Author: terry.katz

Huntsville motorcycle club declared total loss in early morning fire

Huntsville Fire and Rescue responded to a fire at the Durdy Boyz Motorcycle Club on Stringfield Road NW around 5 a.m. on Monday.
Author: Austin Pylant
Published: 8:47 AM CDT September 30, 2024
https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/huntsville-motorcycle-club-business-damaged-in-early-morning-fire/525-67ed3183-395e-469e-bd15-75ffbe8954d1

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville Fire and Rescue responded to a fire at the Durdy Boyz Motorcycle Club on Stringfield Road NW around 5 a.m. this morning.

According to officials, the call came in just before 5 a.m. No one was inside the building during the fire, and no injuries were reported. Seven fire trucks responded to the scene.

By 7:40 a.m., firefighters had put out the flames and were working to soak the remaining hotspots. The building has been deemed a total loss.

FOX54 spoke with one of the club’s owners, who shared that the club was established in 2003 and moved into the building in 2016.

Biker who sold cocaine to undercover cop tries to convince judge he’s changed
:
Jane Sims London Free Press, in London, Ontario Canada 26, 2024 •

Biker who sold cocaine to undercover cop tries to convince judge he’s changed

Ryan (Big Red) Daigneault told a judge he can appreciate why there might be some doubts that he has changed the trajectory of his life.

“I understand the Crown’s questioning of how we’ve been here before but the difference before the court today is I have a foundation I’m standing on,” said the former president of the London chapter of the Outlaw motorcycle club as he stood in the prisoner’s box at his sentencing hearing on substantial gun and drug trafficking charges Thursday.

Daigneault, 48, a massive man who has made a career of criminal activity, was charged in March 2021 along with his underling Daniel (Tattoo) Bell, 37, in an OPP crackdown after they were duped by a police agent into selling him 3.5 kilograms of high-grade cocaine and a loaded handgun, plus offering him membership to the motorcycle club.
He and Bell pleaded guilty in February to two counts of trafficking in cocaine and one count of transferring or offering to transfer a handgun just before they were going on trial. While Bell has been on bail since his arrest, Daigneault has been waiting in jail since January 2023 on unrelated charges that have been withdrawn as part of the guilty plea deal. Before that he was on strict house-arrest bail.

When he was admitted into the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, Daigneault was a high-school dropout with a Grade 11 education and weighed in at 486 pounds, down from his all-time heaviest weight of 560 pounds. In the 20 months he’s been in jail, he’s dropped 190 pounds and kept a close track of his Type 2 diabetes.

He produced letters and certificates showing he has excelled in high school equivalency classes with glowing comments from his teachers. He has only seven credits before he earns his high school diploma.

He said he’s done particularly well in advanced Bible studies and is applying to Bible colleges. He told Superior Court Justice Spencer Nicholson he intends to follow that dream whether in or out of prison.

“This is not just me talking about the changes I want to do, these are actual things that are happening and are going forward,” Daigneault said.

At the hearing for both Daigneault and Bell, assistant Crown attorney Kristina Mildred said the prosecution is seeking a 10-year prison sentence for Daigneault. Once various pre-sentence credits are factored in, it would leave six years and four months left to serve.

But his defence lawyer, Alexandra Mamo, argued for a seven-year sentence, that with credits, would be reduced to four years and three months.

That would be shorter than the five-year term that is part of a joint sentencing submission for Bell, who was described by Mildred as “a trusted courier” for Daigneault and who carried out the orders and delivered the cocaine and gun to the police agent.

“I sincerely apologize for my mistakes and I’m more than willing to take the consequences for those mistakes that I made,” Bell, who has been studying at a trade school, told Nicholson. “I’ve been doing my best to turn my life around and get away from the lifestyle.”

Bell has no criminal record. His defence lawyer, Robert Farrington, told Nicholson Bell was not “the principal individual… although it’s clear he was a willing participant and was assigned the job of doing the actual hand-to-hand transactions.”

Daigneault has a criminal record but no previous sentence was long enough to send him to a federal prison.
He’s made promises before. In 2008, he was shot three times in the chest in a shooting that Mildred told the judge “was related to his involvement in the Outlaws organization.

