Author: terry.katz

How ‘hybrid’ Nordic biker gangs are starting to replace the Hells Angels
Richard Orange – richard.orange@thelocal.com Published: 25 Oct, 2024

Biker gangs have been a big part of the criminal world in the Nordics for more than three decades, and now they’ve opened up to immigrants, with a leader from one of the new hybrid gangs attending the wedding of a high-profile Swedish politician.

During the Nordic Biker War of 30 years ago, the Hells Angels were big players, but a report out this month from the Swedish research organisation Acta Publica said that, in Sweden at least, the gang is a shadow of its former self. The other big player, Bandidos, has been hit with a temporary ban in Denmark, which risks becoming permanent.

This has opened space for new biker gangs, with one such group, Comanches, currently expanding rapidly. Comanches was formed last year by Nadim Khan, the central figure in VHK, a street gang from northern Copenhagen.

The President of the “Comanches MC South End” division in southern Sweden region Skåne caused a scandal at the start of this month by attending the wedding of Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Danish journalist Carsten Norton, author of the book Bandekrigerne fra Værebro, or “The Gang Warriors from Værebro”, pointed out the contradiction in a party which platforms itself as being both opposed to immigration and tough on crime as on having someone from Comanches at their wedding. The gang’s raison d’être is to be open to all ethnicities, and it is arguably the most criminal biker gang in the Nordics.

“Since the Comanches define themselves very explicitly as a multi-ethnic club, it’s kind of surprising,” he said. “They let in members from any ethnic background, and any background in any other street gang or biker club,” Norton told The Local.

While Hells Angels and Bandidos were motorcycle clubs which engaged in crime, he added, with the Comanches it was the other way around: they were a criminal gang which had formed a motorcycle club.

“The big difference between Comanches and the other biker gangs is that the other biker gangs are all international organisations which were imported to Denmark and Comanches is an organisation founded in Denmark that is now being exported to other countries, like Sweden, Spain, Morocco, Vietnam, Thailand and so on,” he said.
An MC gang for immigrants

Khan’s first move into MC gangs came when he started a branch of Satudarah, a Dutch multiethnic biker gang, along with a group of former members of Hells Angels. Satudarah was originally founded by immigrants from The Molluccas, a former Dutch colony in what is now Indonesia, in 1990 and in the 2010s expanded across Europe, before being banned in Germany in 2015, in The Netherlands in 2018, and in Norway last month.

Satudarah in Norway was up until 2023 taking orders from Khan in Denmark, according to Norway’s police service Kripos, and was ordered to be shut down after it was linked to a shooting outside the National Theatre in Oslo and a stabbing at a nightclub in Lillestrøm in 2023.The gang is thought to have disbanded in Sweden in 2022 after the gang’s local leader was shot dead at the Emporia shopping mall in Malmö.

Khan’s decision to launch a branch of Satudarah had come, Norton says, as a reaction to the founding of Loyal to Familia, which united disparate Copenhagen immigrant street gangs by adopting the patches, insignia and structure of biker gangs.

“Loyal to Familia was a way of uniting street gangs from the various neighbourhoods in greater Copenhagen and when they were founded, they had a conflict with VHK,” he said. “It turned out to be very difficult for VHK to fight Loyal to Familia, because all of a sudden they had more than 100 people, and they were all over town, so Satudarah was founded ten months after Loyal to Familia started its conflict with VHK.”

When Satudarah was banned, Khan relaunched it as Comanches. The openness to multiple ethnicities makes the Comanches a very different type of motorcycle club from Hells Angels, and even Bandidos, Norton said, as these two clubs tended to be mainly run by ethnic Danes. The Hells Angels, in particular, has historically excluded black people, which was the reason why, despite a loose alliance with VHK, VHK was never absorbed into the gang.

“This is why VHK was not allowed into Hells Angels — because they had two members with an African background,” Norton said, adding that the Danish branch of Hells Angels had been called before a world meeting of Hells Angels last year after admitting new members from a street gang called NNV, two of whom had African backgrounds.

