Author: terry.katz

Swiss court confirms guilty verdicts against Hells Angels and Bandidos bikers

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/life-aging/swiss-court-confirms-guilty-verdicts-against-hells-angels-and-bandidos-gangs/88871821

Bern’s High Court on Thursday confirmed guilty verdicts against six Hells Angels and Bandidos bikers who had been involved in a violent clash outside the Swiss capital in 2019.

Most of the defendants had been given suspended prison sentences in June 2022, which they had appealed against.

Thursday’s case took place amid a huge security operation. Cantonal police officers were deployed in and around the courthouse.

But there were no reported incidents on Thursday, as members of the two rival motorcycle gangs were not present in Bern, the Keystone-SDA news agency reported.

At the start of the first trial in 2022, around 200 bikers from both gangs rode to the Swiss capital. The police used rubber bullets and water cannons to keep the two camps apart.

Sin City Deciples enforcer gets 17 years for rival gang leader’s shooting: ‘You were the muscle’

Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune February 14, 2025
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sin-city-deciples-enforcer-gets-163000136.html

U.S. District Judge Philip Simon sentenced Richard White to 17 years Thursday, saying he was a Sin City Deciples enforcer responsible for wounding a rival gang leader outside a Pittsburgh bar.

The man was trying to open a motorcycle chapter in that city.

“Maybe I’m missing something,” Simon said, of the motive. It was “unnecessary” and “pretty ruthless.”
White, 57, of Pittsburgh was convicted in November 2023 in the gang’s extensive RICO case. He faced up to 20 years. A half-dozen people testified that White was known in the Gary-based motorcycle gang as someone who used violence to enforce the gang’s behavioral code, the judge said.

“You were the muscle,” Simon said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Toth said White was the “head national enforcer.”

Evidence showed White followed the man, who led the Outcast Motorcycle Club, on Aug. 9, 2019, across the street from the bar, then shot him twice in the chest and back, according to Simon, Toth and court documents.
The man was left with two collapsed lungs and 45 surgeries.

Days later on Aug. 12, 2019, Sin City Deciples member Curtiss “Chicken Hawk” Meeks Jr., 48, of Pittsburgh, was shot dead, likely in retaliation.

After Meeks’ death, Sin City Desciples National Vice President Marvie “Widowmaker” Gardner sent a message on Aug. 13, 2019, to all members on the Marco Polo app with a picture of a green traffic light, i.e. orders to “shoot to kill/kill on sight” in revenge, according to court filings.

“We’re going to get (them),” he said.

Gardner was sentenced to 11 years in January.

During the hearing, Simon said evidence was too weak to show White was responsible for shooting a Royal Flush Motorcycle Gang member in the leg on July 31, 2019. Nor was it enough to prove White was part of a conspiracy after Meeks’ death.

In court filings, defense lawyer John Maksimovich argued neither man identified White as the man who shot them.
White made “bad decisions,” the lawyer said in court, and found himself convicted. “It is what it is.”

White said he was not a part of a conspiracy, but admitted being an enforcer around ‘09 when he first joined.

2 Vagos Outlaw motorcycle gang members arrested after search warrant leads to meth bust in Mojave: KCSO

by: Luis Garcia KGET Bakersfield California February 13, 2025
https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/2-vagos-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-members-arrested-after-search-warrant-leads-to-meth-bust-in-mojave-kcso/

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Kern County Sheriff’s Office arrested two members of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in Mojave Tuesday and seized a firearm and methamphetamine in the process, according to the office.

Deputies in east Kern County gang suppression unit executed a search warrant in connection to a theft investigation in the 9000 block of 60th St. West, in Mojave.

During the search, investigators found and seized 44 grams of methamphetamine, a loaded firearm, and vest associated with the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Robert Klein, 56, was arrested for felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed, participating in a street gang, and resisting arrest.

The second man, James Rogers, 50, was taken into custody for possession of stolen property, felon in possession of ammunition, and participating in a street gang.

Klein and Rogers were booked into the Kern Jail.

