Author: terry.katz

State rests in trial of biker gang leader accused of giving orders that killed East Texas motorcyclist

Kevin Dale Higgins is accused of giving orders that would lead to Brandon Edwards, a rival motorcycle gang member, getting chased down and shot to death in 2020.
Author: Zak Wellerman January 16, 2025

TYLER, Texas — The state rested its case Thursday afternoon in the trial of a former outlaw motorcycle gang national president accused of issuing orders that killed an East Texas motorcyclist.

Kevin Dale Higgins, national president of the Ugly Man Cossacks, is accused of giving orders that would lead to Brandon Edwards, a rival motorcycle gang member, getting chased down and shot to death in 2020 in Chapel Hill.
On Thursday, the state presented its last two witnesses, Chad Crowell, co-defendant of Higgins in this case and former national sergeant at arms of the Ugly Man Cossacks, and Texas Department of Public Safety Special Agent Clay Steelman, who investigated the case.

Crowell said violence was encouraged in the gang. Crowell is also accused of issuing orders that led to Edwards’ death.

Crowell said after Edwards’ death, he got out of the Ugly Man Cossacks gang. Crowell said he has not received a deal from the prosecution for testifying in Higgins’ trial.

Crowell recalled a time when he assaulted a gang member alongside other members, and he said Higgins directed them to make that attack. Crowell said he never gave an order that was different from Higgins’ orders.

Steelman found in his investigation that a “smash on sight” order against the 1%er Cossacks was issued by the national leadership of the Ugly Man Cossacks. The order was made because of the disrespect that the Ugly Man Cossacks felt when the 1%er Cossacks split off.

Steelman testified he has obtained evidence detailing that the order came from national leaders, which included Higgins, despite there being no emails, messages or other blatant form of communication. He said there’s no way a national leader of the gang wouldn’t know about such an order.

Steelman detailed various assaults in Hubbard and East Texas in early 2020 before Edwards’ death in May that he learned Crowell and the three convicted of killing Edwards, Joshua Ray Tibbits, Jose Antonio Valenzuela and Jeffery Ryan Griffin, were involved in.

Steelman noted Valenzuela received a promotion in February 2020 after he was involved in assaulting 1%er Cossacks in Gilmer. He testified that violence acts seemed to correlate with promotions.

The defense will begin presenting their witnesses Friday morning.

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Biker convicted in ETX murder testifies in new trial for club’s national president

By Lauren Tear KLTV Published: Jan. 15, 2025
https://www.kltv.com/2025/01/15/biker-convicted-etx-murder-testifies-new-trial-clubs-national-president
TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Day two of the new trial for a Kemp man accused of directing a biker club in a way that resulted in murder saw testimony from a former member.

Kevin Dale Higgins, 58, maintains his innocence and entered a plea of not guilty. The state argues his role as the national president links him to a string of criminal activities including aggravated assault and murder. His original trial ended in December with a hung jury, and his retrial began Tuesday
.
Very similarly to December’s trial, witnesses include the former members of the Ugly Man Cossacks motorcycle club who were convicted of murdering rival club “1%er Cossacks” member Brandon Edwards, of Ben Wheeler, in May of 2020.
The first former club member to take the stand delivered testimony Wednesday that very closely followed the same line of state questioning as seen in the previous trial.

Court broke for lunch before noon and are expected to continue with further witnesses when they return.

More small and “radical” motorcycle gangs in the Netherlands, police say

NL TIMESMONDAY, 13 JANUARY 2025 –
https://nltimes.nl/2025/01/13/small-radical-motorcycle-gangs-netherlands-police-say

Since the Netherlands banned larger outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) like Hells Angels, Satudarah, and No Surrender, the number of smaller clubs has risen steadily. The Netherlands now counts 84 small outlaw motorcycle gangs and they are often more radical than the old clubs, NOS reports based on a new police report.

Some of the new clubs were founded by members of banned motorcycle gangs. Their member numbers range from a handful to several dozen people. Many members have a criminal past.

“The members of the majority of the new clubs are more radical (criminal) than the former OMG members,” the police wrote, according to NOS. “They are involved in serious forms of crime.” Suspicions of violence, drug trafficking, and money laundering are relatively common.

