Author: terry.katz

Baltimore Police officer admits trading pills, information on homicide and ghost gun for cocaine
Dylan Segelbaum Baltimore Banner 9/12/2023

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/steven-angelini-baltimore-police-officer-pleads-guilty-CUNB7UTWFBHAZMBOIXHBVE45TA/

A Baltimore Police officer admitted on Monday to trading oxycodone pills, information about the homicide of a drug dealer and a ghost gun with the president of a motorcycle club in exchange for cocaine.
Steven Angelini, 43, of Middle River, appeared in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute oxycodone and cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Angelini, who joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2006 and has been suspended since 2020, wore a gray jail jumpsuit and sat next to his attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Sedira Banan, in an empty courtroom in the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse. He responded to almost every question with, “Yes, your honor” or, “No, your honor.”
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty as charged?” U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Angelini replied.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo then went through a series of facts that both sides agreed that the government would have proven had the case went to trial:
On Jan. 6, 2022, Angelini offered to sell the president of the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club — who’s only identified in the plea agreement as “Co-conspirator 1″ — 90 oxycodone pills for $100 and one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine, or an eight-ball.
Next, Angelini twice offered to go to the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit to get information about the killing of “D,” a drug dealer who had worked for the group. The president of the motorcycle club asked Angelini for a copy of a video of the killing, which detectives had recovered from a surveillance camera that belonged to a business.
Later, Angelini texted him nine photos showing the screen of his work computer. The images captured intelligence and incident reports.
Though Angelini told the president of the motorcycle club that he had a copy of the video, that was not the case. Angelini later gave him a flash drive that was empty.
Angelini texted him again on Jan. 25, 2022, and claimed that he had contacted a detective to get the video. If that did not work, Angelini promised that he’d go to the business that had the surveillance camera and “show them his badge.”
On April 8, 2022, Angelini reached out again and proposed selling a “privately made firearm without a serial number” for $300 and an eight-ball of cocaine. He also offered to buy ammunition to make amends for the fact that he had not gotten a copy of the video.
“Hey bro it’s Steven Angelini I hope u ain’t still mad at me buddy,” Angelini texted at 12:55 p.m. “I tried everything to get the video.”
Angelini later met up with “Co-conspirator 2″ in the parking lot of Coach House, a bar on Belair Road near Kenwood Avenue in Northeast Baltimore, to carry out the deal.
Next, on April 25, 2022, Angelini agreed to provide the president of the motorcycle club with 20 oxycodone pills and met him outside Coach House.
Angelini texted him the next day seeking an eight-ball of cocaine and offered to purchase ammunition and “various other firearm accessories.” In total, Angelini spent more than $540 buying items for himself and the president of the motorcycle club.
And on May 4, 2022, Angelini agreed to sell 90 oxycodone pills for $170 in cash and $100 worth of cocaine. He later dropped the pills off at Coach House.
In one exchange, Angelini refers to the president of the motorcycle club as “Keith.” That’s a reference to Keith Dockins Jr., the owner of Killa Dogz, a hot dog stand that adjoins Coach House. Baltimore County Police allege that the motorcycle club used both businesses to sell drugs.
Dockins, 43, of Essex, is awaiting trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court on illegal firearms possession charges. He’s being held without bail, according to online court records.
Since his arrest in 2022, Angelini has been suspended without pay. From 2020 to 2022, he was suspended with pay.
In an email, Lindsey Eldridge, a police spokesperson, said it will “move to separate him from the agency.”
Angelini is set to be sentenced on Feb. 9, 2024.
dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com

Prosecutors seek new venue in high-profile trial for strip club owner & former DEA agent

by: Daniel Telvock WIVB September 7, 2023

https://www.wivb.com/news/investigates/prosecutors-seek-new-venue-in-high-profile-trial-for-strip-club-owner-former-dea-agent/