Sentencing date reset for member of Vallejo chapter of Hells Angels

Richard Bammer | rbammer@thereporter.com | Vacaville Reporter February 11, 2025

Sentencing date reset for member of Vallejo chapter of Hells Angels

Sentencing for a fourth member of the Vallejo chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was reset for May 20 in federal court in Sacramento.

Kenneth Caspers Jr. of Vacaville, who in October last year pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition, was scheduled for sentencing Tuesday in Judge John A. Mendez’s courtroom in the Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse. However, the judge rescheduled the proceeding for May 20.

According to court documents, in October 2021, two different victims — both members of a different motorcycle club that is considered a “puppet” (or subordinate) club of the Hells Angels — were beaten by Caspers, Michael Mahoney, Jaime Alvarez, Dennis Killough, and other club members. The assaults were based on perceived infractions of the Hells Angels’ rules, said Phillip Talbert, at the time the U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice’s Eastern District of California.

Court records indicate that on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Caspers’ Vacaville home and found several firearms and ammunition, including 18 rounds of .22 caliber, .25 caliber, and/or .38-caliber ammunition in Caspers’ master bedroom and bathroom.

Caspers, who is in his late 50s and remains out of custody, has previously been convicted of several felony crimes — including a previous felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm — that prevent him from possessing guns or ammunition.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the Vacaville, Vallejo, and Fairfield police departments, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt, Alsytn Bennet, and Adrian T. Kinsella lead the prosecution.
At sentencing, Caspers faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined by the court and federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables, said Talbert

The three other defendants have previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows: Alvarez was sentenced to 21 months in prison on March 21, 2023; Killough was sentenced to 46 months in prison on June 26, 2023; and Mahoney was sentenced to 37 months in prison on May 2, 2023.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone, noted Talbert.

Court Liquidates Czech Branch of Night Wolves Biker Club

Czech News Agency· Czech Republic February 10, 2025

Court Liquidates Czech Branch of Night Wolves Biker Club

The Regional Court in Brno has ordered the liquidation of the NV Europe MC association, the legal operating name for the Czech branch of the Russian Night Wolves motorcycle group, because it is registered at a location which does not exist, Seznam Zpravy reported today.

The association is therefore failing to fulfil its legal obligations.

The decision on the liquidation was made last October. The court stated that the association had not provided a legal reason for the use of the premises where it was registered, nor had it submitted a proper application to register a new registered office.

The Russian motorcycle club has ties to President Vladimir Putin. It organizes expeditions to European countries to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II. Some countries view these trips as a provocation and a security risk. The club is considered an extreme nationalist group and its leader Alexander Zaldostanov is on the US and EU sanctions list for supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The NV Europe MC association was established in 2018. Its official seat is in an apartment block in Brno-Cerna Pole. According to the server, the association has no sign on the house and nobody answered the bell.

Other firms belonging to the Czech head of the Night Wolves were officially registered at the same address until 2023, the server reported. These firms received state subsidies and owned a building in Mikulov used as a brothel.

One of the firms owns premises in Sokolnice near Brno, where the Night Wolves used to meet.

Two men arrested in connection to westside shooting linked to outlaw motorcycle gang

The suspects shot a man when they went to his home to collect property, per arrest warrant.

Author: Vanessa Croix KENS 5 San Antonio, Texas February 9, 2025

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/two-men-arrested-connection-westside-shooting-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-bandidos-san-antonio/273-3869bcbd-f958-40a9-b644-1206ccc797af

San Antonio, TX – Two men with alleged ties to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club have been arrested in connection to a shooting last month on the far west side, police said.

Guillermo Reyes and Jose Herrada are accused of shooting a 45-year-old man on January 14th during a confrontation at a home on the 1900 block of Desert Willow, near Loop 410 and Marbach Road.

According to an arrest warrant, the suspects arrived at the home to collect property from the victim, whom they had known through their affiliation with the Bandidos motorcycle club. However, when the victim refused to comply with their demands, the situation quickly escalated into an argument.

Investigators say both Reyes and Herrada pulled out firearms and began shooting, striking the victim in the leg. In an attempt to defend himself, the victim also fired his own weapon at the suspects, though they managed to flee the scene before law enforcement arrived.

