Category: Gangs in the news…

Port St. Lucie deadly shooting near bar believed to be motorcycle gang-related
https://www.wpbf.com/article/motorcycle-gang-shooting-port-st-lucie-florida/43554789#
Taylor Lang WBFB Chanel 25 ABC News West Palm Beach Florida April 10, 2023
Port St. Lucie police believe a deadly shooting behind Harpers Pub early Sunday morning is gang-related.
Officers located a 39-year-old man with gunshot wounds lying dead on the roadway on Southeast Greendon Avenue.
Investigators noticed a motorcycle fleeing the scene.
When officers attempted to stop the motorcycle, the motorist refused to stop, causing officers to pursue the motorist into Martin County.
The motorcyclist, 25-year-old Elijah Inchauteguiz, was apprehended and taken into custody on Southwest Citrus Boulevard.
On the night of the shooting, a person at the bar called and requested police presence at about 1 a.m., saying they had overheard someone in the bathroom discussing that “there was going to be some trouble because there is a pagan (gang member) present, and he shouldn’t be there,” according to the arrest affidavit.
When officers arrived, they stayed for a short time before leaving “but decided to stay nearby,” according to the report.
At 2:02 a.m., another person called 911 and reported hearing about 10 gunshots behind the bar. An officer heard the shots and went to the area, where several people were gathered and said a person was left on a motorcycle.
The victim was Keith Johnson, an “outlaw gang member,” who had been shot five times at close range and was lying dead in the road.
The officer pursued the motorcycle in a marked vehicle with lights and sirens when he observed a red motorcycle leaving the area of Southport Middle School. The officer dispatched that the pursuit was over 100 mph, and the officer gave orders over the car microphone.
Another officer joined the pursuit before Inchauteguiz’s motorcycle’s engine blew, and he was taken into custody. A six-shot speed loader, which is used to quickly reload a handgun, was found on his person with 357 rounds.
Because the suspect was near the middle school, a grounds search was done, and a bandana, cell phone and $10 were found, which police believe belonged to the suspect.
Detectives obtained surveillance from the bar that shows Johnson and Inchauteguiz in the bar. On multiple occasions, Johnson steps out of the bar, and Inchauteguiz can be seen watching and following him.
At 1:58 a.m., Johnson leaves the pub and walks toward his scar while Inchauteguiz takes cover behind another vehicle, according to the arrest report. Inchauteguiz can be seen on surveillance, reaching for his waistband and appearing to grab a firearm. Johnson tries to disengage as Inchauteguiz and two other men move toward him.
At this point, most of the men are out of the camera’s view, and then they run back into view and drive away in two trucks and three motorcycles.
During an interview, a witness who knew Johnson said that the victim told him that he was afraid something bad was going to happen to him.
Investigators were told that the Pagans Motorcycle Club and the Unwanted Nomads Motorcycle Club are both documented “one percenter” motorcycle gangs that operate in St. Lucie County. This means that they are outlaw motorcycle clubs compared to the other groups that are “law-abiding citizens,” the report stated.
Inchauteguiz is a documented member of the Unwanted Nomad’s Motorcycle Club. Based on the investigation, he is charged with murder and aggravated fleeing and eluding. He is being held in Martin County Jail.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to call Detectives at 772-871-5001 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-TIPS.

Police: 3 members of notorious biker gang arrested in Lenoir
By Dave Faherty, wsoctv.com April 06, 2023

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/3-members-notorious-biker-gang-arrested-lenoir/VSVCFFKZL5GLVMIHUPLDHJNT3A/
LENOIR, N.C. — Three men in a notorious biker gang were arrested by police in Lenoir Monday night.
Police searched the Pagans Motorcycle Club’s clubhouse, seizing drugs and cash, after investigators said they got in a chase with three of their members. The clubhouse is along Highway 321 in Lenoir.
Police were there for more than three hours while they searched. Several viewers shared video and images of the large police presence along Highway 321 Wednesday night.