The police added that the number of crimes that OMG members are suspected of has decreased slightly despite this development. And most suspicions are against members, not the motorcycle club as a whole.
Unlike in other countries, there are hardly any tensions between motorcycle gangs in the Netherlands. Criminal members of competing OMGs regularly work together.

The police noted that banned OMGs still have chapters in the Netherlands. Investigators suspect that the Hells Angels still had 18 chapters underground here last year. Satudarah had 14 and No Surrender 16, the police believe. These clubs are also expanding abroad, opening new chapters in Spain and South America. The clubs abroad may have become more attractive because of their ban in the Netherlands, the police wrote.

The police and Public Prosecution Service warned that attention to crime at outlaw motorcycle gangs must not slacken. The police think that a bill giving the Minister for Legal Protection the authority to ban “undermining organizations,” which will be discussed in the Senate later this month, will help in the fight against criminal motorcycle clubs. They also believe that mayors should continue to close clubhouses as much as possible.

2 men guilty of murdering Hells Angels recruit Greg Slewidge

CBC 9 January 2025
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/2-men-guilty-killing-hells-
A jury in Perth, Ont., has found two men guilty of first-degree murder for killing Hells Angels recruit Greg Slewidge in nearby Beckwith Township more than four years ago.

Crown prosecutors alleged Michael Clairoux and Lee Marazzo planned and carried out the killing of the 39-year-old at a legal marijuana grow-op on Sept. 24, 2020.

They were each charged with first-degree murder in January 2022 and both pleaded not guilty.

The jury started deliberating mid-afternoon Wednesday and came back with the verdicts Thursday afternoon.
After it was read there were tears and hugs among the victim’s family, and on the other side of the aisle, among those who knew the accused. Others left the courtroom immediately.

The penalty for first-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Lawyers for Clairoux and Marazzo indicated Thursday they plan to appeal the verdict.

Family says it’s haunted, scarred by loss

Slewidge’s family, including his father Lyndon — a former Ontario Provincial Police officer and well-known Ottawa Senators anthem singer — attended the final arguments and shared victim impact statements Thursday.

“I have been robbed, beaten down, wounded, severely scarred and left to think and mourn daily my son’s life, what happened and what his life would have been,” said Lyndon, describing the fear his family also felt after his son was killed without any arrests for months.

He added that his exhaustion and heartbreak after his son’s death left him unable to sing.

Greg Slewidge’s youngest sister Heather Ball told court he was both a friend and big brother.

“Every day feels incomplete without him,” she said, saying she will never have closure and is “constantly haunted” by the loss.

During the statements supporters of the two convicted men sat solemnly as Slewidge’s family dotted away tears from their eyes.

Debates over video

The court case centred on high-definition surveillance footage and conflicting narratives over who is seen in those videos.

The Crown said during closing arguments this week the two men surprised Slewidge, who was set to become a full-patch Hells Angels member the next week. They allegedly used a rope to strangle him and left his body with a knife in the back.

Michael Clairoux, bottom, and Lee Marazzo in a Canadian Tire security camera still from Oct. 14, 2020 entered as evidence in their first-degree murder trial. It’s different footage than that captured the day of the murder. (Ontario Court of Justice)

Prosecutors say the men were hired by a member of the Red Devils Motorcycle Club, a known affiliate of the Hells Angels, following a dispute over car repairs.

Those lawyers claimed the clothing, actions and other details match Clairoux and Marazzo.

Lawyers for both of the accused questioned the reliability of the surveillance footage and the identification of their clients, saying they may have been set up.

Extra security was in place for the proceedings. The courtroom was guarded by police and everyone entering was searched.

The victim and accused had supporters in the room, leading to a tense atmosphere during portions of closing arguments.

Pittsburgh to settle some lawsuits for $170K in 2018 bar brawl between Pagans, undercover cops
The settlement will pay out $170K combined to two of the Pagan members injured and arrested in the melee

MEGAN GUZA AND LAURA ESPOSITO Pittsburgh Post-Gazette January 9, 2025

The city of Pittsburgh will pay $170,001 to settle two lawsuits connected to a 2018 bar brawl between members of the Pagan motorcycle club and several purportedly drunken Pittsburgh police officers working undercover at Kopy’s Bar on the city’s South Side.