After weeks of investigation, authorities tracked down Reyes and Herrada, arresting them this week. Both suspects are now facing Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon charges.

Police have not disclosed further details about the property dispute, but the case remains under investigation.

Eustace man pleads to probation for role in club that killed rival biker

By Alex Weister KLTV Feb. 6, 2025
https://www.kltv.com/2025/02/06/eustace-man-accused-leading-biker-club-commit-murder-pleads-probation/

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – A Eustace man will serve probation after pleading guilty to directing a biker club that killed a rival motorcyclist in 2020.

Chad Michael Crowell was arrested in April of 2024 in connection with the murder of Brandon Edwards, of Arp. Crowell was accused of leading a motorcycle club called the Ugly Man Cossacks, and Edwards was a member of a rival club. Thursday, Crowell pleaded guilty to giving orders that resulted in fatal violence and accepted a sentence of six years’ probation.

The bikers who carried out the murder have been convicted and sentenced.
• Joshua Ray Tibbits, of Waco, was sentenced to 45 years’ confinement.
• Jeffery Ryan Griffin, of Robinson, was sentenced to 22 years’ confinement.
• Jose Antonio Valenzuela, of Longview, was sentenced to 22 years’ confinement.
• Additionally, the national president of the motorcycle club, Kevin Dale Higgins, of Kemp, was sentenced to life in prison. Higgins went to trial in December of 2024, which ended in a hung jury. His second trial ended in January and resulted in his life sentence.

• Crowell was the former national sergeant at arms for the club, meaning he took his orders from Higgins and passed them on to the other members of the club. During Higgins’ trial, the defense attempted to shift the blame to Crowell, claiming he acted of his own volition when ordering violent crimes. The blame for these actions were attributed to Higgins, however.

Crowell’s official conviction is for direct street gang activities. He will be required to report for probation in Smith County for six months before serving the rest of his six years in Henderson County. He was also sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service. He will no longer be allowed to contact his former club members.
Finally, he will be required to serve 10 days in jail each year of his probation.

You joined it’: Ex-Sin City Deciples member, teacher gets 3 years in prison

MEREDITH COLIAS-PETE | mcolias@post-trib.com | Post-Tribune
UPDATED: January 31, 2025 at 5:26 PM CST

‘You joined it’: Ex-Sin City Deciples member, teacher gets 3 years in prison

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Toth said he was at a loss to explain how pieces of Brandon “Baywatch” Parks’ life fit together.

After a tough and unstable upbringing in Chicago, Parks, now 46, joined the Marine Corps in 2005, then was deployed to Iraq. Years later, he joined the Sin City Deciples, serving for a couple years as a right-hand man to notorious founder Kenneth “Angel” McGhee.

Then, Parks got “fired” from the violent motorcycle gang, severed ties with the group and talked his way into becoming a volunteer, then a respected teacher at a Southside Chicago high school.

Toth acknowledged there was no evidence Parks dealt drugs. He didn’t personally kill anyone, but he traveled with McGhee and knew what was going on around him.

Ultimately, despite his denials, Parks knew who they were, what they did, was swept up and convicted after an 18-day trial in the gang’s massive RICO case, U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon noted.
“You joined it,” he said.

These are “bad” people, Simon later said.

He sentenced Parks to three years in federal prison, with the last year possibly in a halfway house, then one year on supervised release. Parks had faced about 4-5 years from the case in the U.S. District Court in Hammond.
Toth, with Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nozick, said Parks joined the gang around 2013 and was the “longest serving” national president, second in command, before he left in 2017.

They showed transcripts of recorded phone calls with Michael “Puerto Rican Mike” Rivera, a high-ranking member, who testified during Parks’ trial. Parks took Rivera’s role as president after he was jailed.

Among other allegations, Toth said Rivera got into a “weird standoff” with a man in East St. Louis in 2014, took Parks’ gun, then shot the man twice in the leg.

Earlier in the hearing, Simon rejected a trio of allegations that would have added more time to Parks’ sentence — including that he extorted “cuts” in Las Vegas in 2017 from the affiliate, all-female Sin City Angels motorcycle gang. It was alluded to in recorded jail calls with Rivera.