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke to some of the other gang members, who told him police stole their cash. Then, they told Faherty to get off their property.

Investigators in Lenoir said they initially got a call from a restaurant a few miles away about a fight between the Pagans and Hellions.
“Everything is going smooth and then I get told by the bar manager, ‘Hey, there’s a fight out in the parking lot,’” said a woman, who works at that restaurant.
She said the Pagans went after the customers as they were leaving.
“The other clubs that I’ve seen riding around, and even in Hickory, they’re very nice, very friendly, very respectful,” she said. “They’re not showing up to jump people at bars and starting trouble like that.”
Police say as they were responding, they spotted three motorcycles in the area driving well above the speed limit.
After a chase that ended at the Pagans’ clubhouse, police, sheriff’s deputies, and the highway patrol responded. They searched everyone involved and found concealed firearms and body armor on the drivers. Investigators said they also searched the clubhouse, seizing guns, marijuana, steroids, and about $11,000 in cash.
Chris Dishman eats at the restaurant in Lenoir often. He believes more needs to be done to keep people safe from the group.
“Two guys walked outside and they were jumped, and it wasn’t a fair fight,” he said. “They keep being allowed to do this and no one is doing anything about it to them.”
Jody Maltba, 34, and Timothy Maltba, 63, a father and son, along with a third man, Richard Barton, 31, have all been charged with felony speeding to elude. Police confirmed to Channel 9 that all three men are members of the Pagans.
Faherty saw police back at the restaurant looking at surveillance video on Thursday. They said their investigation is not over and more charges are pending.

Oklahoma City outlaw biker boss jumped, killed nearly year to day after Texas gunfight

Michael Ruiz Yahoo News March 5, 2023

https://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-city-outlaw-biker-boss-191621870.html
One of the six people shot in an Oklahoma saloon over the weekend was the chapter president of an outlaw motorcycle club who had been involved in another gunfight with the same gang almost exactly a year earlier.
Eric Oberholtzer, the suspected leader of the Homietos Motorcycle Club in Oklahoma City, was among three men who died in a clash of multiple gangs at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon on Saturday, according to authorities. Two other fatalities involved suspected Bandidos members or members of an affiliated group.
The Bandidos have long been on law enforcement’s radar. The Justice Department says the Bandidos describe themselves as outlaws. The group has an international presence with chapters in North America and Europe.
The Homietos, a lesser-known organization, have been involved in several incidents of public violence in recent years.
Police in Texas arrested Oberholtzer and two other alleged Homietos members after another shootout on Interstate 45 in Madisonville, after they were accused of opening fire on a group of Bandidos members near an on-ramp.
Madisonville Police tell Fox News Digital that on April 2, 2022, an altercation began with a verbal argument between a group of eight Homietos and four people who either belonged to the Bandidos or an aligned club at a store on East Main Street.
While there was no violence in the initial confrontation, the Homietos group, on motorcycles and accompanied by a black car, drove across the street and shot at the Bandidos in the parking lot, according to police.
Multiple bystanders told investigators they hit the ground for cover as bullets ricocheted around them. While there were no serious injuries, at least one shot struck a Bandidos motorcycle, and police found a bullet hole in a car parked more than 400 yards away.
Deputies in neighboring Leon County arrested Oberholtzer and another suspected member in the black car, Christopher Holt.
A state trooper separately tried to pull over Mahir Alihodizic, who allegedly sped off for roughly 80 miles before his capture in Navarro County. Alihodizic belonged to the club’s Kansas City chapter, authorities alleged, and he was photographed wearing club patches after the chase.
Police collected dozens of 9mm bullet casings from the scene and one more from the suspects’ car. They said ballistics testing later found a match between guns in Oberholtzer’s car and the shells at the scene. Results had not yet come back on a third firearm.
Texas police charged all three men with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a count of engaging in organized criminal activity. Oberholtzer faced an additional charge of directing activities of a criminal street gang as the chapter president, police said.
They likened the additional count to a state-level racketeering charge.
With the Texas investigation ongoing, Oberholtzer and suspected fellow Homieto Tyler Myers were seen on surveillance video speaking with a group of apparent Bandidos members near a patio entrance at the Whiskey Barrel around 11 p.m. Saturday, according to an Oklahoma affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.
Oberholtzer and Myers walked away followed by seven men “wearing Bandidos or support insignia,” according to court documents.
One of them rushed Myers and hit him in the head from behind.
Myers tried to hold the group at bay with a bar chair, according to the affidavit, and then allegedly pulled out a gun, causing “people to back up and many patrons in the bar to panic.”
At the same time, Oberholtzer was seen on the video fighting with rival biker Francisco Tanajara.
Oberholtzer shot at Tanajara. An unidentified man shot at Oberholtzer. And somehow the unidentified shooter wound up on the floor.
Myers, who also sustained a gunshot wound in the fight, ran to the door, turned back and allegedly shot at the unidentified man, who rolled over in a puddle of blood. He was later pronounced dead at the scene, along with Oberholtzer and Tanajara.
Myers and two others were injured — Clayton Owens, 36, and Felicia Wallace, 35.
A Facebook profile under Owens’ name includes an image of a man wearing a patch on his vest that says, “I Support Bandidos MC.” Police have not alleged his involvement in the violence, and he had not been charged with a crime as of Wednesday.
hey did arrest Myers on a charge of first-degree murder after his release from the hospital. He is being held without bail at the Oklahoma County Detention Center.
In addition to the deadly clash in Oklahoma over the weekend, members have been arrested in connection with a bar brawl in the Florida Keys and a convenience store shooting in Corpus Christi, Texas, according to court documents.
Another member was convicted in 2020 on federal firearms and methamphetamine distribution charges after selling drugs to undercover ATF agents, according to court documents.
Madisonville police are still investigating the 2022 shooting and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
In the deadly Oklahoma City shootout, police said additional charges are possible and are asking anyone with information to call their tip line at 405-297-1200.

