Category: Gangs in the news…

Alleged president of Pagan motorcycle club’s murder trial continues in Marion County

WDTV News Staff August . 21, 2025
https://www.wdtv.com/2025/08/21/alleged-president-pagan-motorcycle-clubs-murder-trial-continues-marion-county/

FAIRMONT, W.Va (WDTV) – The alleged president of a Pagan motorcycle club is standing trial in Marion County this week for murder.

Ryan Lane, 37, is accused of playing a role in Henry Silver’s murder in 2022 after sending a text to some of his members that said, “Handle that f—–,” according to court documents.

Lane is one of six men arrested in relation to the murder, which occurred on September 9th of 2022 in the Carolina area of Marion County. John Wolfe, a member of the club, learned of a hidden relationship involving Silver and his girlfriend. Deputies alleged that Wolfe then conspired with other members of the club to murder Silver.

Ten minutes prior to the murder occurring, Wolfe texted Lane and told him “keep ur phone on I might need bail money,” court documents say. 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.

During day four of Lane’s trial Thursday, the jury got to hear from the prosecution, police and multiple other witnesses, including Wolfe’s girlfriend at the time. The defense aimed to cast reasonable doubt upon the prosecution’s case by bringing up Lane’s twin, who they say owns the property connected to the club house and led to confusion surrounding who the club’s president actually was during the night of the police raid.

Wolfe was found guilty of Silver’s murder in April 2024 and sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder in June 2024. Another man, Austin Mullins, who prosecutors have alleged was the shooter, was sentenced to spend 40 years in prison in March for his role in the crime.
Two other men involved — Derek Clem and Dane Hull — were sentenced to time in prison for their roles in the crime in April of this year.

Lane’s trial is expected to continue on Friday and into next week, officials said.

Police raid bikers accused of extortion

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-updates-police-take-on-speeders-bikers-terrorists-on-trial/live-73688970

August 19, 2025

Police in Germany carried out large-scale raids in three states on Tuesday in an effort to gather evidence of criminal behavior by regional motorcycle gangs.

Raids were carried out in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia as well as the southern state of Bavaria.

The Thuringia State Criminal Police Office said the raids, which targeted residential and commercial properties as well as storage facilities, were designed to find evidence supporting charges of extortion.

Thuringia’s state Interior Ministry says the southern part of the state has become a hotbed of biker activity, though statistics show that it is responsible for a small number of biker-related crimes carried out nationally.

Though officials say the groups are not considered a larger security threat, they remain vigilant to crimes committed by individuals associated with them, noting that gangs and members are very active on social media, organizing larger events.

Washington bike show canceled after local bar says they were targeted and attacked by motorcycle club

By Megan Shinn
Updated on: August 19, 2025 / 12:32 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/washington-rally-on-main-canceled-bar-attacked-motorcycle-club/

The City of Washington’s Rally on Main bike show has been canceled after a local bar says it was targeted and attacked by a motorcycle club.

The city announced Monday afternoon that this year’s event, which was set to feature live music, food trucks, vendors, and a best of show motorcycle competition, has been canceled and said it was “due to an unfortunate event that occurred in Washington County over the weekend.”

Forty Bar & Grille later said on social media that their establishment was targeted in a “brutal and unprovoked attack” at the hands of an area motorcycle club on Saturday night.

The bar said the violent act was traumatic and caused several bartenders and guests to hide in the basement while the attack was going on.
“We want to make it absolutely clear: our bar had no affiliation, engagement, or prior dealings with this motorcycle club,” the bar said. “We were victims of their intimidation and violence. Our only priority in that moment was protecting the people inside our establishment.

The bar said that the aftermath of the attack has left the community shaken and that, as a result of the weekend’s events, this year’s Rally on Main cannot move forward.

“To our loyal patrons, our incredible staff, and the greater Washington community: please know that your safety will always remain our top priority,” the bar said. “We are cooperating fully with law enforcement to ensure justice is served and that those responsible are held accountable.”
The mayor of the neighboring city of Washington, Jojo Burgess, said he knows the business well.

“I go there, I eat, they have good food, they do different things and stuff like that, so it’s just unfortunate what happened,” Burgess said.
Now, state police are leading the investigation into what exactly happened.

Burgess said he talked to his city’s police department about information on how “one biker group and another biker group got into a fight, there were gunshots.”