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that the “overwhelming media coverage” in a high-profile criminal case involving a local strip club owner and former DEA agent accused of shielding mob-linked drug dealers has “unfairly prejudiced the government and increased the risks to government witnesses.”
As a result, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York requested a new venue for the criminal trial for Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club operator Peter Gerace and former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni.
In February 2021, a federal grand jury returned an 18-count indictment against childhood friends Gerace and Bongiovanni.
Bongiovanni is charged with conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to distribute drugs, accepting bribes to shield drug dealers from being detected by law enforcement, obstruction of justice, and making false statements.
Gerace is charged with conspiracy to defraud, maintaining drug-involved premises, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and bribery from 2005 to 2019.
Gerace is also charged in a separate indictment with witness tampering, possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of cocaine.
Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case has been plagued by a revolving door of defense attorneys.
In addition, John L. Michalski, a state Supreme Court judge questioned by FBI agents about his relationship with Gerace, died by suicide, and a former strip club employee and government witness died Aug. 1 under suspicious circumstances at a home in the Village of Wellsville. Her cause of death has not been determined, authorities said.
On Wednesday, attorney Eric M. Soehnlein appeared on behalf of Gerace, and the trial was moved again to begin Jan. 8, 2024.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office argued in its motion to change the trial venue that this is “easily the most heavily covered federal criminal case in Buffalo.”
As a result, prosecutors alleged that some witnesses faced threats and intimidation, and victims’ privacy rights were at risk following some media reports. In addition, prosecutors mentioned safety concerns involving one of the largest motorcycle gangs in the country if the trial was to remain in Buffalo.
The reporting often includes critical comments from defense attorneys, who prosecutors accused of attacking their motives, denigrating witnesses, and even criticizing a District Court judge.
On the other hand, prosecutors said they have “not induced any publicity in this matter,” and have repeatedly declined to comment when asked by reporters.
Prosecutors’ concerns about the reporting that the case has garnered are not new. In their motion Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it “repeatedly emphasized” how much of the reporting “has unfairly prejudiced the government and increased the risks to government witnesses”.
Prosecutors specifically mention how defense attorneys and others criticized their use of “Italian Organized Crime” and similar ethnic terms to prejudice the defendants and hype up the alleged mob ties. This was a story first reported by News 4 Investigates, followed by several similar reports in The Buffalo News.
“In particular, defense attorneys and others have sought to portray the government as ethnically prejudiced crusaders unfairly prosecuting the defendants for nothing more than their Italian-American ancestry,” prosecutors said in their motion.
A federal judge eventually said there was no evidence that prosecutors targeted the defendants based on their ethnicity.
Prosecutors also alleged the defense has used the media to attack or disparage “what it perceives to be key government witnesses.”
All this coverage and alleged defense strategy can further encourage witness tampering and “frustrate the jury’s fact-finding mission as well as the overall orderly administration of justice,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The government’s motion specifically targets Steve Cohen, who Gerace recently fired as his attorney. Prosecutors urged the judge to reject any claim by Gerace that “these tactics were implemented by an attorney he is firing.” A footnote in the motion mentions how Cohen’s LinkedIn profile emphasizes his “ability to use the media in aid of his client’s cases.”
Cohen said Thursday that Joseph Tripi, the chief prosecutor in the case, believes only the prosecution should benefit from media coverage.
“As more facts emerge that are more balanced and accurate, he’s beginning to panic and wants this to be venued in Rochester,” Cohen said.
Prosecutors requested the trial be moved to Rochester, where the government said it could not locate a single news article in that city’s primary newspaper, the Democrat & Chronicle.
Moving the case to Rochester would also protect the privacy and dignity of government witnesses, “by allowing them to testify without the specter of a media circus hanging over the proceedings.”
Prosecutors said they intend to present evidence that Gerace has close ties to the Outlaw Motorcycle Club, whose national president allegedly manages the Cheektowaga strip club.
Prosecutors said members of the motorcycle club were present in court gallery every day of a three-month racketeering and conspiracy case filed in 2015 against members of an affiliated group, the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club.
Their presence “created a stressful dynamic in the courtroom, caused issues with witnesses, and risked the orderly administration of justice.”
A hearing is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 15, but it is unclear if this change of venue motion will be resolved then.

