Hells Angels, a well-known organized crime group based in Germany.

Among the detained was Ali Erdi A., who is wanted by Interpol for his involvement in the 2014 murder of Tahir Ozbek in Berlin. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Türkiye. Reports from Hurriyet indicate that Erdi A. played a key role in coordinating the scam.

How the scam worked

The scammers, who spoke German, targeted elderly and vulnerable people in Germany.

Posing as police officers and prosecutors, they used scare tactics, claiming that the victims’ names were found on a terrorism watchlist and that a police operation was set to take place at their homes. This intimidation led the victims to transfer money to the criminals.

Authorities confirmed that the fraudsters managed to steal a total of €2.85 million (approximately $3.03 million), with part of the funds transferred to bank accounts in Türkiye.

Uncovering international network

Investigations revealed that the fraudsters in Germany gathered personal information from victims, which was then shared with their counterparts in Türkiye. The stolen funds were subsequently funneled through bank accounts in Türkiye.

The 10 suspects — identified as Y.A., E.P., D.B.T., M.C., D.A., C.G., B.K., S.G., Z.B., and A.E.A.—have been taken into custody for questioning at the Istanbul Police Department. The investigation is ongoing, as authorities continue to work on dismantling the entire network.

2nd Thug Riders member pleads guilty in gang conspiracy investigation

By Kristen Spicker Dayton Daily News April16, 2025
https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/2nd-thug-riders-member-pleads-guilty-in-gang-conspiracy-investigation/G2QG6276DZAMFGC4GRVAHAHQNQ/

A second member of the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club accused in a conspiracy scheme involving multiple violent acts, including murder, has pleaded guilty.

Matthew Hawkins pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering activity and aiding and abetting in federal court.

His plea was accepted on April 3, according to U.S. Southern District of Ohio court records.
His sentencing has not been scheduled.

Hawkins is the second of 14 members of the motorcycle gang to plead guilty in the racketeering investigation.

In February, Michael Seth Henry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in racketeering, conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering and commission of a violent crime in aid of racketeering.

Henry’s sentencing date also has not been scheduled.

A joint status report filed on April 8 indicated counsel for the government is negotiating settlements with 10 of the 14 accused defendants.

The docket only has Hawkins and Henry as having pleaded guilty. It is not clear if two other defendants pleaded guilty in their cases or had charges dismissed.

In addition to Hawkins and Henry, 12 other Thug Riders were indicted — Juan Robles, Joey Marshall, Jared Peters, Brandon Fisher, John Smith, Norman Beach, Daniel Hutten, Michael Reese, Joseph Rader, Justin Baker, Cody Hughes and Brent Egleston.

Robles helped create the Dayton chapter of the Thug Riders and was the “boss” of the Midwest Region, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Marshall, Peters, Fisher and Smith also reportedly held leadership roles in the Midwest and Dayton chapters.

The motorcycle gang is facing a combination of crimes, including racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, violent crimes in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit assault and attempted assault with a dangerous weapon.

Thug Riders are accused of numerous acts of violence in Dayton, Harrison Twp., Springfield, Huber Heights, London, Ohio, and Lexington, Kentucky.

The group was linked to the murder of 43-year-old Joseph Nicholson in a liquor store parking lot in Harrison Twp. on Sept. 26, 2021, according to court records.

Thug Riders were also reportedly involved in gunfights with rival motorcycle gangs in Lexington and Springfield and blew up a former member’s pickup truck in Huber Heights.

“The indictment in this case alleges that the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club operated in criminal enterprises whose members and associates engaged in acts of violence like murder, arson and assault,” said former U.S. Attorney Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker. “They also participated in acts of extortion and identity fraud.”

Reputed Mongols biker gang member charged with murder in shooting of Vagos rival

By Matthew Ormseth Staff Writer os Angels Times April 15, 2025
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-15/mongols-vagos-biker-gang-murder-charge

A reputed member of the Mongols motorcycle club was charged Tuesday with murdering a member of the rival Vagos in what federal prosecutors say is an escalating conflict between the two outfits.

Julian Pulido, 35, shot to death Vicente Sandoval on March 4 at the Firewater Bar in Ontario, according to a complaint unsealed Tuesday and San Bernardino County coroner’s records. A second alleged Mongols member, Clifford Lavoy, is accused of choking Sandoval before he was killed.

Lavoy pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of assault in aid of racketeering and is being jailed without bond, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney‘s office in Los Angeles. Pulido remained Tuesday in a San Bernardino County jail and has yet to enter a plea in federal court.

Sandoval’s killing was the latest flareup in a three-year conflict between the Mongols and the Vagos that, according to court records, included a shooting at a Hooters restaurant, a brawl at a Harley-Davidson store in Marina del Rey and a homicide allegedly committed by a paraplegic Vago who rode a three-wheeled motorcycle.