RIVAL BIKER GANGS ALLEGEDLY BEHIND DEADLY SHOOTOUT AT SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA CITY BAR

Monday, April 3rd 2023 By: Jennifer Pierce News 9 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

https://www.news9.com/story/642b50db6cdbad780862f7be/rival-biker-gangs-allegedly-behind-deadly-shootout-at-southwest-oklahoma-city-bar-

Police said on Monday that rival biker gangs were behind a deadly shootout at a southwest Oklahoma City bar over the weekend.
Three people died and several others were injured including one of the suspected gunmen. Police arrested Tyler Myers, 34, after he was released from the hospital. Court documents showed Myers was punched in the head on Saturday by a rival biker gang member and that started the deadly gunfight.

Bullet holes riddled the inside the Whiskey Barrel Saloon on Newcastle Road and South Shawnee Avenue.
When officers arrived at the bar on Saturday night, they found three men deceased inside the bar.
Investigators have identified two of the victims as 29-year-old Eric Oberholtzer and 38-year-old Francisco Tanajara. The third man’s name is currently unknown.

“Another three were transported to area hospitals,” Msgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department said. “I know at least two of them were treated and released.”
One of the injured was Myers. New court documents indicated Myers and Oberholtzer were members of the Homietos bike gang.
Investigators pulled security video to piece together what led up to the shootout. They noted a group from the rival gang Bandidos started a physical altercation with Myers.
Police said Myers was the first to pull out a gun, causing bar patrons to panic.
“It’s unclear what the beef was they had with each other,” Knight said. “But we’re talking about several different biker gangs that were in there and in the end, they were all shooting at each other.”
The bar’s owner told News 9 the shootout was the first time a fight between biker gangs has turned deadly at her establishment. Regular bar customers said the Whiskey Barrel Saloon was a safe place with a family-like atmosphere.
“We hug each other when we get here. We hug each other when we go home,” Lisa Harvey, a bar patron, said. “It’s a true family here.”
Harvey helped clean up the bar after the shooting and said the violence has devastated their small community.
“Please pray for all the families and friends that were affected,” said Harvey.
Police said the investigation was not over and there could be more arrests in the future

Quebec police carry out anti-drug trafficking raids targeting Hells Angels, Mafia
The Canadian Press March 29, 2023

Quebec police carry out anti-drug trafficking raids targeting Hells Angels, Mafia

Several police forces across Quebec are participating in joint anti-drug trafficking raids across the province targeting members of the Hells Angels and the Mafia.