“They were told ‘you’re not allowed to let in members with black skin,” he said. “I don’t know how they solved it, but it was definitely an issue.”

Bandidos, he stressed, have always been more open to other ethnicities, even if, unlike with Comanches, ethnic Danes were in a majority.

“They have always had members with Middle Eastern backgrounds, dark skin, whatever, and Hells Angels have more traditionally been, you know, pure white, old Danish guys.”

Kjetil Tunold, head of the organised crime section at Norway’s Kripos, said that Hells Angels and Bandidos in Norway had little respect for Satudarah.

“They don’t necessarily see them as an MC club. They see them more as a criminal gang,” he said. While Satudarah could recruit new members in a matter of weeks, he went on, Hells Angels could vet a potential recruit for years before allowing them into the club.

Hells Angels and Bandidos still biggest

Although Comanches has been in the headlines a lot, the upstart gang remains smaller than the more established Hells Angels and Bandidos, with around 20 members in Sweden and 170 in Denmark according to Acta Publica.

Lasse Boje, Director of Denmark’s National Unit for Special Crime, said earlier this year that the Bandidos were still the biggest and most violent of Denmark’s three main criminal biker gangs. “It is the group that is the largest. It is the most prone to conflicts and violence of the groups,” he told the Ritzau newswire as the government attempted to ban it.

Bandidos are throught to have around 280 members in Denmark.

According to Acta Publica, Hells Angels and Bandidos are also still by far the largest clubs in Sweden, with about 650 members shared roughly equally between them.

“From a recruitment perspective, Hells Angels are really running at low levels.” the report reads. “Acta Publica has been in contact with several people who attend parties and other events associated with Hells Angels in Sweden. Many no longer recognize the club compared to the glory days 10–20 years ago. Most observers see a kind of resignation in some members that wasn’t present before. Hells Angels seems to have fallen into a routine, and there is an age-related fatigue among the members.”

Comanches only had around 20 members in Sweden but was nonetheless “clearly more active than other clubs of around the same size”.

To what extent are biker gangs in the Nordics involved in gang conflicts?

According to the latest report on the gang and biker environment from the Danish police and the Acta Publica report, members of the Hells Angels, Bandidos, and Comanches have all been involved in gang conflicts in recent years.

The Danish police report claims that Hells Angels in Denmark have been in an ongoing conflict with Loyal to Familia since August last year, leading the Danish policy to temporarily close Hells Angels’ club houses. The conflict started when a Hells Angels associate was shot 30 times at Pusher Street in Christiania, Copenhagen, in August 2023, indicating the conflict might be linked to a cannabis turf war.

In August, a Hells Angels member was sentenced to eight years in prison in Denmark for possession of a large number of firearms.

Comanches in July 2024 began a conflict with an unnamed Danish criminal group, which according to Acta Publica is allied to the Rumba network run by Ismail Abdo, the former partner and now bitter rival of Raja Mawid, leader of the Foxtrot gang.

Several Swedish teenagers are currently held by police in Denmark after they were hired to carry out attacks on family members of the leadership of Comanches in Denmark. According to the Acta Publica report, the conflict related to a stolen consignment of drugs and came to an end when the Comanches made a reparatory payment.

In Sweden, the Bandidos are “significantly more criminally active”, than the Hells Angels, Acta Publica reported, although this does not mean there is no violence associated with the latter club.

The Acta Publica report claims that Hells Angels in Gothenburg have been threatening to kill a former member who defected to the Comanches, something which it warned could spark a conflict between the gangs in future. Linus Bergh, who was ejected from Hells Angels in Lidköping was murdered in 2022, nine days after joining Satudarah MC in the city.

In a previous report in 2023, Acta Publica reported that there had been turf wars between Bandidos and both the Foxtrot network and a street gang in southern Stockholm.
To what extent are biker gangs in the Nordics involved in crimes like drug trafficking?

Norton said that not all members of Hells Angels and Bandidos were active criminals who joined the clubs to commit crimes.

“There’s definitely a core of older members – in their 50s and some also in their 60s – who like motorcycles and leather jackets and long hair and beards, and old-school biker culture, and they want to be Hells Angels like in the old days,” he said.