“Whenever our officers that were assisting state police got on scene, I know that there was shell casings, blood at the scene,” he said.
It’s an unnerving situation that took place just days before the event.

“It was a very nice event that we really like here in the city, and it also generates revenue for our downtown businesses because of the foot traffic that’s there, so that’s why this was a tough decision to make,” said Burgess.

After this shooting, though, Burgess said he and others wanted more security present.

“We can’t force and mandate officers to stay for a festival or an event,” said Burgess. He said the city of Washington’s police chief even reached out to other agencies, which faced the same staffing issues.

“I know that nine times out of 10 things don’t happen, but what about that one time when it does? I would’ve felt real bad if we didn’t have protection down there and something would’ve happened, and we didn’t take this action,” Burgess said.

KDKA has reached out to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office and the Pennsylvania State Police for more information about the alleged attack.

The City of Washington says Rally on Main will return next August.
**************
Update: Washington PA Biker Gang Fight Had War Dogs MC Member Victim

Washington County bartender recounts how biker group “brutally and savagely” beat patron

By Jennifer Borrasso
Updated on: August 20, 2025 / 4:07 AM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh

Employees at a Washington County bar are on edge after they were attacked by a big group of bikers.
The violent scene unfolded at Forty Bar and Grille in Washington County over the weekend. The bar’s owner said she believes it was a targeted attack, and sources said the victim may have been in a different biker group.

“They had clubs, bats, knives, guns, I’m assuming,” bartender Julia Quartur said.

Quartur recounts the terrifying moments she witnessed early Sunday morning. She said dozens of motorcycle club members known as the War Dogs targeted one of the bar’s regulars, beating him under this booth.

“They all just jumped on him and beat him so brutally and savagely. Like probably 15, 20 of them. They beat him until he literally was not moving on the ground,” Quartur said.

What did you do?” KDKA-TV’s Jen Borrasso asked.

“I’m screaming, me and my other bartender behind the bar, screaming on the top of our lungs to stop, stop, please stop, and just feeling absolutely helpless,” she said.

Quartur says she, her coworkers and a handful of customers were so scared, they scrambled for shelter in the basement.
“I almost felt just frozen in fear and I’ve never had such a sense of helplessness in my entire life,” she said.

“They just started destroying everything on the back deck, throwing bottles, throwing chairs through the doors, shattered everything,” she added.

At one point, sources said gunshots were fired outside of the bar. No one was hit.

The bar’s co-owner, Cheyenne Dennison, called 911 and rushed to help her employees.

“I’m screaming for (the bartenders), trying to get their attention, I’m screaming for them to get out of here,” Dennison said.
“They finally came creeping up the steps. I knew they were OK. That was my number one thing coming here, is I wanted to make sure my employees were OK,” she added.

Dennison says the motorcyle club members were gone when police arrived, and so was the victim.

“I don’t know what caused this. I don’t know what would cause anybody to act the way they did,” she said.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers are investigating the incident.

That attack is prompting local leaders to cancel an upcoming motorcycle event in the nearby city of Washington. Rally on Main had been scheduled for Saturday. City leaders say that will no longer happen, but they plan to bring it back next year.

****************** Posible motive for the gang fight

PAGANS MC ATTACKED IN MASSIVE INCIDENT AT BAR

PAGANS MC ATTACKED IN MASSIVE INCIDENT AT BAR

One response to “PAGANS MC ATTACKED IN MASSIVE INCIDENT AT BAR”
1.
Dave Wayne

August 20, 2025 at 12:09 pm

At first I felt bad for the owners of the bar, but the owner is dating a Pagan and allowing the Pagans to use her bar like a club house. It seems the War Dogs came looking for payback about two of their guys being beaten at The Old Trails Cafe a while back. By hanging out in that bar they are putting the owner and the civilians there at risk. If they would do their drinking at their own clubhouse this wouldn’t have happened. When I lived in Washington County the Independent bikers like me kept the clubs out of our biker bars for the fact that we didn’t want them claiming the bar as their bar, or inviting trouble from clubs they had a beef with. They were allowed to come in and have a couple drinks (without colors on) but they were not allowed to take control of the joint. Bike clubs were a good thing back in the 40’s and 50’s. It helped a biker avoid so much police harassment, and bullshit from groups of biker hating assholes who would try to cause shit with them when they had them outnumbered. Today they are mostly nothing more than drug cartels and a place for cowards to roost who have no balls and can’t stand on their own two feet.