UPDATE: Arrest made after shooting at motorcycle club
WNKY NBC 40 Bowling Green, Kentucky Staff July 6, 2023

UPDATE: Arrest made after shooting at motorcycle club

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Bowling Green police say a man has been arrested in connection with a shooting last month at a motorcycle club.
According to an arrest citation, the Bowling Green Police Department arrested 30-year-old Waltez Franklin of Bowling Green on June 30. Franklin faces charges of first- and second-degree assault, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.
Police responded to the scene at the local Sin City Disciples Motorcycle Club on June 13, where they say they located a woman, identified as Tashina Rippy of Alvaton, with gunshot wounds to her face and neck after a reported shooting. Rippy was flown to a trauma center for treatment.
The citation states an additional victim sustained non-life threatening injuries to the face and did not require medical attention.
Police say Franklin was named as a suspect after a previous issue had occurred with him a few hours before the shooting.
Video surveillance obtained during the investigation shows a person consistent with Franklin’s appearance, according to the arrest citation.
Franklin was arraigned at the Warren District Court on Monday, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m.
Franklin remains at the Warren County Detention Center.

Red River biker shooting sparks massive raid of Bandidos’ homes
Story by Curtis Segarra KRQE August 31, 2023
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/red-river-biker-shooting-sparks-massive-raid-of-bandidos-homes/ar-AA1g3In8

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Months after a deadly shooting in Red River, New Mexico, a court document reveals the feds are looking into alleged members and supporters of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. New Mexico State Police have previously connected the club to the shooting that killed two individuals and injured six. But the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) says there’s more to it than a single shooting – some motorcycle club members have called it a “war” between clubs.
In an affidavit filed in federal court, an FBI agent asked a judge for a warrant to search 25 different locations around New Mexico. The FBI was looking for people with Bandidos tattoos, the affidavit says.
Attorneys general from across U.S. asking Congress for updated radiation exposure legislation
The effort to round up suspects comes after intel from more than a dozen state and federal agencies helped the FBI focus on addresses in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas, Belen, Tome, Grants, Gallup, Farmington, San Rafael, Hobbs, Capitan, Arabela, Ruidoso, and Alamogordo.
The FBI investigation dates back to 2020 when the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office warned the FBI about a “potential ‘war’ between two rival motorcycle clubs in Albuquerque,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. The police intel claimed that the Mongols Motorcycle Club was stockpiling guns and surveilling members of the Bandidos, which had been the dominating club in New Mexico, according to the FBI agent. The FBI says this rivalry goes back years and that some Mongols were former Bandidos who were thrown out of the club.
Law enforcement acted on that intel back in 2020, arresting a Mongols member and collecting several firearms. But over the years, several Mongols-Bandidos encounters ensued, leaving people injured and shot in both New Mexico and Texas, the FBI agent says in the affidavit. The buildup culminated in the May 2023 Red River shooting, where several Bandidos confronted a group called the Water Dogs Motorcycle Club over whether they had allegiance to the Bandidos or the Mongols, the FBI says.
Over the past three and a half years, the FBI counts 11 people dead in connection to the motorcycle clubs’ interactions. Now, the FBI is targeting the “most aggressive proponents” of the violence.
Executing search warrants on properties around New Mexico, the FBI is hoping to mitigate violence by Bandidos, seize weapons, investigate unsolved crimes that may be tied to Bandidos, and put offenders behind bars, according to the FBI affidavit.
This is a developing news story. The FBI is expected to give more information in a press conference. KRQE News 13 will provide updates as they become available.

Note In The following KDKA article:
“District Attorney David Lozier said the pagans drove to an event in Cleveland and the hotel in Beaver County was a place to stay on the way home.”