“But a remarkable amount of members have a criminal record, and in the case of Comanches, members of the club have been involved in anything from scams, through racketeering, violence, threats, murders.”
t’s a similar story in Sweden and in Norway.

“If you look at Comanches members today, they’re been sentenced in the past for some pretty serious crimes, among them serious weapons offences, extortion and drugs crime,” Frederiksen, a former policeman who now works for Acta Publica, told SVT.

When the Norwegian Supreme Court this month banned Satudarah, it said that it had been convinced that the club was primarily a criminal organisation and only secondarily a motorcycle club.

“The Supreme Court finds that participants in the Satudarah MC have repeatedly committed serious offenses against the life, health and freedom of others, and that this criminal activity is sufficient to cause fear in the population,” it said in a press release. “The Supreme Court points out that even though the club refers to itself as a motorcycle club which is open to minorities, the motorcycle interest appears to be subordinate. For example, it is not a condition that participants have a motorcycle.”

Norton said police believed that the reason that the Scandinavian wings of the biker gangs all had representatives in the south of Spain was because of drug trafficking.

“Hells Angels, Bandidos, Comanches, and also some of the street gangs all have a representation in the south of Spain, close to Malaga, the big harbour,” he said. “If you ask the police, it’s definitely a strategic position they have there. It’s nice to have someone close to where the goods come in.”

Are the Bandidos and Hells Angels opening up to immigrant members?

Norton said that Comanches, and before them Loyal to Familia and Satudarah, had benefited from a big recruitment advantage over Hells Angels and Bandidos.

“They have been trying to absorb members of the gang environment, and they are merging the gang culture with the biker culture. I think that’s that’s part of the explanation for Satudarah’s and Comanches’ success in recruiting people, because they’re mixing the two worlds,” he said.

“Since they have a different ethnic profile to begin with than the biker gangs, they use that as an advantage when they recruit new members, so the older biker gangs have been confronted with this as a problem, because it might be more difficult for them to to attract younger people. I mean, the number of 16 to 18 year olds who are attracted to biker gangs is quite limited, so they have a much bigger recruitment base than the biker clubs.”

There are signs, though, he said that Hells Angels’ are relaxing their traditional reluctance to take in ethnically diverse new members.

“This group knows that its future members are not necessarily ethnic white Danes. They might be, you know, former street gang members who are willing to do ‘whatever it takes’, as I guess they would call it, and they have recruited a number of former street gang members, which has turned out to be difficult because some of some of these guys came with conflicts with LTF, for instance.”

For example, when Hells Angels recruited 20 to 30 members of the NNV street gang in Copenhagen, it reportedly only took four months before the new members left.

On the other hand, as Comanches has expanded into Sweden, it seems to have mainly attracted people with ethnic Swedish backgrounds. When the Swedish Comanches held a “Memorial run” for the murdered Linus Bergh in Lidköping in May this year, the Danish members were visibly more ethnically mixed than the Swedish ones.

The first Comanches club in Sweden, in Lidköping, was started by the father of Linus Bergh, a former Hells Angels member, and the Skåne president who attended Jimmie Åkesson’s wedding was ethnically Swedish, and had been a member of Bandidos Malmö when the club existed.

It still remains to be seen whether a new multi-ethnic biker gang can sustain itself in the long run and challenge the established gangs who have been active in the Nordics since the first Hells Angels chapter opened in Copenhagen in 1980.

Police make 4 more arrests in Hamilton robbery involving ‘outlaw’ motorcycle gang members
2 women and 2 men charged in connection with July 4 robbery

Desmond Brown · CBC News · Posted: Oct 25, 2024 12:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 25

The latest arrests bring to five the number of Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and Red Devils Motorcycle Club members in connection with the July 4 robbery, Ontario Provincial Police say. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Police have arrested four people, including an “outlaw” motorcycle gang member, in connection with a July robbery in Hamilton.

That makes for five Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and Red Devils Motorcycle Club members arrested in connection with the July 4 robbery, Ontario Provincial Police say.