“That’s it? That’s the evidence,” Simon asked. “That just doesn’t cut it.”

Prosecutors asked for seven years, documents show.

Defense lawyers Brandon Brown and Andre Grant presented a half-dozen people who testified on Parks’ behalf, including a retired teacher, school program administrator, and former student.

Phylydia Hudson, Corliss High School’s STEM program manager, said she brought Parks on as a “vendor” around 2018 to teach computer-assisted design in IT classes. He helped create a maker space and develop their drone program. He eventually got an alternative teacher’s license and joined the staff. His arrest left a “void,” she said.

Vincent Smith, 19, a computer engineering college student, said Parks was an “amazing teacher.”

Toth noted all of those who testified met Parks after he left the gang. Parks was one of 16 men indicted in the case.

The 57-page superseding indictment reads like a television drama, weaving a tale of influence, obedience, intimidation, an internal power struggle, drugs, guns and murder spanning multiple states and including local, regional and national chapters of the Sin City Deciples.

The club’s leadership ran the group with an iron fist, enforcing a strict code of respect and obedience, where offenders could be disciplined with beatings and death, according to court documents. The documents outline how the Sin City Deciples would intimidate other motorcycle clubs into become their support clubs, extorting dues and support.

Federal prosecutors say high-ranking Sin City Deciples member Ronnie Major paid his brother-in-law Antoine Gates to kill Jocelyn “Pie Face” Blair, 31, on Dec. 19, 2010, as she ate breakfast at the counter inside Coney Island Restaurant in Gary. Blair was a witness against him in an upcoming county trial.

Rivera, with them, was shot in the leg.

Months earlier in February 2010, Gates shot a second man, the other county witness, a dozen times. He survived.
McGhee was sentenced to 30 years in September.

Post-Tribune archives contributed.

Cops descend on Hells Angels bikies during cross-border crackdown
• Hells Angels bikies stopped in their tracks

By MATT JONES FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA 4 February 2025

Two men have been charged and dozens of fines have been issued after police descended on one of Australia’s biggest outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Raptor Squad officers stopped the Hells Angles as the gang descended on the nation’s capital for its national run between January 30 and February 2.

Officers pulled over about 40 bikies on motorcycles and four other vehicles and executed 18 car searches during the weekend operation.

Police charged two men, issued 50 traffic fines, conducted 35 personal searches, charged two men and seized weapons and alleged drugs during the crackdown.

Officers found knuckle dusters, a lock picking kit and small quantities of substances believed to be illegal drugs during gun compliance checks at homes in Goulburn and Queanbeyan on January 30.

A 36-year-old man was charged with possessing prohibited drugs and a 43-year-old man was charged with driving without a license.

They were both issued notices to attend court in Queanbeyan on March 17.

A 30-year-old man was also grilled by police over the alleged discovery of a knife.
Investigations into the seized items remain ongoing, police said.

Detective Acting Superintendent Virginia Gorman, Raptor Squad Commander, said bikie gangs should always expect a strong police presence at their gatherings.

‘Outlaw motorcycle gangs and their associates should know that they cannot gather in large numbers for a national run without attracting the attention of the Raptor Squad,’ Detective Acting Superintendent Gorman said.

With a membership of more than 6,000, and 592 charters in 66 countries, the Hells Angles are the largest outlaw motorcycle club in the world.

The Rebels Motorcycle Club is considered the largest outlaw motorcycle club in Australia.

Suspects in 2022 Hells Angels I-11 shooting could face additional sentencing
By Justine Verastigue Fox 5 Published: Jan. 30, 2025

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Suspects accused of a shooting on I-11 back in 2022 involving Hells Angles could receive additional sentencing.

In May 2022, police say a shooting on the I-11 in Henderson was between the Hells Angels and a rival gang, the Vagos. Seven people were injured.

In December, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the motorcycle club is a “criminal gang” under state law.
Documents filed Wednesday adds a gang enhancement to an indictment. This means the suspects accused could receive additional sentencing if convicted.

The indictment lists the following suspects: Stephen Alo, Richard Devries, Russell Smith, Cameron Treich, Taylor Rodriguez, Aaron Chun and Rayann Mollasgo.

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