“Being shot three times was not enough for him to cut ties,” she said.

He was back before an Ontario Court judge in 2016 to be sentenced for trafficking in hydromorphone where, through his previous defence lawyer, he said he was retired from the biker world and hadn’t been involved in any criminal organization since 2012. He wanted to leave London to get away from his associates who “were on the wrong side of the law.”

He wanted to deal with his health issues and get a fresh start. The judge rejected the Crown’s argument that Daigneault should be jailed and granted him a suspended sentence with probation.

“Mr. Daigneault has been here. He may say a number of things to you today… we’ve been here before and his behaviour has only escalated,” Mildred said to Nicholson.

Daigneault has been involved with the Outlaws for 25 years – “his whole adult life,” Mildred said – and rose through the ranks to president of the local chapter. He bragged during his exchanges with the police agent that he had been offered the national presidency.

“He was a leader of a notorious motorcycle club known for criminality and he was the one who ultimately had the control over and directed the offences before the court today,” she said.

Mamo said her initial sentencing position was nine to 10 years, but landed on a global sentence of seven years because of lockdown and overcrowding conditions at the jails and strict house arrest conditions before Daigneault was put in custody.

There was no denying he has been involved in crime for decades. However, Mamo said Daigneault has strong family supports, although his relationship with his late father became strained after his parents separated when he was a teenager.

His father died in the past two months while Daigneault has been jailed, Mamo said, which has been difficult for her client.

She said among his health issues, Daigneault developed an opioid addiction after he was shot, but has been clean for about a decade. And unlike in 2016, when he said he wanted to change his life “he’s put his money where his mouth is. He’s not making promises with nothing to point to or rely on. He’s taken this time in custody to better himself.”

Nicholson asked how he can be sure Daigneault won’t go back to a criminal lifestyle once he is out of prison.
“I think what he’s done in custody shows that he has had a wake-up call,” Mamo said.

Daigneault told the judge this time he is sincere. “The difference between then and now is my father passed away.
“My father passed away at a time that I wish he was still here so I could show him the changes that I’ve made,” he said.

Nicholson will have a sentencing decision for Daigneault and Bell on Nov. 26.
jsims@postmedia.com

3 arrested after fatal Port St. Lucie shooting involving rival biker clubs, police say

Dan Sanders, 53, gunned down after dispute at The Office Sports Pub, police say

: Scott Sutton , Tyler Hatfield WPTV September 23, 2024
https://www.wptv.com/news/treasure-coast/region-st-lucie-county/port-st-lucie/port-st-lucie-fatal-shooting-news-conference-9-23-24

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Police in Port St. Lucie said three suspects are in custody after a weekend shooting involving rival biker clubs that claimed the life of a motorcyclist early Sunday morning.
The victim was identified as Dan Sanders, 53, of Port St. Lucie.

Police said the shooting took place Sunday at about 1 a.m. at the intersection of Southwest California Boulevard and Southwest Greenan Lane. Sanders suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his abdomen, police said.
The victim was airlifted to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Six shell casings were recovered from the shooting scene.

bout an hour before the shooting, Port St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief Leo Niemczyk said that Sanders was involved in a fight with another individual at The Office Sports Pub along U.S. Highway 1.

Niemczyk said the three suspects, who at the time were at City Limits Sports Bar located on Southwest Gatlin Boulevard, were called by an associate to come to The Office Sports Pub.

After being at The Office Sports Pub for about 15 minutes, the suspects later chased down the victim in a blue Nissan Sentra traveling at speeds of 100 mph, according to Niemczyk.

Police identified the suspects as:

• Victor Omar Alvarez, 23, of Port St. Lucie faces one count of first-degree murder. Alvarez is accused of shooting Sanders from the front passenger’s seat of the Nissan Sentra as Sanders was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Southwest California Boulevard.

Kyle James Driscoll, 25, of Jensen Beach faces one count of first-degree murder. Police said Driscoll was the driver of the Nissan that pursued Sanders.