Grand jury indicts Bill Holmes and widow of Morrill’s Corner shooting victim

Armed robbery and assault charges arrive a year after a biker club brawl in Portland

CHRIS BUSBY AUG 14, 2025 THE BOLLARD
Bollardhead.substack.com/p/grand-jury-indicts-bill-holmes-and?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true

A grand jury in Cumberland County indicted two men accused of an assault and robbery last summer at a Westbrook tavern that led to a deadly shooting in Portland’s Morrill’s Corner neighborhood later that night.

Bill Holmes, 49, longtime leader of the Portland street gang FSU, and Troy McHugh, 52, the widow of shooting victim Susan McHugh, were indicted earlier this month on multiple charges: two counts of robbery for McHugh, one involving a firearm, and three counts against Holmes, including one assault charge and two robbery charges, one involving the threat of violence. Both men have made bail and been released from custody.

The beef allegedly began on July 30 of last year, when Holmes observed members of Higher Calling, a Christian-based motorcycle club, wearing club patches on the back patio of Brookside, a bar and restaurant on Route 302. Holmes and his associates, including Troy McHugh, allegedly roughed up the younger bikers, including Christopher Marriott, 32, who appears to be a Higher Calling member.

Christopher Marriott (third from right) with fellow biker club members. Higher Calling has organized many charity motorcycle rides in association with local nonprofits and governments. photo/Facebook

Following that fracas, Holmes and his friends returned to Portland, and members of The Outlaws motorcycle club, with whom Higher Calling is affiliated, were made aware of the alleged assault and theft of one or more Higher Calling patches. A large group of Outlaws confronted Holmes, the McHughs and their son, Travis Frechette, in an auto-repair-shop parking lot, some allegedly wielding hammers. Police say shots were fired by both groups and a bullet fatally struck Susan McHugh. Holmes and Troy McHugh were both injured but remained uncharged with any crime until now.

Outlaw biker Aaron Karp, 47, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in this case and was sentenced to 15 years in Maine State Prison with all but five suspended. Four others associated with the club face aggravated assault charges and are awaiting trial.

Holmes could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Rob Andrews, declined to comment at this time, citing a lack of information about the case; it’s unclear who’s representing McHugh. The office of Cumberland County District Attorney Jackie Sartoris declined comment on grounds that the case, initiated by the Portland Police Department, is still active.

Bail conditions prevent Holmes and McHugh from contacting one another or Marriott. They also prevent McHugh from contacting his son, Frechette, whom Holmes is also barred from contacting. Frechette was not indicted.

Tensions between Outlaws and FSU members have remained high, sustaining concern in the community that a gang-style war of retribution could erupt. Holmes’ car, a vintage Pontiac GTO, was vandalized in Portland a couple weeks ago, with all or most of its windows smashed. An investigation of that incident has been initiated.*

WHAT THE HELLS? Ex-Angel reviving defunct Satan’s Choice biker gang

Brad Hunter Toronto Sun August 15, 2025
torontosun.com/news/local-news/what-the-hells-ex-angel-reviving-defunct-satans-choice-biker-gang

Thirty-five years of hellraising ended with a whimper for the fabled Satan’s Choice outlaw motorcycle club.
With the bloodless chill of a corporate takeover, in 2000, the Choice was absorbed into the Hells Angels in what’s known in the biker world as a “patch-over.”

The Choice, founded in 1965, were no more and its members became Hells Angels.

Now, biker scion Harley Davidson Guindon, 39, has stated in a series of online posts that he intends to resurrect Satan’s Choice, once the second-largest motorcycle gang in the world, Metroland reports.

“The Choice is back,” Guindon said on Facebook, describing the revival as his “destiny.”

“I am refounding the Satan’s Choice, with the permission of my father, who I have made an honorary member. I have patched over several clubs.”

Guindon’s father, Bernie, was the first president of Satan’s Choice and one of the gang’s founders.

Exactly what the resurrection means is anyone’s guess.

“We are aware of the re-emergence of the Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club in our region and the DRPS Biker Enforcement Unit will continue to monitor for criminal activities associated to all motorcycle clubs operating in Durham Region,” Durham Regional Police said in a statement.