5 Pagans Motorcycle Club members arrested after assault in Beaver Falls

BY JENNIFER BORRASSO AUGUST 30, 2023 / 9:52 PM / CBS PITTSBURGH
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pagans-motorcycle-club-members-arrested-beaver-falls-assault/

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (KDKA) — Five members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club were arrested after authorities said they beat someone and stole the victim’s gun.
The Beaver County District Attorney’s Office said police were called to the Big Beaver Ramada Inn just before 2 a.m. Sunday for reports of a person who was assaulted by Pagan members.
The victim was reportedly beaten with boots, fists and brass knuckles and a firearm was put to the victim’s head, the district attorney’s office said. The victim’s firearm was also stolen.
Police said they learned that the Pagans members had reserved a block of 32 rooms at the hotel. A search warrant turned up the gun used in the assault and brass knuckles.
Because of how many Pagans members were there and because there was a possibility of finding more weapons, multiple other agencies, including SWAT from Beaver and Washington counties, were called in.
“My boyfriend went out to smoke a cigarette before he went down to work and was met in the hallway with assault rifles,” said Missy Hill, who lives and works at the Ramada Inn.
During the search, 26 firearms were discovered and run through federal databases, the district attorney’s office said. One was allegedly stolen out of West Virginia and another one was the victim’s stolen gun. The district attorney’s office said five brass knuckles were also seized.
Lucas Stone, Matthew Richards, Robert Poffenberger and Adam Lowe were arrested for aggravated assault and robbery and John Evans was arrested for possessing the stolen gun, the district attorney said.
District Attorney David Lozier said the pagans drove to an event in Cleveland and the hotel in Beaver County was a place to stay on the way home.
The victim is a Beaver County resident and the extent of his injuries is unknown at this time. The DA wouldn’t say how or if the victim is connected to the biker gang.

5 Pagans Motorcycle Club members arrested in Beaver County
Police searched 32 hotel rooms and allegedly found several illegal weapons

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE AUGUST 31, 2023
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/08/31/pagans-motorcycle-club-arrests-

Five members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club are facing charges for allegedly assaulting a victim and stealing their gun in Beaver Falls.
The Beaver County District Attorney’s office said Beaver Falls Police and Pennsylvania State Police were called to the Big Beaver Ramada Inn about 1:45 a.m. Sunday about for reports that a person was assaulted by Pagan members.
District Attorney David Lozier alleges multiple members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club beat a Beaver County resident using boots, fists and brass knuckles and held a firearm to the victim’s head. The victim’s firearm was also stolen.
Authorities said the Pagans had reserved 32 rooms at the hotel. A search warrant for the 32 rooms was issued to attempt to find the stolen firearm, the gun used in the assault and the brass knuckles, which are illegal to possess in Pennsylvania.
In addition to Beaver Falls Police and State Police, local police and SWAT teams from Beaver County Emergency Services and Washington County were called in to assist in the search.
During the search, 69 people were temporarily detained. A total of 26 firearms were found, including the one allegedly stolen from the victim and another that police said was stolen out of West Virginia. Police said five sets of brass knuckles were also found and seized.
Five members of the motorcycle club were arrested, Mr. Lozier said.
Lucas Stone, 39, of Summit Point, W.Va.; Matthew Richards, 31, of Fayetteville, W.Va.; Robert Poffenberger, 40, of Fairplay, Md.; and Adam Lowe of Mt. Hope, W.Va. are all facing charges of robbery, aggravated assault, theft and receiving stolen property.
John Evans, 41, of Beckley, W.Va., is facing one charge of receiving stolen property.
Preliminary hearings for the five are scheduled for Sept. 8 and all were sent to Beaver County Jail.