The settlement, which must be approved by city council, will pay $100,001 to Michael Zokaites and $70,000 to the estate of Erik Heitzenrater, two of the Pagan members injured and arrested in the Oct. 12, 2018, melee. Heitzenrater died in 2022.

The pending settlements were confirmed by Marty Dietz, who represented Heitzenrater and, later, his estate.
Federal lawsuits filed by two other Pagans who were injured that night — Frank Deluca and Bruce Thomas — are set to go to trial next week. The lawsuits name the city of Pittsburgh and the four undercover narcotics detectives involved in the brawl: Brian Burgunder, David Honick, David Lincoln, and Brian Martin.

The officers were later reassigned to the police bureau’s violent crime division

Court records and witness statements indicate the officers had been at the bar since around 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11, and six members of the Pagan motorcycle club arrived about four hours later. A sworn statement from then-bar owner Stephen Kopy indicated the officers — who told him they were construction workers — took issue with the Pagans’ presence. Kopy died in 2021.

“Each time I discouraged them from taking any action,” he wrote.

Court filings in Mr. Deluca’s lawsuit allege that Detective Honick’s blood-alcohol content was 0.402% around the time of the brawl. Detective Burgunder’s is listed in the documents as 0.363%, Detective Martin’s as 0.3045% and Detective Lincoln’s as 0.140%.

A 2021 report by the Citizens Police Review Board indicate that the officers used city funds — all cash — to buy and consume dozens of drinks over the course of the night: Detective Burgunder about 19, Detective Honick between 13 and 15, Detective Martin at least 14 and Detective Lincoln consumed around seven, according to the report.

Surveillance video from inside the bar captured the hours of drinking and, eventually, the ensuing mayhem, which started when a conversation at the bar between Detective Honick and Mr. Deluca became heated. The argument rose to shoving and, from there, devolved into a massive brawl.

The footage shows Detective Lincoln punching Mr. Deluca 19 times as another officer pins him to the bar. Uniformed officers arrived at the bar soon after, deploying pepper spray at two of the detectives, several Pagans, and the bartender.

Court filings indicate the undercover officers believed their cover had been blown and the Pagans knew they were law enforcement. Kopy indicated as much in his statement, writing that Detective Honick told him about 12:20 a.m. that they were undercover officers.

“He told me that he liked me and did not want to see anything happen to my bar,” Kopy wrote. “He further stated that the situation in relation to the Bikers was dangerous and that I did not realize what was going on.”

Kopy noted that he never saw the bikers pointing at the officers, though Detective Burgunder would make that same claim again in the criminal complaints filed against the four Pagans. The District Attorney’s Office later withdrew those charges.

The criminal complaints filed against the men contained multiple discrepancies when compared to the video footage of the incident. Detectives wrote in the complaint that when they believed they’d been made by the Pagans they went back to tell them they “weren’t there to infringe on anyone’s good time.”

Police also said Heitzenrater pushed and pulled two officers off Mr. Thomas during the fight, prompting one detective to punch him multiple times. The surveillance video, however, shows Heitzenrater backing away from the officers with his hands up before approaching Mr. Thomas and briefly leaning over the man. Heitzenrater does not appear to push or pull anyone before the officer punches him.

The brawl sparked multiple investigations, both internal and external. The DA’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office both declined to prosecute the officers.

The incident also raised questions about undercover officers’ drinking on the job. Pittsburgh police, in the immediate aftermath, refused to say whether officers were allowed to drink on duty or to what extent. The bureau instituted a new policy in 2019.

Former Hells Angel involved in Lennoxville Purge was returned behind bars

By Paul Cherry Updated January 06, 2025
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/provincial-news/article657339.html#storylink=cpy

One of the Hells Angels who took part in the notorious slaughter of five of the biker gang’s members in the Eastern Townships nearly four decades ago spent a few months behind bars following his arrest after he was badly injured in a collision last October.