Nevaeh Rae Gonsalves, 21, of Port St. Lucie faces one count of accessory after the fact – life felony after police said their investigation determined she was a backseat passenger in the Nissan and provided misleading information to detectives during the investigation and attempted to have a bar receipt forged to establish an alibi.

Niemczyk said the three suspects and their Nissan were located and taken into custody by detectives at a home located in the 2200 block of Southeast Glover Street a few hours after the shooting.

Police said Sanders was a known member of the Rough Riders Motorcycle Club and known to associate with the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club. Alvarez and Driscoll are known associates with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, according to detectives.

“Florida has been overwhelmingly in the Outlaws Motorcycle Club territory for many years, and it’s been very peaceful for all intents and purposes,” Niemczyk said. “But more recently we’ve seen an influx of Pagans in the area and trying to take over the criminal territory, and there have been some situations where the two have clashed.”

North Las Vegas motorcycle gang members

By Katelyn Newberg and Katie Futterman Las Vegas Review-Journal September 23, 2024 –

Grand jury indicts 11 alleged North Las Vegas motorcycle gang members

A Clark County grand jury indicted 11 alleged motorcycle gang members last week, accusing them of charges including racketeering, attempted murder and assault.

Seven of the men are facing a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a shooting on June 24, 2023. Prosecutors alleged that the members of the Dirty Ones motorcycle gang, which is based in North Las Vegas, attempted to kill Jayson Lewis, by surrounding his vehicle, attempting to pull him out of the car and firing at him, according to a copy of the indictment.

A grand jury returned a copy of the indictment during a court hearing on Friday, records show.

All of the alleged gang members — David Judd, Joshua Rios, Anthony Cooper, Casey Dunne, Salvador Ramirez, Ethan Cintron, Nelson Cintron, James Brooks, Christopher Ferguson, Dave Neubert and Shaun Long — were indicted on a racketeering charge.

Several of the defendants did not have attorneys listed in online court records as of Monday afternoon. Attorneys for several other men did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The men indicted on the conspiracy charge include Judd, Rios, both of the Cintrons, Brooks, Ferguson and Shaun Long. All of those men, with the exception of Ethan Cintron, also are each facing a charge of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang, court records show.

Prosecutors alleged that the Dirty Ones gang operated as a “sophisticated syndicate/enterprise” operating out of a clubhouse near Lake Mead Boulevard and Fifth Street.

The gang operated as part of the “1 percent” of motorcycle groups that are gangs that commit criminal acts, Anthony Propp, a detective in the criminal intelligence section of the Metropolitan Police Department, said in his grand jury testimony.

“They are the outlaws. They’re the ones that go against the grain and they’re the ones that go against society,” Propp said in his testimony to the grand jury.

The gang, which police first noticed in Las Vegas in 2019, is known for wearing green. Propp told the grand jury that Lewis’ mention of the perpetrators of the crime wearing green in his police interview stood out to him as a reason to investigate.

Dirty Ones is also known for saying, “I am my brother’s keeper,” which means they will look out for each other, Propp said.

“The expectation is when a brother needs your assistance it’s a no questions asked. It’s not a spectator sport, it’s a dangerous lifestyle and you will get involved,” according to an undercover detective who had become a member of Dirty Ones as part of an investigation.

The detective, whose name is not in the court document, testified that they had purchased drugs through the members. They also said that members referred to the shooting as a “fireworks show,” in reference to the amount of shots fired. One of the members also told the detective to be careful of wearing certain patches as they were trying to make it more difficult for law enforcement to detect them.

Court records show that in July, police seized multiple items from the clubhouse and two of the alleged members.
The items included coins, hats, clothing, stickers, poker chips, bandanas and a flag that authorities labeled as Dirty Ones memorabilia. Investigators also seized several motorcycle vests and a “green and white baseball bat with nails” from the clubhouse, according to the indictment.

Two of the men, Cooper and Dunne, are charged with destroying evidence.

They are accused of picking up casings and hiding firearms used in the June 2023 shooting, according to the indictment.

The indictment also accused several men of selling, possessing and trafficking cocaine, court records show.
An initial arraignment in the case is scheduled for Wednesday.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.

