Brian Jeffrey, president of the Simcoe County Hells Angels chapter and Gerald (Skinny) Ward, a founding member of Niagara Hells Angels plead guilty

Brian Jeffrey, 50, president of the Simcoe County Hells Angels chapter and Gerald (Skinny) Ward, 60, a founding member of the Niagara Hells Angels, each pleaded guilty in a Universiity Avenue courthouse to an assortment of drug trafficking charges. However, each of the burly, bearded bikers vigorously denied that the drug sales were for the benefit of a criminal organization. Ontario Superior Court Justice John McMahon heard arguments from defence lawyers and prosecutors on whether the drug deals were for the benefit of the international biker club. He reserved his decision. Marco Freitas, 29, also pleaded guilty to selling drugs to Stephen Gault, a former member of the Oshawa Hells Angels who became a police agent. Freitas admitted selling 8,000 pills of ecstasy worth $55,000 to Gault. Freitas was not a member of the Hells Angels. men were charged two years ago in a massive police operation involving 500 officers from 11 forces, which police call Project Tandem.
Ward is charged with the commission of an offence for a criminal organization, instruction of an offence for a criminal organization, two counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, four counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, four counts of possession of proceeds of crime and possession of a restricted firearm.

Hell's Angels and their associates the Henchmen were known to frequent Checkered Flag Bar and Grill on Lincoln Avenue

San Jose gang investigators are trying to figure out who blasted bullets early Saturday morning into a bar known to be frequented by bikers.
No one was injured at Checkered Flag Bar and Grill on Lincoln Avenue. Police declined to comment when asked if they believed the gunfire could be connected to the rising tensions between the Hell's Angels and Mongols motorcycle clubs, sworn enemies who some experts fear are on the cusp of a unprecedented war.
"Right now, we don't know who did it,'' police spokesman Enrique Garcia said. "We're looking at many possibilities."But sources told the Mercury News that Hell's Angels and their associates the Henchmen were known to frequent the bar and detectives were probing the possibility the gunshots were the latest retaliatory action.
On Sept, 2, Hell's Angels San Francisco chapter president Mark "Papa" Guardado was shot down by a suspected Modesto Mongol near the biker gang's clubhouse, according to authorities. Thursday, three pipe bombs exploded in the driveway of an upper echelon member of San Jose's Mongol Motorcycle Club. San Jose police have not attributed that bombing to the Hell's Angels, but they are looking into the possibility.About 1:05 a.m. Saturday, shots were fired at the San Jose bar, striking a window. One bullet went through the window of an apartment where someone was sleeping, police said.Bar owner Keith Scarboro said his drinking and dancing patrons
didn't even know about the shots until a police officer came and pointed out the damaged window."Good jukebox,'' Scarboro said.He said he didn't know anything about the biker gangs' conflict. He just wanted to replace his window and move on."I have a motorcycle crowd,'' he said. "But just because they ride motorcycles don't assume anything.''"I'm just trying to build a business here and so far it's been trouble free,'' the bar owner said "I'm so pissed.''

Alameda County SWAT team surrounded a home owned by a member of the Hells Angels in Oakland Tuesday night during a search for a pair of murder suspect

Alameda County SWAT team surrounded a home owned by a member of the Hells Angels in Oakland Tuesday night during a search for a pair of murder suspects that turned into a brief standoff.Alameda County sheriff's deputies and Oakland police remained on the scene late into the evening after spending hours looking for two murder suspects and searching the home of a Hell Angels member who was briefly detained by officers.
The home is located at 60th Street and MacArthur Boulevard near Seminary in East Oakland.At around 5:30 p.m., deputies were searching various neighborhoods for a man closely tied to two murder suspects was seen in the East Oakland neighborhood, according to department Sgt. J.D. Nelson.When the deputies arrived in front of the home on MacArthur, they found the man they were looking for -- 24-year-old parolee Colt Gazzaway -- standing outside. When they tried to arrest Gazzaway, deputies say he tried to run but they were able to catch him."Sheriff's investigators upon arrest of Mr. Gazzaway developed information that he had been in and out of that home the last few days, which is why they made entry into that house," explained Sgt. Nelson.
Oakland police entered the home to search for murder suspects Aaron Hammond and Ben Eddleman, both 33-years-old.Arrest warrants were issued last Thursday for the two men who are suspected in a fatal shooting in unincorporated San Leandro Wednesday night, according to the Alameda Sheriff's Office.Sheriff's deputies responded around 6 p.m. to a report of shots fired at a home in the 1500 block of 167th Avenue and found a 54-year-old man suffering from a single gunshot wound. The victim died at the scene.Homicide investigators Thursday obtained arrest warrants for Hammond and Eddleman. Investigators believe Eddleman may have fled in a black Honda Accord and Hammond may have fled in a red sport utility vehicle.Eddleman is 5 feet 11 inches, 220 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He may have also been shot Wednesday night. Hammond is 5 feet 4 inches, 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Neighbors told deputies that Gazzaway had been seen in the home before Tuesday and the sheriff's office believed Hammond and Eddleman, both 33, may have been inside.
Law enforcement officers were out in force as they searched for the men in the surrounding area, but authorities came up empty handed as of late Tuesday evening.
They did detain the owner of the home, Edward Proudfoot, who is a member of the Hell's Angels.Proudfoot's attorney Portia Glassman said her client did nothing wrong and that law enforcement had no reason to invade hiss home while he was trying to quietly celebrate his 65th birthday.The attorney says she suspects Proudfoot is being targeted because of his affiliation with the Hells Angels."This is devastating to enter someone's house this way and detain them for something they're not accused of doing and to shoot their dog," said Glassman. "It's horrible."
Many Hells Angels including the president of the Oakland chapter arrived at the scene to support proudfoot.Proudfoot was detained for aiding and abetting a fugitive, but his attorney said he was later released without charges.
The two murder suspects are still at large. Gazzaway is being held for violation of his parole. At around 10:30 p.m., Nelson said the warrant had been signed by a judge and a search was being conducted. At that time, he said no other arrests had been made since Gazzaway's.