In the complaint, a California Highway Patrol officer said the Mongols count 2,500 members around the world, with chapters in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia. The club is governed by a “Mother Chapter” that collects dues from regional affiliates. The officer, whose name was redacted in the complaint, said the money was derived in part from robberies, credit card fraud and sales of methamphetamine and cocaine.

In 2022, the Mongols’ dirty laundry was aired in federal court when the club’s longtime lawyer accused its president, David “Little Dave” Santillan, of being a secret informant for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which spearheaded two racketeering cases against the club.

Santillan denied the charge, despite being secretly recorded by his wife saying that an ATF agent could no longer “protect” him once he retired. Santillan, a 25-year member of the Mongols, testified in 2022 that he was “in limbo” with the club, stripped of his title as president.

The officer wrote in the complaint that Mongols leaders maintain an “arsenal” of assault rifles, handguns, shotguns, knives and bulletproof vests in their downtown Los Angeles headquarters. The Mongols allegedly kept the cache of weapons to use against rivals, including the Hells Angels, Outlaws, Sons of Silence and Vagos.

Prosecutors trace the Mongols’ conflict with the Vagos to Dec. 19, 2021, when the latter club held a memorial for a dead member at a Hooters in Riverside. Some Mongols showed up and a fight broke out, the officer wrote. Shooting erupted from both sides. By the time Riverside police arrived, everyone had fled — but blood on the ground indicated someone had been wounded, the complaint says.

After the Hooters shooting, the “upper levels” of both motorcycle clubs tried to “broker” a meeting, but one never materialized, the officer wrote.

The night of May 8, 2024, the Asylum Motorcycle Club held a party at the Escondite bar in downtown Los Angeles, according to a search warrant affidavit reviewed by The Times. The Asylum Motorcycle Club is a “support club” for the Mongols, meaning its members are allowed to tag along to Mongols events, the complaint says.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of its founding, Asylum Motorcycle Club members decked out the Escondite with a mechanical bull and DJ equipment, a Los Angeles Police Department detective wrote in the affidavit.

At 11:24 p.m., a fight broke out between some Mongols and two members of the Vagos who crashed the party. One of the Vagos, later identified as Joseph Laumua, was in a wheelchair.

After the fight ended, Laumua and the second Vago met with someone who arrived in a silver SUV, according to the affidavit. Laumua and the other Vago returned to the party with guns and opened fire, the detective wrote.

They missed the Mongols, hitting instead two bystanders who weren’t affiliated with motorcycle gangs, the complaint said. Jose Lira, 47, was killed. The second victim survived.

Laumua fled on a three-wheeled Harley-Davidson, the detective wrote. Arrested three months later, the 38-year-old La Mirada resident pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering Lira. The second shooter hasn’t been identified.

Two months after Lira was killed, some Vagos and Mongols got into a fight at a Harley-Davidson store in Marina del Rey, which ended in the Vagos firing shots, according to the complaint. Regional officers of both clubs warned members to “be prepared for further violence,” the complaint says.

The night that Sandoval was killed in Ontario, Pulido showed up at the Firewater Bar wearing a black hat that read “Mongols M.C.” and a black sweatshirt with the letters “MFFM,” which stands for “Mongols Forever, Forever Mongols,” the officer wrote in the complaint.

Firewater didn’t allow patrons to wear their “cuts” — leather vests with patches indicating membership in an outlaw motorcycle group. Sandoval showed up wearing a sweatshirt that said, “Vagos MC SGV,” and a Vagos pendant on a gold chain.

Pulido and Lavoy told Sandoval he’d failed to show them proper respect when he didn’t introduce himself at the bar, the officer wrote. Sandoval accused the men of acting like a “little b—” but bought them a round of drinks as an apology, according to the complaint.

Pulido asked the bartender to put a second round of drinks on Sandoval’s tab. The bartender refused.

Pulido then punched Sandoval in the face, smearing with blood the ring on his finger engraved with the letters “LMDM,” or “Live Mongol, Die Mongol,” the officer wrote. Lavoy started choking Sandoval, the complaint says.

Sandoval broke free and ran for the door. Pulido drew a gun and shot Sandoval four times in the back, according to the complaint.
Pulido and Lavoy ran past Sandoval’s body, which lay on the sidewalk outside the bar. According to the complaint, Pulido briefly returned to the body, yelling, “F—! F—!” before running away.

After tailing him for hours, Ontario police tried to arrest Pulido later that day in Kern County. Pulido pulled his Dodge Dart off the 5 Freeway and blew through a red light, nearly hitting two cars, the officer wrote. He tried to make a U-turn going 60 mph and crashed into a ditch.