23 Arrested As The Mongols Biker Gang Converges On The Desert

NBC Palm Spring California September 23, 2024
https://www.nbcpalmsprings.com/2024/09/23/23-arrested-as-the-mongols-biker-gang-converges-on-the-desert

Palm springs police arrested at least 23 people during the Mongols Motorcycle Club’s annual visit to the valley this weekend. According to the department, the arrests included six for weapons violations, five for controlled substance violations, two for parole violations, and *ten for outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants. More than 1-thousand members across various chapters were here this weekend, and as a result, city law enforcement, including the California Highway Patrol….and the east end and west end gang task force, increased their presence in response. Mongols Members were seen at local hotels, including Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs. Most club members left by Sunday afternoon.

Sin City Deciples Founder Sentenced to 360 Months in Prison
Thursday, September 19, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Indiana

HAMMOND- Kenneth Christopher McGhee a/k/a “Sonny,” “Angel,” age 75, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after being found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and being a drug user in possession of a firearm following an 18-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

McGhee was sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to court documents, the Sin City Deciples, originally formed in 1967 in Gary, Indiana, is an outlaw motorcycle organization in which its members and associates engaged in acts of violence, extortion, and narcotics distribution in the Northern District of Indiana and elsewhere. McGhee served as the “Founder” of the entire club and lead the conspiracy for decades, including during the charged period between 2009-2021. As the “Founder,” McGhee commanded and oversaw multiple acts of extortion and violence, including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder in retaliation for the death of a fellow Sin City member, and conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine. At the time of his arrest, he unlawfully possessed at least 8 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The agencies involved in this prosecution were: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the East Chicago Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Gary Police Department, the Griffith Police Department, the Hammond Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area officers and agents, the Merrillville Police Department, the Munster Police Department, and the Schererville Police Department. Also providing assistance were the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of Indiana, the Western District of Kentucky, and the Western District of Pennsylvania.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David J. Nozick and Michael J. Toth.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, 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.
This case was also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Updated September 19, 2024

Central Washington Motorcycle Gang Leader Convicted in Walla Walla

Walla Walla Regional Drug and Gang Taskforce
September 20, 2024

bigcountrynewsconnection.com/local/central-washington-motorcycle-gang-leader-convicted-in-walla-walla/article_d372d32c-7797-11ef-8ce8-0339d8dedee1.html

WALLA WALLA — On Wednesday, September 18th, jurors convicted 52-year-old John Smith of College Place, Washington, on two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, each classified as a class B felony. These convictions are tied to a robbery incident that took place in Walla Walla in March 2023.

During the incident, Smith threatened two employees of PetSmart with what appeared to be a firearm. Smith’s accomplice, Christopher Peters, age 30, of Walla Walla, was armed with a bat during the altercation and was also convicted on related charges. Peters had fashioned the bat into a club, which was decorated with symbols, colors, and lettering consistent with the Pagan’s Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG).

At the time of the incident, Smith was the President of the Pagan’s OMG’s Walla Walla chapter. The Pagan’s OMG, known for its violent and intimidating culture, has been active in the Walla Walla region for approximately three years. This conviction adds to a series of legal actions involving members of the group at both state and federal levels, connected to serious assaults and illegal firearms possession.

Following the conviction, Smith was remanded into custody. His sentencing is scheduled for October 7, 2024.

Fatal Portland shooting began with fight between rival motorcycle clubs

Morgan Womack Press Herald Portland Maine September 20, 2024

Fatal Portland shooting began with fight between rival motorcycle clubs

A deadly shooting in Morrill’s Corner this summer started with a fight between two motorcycle clubs at the back patio of a bar in Westbrook, investigators told a judge on Friday.

Aaron Karp, wearing a blue buttondown shirt, entered the courtroom in Cumberland County Superior Court on Friday for his bail hearing. Behind him, community members filled almost three full pews, quietly listening to the investigator testify and watching surveillance videos from that night. It was the first time details of the case have been discussed publicly; police have largely kept quiet since the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation.
Karp, 47, faces one count of intentional or knowing murder in the death of Susan McHugh, 54. She was one of four people injured on the night of July 30 and later died at the hospital from a gunshot wound to the chest.