In a decision made on Friday, the Parole Board of Canada reinstated Jacques Pelletier’s full parole. The 69-year-old former Hells Angel is serving the life sentence he received in 1986 for his role in the first-degree murders of fellow gang members in Lennoxville, carried out inside what was then a bunker used by the gang’s Sherbrooke chapter. The slaughter, which came to be known as the Lennoxville Purge, revealed to Quebec the level of violence the gang was capable of.

The ambush was planned by leaders of the Hells Angels based in Quebec who felt the gang’s Laval chapter had become undisciplined when it came to drug trafficking and that this caused problems with other criminal organizations, including the West End Gang, who supplied them with drugs like cocaine.

On March 24, 1985, five Laval members were shot to death after they were summoned to a Hells Angels clubhouse in Lennoxville, just outside Sherbrooke. Several Hells Angels were present that day and played a role in the slaughter, but only four — including Pelletier — were convicted of first-degree murder and received life sentences.

Pelletier was granted full parole in 2013, but the release was suspended five times since for different reasons. For example, in October 2017 he was returned to a penitentiary after police noticed his motorcycle parked outside a strip bar frequented by known criminals.

Most recently, his parole was suspended following a collision on Oct. 4. During Pelletier’s hearing on Friday, the parole board members who heard his case were presented with different versions of what actually occurred, including Pelletier’s, and determined they did not have enough information to keep him inside the federal penitentiary where he spent the past three months.

According to a written summary of the decision made last week, Pelletier’s parole was suspended following a collision with another vehicle on Oct. 4 and after he refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. “

New criminal charges for impaired driving and refusal (to submit to a test) are expected to be filed against you (soon). At the start of the hearing, your parole officer indicated that the file was submitted to a prosecutor on Nov. 14, 2024. However, your lawyer specified that he had taken several steps since that date and that the file was still not submitted,” the parole board wrote. “During your post-suspension interview, you mentioned that you had three beers at home and ate around 4 p.m. You then took to the road alone on a motorcycle, not believing that you had exceeded the permitted alcohol limit considering your weight.”

Pelletier also told the parole board that he was cut off by a car that caused the collision and that he refused to do the breathalyzer test because he felt nauseous. He also said he agreed to have a sample of his blood tested and that it indicated he was under the legal blood/alcohol limit. Pelletier ended up staying in a hospital for three days following the collision. “

The police version differs from your version of the facts. Indeed, it is reported that you were involved in an accident where the driver of the other vehicle was intoxicated. Upon their arrival on the scene of the accident, the police had sufficient reason to believe that you were intoxicated,” the parole board wrote while noting the police allege Pelletier did not agree to have a sample of his blood tested.

The board determined that, based on the different versions of what happened in October, “it does not have any reliable and convincing information that your behaviour on Oct. 4, 2024 violated any of your special conditions nor that you have committed an offence or adopted behaviour related to your cycle of delinquency.”

As part of the conditions imposed on his new release, Pelletier is not allowed to be in an establishment where the main source of revenue is alcohol and he is not allowed to associate with people who he knows or suspects are involved in criminal activity. This story was originally published January 6, 2025, 11:20 AM.

GERMAN MAN SHOT IN THE GENITALS OUTSIDE A MARBELLA GYM AFTER GIVING AWAY HIS LOCATION IS AN EX-HELL’S ANGEL AND MMA FIGHTER

BYWALTER FINCH OLIVE PRESS JANUARY 6, 2025
https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2025/01/06/pictured-german-man-shot-in-the-genitals-outside-a-marbella-gym-after-giving-away-his-location-is-an-ex-hells-angel-and-mma-fighter/

The attack, which has been described as a ‘warning’, saw 34-year-old Saman Baghi flee for his life as he was shot three times.

The Cologne native had posted a story to Instagram just moments earlier of himself sitting on an exercise bike at the Real Club Padel, alerting his various enemies to his location.

Sources in Germany told the Olive Press that Baghi was ‘quite the VIP target.’
“He was an enforcer for the Hell’s Angels, bringing them in lots of money, until he was forced out of the gang after falling out with the leader,” the source said.

“We don’t know if he has any affiliation now, but he owed a lot of people money and made a lot of enemies when in the motorcycle gang by threatening people and beating them up.”