Police say they are conducting eight operations, including in Montreal, Laval and Estérel, in Quebec’s Laurentians region.
Provincial police Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau wouldn’t say whose residences are being searched but said they involved important figures in the province’s organized crime world.
The raids are being conducted by a mixed police force that focuses on organized crime.
Bilodeau says police are targeting a cocaine trafficking network.
She says police aren’t planning any arrests Wednesday but are searching for evidence that could lead to arrests.
Some people in this network are influential people, including members of the Hells Angels and other less influential people, but who are still involved in this drug trafficking network, which we wanted to put an end to,” Bilodeau said.

Bay Area Hells Angels member gets 21 months for gun possession
Jaime Alvarez, 52, of Vallejo, among four Vallejo chapter members recently indicted in federal court on gun or ammo possession charges

Bay Area Hells Angels member gets 21 months for gun possession

By RICHARD BAMMER | rbammer@thereporter.com | Vacaville Reporter March 23, 2023

A member of the Vallejo chapter of the Hells Angels, among four indicted last year and in 2023 on firearms or ammunition charges, was sentenced on Tuesday to 21 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm
Jaime Alvarez, 52, of Vallejo, who pleaded guilty to the charge in December, heard U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd hand down the sentence in a federal courtroom in the Department of Justice’s Eastern District of California in Sacramento. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed the sentence.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, Alvarez was not in custody, Sacramento County Jail records indicated.
According to court documents, on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement officers served a search warrant at Alvarez’s home as part of an investigation into a brutal beating at the clubhouse for the Vallejo chapter of the notorious motorcycle club.
Specifically, in October 2021, two different victims — both of whom were members of a different motorcycle club considered a “puppet,” or subordinate, club of the Hells Angels — were beaten by Alvarez and three other club members based on perceived infractions of the Hells Angels’ rules.
As previously reported, during the December 2021 search of Alvarez’s Vallejo home, officers found several firearms, including a Glock 27 .40 SW caliber handgun. Alvarez has prior felony convictions, which prohibit him from possessing firearms, noted U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.
The case stems from an investigation by the Vallejo Police Department, Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron D. Pennekamp and Jason Hitt are prosecuting the cases, part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime-reduction efforts.
As previously reported, a second Vallejo Hells Angels member, Michael Mahoney, 30, of Fairfield, pleaded guilty on Jan. 24 to two felony firearms charges. He initially was charged with possessing a firearm with an obliterated or altered serial number and faces a maximum term of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for that offense. If convicted of possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, Mahoney faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is scheduled for sentencing on May 2.
third Vallejo Hells Angels member also returns in the coming days to a federal courtroom in Sacramento for sentencing in a firearms case.
Dennis Killough Jr., 51, of Vacaville, charged with being a felon in possession of two different firearms, pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 and will be sentenced on March 27. Killough, previously remanded to Sacramento County Jail custody without bail, is no longer in jail, according to a records search.
Court documents show that, on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement searched Killough’s home and found two firearms, including a Taurus G2C 9 mm pistol with an obliterated serial number and a Taurus PT 745 Pro handgun. Killough has several prior felony convictions — including previous firearm convictions — which, by law, prohibit him from possessing any firearms or ammunition.
Killough faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing.
A fourth Vallejo Hells Angels member, Kenneth Caspers Jr., 55, of Vacaville, faces a single charge of being a felon in possession of ammo. He faces a status conference on April 4 in federal court in Sacramento.
Founded in 1948 in Fontana by Otto Friedli, the Hells Angels is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club. The Vallejo chapter, at one time, considered the enforcer for the Oakland chapter — founded by the late Ralph “Sonny” Barger, who later became the club’s de facto leader — was notorious for two members’ involvement in an Oct. 5, 1986, mass murder of a family of four, including two children, ages 5 and 17, in Fort Bragg.
It was a crime that made national headlines on Oct. 7, one day after two members of the Sonoma County chapter traveled to Fort Bragg and, at night, burned down a house near Highway 20 with the four bodies inside.