Additional charge, criminal gang enhancement added against 4 Pike’s Pub beating suspects

By WPTA Staff August 12, 2025

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – An Allen Superior Court magistrate approved a motion by a prosecutor to add a criminal organization activity charge and criminal gang enhancement against four Pike’s Pub beating suspects.

The charges and enhancements were added against Jerrad Impton, Christopher Yoho, Douglas Zuber and Ryan Minick. Two other suspects, Vard Warnock and Justin Wert, have upcoming hearings on Aug. 25 and 18, respectively.

Warnock’s upcoming hearing is set to focus on the motion to add the criminal organization activity charge and notice of intent to seek a criminal gang enhancement. The new charge has already been added against Wert.

The six men were charged in May after a video of an attack at Pike’s Pub was widely shared on social media. It showed several white men — identified by police as being affiliated with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club — beating James Simmons, a Black man, and using racial slurs.

Allen County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tom Chaille has also moved to try all the men together, rather than holding separate trials.

In his motion, the prosecutor said the charges “stem from a series of acts that were part of a common scheme or plan and are so closely connected in time, place, and occasion that it would be difficult to separate proof of one charge from proof of the others.”

Court documents for the men outlined their alleged roles in the beating. Each of them was initially charged with felony battery and misdemeanor criminal recklessness.

Police Dismantle Violent ‘Hells Angels’ Network in Bulgaria: 13 Arrested in Nationwide Operation

Crime | August 8, 2025,
https://www.novinite.com/articles/233818/Police+Dismantle+Violent+%27Hells+Angels%27+Network+in+Bulgaria%3A+13+Arrested+in+Nationwide+Operation

Thirteen individuals linked to the “Hells Angels” biker group have been arrested in Bulgaria as part of a joint operation by the General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and the Prosecutor’s Office, the Interior Ministry announced. Twelve of the detainees have already been formally charged under decrees issued by a supervising prosecutor.

The large-scale action took place on Thursday across multiple locations in the country. Among those taken into custody is a Latvian national wanted by Interpol with a red notice for drug trafficking. The remaining suspects are Bulgarian citizens, all of whom have prior criminal records. Their ages range from 37 to 67

According to the Ministry, the organized criminal group not only committed acts of violence and intimidation but also delegated criminal tasks to others. The allegations include extortion, drug distribution, assault, and robbery.

Veliko Tarnovo District Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Iliyan Blagoev stated that the group is suspected of being responsible for a series of violent crimes, ranging from hooliganism and coercion to robbery and racketeering, often involving physical harm of moderate to severe degree.

Out of the 13 suspects, five are facing charges for participating in an organized criminal group established in 2014, which was active until this week. The remaining seven are accused of carrying out specific criminal offenses on behalf of that organization.

While the majority of those arrested are from Veliko Tarnovo and nearby areas, arrests were also made in the cities of Sofia, Varna, and
Asenovgrad.

Brandon ‘perfect’ fit for Hells Angels: Expert

Brandon, Sun Manitoba Canada August 5, 2025

Brandon ‘perfect’ fit for Hells Angels: Expert

The city of Brandon is considered perfect “fresh territory” for the Hells Angels to set up shop, says an internationally renowned investigative journalist and author who’s familiar with the organization.

“Small towns are perfect. First of all, they assume there’s perhaps a little less police presence. They also … don’t necessarily want competition from another gang,” said Julian Sher, who has penned several books on the outlaw motorcycle gang, including “Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin.”

While the Hells Angels do have chapters in big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, Sher said that they tend to set up in suburbs or smaller surrounding towns.

“It’s quite typical they’d aim for places like Brandon.”

In mid-July, Brandon Police Service Chief Tyler Bates confirmed there is a “fairly new” chapter of the Hells Angels in the city, which they are actively monitoring.

While he wouldn’t comment on specifics, Bates said in a statement last week that BPS is “aware of several organized crime groups, inclusive of the Hells Angels that are active within the city of Brandon. Some are more visible than others by virtue of their garments and proclamations.”

Bates assured that public safety is BPS’s first priority, and suppressing organized crime is an ongoing effort.

However, monitoring is all the police can do at this point, Sher said, since it’s not illegal in Canada to be a member of the Hells Angels.