According to witnesses, the shooter was dressed in black gym gear as he waited for Baghi to emerge from the popular padel club and gym where he was known to train every day.

Baghi uploaded the story at around 1pm on Thursday January 2, and he was caught and shot around 2.15pm
Conflicting reports indicate the enforcer was hit three times – ‘one bullet went through his buttocks and grazed his penis,’ German tabloid Bild reported.

“The second hit his anus, the third pierced his left leg.”

Baghi managed to ‘drag himself back inside the building bleeding, but the masked perpetrator followed him and continued to fire.’

“But the gun jammed, probably saving Saman B.’s life,” the source told the German daily.
The victim was rushed to the Costa del Sol hospital, where he miraculously discharged himself the same day despite the severity of his injuries and serious blood loss, according to Bild.

According to the reports, Baghi is expected to make a full recovery and ‘everything is working down there.’
However, two of the bullets are likely to remain in his groin area for the rest of his life as it is too dangerous to attempt to remove them.

Due to the small calibre of the bullets used (7.65 mm), it is thought that the hitman and his possible accomplice had not intended to kill their target, although it is a matter for debate.

Baghi is very active on social media, constantly flaunting his luxury, jetset lifestyle to his 77,000 followers on Instagram.

Between posing in Dubai, Marbella and Cologne, often alongside high end cars or sporting expensive watches, he has been snapped with Necati Arabaci, the notorious leader of the Turkish Hell’s Angels who was deported from Germany in 2007 and skipped trial in Mallorca.

It is not the first time an attempt has been made on Baghi’s life, either.

Another gunman targeted him in the Kunibertsviertel district of Cologne in October 2021 while he was returning home.

The Real Padel Club shooting was just the latest in a spate of mafia violence over the Christmas period on the Costa del Sol.

On Christmas Eve, another German man of Arabic origins was shot in the Cristamar shopping centre in Puerto Banús, while just two days later two Swedish drug traffickers were attacked with assault rifles in Benalmádena.

Speak up, speak out’: LMPD asks for tips to solve New Years shooting outside motorcycle club

Noelle Friel WAVE 3 January 1, 2025
https://www.wave3.com/2025/01/02/speak-up-speak-out-lmpd-asks-tips-solve-new-years-shooting-outside-motorcycle-club

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – LMPD is asking for tips after a deadly shooting outside a motorcycle club in the Parkland neighborhood that happened just before midnight on New Year’s Eve

The shooting happened outside the “No Haterz” Motorcycle Club, located at 1120 South 36th Street. Police say 21-year-old Michael Lamont Bass II was shot in the chest. LMPD says people at the club drove him to UofL Hospital, where he died in surgery.

“First of the year, first homicide, it’s disheartening but not surprising,” said Metro Council member Tammy Hawkins, who represents the district where the shooting occurred.

A flyer on the club’s Facebook page had invited people to pay to come to a New Year’s party, offering free food and free champagne.

It’s unclear if the club sells alcohol or has a liquor license with Metro ABC.
Hawkins said for social clubs where it’s mostly bring your own alcohol, there wouldn’t be any regulations around security like there are with clubs that are licensed.

“For the most part, all motorcycle clubs, they kind of police themselves, and they pretty much do a great job,” Hawkins said.

WAVE News reached out to the manager of the club’s Facebook page and so far has not heard back.
The topic of whether bars or clubs should be held responsible for shootings that happen outside their establishment has been controversial over the past year.

In June, a shooting outside of Club H2O killed one person and injured seven others. The bar’s owner asked for more police presence to help control the nightlife scene in the area and later voluntarily shut the club down.

In October, Metro ABC chose not to renew the liquor license of Baxter’s 942, citing “repeated acts of violence” emanating from events that occurred “in the vicinity” of the bar after it hired a local DJ, including a shooting that killed two people. The bar owner appealed the decision.

In March, Metro Council passed an ordinance that gave Metro ABC the authority to issue emergency license suspensions if a bar or club has violations that are deemed to be a threat to public safety.