Police have been investigating after a person was assaulted at an “establishment” and robbed of their personal items.

On Oct. 4, police searched three residences in Haldimand County, Ont., Brantford, Ont., and Hamilton, leading to the arrest of one Hells Angels “hangaround” member and three other individuals, police said in a Friday news release.

Police say they also seized six handguns — two of which had no serial number, or on which the serial number had been tampered with — five rifles, one shotgun, two extended magazines, a silencer and ammunition.

Those arrested include two men and two women whose ages range from 23 to 41, all from Dunnville in Haldimand County. They face multiple charges, including possession of a prohibited weapon, unauthorized possession of a firearm and possession of property obtained by crime.

One of the accused was remanded into custody, while the others were released. Police say they are all scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on Nov. 26.

9 arrested since robbery

Police previously arrested five men, whose ages range from 34 to 51 years old, and charged them with assault causing bodily harm and robbery. Two are from Hamilton and the rest are from Brantford, Ont., Toronto and Grimsby, Ont.

The Hells Angels Hamilton chapter started in 2005 and is one of 14 in Ontario. The gang has about 6,000 members worldwide. The Red Devils are a support club for the Hells Angels.

Police said they consider outlaw motorcycle gangs to be criminal organizations “whose activities cause harm and victimization in communities across Ontario.”

The motorcycle gangs have been known to participate in fraud, drug trafficking, extortion, intimidation and murder, police said.

Vacaville Hells Angels member admits to being a convicted felon in possession of ammo

Updated on: October 23, 2024 / 11:37 AM PDT / CBS/Bay City News Service
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/vacaville-hells-angels-member-admits-convicted-felon-possession-ammo/

A Vacaville member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club pleaded guilty Tuesday to being a felon in possession of ammunition, U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert announced.

According to prosecutors, Kenneth Caspers Jr., 57, beat two people who were members of a different motorcycle club considered a ‘puppet’ (or subordinate) club of the Hells Angels.

Caspers beat the men in 2021 along with fellow Hells Angels members Michael Mahoney, Jaime Alvarez, and Dennis Killough after the victims were perceived to have broken Hells Angels’ rules.

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 has previously been convicted of several felony crimes—including a previous felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm—which bars him from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Caspers is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2025, and is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

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.

Man arrested in connection to homicide outside North Omaha motorcycle club

Police made an arrest in connection to a homicide outside a North Omaha motorcycle club earlier this month.
By 6 News staff reports Published: Oct. 17, 2024

https://www.wowt.com/2024/10/18/police-arrest-suspect-deadly-shooting-outside-north-omaha-motorcycle-club/
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Police made an arrest Thursday in connection to a fatal shooting outside a North Omaha motorcycle club earlier this month.

Darnell Long, Jr., 27, was arrested and booked into jail on one count of first-degree murder and one count of using a weapon to commit a felony.

The charges stem from the Oct. 6 incident that left 37-year-old Alexander Whitcomb dead and another woman injured.
Police patrolling the area came across a disturbance near 25th Street and Ames Avenue, where “hundreds” were running from a scene with multiple people exchanging gunfire outside the Los-Diablos Motorcycle Club.

Officers located Whitcomb on the ground outside the club’s building. Medics performed CPR but he was declared dead shortly after being transported to the hospital.

The shooting sparked controversy, with the Omaha Police Officers Association calling for the closure of the club, claiming it’s a “magnet for violence.” In response, the club’s president — Danny Robinson — said his organization had nothing to do with the shooting and that they were helping Whitcomb, who had come to them after he had been shot.

‘Outlaw’ biker planted pipe bomb in gang feud

Daniel Laponder was told he “will receive a significant custodial sentence”

BBC October 16, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx25z5d7762o

A motorcycle gang member who planted a pipe bomb under a van during a feud is due to be sentenced next month.

Daniel Laponder admitted planting the explosive under his rival’s father’s van, causing a blaze outside his home in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, in June.

He targeted David Rollo because his son was a member of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club, a rival to Mr Laponder’s own, the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club.