“The Hells Angels has been declared a criminal organization in several trials, but that doesn’t ban them. It just means that in that specific trial, there are extra sentences and penalties that come with the person who is found to have committed a crime in the name of that criminal organization,” Sher said.

He said that if the police planned to take on the Hells Angels at some point, they would need specialized organized crime investigators. He added that this makes smaller cities or towns more appealing because they may not have the same resources that larger cities have.

Sher said it’s important that people don’t hide away or be fearful but instead be aware of the gang’s history and not fall for their propaganda. This can include advertising merchandise on their websites, which appears to be the case for Brandon.

A Hells Angels affiliated website under the name Brandon Manitoba’s 81 Support Gear Shop sells support apparel for men, women and children, including patches and shirts that read “Support 81 Brandon.”

On the website’s home page, it states that Hells Angels Brandon Manitoba was founded in December 2024. There is also a Facebook page under the name Brandon 81 Support Gear that advertises the clothing.
Sher said this is typical.
“That’s what has people scratching their heads,” Sher said. “People say, ‘Well, how criminal can it be?’”

He said this is all a part of their public relations “swindle.”

“They’re very showy, because it’s part of planting the flag and showing their power,” he said. “They are a registered corporation … but part of their PR is to kind of say, ‘We’re lovable rascals, you know, yes, we’re a bit dangerous.’”

He said they insist they are not a criminal organization, and that if anyone within the club is convicted of a crime, that has nothing to do with the fact that they are a member of the Hells Angels.

Despite this, he said people don’t get kicked out of the club for committing crimes, but they do if they are accused of being informants or working with rival gangs.
“You have to judge them by who they keep in,” he said.

With the Hells Angels present, Sher said it will make it harder for other organized crime groups in the city to do business. He described Hells Angels as the “McDonald’s of organized crime” because of their internationally recognized logo and connections with more than 30 chapters across the country alone.

“I’m sure there are mom-and-pop criminal organizations in Brandon, but they cannot compete with the viciousness and the power of the Hells Angels,” Sher said. “When the Hells Angels set up clubs, they will either crush or absorb the competition. And if they can, fine, you’ll just have a bigger Hells Angels presence in Brandon. But if they can’t, you’ll have violence.”

Sher said despite confirmation from police, the only “real proof” of a Hells Angels’ Brandon chapter is if “Brandon” is on the bottom of their patch on the back of their jackets.

He said when the Hells Angels set up somewhere, it is almost impossible to get rid of them completely, and it’s very rare to shut down a chapter.

NO ANGEL
How brutal Hells Angel leader led gang in deadly riots, rape & rock gig killing…as ex-wife opens up on savage beating

Sonny Barger’s bikers were dubbed ‘Vikings on acid’

Tom Bryden The Sun 4 Aug 2025
Updated: 6:48, 5 Aug 2025
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/36146745/sonny-barger-hells-angels-leader-channel-4-documentary/

THE roar of Harley-Davidsons and stench of petrol was all it took to announce the Hells Angels were in town.

And leading the pack of leather-clad outlaws for decades was hardman Sonny Barger, whose name struck fear into the hearts of even the toughest of bikers.

As California became gripped with drug-fuelled mania and political instability, Sonny was the man at the head of a group that left a trail of violence everywhere they went.

From leading deadly riots, running drugs, and even threatening Keith Richards with a gun, it’s little surprise that Sonny and his crew were dubbed “vikings on acid”.

Many now romanticise him as a legend – but the truth is that he presided over a group that carried out gang rapes of teenagers and that committed twisted acts of cruelty without blinking an eye.

And ex-wife Noel Black, who says Barger was an “old school charmer” when they met, soon saw his violent side.

“After the first ass kicking, I should have left,” she says. “He didn’t kill me, but I should have just ran.”
Now, the life and times of Sonny Barger is told by those who knew him in the documentary Secrets of the Hells Angels, airing tonight on Channel 4.
Four months after he was born in 1938, his mother ran off with a bus driver and he was raised by his alcoholic father and sister in the rough port district of Oakland, California.

School was attended just to pick fights with his fellow classmates, and at 16 he was expelled for hitting a teacher with a baseball bat.
Then he tried the army – but after forging his birth certificate so he could join without parental permission, he was given an honourable discharge just 18 months later.

Instead he joined a bike club, popular with other ex-military men, named the Oakland Panthers.
“I needed a second family,” Sonny wrote in his autobiography about this time.