Outlaws Motorcycle Club member pleads guilty to gun charge

Buffalo News December 27, 2024
https://buffalonews.com › news › local › crime-courts

An Outlaws Motorcycle Club member who pleaded guilty Friday to a gun charge has already been in jail for a good portion of what federal guidelines suggest for a sentence. Scott Barnes, 56, a union electrician whom prosecutors have described as a national enforcer for the Outlaws, has been in jail since December 2023.

Nevada Supreme Court files ruling in 2022 Hells Angels I-11 shooting

By FOX5 Staff
Published: Dec. 27, 2024 at 12:58 PM EST|Updated: 1 hour ago

https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/12/27/nevada-supreme-court-files-ruling-2022-hells-angels-i-11-shooting/
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Hells Angels motorcycle club is a “criminal gang” under state law.

The ruling stems from a freeway shooting back in 2022.

It now allows a Clark County District Court case involving the shooting to move forward.

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.

Prosecutors have said the shooting may have been in retaliation for a previous murder in California involving the two groups.

Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.

Forfeited B.C. Hells Angels clubhouse sold to City of Kelowna

The Kelowna property, located at 837 Ellis St., is assessed at $1.25 million. The property was built in 1996 and listed as a one-bedroom, two-bathroom detached house, measuring approximately 2,000 square feet.

Stephanie Ip Vancouver Sun Dec 19, 2024
https://vancouversun.com/news/forfeited-bc-hells-angels-clubhouse-sold-kelowna-ellis-street

A former Hells Angels clubhouse seized by the province has been sold to the City of Kelowna.

The sale was finalized on Thursday, according to a statement issued by Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Gary Begg.

“In February 2023, three Hells Angels clubhouses in Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo were forfeited to the province — a major victory — following more than a decade of legal proceedings,” said Begg.

“Today, the government has finalized the sale of the former Hells Angels Kelowna clubhouse to the City of Kelowna, marking the next step in addressing organized crime in British Columbia.”

The Kelowna property, at 837 Ellis St., is assessed at $1.25 million. The property was built in 1996 and listed as a one-bedroom, two bathroom detached house, measuring about 2,000 square feet.

A City of Kelowna spokesperson declined to share the purchase price when reached by Postmedia News but said the city used funds from the land sales reserve for the purchase.

“The city strategically acquires lands as they become available to meet the evolving needs and priorities of the community,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We’re working to determine the best use for this land in the future.”

In an emailed statement to Postmedia, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Public Safety said the procedure for selling off seized assets is “dependent on the unique circumstances of each case.” They could not share the sale price, as the sale had not yet been registered with the land titles office.

It was one of three properties B.C.’s Court of Appeal had ordered handed over to the province’s Civil Forfeiture Office in 2023, after a 2020 B.C. Supreme Court ruling allowed the organized crime group to keep the clubhouses.
The other two properties are at 805 Victoria Rd. in Nanaimo and 3598 East Georgia St. in Vancouver. The clubhouses were used for meetings and special events, some attended by hundreds of Hells Angels members.

The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office is tasked with ensuring people can’t profit from criminal activity, and seizing the proceeds of such activity. Since the office was established in 2006, it has collected about $155 million worth of seizures, much of it given to crime prevention initiatives. A total of $82 million has been disbursed to crime prevention and community safety grants, while $1.6 million has gone to compensate victims.

The agency first went after the group’s Nanaimo clubhouse in 2007. The government agency later turned their attention in 2012 to also include the Kelowna and east Vancouver clubhouses. It argued that the venues would likely be used for more crime in the future, as they had in the past.

In late 2023, the Nanaimo clubhouse was demolished. The east Vancouver clubhouse was listed for sale in late 2023 but has since been taken off the market, according to online listings.

In a statement, a ministry spokesperson said “the sale of the other two forfeited Hells Angels clubhouse properties will be made public when details are available.” They did not confirm whether that meant the other two clubhouses had already been sold and not yet announced or if it meant the two properties remain on the market.

In announcing the sale of the Kelowna clubhouse, Begg said the province retains what’s called “right of entry, a new tool that means the Civil Forfeiture Office will be able to take the property back if it is ever acquired and used by organized crime in the future.”

Begg said the sale of the property “puts organized crime on notice” and was an opportunity for the City of Kelowna to convert the “problematic property … into an asset for the community.”