Gary motorcycle gang member could face life in federal plea
By Meredith Colias-Pete Post-Tribune • Mar 23, 2023 at 4:14 pm

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-gates-st-0324-20230323-wuw2rmjka5ab7ps4fn2mvyuexm-story.html
A Sin City Deciples motorcycle gang member faces life in prison in a federal plea deal.
Antoine “Twan” Gates, 45, admitted in federal court documents his role in connection with four homicides, two stickups and conspiracy
A 13-page plea detailed the alleged crimes.
Gates admitted co-defendant Ronnie “Black” Major paid him to kill Jocelyn “Pieface” Blair on Dec. 19, 2010, inside Coney Island Restaurant, 2490 Broadway, Gary.
Blair was an eyewitness to a 2008 shooting in Gary for which Major was later convicted of battery and sentenced to six years, according to court documents. Blair never testified at Major’s 2011 trial because she was killed months before.
Gates also admitted roles in connection with three other deaths.
Gates admitted he was paid for his role in a robbery that killed Carl Griffith, 72, of Portage. According to court documents, Griffith was shot three times Nov. 1, 2012, outside his home in the 2700 block of Locust Street.
Franklin Simmons, 61, was killed Aug. 16, 2010 in an illegal gambling house on the 1300 block of Johnson Street in Gary.
Kevin Champion, 41, was shot dead outside Champ’s Liquors on Aug. 15, 2010.
Elsewhere, Gates and two others robbed a Radio Shack in October 2012 on the 7900 block of Calumet Avenue in Munster.
He and three accomplices kidnapped a currency exchange manager in 2010, taking her to the store on the 300 block of Clark Road, forcing her by gunpoint to open the safe and stole cash, according to federal documents.
Fifteen Sin City Deciples members, including Major, were indicted in October 2021.

Why NSW bikie numbers have been ‘decimated’ over past few years

By Raffaella Ciccarelli • Senior Producer 9 News Sydney Australia March 20, 2023

https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-news-why-bikie-numbers-have-been-decimated-over-past-few-years/f9db5310-b7f4-4361-b52c-42fa91c8ab45
Bikie numbers in New South Wales have declined rapidly over the past few years, with one top cop saying three gangs have been “decimated”.
The comments come following the formation of NSW Police’s stand-alone Raptor Squad in 2021, which aims to curb Sydney’s gangland violence.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Koutsoufis, head of NSW Police’s Raptor Squad, told 9news.com.au there’s been a marked decline of “about 20 per cent” since the squad’s formation.
“It’s hard to confirm numbers exactly, because obviously they don’t advertise who confirmed members are or not, but we believe over the last few years we’ve seen a decline of about 20 per cent in bikie numbers,” he said.
“That’s just in NSW, alone.
“There’s still about 2000 members in NSW attached to the various OMCGs (Outlaw motorcycle gangs) and clubs.”
Koutsoufis said the hardest-hit gangs include the Comancheros, Lone Wolves and Rebels.
“The Comancheros have probably taken the biggest hit,” he said.