Note: The Sons of the Zodiac Motorcycle Club clubhouse is located at 11644 Cloverdale Street in Detroit Michigan

1 killed, 4 injured in shooting outside Detroit motorcycle club

AUGUST 28, 2023 / CBS DETROIT

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/1-killed-4-injured-in-shooting-outside-detroit-motorcycle-club/
CBS DETROIT) – The Detroit Police Department is investigating after four people were injured and one was killed in a shooting Sunday outside a motorcycle club.
The shooting happened at about 4:04 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 27, in the area of Cloverdale and Grand River. Police say the shooting outside the motorcycle club stemmed from an argument.
No other information has been released at this time.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

Ex-cop is identified in mass shooting that left him, 3 others dead at O.C. biker bar, sources say

LA TIMES
RICHARD WINTON, JEREMY CHILDS, HANNAH FRY, JULIA WICK, CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ, GRACE TOOHEY
August 23, 2023 at 11:13 PM
A gunman who officials say killed three people and wounded six others Wednesday night at a landmark biker bar in Trabuco Canyon was a former police officer, according to law enforcement sources.
Two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the gunman as John Snowling, a retired sergeant from the Ventura Police Department. Snowling was targeting his estranged wife in the shooting, who was reportedly a regular at the bar, according to the sources.
The gunman was also killed, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department posted on social media.
Sheriff’s officials received a 911 call just after 7 p.m. about the shooting at the Cook’s Corner bar on Santiago Canyon Road. The first deputies arrived within two minutes. Deputies found a man with a gun, and multiple deputies opened fire, officials said.

The shooting scene outside Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon on Wednesday. (OnScene.tv)
The six who were injured in the shooting were being treated at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. Two of the patients were in critical condition and four were stable, according to James Chisum, a spokesman for the hospital.
Authorities did not provide details about the identities of the shooting victims.
Law enforcement sources say Snowling’s estranged wife survived being shot and is hospitalized.
It was unclear whether Snowling followed her to the bar before opening fire on the crowd, they said.
The shooting occurred in the middle of $8 Spaghetti Night. Geoffrey Kagy, 52, is a regular at the bar with his girlfriend, Jacqueline Bass. On this night, she was at Cook’s Corner without him — but around 7:30 p.m., she suddenly sent Kagy a volley of text messages. The first said “911,” followed by “Help” and Omg.” She’d been inside Cook’s Corner when the gunman opened fire.
When they spoke by phone, Kagy said, “she just kept saying how she was running and that she saw somebody shoot.”
The initial 911 caller reported that the gunman had fired six shots, Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said at a late-night news conference Wednesday. Emergency dispatchers reported hearing gunshots in the background of radio traffic as multiple deputies arrived at the bar.
Law enforcement sources told The Times that responding deputies pinned down the retired Ventura police officer by a silver truck, and his body remained next to the truck Wednesday night.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies monitor the scene after the shooting. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“As you would expect,” Hallock said, “tonight has been a very difficult night for everybody involved in the entire community.
“Cook’s Corner, the location where this tragic incident occurred, is truly a beloved part of the Trabuco Canyon community,” referring to the neighborhood behind the bar.
A longtime motorcycle hangout, Cook’s Corner sits at the juncture of El Toro, Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads, near O’Neill Regional Park.
M Street — a five-piece Orange County rock band — was scheduled to perform at the bar Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., according to the venue’s online calendar.
The band posted a video to its Instagram page earlier Wednesday evening showing its instruments set up on a small stage in the still empty-looking wood-paneled bar.
News of the shooting brought concern from local officials and residents.

Law enforcement officers investigate the scene of the shooting. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m heartbroken by the news of yet another mass shooting tonight, this time at Cook’s Corner, a historic bar in the heart of Orange County,” state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) said in a statement. “My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the victims.”
“It’s disturbing to learn that another domestic dispute led to another mass shooting. We must do more to prevent senseless acts of gun violence and protect survivors,” said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley.
Cook’s Corner was named after Andrew Jackson Cook, who got about 190 acres of Aliso Canyon in a land trade in 1884, according to a Times story. His son, Earl Jack “E.J.” Cook, opened a roadside hamburger joint in 1931. Soon after Prohibition ended in 1933, alcohol was added to the menu, and Cook’s Corner became a full-fledged bar. In 1946, Cook bought an old mess hall from the Santa Ana Army Air Base, hauled it up El Toro Road, and the tavern was born.
Motorcycle riders discovered the place in the 1970s, and it has been a popular spot for decades.