The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to wilful fire-raising and the unlawful possession of a shotgun at the High Court in Glasgow.
Mr Laponder told the court he left the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club, stated to be the oldest outlaw biker club in Europe, a year ago.

Prosecutor Lorraine Glancy KC said fire crews attending the blaze of Mr Rollo’s van on Benvue Road found the pipe bomb lying underneath the vehicle.

A major incident was declared, resulting in the evacuation of the area and a 100-metre cordon was in place until the device was made safe.

Mr Laponder’s DNA and fingerprints were recovered from a bottle and duct tape used in the making of the device.

Police traced him to a barge where he was living in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, after which he informed them of a shotgun he had inside.

They found a loaded double-barrel, break-action shotgun that had been shortened by removing a section of the barrel and stock.

John Scullion KC defended Mr Laponder’s actions, telling the court: “Motorcycles belonging to friends of Mr Laponder were set on fire.”

He added: “A group of motorcyclists attended Mr. Laponder’s home address and threatened him with violence.”

The sentence was deferred pending background reports by judge Lord Arthurson until next month and Mr Laponder was remanded in custody.

The judge said: “These are very grave offences involving serious weapons, and at the end of this process, you will receive a significant custodial sentence.”

16 Hells Angels & Red Devils Members Face Charges Related to Violent Racketeering Enterprise
Wednesday, October 16, 2024

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/16-hells-angels-red-devils-members-face-charges-related-violent-racketeering

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
USANCEPublicInfoOfficer@usdoj.gov

RALEIGH, N.C. – A single federal indictment in the Eastern District of North Carolina charges 16 members of two outlaw motorcycle gangs – the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) and the Red Devils Motorcycle Club (RDMC) – for their alleged roles as part of an enterprise engaging in violent criminal activity in and around Raleigh and Fayetteville. The RDMC is the main support club nationwide for the HAMC.

Five of the defendants are charged with Murder in Aid of Racketeering for the killing of a member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club (PMC), a rival gang, on January 1, 2023, in Raleigh. Two additional defendants are charged with accessory after the fact for their actions following that murder.

Eight defendants are charged with Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering for their alleged role in a July 22, 2023 violent assault of a PMC member in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen restaurant in Wade, North Carolina.

One defendant is charged with obstruction for attempting to dissuade a witness from assisting the criminal investigation of this case.

“Two years ago we launched a Violent Crime Action Plan to partner with local law enforcement to identify the individuals and groups driving violence in North Carolina, especially criminal enterprises that support and encourage violence by their members,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “We’ll keep pursuing cases like this one, charging violent crimes in aid of racketeering, to expose patterns of violence and hold gang members and those who enable them accountable.”

“According to the indictment, these defendants were leaders, organizers, and members of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club and committed multiple crimes to advance their positions in this violent gang,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The gang’s alleged violent acts included the murder of a rival gang member on a public street, and the assault and attempted murder of other rival gang members in a restaurant parking lot. This indictment demonstrates that, along with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, the Criminal Division is committed to holding accountable those response for acts of violence that terrorize local communities.”

“Outlaw motorcycle gangs are notorious for lawless and violent behavior,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “These criminal organizations are responsible for a long list of illegal activities, such as assault and homicide and operate with absolutely no regard for the safety of law enforcement or the community. ATF is proud to stand with our law enforcement partners and be part of an effort to disrupt and disband violent and dangerous networks.”

“I am proud to stand with my federal, state, and local partners in investigating and disrupting violent organizations,” said Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson. “The Raleigh Police Department and our community will not tolerate destructive behavior and will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to identify those responsible to ensure they are held accountable. I am grateful to United States Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr., and his team for their continued dedication and steadfast commitment to public safety. I also thank the ATF, the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office for their strong partnership in these cases.”

“Operation Broken Halo has been an ongoing investigation with the Fayetteville Police Department and the ATF into an alleged criminal enterprise connected to an outlaw motorcycle gang,” said Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden. “Through collaboration and partnership with the ATF and other supporting agencies, we were able to successfully bring charges against numerous members of this outlaw motorcycle gang and their supporting clubs. The Fayetteville Police Department remains committed to our partnership with federal, state, and local agencies to remove violent criminals from our community.”