“It’s been widely publicised the attention they have received over the past few years, with some of their high-ranking members now languishing in jail throughout Australia.
“The Lone Wolves and Rebels, their numbers have been decimated over the past few years as well.”
Koutsoufis paid credit to the hard work of the Raptor Squad, explaining the focus over the next six months will be cracking down on gangs in the regions.
In January this year, it was confirmed the squad would set up two more permanent bases; one in the Illawarra, and the other in the Hunter region.
“We’ve pushed our strategies into regional areas with the establishment of Raptor South and Raptor North,” Koutsoufis said.
“That will continue into further regional areas as time goes on, over the next six to 12 months.”
Strike Force Raptor was established first in 2009, before it evolved into a stand-alone unit two years ago.
While the numbers have been heartening so far, Koutsoufis said the work is far from over.
“As clubs come and go, or lose members, others try and take position and fill the void,” he said.

“As they come along we will target them.

“We’re doing all we can to ensure the community remains safe as possible, by continually targeting OMCGs.
“I’m very lucky I have a team of 150 highly-committed police and an effective, established policing model.
“My team makes NSW a safer place.”

Leader of southern Indiana biker gang gets 120 years for murder
by: Ashley Fowler WISH TV.com
Posted: Mar 17, 2023 / 06:09 AM EST / Updated: Mar 17, 2023 / 07:52 AM EST

Leader of southern Indiana biker gang gets 120 years for murder

MADISON, Ind. (WISH) — The leader of a southern Indiana motorcycle gang was sentenced to 120 years in prison for killing a rival gang member in the summer of 2021.
A Jefferson County judge on Wednesday gave Michael “Billy goat” Karnuth, of North Vernon, 60 years for the murder of Dustin “Kutter” Lindner and another 60 years on a criminal gang enhancement.
Police say Karnuth, the president of the Heavy Hitters chapter of the Warlocks biker gang, teamed up with the Pagans motorcycle gang in June 2021 to confront a man they believed was posing as a member of both clubs.
The confrontation escalated to a shootout and Lindner was fatally shot in the chest.
Police say guns and gang paraphernalia found near the scene linked Karnuth to the shooting.
Karnuth’s conviction and sentencing are the direct results of the “outstanding investigation” by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and state police, Jefferson County Prosecutor David Sutter said in a statement.
“This is a significant sentence which all but ensures a dangerous man will no longer be a threat to our community,” Sutter added.

Suspected outlaw motorcycle club president pleads not guilty
https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2023/mar/10/suspected-outlaw-motorcycle-club-president-pleads-/

By DERRICK PERKINS Daily Inter Lake | March 10, 2023 Kalispell, Montana

The man authorities identified as the leader of the local chapter of an outlaw motorcycle club pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony charge for allegedly writing bad checks to an area business.
Prosecutors accuse Michael Allan Murphy, 49, of issuing four checks from Oct. 13-19 totaling $31,148.20, according to court documents. All four, made out to a local lumber and building supply firm, were returned for non-sufficient funds, court documents said.

Murphy, prosecutors alleged, never reported the checks as being forged.
Murphy was arraigned before Judge Danni Coffman in Flathead County District Court on March 9, still wearing an orange inmate’s uniform. Coffman set an omnibus hearing in the case for May 15 with a pretrial conference to follow on July 14.

The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $10,000 fine.
Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies, working with Kalispell Police and probation and parole officers, arrested Murphy on an active parole violation warrant at a home in the Empire Loop area on Feb. 28, officials said. Murphy unsuccessfully tried to flee, authorities said at the time.

Announcing the arrest on March 3, Sheriff Brian Heino said that Murphy was identified as president of the Flathead chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, a group allegedly involved in a brawl at the Majestic Valley Arena on Feb. 11. Another man inside the house taken into custody about the same time, Kyle Martin Johnson, 28, was described by authorities as the chapter’s vice president.

Officials estimated as many as 50 people took part in the skirmish, which broke out during a Saturday night boxing event at the arena. Just two individuals were taken into custody at the time, one released shortly thereafter.
The other, Brandi Laree Partney of Walla Walla, Washington, faces felony assault with a weapon and tampering with or fabricating evidence charges in district court. Authorities alleged she wielded a bat during the melee, but later discarded it.

Arraigned Feb. 23, she pleaded not guilty.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.