The lead detective in the case spent hours on the stand Friday recounting the investigation, which included talk of rival gangs, two-pound mini-sledgehammers, a police-style baton and switchblade found at the scene, and a mother defending her child.

Karp is being held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail after turning himself in to police last month.
Friday’s hearing was scheduled to determine if he should be given bail and the possibility of release. Many of his friends and family had submitted letters to the court asking for bail. The judge did not make a decision Friday.

DETECTIVE’S INVESTIGATION

On July 30, Travis Frechette and Troy McHugh – Susan McHugh’s son and husband – were with William Holmes at Brookside Food and Drink in Westbrook when a few men, some of whom were wearing logos for Higher Calling, a local biker group police say is affiliated with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, arrived, according to surveillance videos obtained by Portland detective Jeffrey Tully.

Tully testified at the hearing Friday that Frechette, Troy McHugh and Holmes are associated with another motorcycle club, called FSU. He said the argument began because the owner of Brookside didn’t want customers to wear their club colors.

The surveillance video from the bar showed Holmes approaching the Higher Calling members, “put his hands” on one of the men and remove his vest, Tully said. Then Holmes and Frechette assaulted another man and Holmes took a gun from one of the men and handed it to Troy McHugh, who stripped the rounds out of the magazine and threw it on the table, according to the detective.

Once Frechette, McHugh and Holmes left the bar, the Higher Calling members were seen on video making several phone calls. Shortly afterward, Karp arrived on his motorcycle with a few others, Tully said.

Karp, who was wearing a watch, baggy blue jeans and a sleeveless vest, pulls a wrench from his saddlebag and puts it in his pocket. Another man was carrying a “mini sledgehammer,” the detective said. Tully, pointing to a map, said they must have overheard Holmes saying he was headed to Samuel’s Bar and Grill because the Outlaw members drove to the parking lot of Rosemont Market and Bakery on Stevens Avenue.

The group walked through the Samuel’s parking lot and across Forest Avenue toward Meineke Car Care Center, where Troy McHugh, Frechette and Holmes were parked with Susan McHugh and Frechette’s girlfriend.

The foggy black and white surveillance footage from Meineke shows the three men falling to the ground after being assaulted by the Outlaw group, Tully said. In the background, Susan McHugh appears to crouch next to the truck before firing a single round from her husband’s gun at the Outlaw members, who then ran across the street, the detective said.

Karp had tripped, Tully said, and stood up to fire nine rounds at Susan McHugh. Only one bullet hit her, while the eight others damaged the windshield of another car.

Frechette picked up his father’s gun and fired eight rounds toward Karp and the group. None of those rounds appeared to hit anyone either, Tully said. Frechette’s girlfriend then called 911 around 8:45 p.m. but Karp and the others had left the scene. One man who police said is associated with the Outlaws, Kristofer Haken, was grazed by a gunshot and found by first responders across the street.

In an interview last month, Frechette said his mother was a hero that night and “did anything she could to keep her children safe.”
Troy McHugh and Holmes were brought to the hospital with skull fractures. Neither man could recall who shot Susan McHugh, police said.

‘WE NEED HIM’

Karp’s motorcycle was later found at his ex-wife’s home on Colley Hill Road in Gray, which was searched on Aug. 2. He turned himself in to police on Aug. 8.

Before Friday’s hearing, Karp’s friends and family submitted passionate statements to the court asking that they consider bail as an option.

“Despite the charge against him, I would still give him the key to my house and ask him to take care of my pets and property if I went on vacation or was traveling for business,” Jim Fahey, a retired police officer wrote in a statement.

Karp’s mother described him as a loving, dependable son and father to his children.

“Without my son Aaron, I don’t know where I would be now,” Bobette Karp wrote.

She said Karp supported her during various medical issues she faced.

“I am very aware of the severity of the charges against my son,” Bobette Karp wrote. “I know he is as well. Please see that bail will be set so Aaron can return to his family. We need him.”