“I want to make it clear: violent activity is not tolerated in Cumberland County,” said Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis W. Wright. “The Sheriff’s Office is 100% committed to maintaining a safe and peaceful community. We thoroughly investigate all tips, and it’s vital for the community to continue to report what they see because we cannot do it alone. We are grateful for our partnerships with the community, the Department of Justice, and federal and local law enforcement agencies. Together, we do and will continue to make a difference.”

Most of the charges are being brought under the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity (VICAR) statute, which makes it illegal to commit violent crimes, including murder, kidnapping, maiming, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, or threatening to commit a crime of violence for the purpose of joining, remaining with, or moving up in rank within an enterprise.

The indictment alleges that all 16 defendants are members or associates of the HAMC, a violent outlaw motorcycle group alleged to use violence, threats, and intimidation to carry out its perceived mission and enforce its rules.
The indictment alleges that HAMC members are under a standing order to attack, injure, and potentially kill members of the PMC. The indictment also alleges that HAMC members commonly commit physical assaults, including murder, threats to injure, and intimidation to keep witnesses to their criminal conduct silent.

The indictment charges the following offenses:

Vidaul Rashaad Reed, aka “Hootie,” Anthony Edward Cheever, aka “Rowdy,” David William Stephens, aka “007,” Martinus Jermaine Starks, aka “Tee,” and Tyler Scott Grissom, aka “Snow,” are all members of the RDMC and are each charged with one count of Murder in Aid of Racketeering and one count of discharge of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence and, in doing so, causing death; all for allegedly murdering a member of the PMC on January 1, 2023. Murder in Aid of Racketeering carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction and the other charged offenses carry a sentence of up to life in prison.

Christopher Dylan Manor and Robert Scott Brown are both charged with accessory after the fact to the January 1, 2023 murder. Manor was a member of RDMC at the time of the alleged offense and Brown is a member of the HAMC. Each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Jason Lee Hathaway, Fred Joseph Prosperi, aka “Freddy” and “Snow Boy,” William Scott Gardner, aka “Big Will,” Terry Lewis Akins, Jr., J.R. Nevarez Darr, Darrell Dewayne Strickland, Jr., William Franklin Beasley and David Lee Woodall are charged with Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering and Assault with a Deadly Weapon in Aid of Racketeering related to the attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon of members of the PMC on July 22, 2023 in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen restaurant in Wade, North Carolina. They are all were members of the HAMC at the time of the offense and each face up to thirty years in prison if convicted.

Jonathan Michael Robarge is charged with tampering with a witness, victim or informant by harassment, Robarge has ties to both HAMC and RDMC, and faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
The ATF, the Raleigh and Fayetteville Police Departments, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Alyssa Levey-Weinstein and Deputy Chief Kelly Pearson of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly L. Sandling and Robert Dodson of the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

This investigation was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated October 16, 2024

Attorney-client breach jeopardizes Iron Range Hells Angels case
A judge has called a hearing to gather additional information after it was discovered that law enforcement gained access to confidential jail communications.
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/attorney-client-breach-jeopardizes-iron-range-hells-angels-case
By Tom Olsen .Duluth News Tribune October 12, 2024

VIRGINIA — Defense attorneys are asking a judge to toss kidnapping, rape and assault charges against four men connected to the Hells Angels motorcycle club after investigators allegedly eavesdropped on privileged communications.

Court filings accuse the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension of illegally monitoring phone calls and/or text messages from at least two jailed defendants to their attorneys.
The documents allege that agents were able to intercept key discussions about defense strategy, in turn passing along information to the prosecutor and seeking to prevent witnesses from cooperating with the defense.

Gilbert Police Chief Ty Techar, whose agency was asked by the BCA to assist in reviewing jail communications, indicated to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office that he believed the review may have been “more widespread” than the one instance that was initially brought to the attention of a prosecutor.