Investigation into Ontario Hells Angels member leads to large ammunition, firearm bust: OPP

By Amy Simon Global News August 22, 2023 12:15 pm

Investigation into Ontario Hells Angels member leads to large ammunition, firearm bust: OPP

Police seized a large number of firearms and ammunition as well as a stolen motorcycle in a community northeast of Chatham, Ont., last week following a months-long investigation.

The OPP biker enforcement unit (BEU) began its investigation into a current member of the Ontario Hells Angels, also said to be a former member of the Alberta Hells Angels, in April after a motorcycle was reported stolen from Alberta.
On Friday, a search warrant was executed at a home on Zone Road 7 in Bothwell, Ont. Two people were arrested at the scene and officers seized a stolen motorcycle as well as five rifles and approximately 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
A 60-year-old man and a 52-year-old man, both of Bothwell, have been charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and breaching firearm regulations involving storing a firearm or restricted weapon.
The accused have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear before the Ontario court of justice in Chatham in October.

At least 3 people killed and 2 in critical condition after a mass shooting at Southern California biker bar
By Jamiel Lynch and Josh Campbell, CNN August 24, 2023

CNN — At least three people have been fatally shot and six others injured at a beloved Southern California biker bar, authorities said, in the latest of more than 460 mass shootings this year in the United States.

The attacker, believed to be a retired law enforcement officer, was killed at the scene after gunfire exploded around 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cook’s Corner, Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said.
“It’s an absolute tragic event and something that I know is probably weighing very heavy on the entire Trabuco Canyon community,” he said. “Cook’s Corner, it’s a staple here.”
The US this year has seen at least 465 mass shootings with at least four wounded, excluding a shooter, the Gun Violence Archive reports. The nation surpassed the 400 mark in July, the earliest month so high a number has been recorded since 2013, the group said.
The bar in the small community about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles now joins a rapidly expanding list of ordinary places – neighborhoods, clothing stores, hotels and more – turned to murder scenes due to gun violence.
Authorities got 911 calls at 7:04 p.m. Wednesday reporting shots had been fired at Cook’s Corner, Hallock said.
Two minutes later, deputies arrived and confronted an armed suspect, he said.
“At that point, a deputy-involved shooting occurred and that involved multiple deputies,” Hallock said. “The man believed to be involved in the shooting is deceased at the scene.”
Police recovered at least one weapon at the scene, Hallock said. Authorities are investigating the matter as possibly originating from a domestic dispute between two parties, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Residents in the area described hearing the gunshots.
“We heard gunshots randomly going off,” Jonathan Div, who lives in the area, told CNN affiliate KCAL. “And a few minutes later we heard it kind of increasing.”
Of six victims taken to a trauma center, five suffered gunshot wounds, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said during a Wednesday night news conference. Two of the patients were in critical condition and four were in stable condition, he added.
“Heartbroken to hear of another senseless mass shooting, this time in our own backyard,” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said in a statement. “My office has received updates from the DA and Sheriff’s Department, I am continuing to watch this closely.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his office is monitoring the situation from Sacramento and coordinating with local officials.
Established in 1884, Cook’s Corner bills itself as one of the oldest and most famous biker bars in Southern California, hosting regular specials and open mic nights.
“Children welcome,” is emblazoned on a sign in front of the bar.
Wednesday night was $8 spaghetti night at the bar, and Creedence and Company, a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band, was scheduled to play.
“We are Saddened by the news from Cooks Corner,” the band posted on its Facebook page overnight. “Our thoughts, prayers & condolences go out to everyone in the Cooks Corner community.”
“We’ve experienced major earthquakes, forest fires, floods, recessions and other disasters,” the Cook’s Corner website reads. “We’ve gotten through all of them and came out stronger.”