“I wanted a group less interested in a wife and 2 ½ kids…and more interested in riding, drag-racing, and raising hell.”
But the Panthers were only weekend riders – and Sonny wanted more.

Throughout the 50s, the Hells Angels consisted of loosely organized chapters throughout California, with members often unaware that other chapters existed.

Forming his own group, the Oakland Hells Angels, in 1957, he made contact with other Hells Angels groups, and when the overall president was sent to prison in 1958, a 20-year old Sonny took the lead.

Brutal beatings

By the 1960s and Sonny and his now-worldwide gang of outlaw bikers had developed a serious reputation for violence – for good reason.
First gaining a criminal record in 1963 for cannabis possession, he was then arrested for assault with a deadly weapon in 1965, when he forced a pistol into a man’s mouth after he criticised the Hells Angels.

An unrepentant Sonny later wrote: “Since the motherf*cker was already shot in the head, I bent him over the pool table and shot him again.”

Though much of his legal income was made from consulting on Hollywood films about bikers, they also took part in robberies, drug running, and harboured white supremacists.

In January 1963, the Oakland Hells Angels headquarters was raided by police, with seven members charged with the alleged gang rape of a 29-year-old woman.

During the raid, police also found a swastika flag and a picture of Adolph Hitler with the inscription “Hitler is alive, our buddy.”
“The way we were depicted, we were like Vikings on acid, raping our way across sunny California on motorcycles forged in the furnaces of hell”, he wrote.

One of the most infamous nights of mayhem happened at a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969.

Offered free beer in exchange for providing security, the crowd got restless as the Stones failed to appear on stage.

Fights broke out, the bikers beat the crowd with pool cues, and one frightened fan – Meredith Hunter – was knifed to death with the assailant, Alan Passaro, getting away with it on grounds of self-defence.

“[They] were out of it on bad acid and cheap wine, and they were just looking for trouble,” remembered Keith Richards.
“Somebody knocked their bikes over and the next minute this black kid got scared, pulls a gun, and they did him”.

I stood next to him and stuck my pistol into his side and told him to start playing his guitar, or he was dead

Sonny

To many, it was the day that the peace of love of the 1960s died.

Sonny and his bikers for their part blamed the Stones for coming on late

And not even being a member of one of the biggest bands in the world would keep you safe from Sonny’s wrath.

“I stood next to him and stuck my pistol into his side and told him to start playing his guitar, or he was dead”, Sonny remembered.
“Altamont may have been some big catastrophe to the hippies, but it was just another Hells Angels event to me.”

Misogynistic violence

Though the Angels were a lawless rabble, they maintained a strict code of honour within themselves.
Disloyalty meant death – as Paul “German” Ingalls found out in 1968.

After being found guilty of stealing Sonny’s valuable coin collection by an internal Hells Angels “court”, Ingalls was forced to consume barbiturates until he suffered an overdose.

Equally brutal were the Hells Angels’ sexual crimes, with wives and girlfriends seen as the “property” of the men.

Sonny’s first wife, Elsie Mae, had died of an embolism in 1967 after a (then illegal) abortion, and he split with his second wife, Sharon, in 1996.

Three years later he married Beth Noel Black, but this came to an end in 2003 after Sonny attacked her so ferociously she found herself hospitalised.

I loved Sonny so much, but marriages sometimes are bad, and sometimes if you hang around tough people things happen to you,” she said.
“He would get aggressive with it. After the first ass kicking, I should have left.”

During one outburst, Sonny kicked her in the back, causing it to break in three places and leaving her with a lacerated spleen.
…[he] offered to deliver the bagged body of a leftist for every Angel released from jail

He called 911, and can be heard admitting that he had beaten his wife her so badly she was “paralysed and cannot move”.
He claimed she had pulled a gun on him, in a row over a mistress, but despite being convicted for aggravated assault he spent only eight days in jail for this crime.

Justice served

Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sonny and his Hells Angels had a complicated relationship with the police as they expanded the club into an international organisation.

In 1972, Oakland sergeant Ted Hilliard testified that he had accepted guns, dynamite and grenades from Sonny in return for the release of Hells Angels members from prison, as the police wished to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Black Panthers and Marxist groups.

Sonny was keen to go further – offering “to deliver the bagged body of a leftist for every Angel released from jail” – but this was refused.