Techar, according to a report, also expressed concern that a BCA agent was “going off the deep end” and said he heard the case was “falling apart.”

“Law enforcement alerted the state to not just illegally eavesdropping, but illegally eavesdropping attorney-client privileged communications for the purpose of gaining an advantage in litigation,” defense attorneys wrote. “This is a more egregious violation than generalized eavesdropping, and treating it as anything less opens the floodgates to unchecked government surveillance.”

Prosecutors have not yet filed a detailed response, with a judge setting a hearing for next month to gather additional information. The BCA declined to address specific allegations, citing the active investigation and litigation.

“The BCA reviews jail communications, including jail phone calls and text messages — which are public — as part of active investigations,” spokeswoman Jill Oliveira told the News Tribune.

“Any communication containing attorney/client privileged information is supposed to be removed before we ever have access to it. However, if we receive information that we believe should have been removed, we immediately close the file and contact the county attorney. That is certainly what happened here.”

Agents had been monitoring group

The cases stem from allegations that a woman was sexually assaulted and a man was abducted and beaten at the Hells Angels’ downtown Eveleth clubhouse.

Authorities reported that the man escaped from the group on crutches on Nov. 28 and ran to the safety of police, expressing fear that members could find him.

Investigators said they went on to learn that both victims were visiting an Eveleth residence on Nov. 27 when club members arrived. It was reported that the woman was raped there by Paul Anthony Debelak and Eric Anthony Newman.

The man, meanwhile, was allegedly taken to the clubhouse in a van driven by Jake Douglas Novaczyk. He said he continued to be beaten by the chapter president, Jerand Paul French, as other members recorded video.

Authorities have released few details about the alleged motive or relationships between parties, other than to say that French was allegedly upset about the man’s association with the woman.

Defense attorneys, however, allege in their new filings that investigators were eager to implicate the club in serious crimes, noting BCA agents had been conducting surveillance outside the headquarters since at least June 2023.

The attorneys assert that the alleged victims had been using drugs, a practice that is not tolerated by the Hells Angels, and that they concocted the narrative for the eager investigators. The defense filings indicate that other witnesses in the house said the rape and kidnapping did not occur, and there is no DNA or other forensic evidence to support it.

Debelak’s attorney, Shauna Kieffer, said she suspected their communications were compromised after her client provided the names of some witnesses they should speak to. She said BCA agents “almost immediately” got a hold of those people and ordered them not to have any contact with the defense.

Attorneys expressed further concerns about “chronic and ongoing threats” to witnesses, saying at least one person was “falsely told he could be charged with a crime if he didn’t cooperate with the BCA,” and noting a recording was made of one such call.

Breach was disclosed by prosecutor

The lawyers said their fears were realized when a BCA agent told St. Louis County prosecutor Chris Florey that he learned Novaczyk’s defense planned to surprise the state by filing a speedy trial demand at a July hearing.
Florey immediately alerted defense attorney Robert Christensen, and there is no indication that the prosecutor otherwise benefited from privileged information.

Florey reported to defense attorneys that he directed the agent not to monitor attorney-client communications. The agent, he said, responded with something along the lines of, “Forget what I just told you then.”

“The agent gave no reassurance this wouldn’t happen again or that this was a one-time mistake,” defense attorneys wrote, calling it “egregious conduct” that impacts their clients’ rights and turns the prosecutor into a witness.

Florey subsequently spoke with Techar, whose agency had been asked to assist due to a conflict with the Eveleth Police Department. The Gilbert chief told the prosecutor there “might be an issue with the text system” at the jail, with messages to attorneys and non-attorneys mixed together, rather than being separated.

Techar added in a follow-up email that he may have “misspoke on the issue of (the agent) going off the deep end” but said he was advised the BCA agent was “stressed and overworked from this case.”

The defense motions seek multiple sanctions up to dismissal of charges against all four defendants based on violations of their rights to counsel and due process, witness tampering and “outrageous government conduct.”

In the alternative, attorneys argued Debelak and Novaczyk should be released from custody, agents involved in monitoring calls should be removed from the case and a hearing should be scheduled to address violations in detail.