NJ men indicted in murder plot connected to Pagans biker gang

https://nj1015.com/nj-men-pagan-club-tie-michael-vulpis-freehold-indicted-attempted-murder-jackson-shooting/

A grand jury in Ocean County has indicted three men on charges for what prosecutors have dubbed an attempted murder over the summer in Jackson.

Michael Vulpis, of Freehold, has been in jail since July 3, when he was arrested for shooting a 27-year-old man in the face.

Vulpis and 24-year-old Noah Phelps, of Monroe, were indicted for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the June 27 incident.

The 26-year-old Vulpis has been a known member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, NJ.com reported in August.

The report said that the man shot in the face was rumored to be a former member of the club who had been kicked out.

Law enforcement did not publicly confirm a connection in this case to what a State Commission of Investigation report referred to as the “Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.”

In Monmouth County, issues of Pagan Motorcycle Club violence in a residential neighborhood was what prompted one Freehold man to run for local office this November, according to his online candidate profile.

“We had Pagan Motorcycle Gang members set up shop on our street. We reached the point where our children were afraid to go outside,” Michael Murphy, an independent candidate said. “We had as many as 25-30 gang members here at any given time. They walked our streets with baseball bats and axe handles in hand. They urinated in our streets. They surrounded a mother and her young daughter in their own driveway. They sped and tailgated through our streets. There an assault in broad daylight in front of children.”

Vulpis has also been indicted for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, being a certain person not to possess a weapon or ammunition, and conspiracy to commit witness tampering.

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old Jackson man has been indicted on charges for pressuring the same surviving victim to lie to police, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

Glenn Franzson was indicted for conspiracy to commit witness tampering, as well as possession of a weapon without a serial number, possession of a high-capacity ammunition magazine, possession of cocaine, and possession of methamphetamine.

Duo accused of plotting to kill Jackson victim

On June 27, around 12:20 a.m., Jackson police responded to a reported shooting along Larsen Road.
Officers found a 27-year-old man who had been shot in the face. He was rushed to an area hospital.

Investigators found the man had been sitting with a woman in a parked vehicle outside of a home when a blue sedan approached and blocked in the first car.

Two men, later identified as Vulpis and Phelps, got out and knocked on the victim’s window. When he got out, he was hit and then shot, Billhimer said.

Third defendant accused of trying to get victim to lie

Detectives have said while Vulpis was in jail, he plotted with Franzson to get the shooting victim to lie to police.

When law enforcement searched Franzson’s home, they recovered a ghost gun with a high-capacity magazine, plus methamphetamine and cocaine, prompting the other charges.

Billhimer has said the investigation is a joint effort involving local, county and federal law enforcement in both Ocean and Monmouth County.

Hamilton ‘outlaw’ motorcycle gang members arrested for robbery and assault, police say

Five men were charged in relation to a robbery that took place in July in Hamilton

Samantha Beattie · CBC News · Posted: Sep 20, 2024
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/motorcycle-gang-arrest-1.7329271

Five men who police say are members of “outlaw” motorcycle gangs have been charged in connection with a robbery that took place in Hamilton in July.

Four members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and one member of the Red Devils Motorcycle Club were arrested Aug. 21 by Hamilton police and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)’s Biker Enforcement Unit, said the OPP in a news release Friday.

It was part of an investigation that began after a person was assaulted at an “establishment” on July 4, and robbed of their personal items, said police.

“Outlaw motorcycle gangs continue to be involved in violent occurrences throughout our communities,” said OPP Det.-Insp. Scott Wade in a statement.

The two police forces also executed search warrants at the homes of the accused as well as the Hells Angels and Red Devils’ clubhouses in Hamilton, the OPP said.

Officers found four shotguns, three rifles, a shotgun barrel, ammunition, body armour and a gun licence, said police.

All five men, whose ages range from 34 to 51 years old, were charged with assault causing bodily harm and robbery, police said. Two are from Hamilton and the rest are from Brantford, Toronto and Grimsby.

One of the men was also charged with breach of a probation order and unauthorized possession of a prohibited device, said police. Another was also charged with breach of firearms storage regulations.

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.