By now, Sonny had developed a serious cocaine addiction and funded this by selling heroin, and Hells Angels chapters around the country practically controlled the entire market for meth.

When police raided his home in December 1972, they found eight guns throughout his house and even a human skull on his dresser that to this day remains unidentified.

He was finally convicted in 1973 for possession of heroin and firearms.

Sentenced to ten years, he served only four and a half, running the Hells Angels from his cell and marrying his second wife, Sharon, there
.
Thanks to his habit of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, Sonny contracted throat cancer in 1983.

This led him to become a public anti-smoking advocate, even saying: “Want to be a rebel? Don’t smoke as the rest of the world.”

Having his vocal cords removed didn’t stop him from being convicted in 1988 for conspiring to blow up the clubhouse of rival club the Outlaws, though he insisted he was merely the victim of entrapment by the FBI.

In total, Sonny spent 13 years in prison throughout his life.

By the 2000s, he had stepped away from his public leadership of the gang, though in 2002 he tried to organise a peace conference when warfare between the Hells Angels and Mongols gang exploded.

However, this conference was cancelled after a mass riot in Laughlin, Nevada, between bitter rivals left three dead and dozens injured.
Hells Angels members swarmed a casino, with CCTV capturing the moment bullets whizzed around slot machines.

One Mongol member was stabbed to death and two Hells Angels members died from gunshots.

He married his fourth wife, Zorana, in 2005, and spent the final portion of his life contributing to books about biker life, as well as appearing on the TV drama Sons of Anarchy.

Following a short battle with liver cancer, Sonny passed away in 2022 at the age of 83 – but left a legacy that will be forever part of the story of 20th century America.

Secrets of the Hells Angels airs tonight on Channel 4 at 11pm

Motorcycle club featured in Pikes Pub viral video has a complicated history

James Fuller | For The Journal Gazette Aug 1, 2025
https://www.journalgazette.net/local/courts/motorcycle-club-featured-in-pikes-pub-viral-video-has-a-complicated-history/article_ffa3e21d-c6a4-4df5-a487-3f671e6e2922.html

The six individuals arrested on charges of beating a man at Pikes Pub – and scheduled to have a court hearing this month – appear to be tied to an organization founded 90 years ago in a Chicago suburb, 170 miles from Fort Wayne.

The Outlaws MC, also known as the American Outlaws Association, was identified as “the dominant (outlaw motorcycle gang) in the Great Lakes region” in a 2021 report. The club expanded throughout the 1960s, growing to more than 1,700 members worldwide at the time of the report, including 700 members spread across 20 U.S. states.

When Allen County prosecutors decided to seek criminal gang charges against the six suspects accused in the beating at Pikes Pub in May, it signaled that law enforcement viewed the case as something more sinister than bar patrons involved in a disagreement.

The Rev. Carlton Lynch is a cousin of James Simmons, the man on the receiving end of the beating. Lynch said Simmons lives near the pub and had been a regular there for the seven months preceding the incident.

Simmons, Lynch said, was at the pub that day to have a gathering for his birthday. The boyfriend of the pub’s owner didn’t seem to want such a gathering at the pub, sparking a disagreement that led to the calling of the alleged Outlaws Motorcycle Club members to beat Simmons, Lynch said.

“This was a setup attack,” Lynch said in an interview. “I’ve never heard of the Outlaws until this incident, but my understanding of the group now is that this is nothing new. They bully. They attack. They do whatever they can to bring about violence. This club is no different from any other gang in Fort Wayne.”

If the pub itself is directly linked to the Outlaws, and the Outlaws are shown to be operating as a gang in Fort Wayne, Lynch said the pub should be shut down. The status of the motorcycle club as a criminal gang is a key focus of the prosecution.

The pending gang charges stem from the Outlaws Motorcycle Club gear worn by the men involved in the alleged felony battery. The Outlaws MC has a history of members being prosecuted for various violent federal crimes in Indiana, throughout the region, and on a global stage via its international chapters.

Criminal activity by some Outlaws MC members has included arson, assault, extortion, homicide, prostitution, drug trafficking and weapons offenses.

The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on the current threat level posed by the Outlaws MC in Fort Wayne, citing the pending case.