Judge Robert Friday this week scheduled a Nov. 22 hearing in Debelak’s case, at which time agents are expected to testify about the attorney-client issues and witness tampering allegations.

The judge also granted Debelak’s release at a Tuesday hearing, eliminating a prior requirement to post a $500,000 bond. Debelak will remain under intensive pretrial release.

Omaha motorcycle club president arrested for violating sex offender registry

Police investigating homicide outside of Los-Diablos Motorcycle Club

https://www.wowt.com/2024/10/10/omaha-motorcycle-club-president-arrested-sex-offender-registry-violation/
6 News staff reports Ovober 10, 2024

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office say they arrested the president of the Los-Diablos Motorcycle Club on Wednesday.

Danny Robinson, 64, was arrested for violating the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry, a report says.

The arrest comes shortly after a homicide on Sunday outside of Los-Diablos Motorcycle Club that left 37-year-old Alexander Whitcomb dead. The shooting is spurring calls to shut down the bar.

An investigation showed that Robinson was using the motorcycle club’s address as his permanent address instead of his Omaha residence, a violation with the sex offender registry.

He was booked into Douglas County Corrections on one count of violating the registry, a Class 3 felony.
Officials say Robinson was placed on the sex offender registry in 1994 after being convicted of 1st degree sexual assault of a minor in Douglas County.

Texas Wife of Motorcycle Club Member Arrested for Helping Husband Flee After Double Murder

By Lucas Banda, Sanangelolive.com October 14, 2024

https://www.sanangelolive.com/news/crime/2024-10-14/texas-wife-motorcycle-club-member-arrested-helping-husband-flee-after-double-murder

WACO, TX – Authorities in Texas arrested a woman for aiding her husband in fleeing the scene after he allegedly shot two people to death and told a nurse to stop performing CPR on one of the victims.

Alyssa Sevilla, 30, was charged with capital murder on Wednesday for assisting her husband, Romi Frentescu, 32, after the killings of Michael Morris, 38, and his 18-year-old son, Braxton Johnson. This happened following a feud between Frentescu and Morris.

The altercation began when Morris reportedly stopped his vehicle near Frentescu’s home and made an “obscene gesture.” Frentescu followed Morris back to his residence, where an argument escalated. Both men dismounted their motorcycles, and Frentescu claimed Morris attacked him before Frentescu fired shots, killing Morris and his son.
Witnesses said a nurse attempted to perform CPR on Morris, but Frentescu, wearing a Cossacks Motorcycle Club vest, intervened and ordered her to stop, stating he “wanted the man to die.” Sevilla then arrived in her vehicle and drove her husband away from the scene.

Police found Frentescu’s motorcycle at the scene and noted inconsistencies in his story. Frentescu and Sevilla were arrested and are being held at the McLennan County Jail on $1 million bonds.

The Cossacks Motorcycle Club, which Frentescu is reportedly affiliated with, gained notoriety in a 2015 shootout with a rival gang that left nine dead and 18 injured.

1 of 6 men arrested in Pagan motorcycle club murder in Marion County indicted by grand jury

By WDTV News Staff Published: Oct. 8, 2024
https://www.wdtv.com/2024/10/08/1-6-men-arrested-pagan-motorcycle-club-murder-marion-county-indicted-by-grand-jury/

FAIRMONT, W.Va (WDTV) – One of the six men arrested in relation to a Pagan motorcycle club murder in Marion County was indicted Tuesday.

The Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office released 14 additional indictments after day two of the grand jury’s October term, and Ryan Lane was included.

Lane, 37, was indicted on one count of first-degree murder, one count of organized criminal enterprise and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

Lane was arrested in June after texting John Wolfe, who was found guilty of Henry Silver’s 2022 murder, about the situation. Lane told Wolfe they need to “handle that f——,” according to court documents.

Ten minutes prior to the murder occurring, Wolfe texted Lane and told him “keep ur phone on I might need bail money.” After that text, deputies said Lane continued to communicate with Wolfe and traveled to where he believed he would be to discuss the events that occurred.