The prosecution of that case may be the most high-profile legal crackdown against the Outlaws in Indiana since a 2012 federal indictment charged 51 Outlaws MC members, including two Fort Wayne chapter members, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act. The Fort Wayne members pleaded guilty and received sentences of 70 and 87 months in federal prison. That case also linked a Mexican drug cartel to the Outlaws MC.

Authorities also seized the Indianapolis and Fort Wayne clubhouses of the Outlaws, gutting the club’s Indiana presence – at least for a while.

Karen Richards was the Allen County prosecuting attorney at the time federal officials seized the West Main Street clubhouse. She said the location housed frequent, felony-level criminal activity.

“That clubhouse was the source of a lot of issues, and the neighborhood was not real happy about that place being there,” Richards said. “The Outlaws did not do the West Main Street area any favors when they were there.”

Richards also said the pursuit of criminal gang changes against the Pikes Pub suspects is remarkable in that it is an enhancement that, if substantiated, would lead to substantially higher penalties or prison time. Richards served as Allen County prosecutor from 2003 to 2023.

Richards said she can’t recall ever pursuing that particular criminal charge enhancement during those 20 years.

An element so far missing from the prosecution, in the eyes of Lynch, is accountability for the role race played in the beating. Lynch said the use of slurs by the men beating Simmons shown in widely circulating video of the incident shows race played a “high role in what transpired.”

“The wording was almost more terrifying than the actions,” Lynch said, referring to a derogatory reference used. Lynch said the offensive language “had more pain for me than to watch the actual attack. We are living in a bad time, and James is the victim. He took a beating for Black America that day.”

The Allen County Sheriff and Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center did not respond to interview requests regarding the current threat level of the Outlaws MC in Indiana. The Indianapolis Regional Office of the FBI issued the following statement.

“The only thing unique to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club versus other Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs is how they formed and how they view themselves as the ‘one percenters,’ which comes from a politician stating that 99% of OMGs are non-criminals. So the Outlaws Club dubbed themselves the 1% who are criminals.”

The Outlaws MC organization did not respond to interview requests sent through their official website and social media channels. A 2018 post on the club’s website argues the term “one percenter” has been misrepresented by law enforcement.

“The 1%er definition, as we see it, is one that explains our commitment to biking and brotherhood,” the post reads. “We work, have families and do all the things that our neighbors do. To say that 1%ers are criminals or people of a lesser moral code than the rest of society is a tainted opinion. The Outlaws Motorcycle Club is not a criminal organization. It is a motorcycle club. We have learned from the mistakes in our past and have worked quite hard to make our club a leader in the efforts of many clubs and bikers to ensure that the 1%er lifestyle will continue to grow.”

John E. Bunch II, known in the motorcycle club world as “Black Dragon” is the author of multiple books on the motorcycle club lifestyle and hosts Black Dragon TV, a popular YouTube channel and podcast about the culture. In recent weeks, his show and social media channels have featured multiple discussions of the Pikes Pub incident.

In an interview, Bunch called the fight an “assault” that was just as “brutal” as it was unsurprising in terms of its scale.
“This is normal in motorcycle culture,” Bunch explained. “When one fights, we all fight. That’s what’s going to happen to you.”

Despite that element of gang culture, Bunch said motorcycle clubs are not gangs and shouldn’t be collectively blamed or labeled by the behavior of individual club members.

“None of us call ourselves gangs,” Bunch explained. “The individuals involved must be held responsible. Putting that on the whole club and saying, ‘Oh, that’s a gang,’ I don’t think that’s fair. The club hasn’t broken the law; maybe some people did.”

Nearby residents have called for a review of Pikes Pub’s permits and licenses following the beating. The pub’s owner, Kelley Ruse, did not respond to interview requests.

Bunch said Fort Wayne residents shouldn’t judge the pub or the culture on this one incident.

“I’m not going to say motorcycle clubs don’t have bad boys in them that do bad (things) that absolutely need to go to prison. Motorcycle clubs have that, just like every neighborhood in every city in the world,” he said
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“One of the biggest common misconceptions is that these guys are all bogeymen out to get the public. The community is going to have to make up their minds as to whether or not they want to frequent (Pikes Pub). The community might not like the kind of people in there,” Bunch said, “but does that rise to illegality because a tough motorcycle club is in there? I don’t think so.”

The six suspects are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 11 for a hearing and to enter their pleas.