Hells Angels attacked the Bandidos with knives and bats.

The July 29, 2007, attack on the four members of the Bandidos motorcycle group was brutal. Eureka Springs police described it as an ambush where the Hells Angels attacked the Bandidos with knives and bats. It happened about 2: 30 p.m. on a Sunday as the Bandidos were riding out of town on U. S. 62. They passed three Hells Angels who waved them into the parking lot of the Gingerbread Antique building. As the Bandidos pulled in, a pickup blocked the parking lot exit, and a man jumped out with a bat, a victim told police. Isidro Zerrata said the attack happened fast — in less than a minute. He was stabbed in the heart and lost a kidney. About 15 minutes after the attack, Berryville police stopped a red pickup with a Massachusetts license plate and arrested its three occupants. Also arrested were three Hells Angels on motorcycles who were traveling with the pickup. Police seized knives from the pickup and found blood on the inside front passenger door, court records state. Pate interviewed Zerrata at Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville. Pate wrote in a report that was introduced as evidence at a later hearing that Zerrata definitively identified the attackers during the Aug. 4, 2007, interview. However, in an audiotape of the interview, Zerrata didn’t give detailed descriptions of the attackers. He said two were wearing face masks, and he didn’t describe them as wearing clothes indicative of membership in the Hells Angels, the court records state. Zerrata said he couldn’t see clearly because he was wearing a motorcycle helmet. At the January hearing, Pate testified that Zerrata said he was waved over by at least two Hells Angels in a red truck, but in the audiotape, Zerrata never mentioned the truck being red, the records state. Prosecutors failed to tell the defense about the audiotape of the interview until it was mentioned at the January hearing, the defense claimed. Epley ruled Sept. 10 that the tape should have been turned over to the defense during discovery since it contained exculpatory evidence.
Epley said he doesn’t believe Pate or prosecutors intended to mislead the defense.
“The tape was lost behind a file cabinet,” Prosecuting Attorney Tom Rogers said last week. “It wasn’t intentional.” Pate didn’t return a call seeking comment last week.
The defense said Pate tipped off Zerrata during the Aug. 4, 2007, interview that the suspects were from Massachusetts and Maine. The defense said that information helped Zerrata later identify the suspects in a photo array. During the interview, Pate asked if he saw the license plate, but Zerrata said no. Pate then told him the pickup had a Massachusetts license plate, court records state. The Arkansas State Police met with Zerrata after he was released from the hospital and showed him a photo array. He chose each of the six defendants in six photo arrays.
The defendants challenged how Zerrata could identify the suspects although two of them wore masks. They said the photos of the defendants were taken at the location of the traffic stop. Each of the photos had the same background of grass and trees, suggesting they were photographed together after being stopped by police, the defense said. Epley in February ruled the photo procedure was defective for the main reason the only sharp, clear contrast photo in each array was the one showing a defendant in the case. Robert Thomas Reynolds’s attorney, said it hurts the state’s case that they don’t have witnesses identifying the six defendants as the assailants. “The state indicated their case will be circumstantial, and I’m not aware of any witness who can say, ‘ We saw this person whose height is this and who looked like this, ’” Miliotis of Boston said. “They don’t have any of that.” Rogers said there is physical evidence in the case that is strong enough to overcome any setback from the rulings. “We’ve got physical evidence and crime lab evidence, and that will establish a clear link,” he said, declining to give specifics. There are other witnesses who’ve given statements to police after the assault, records state.
A clerk at a nearby business said she saw a red pickup with a Massachusetts license plate pull into the Gingerbread building parking lot before the assault.
Other witnesses said they saw Hells Angels and Bandidos fighting in the parking lot.
A motorist said a red pickup with a Massachusetts license plate sped past her on U. S 62 around the time of the attack, and that someone threw what looked like an aluminum bat out the window. Police found a bat nearby, records state. Parker said the defendants are reserving the right to claim selfdefense. He said one of the Bandidos victims wore surgical gloves during the assault.
“It begs the question if the Bandidos were the ones who initiated the ambush,” Parker said. Rogers said the defendants are charged as accomplices, meaning prosecutors don’t have to prove they acted directly, only that they aided or encouraged the crime. “We’re certain we have the right people, and we have the evidence to prove it in court,” Rogers said.

Murder of Carl MacDonald outside the Lone Legion Motorcycle Club in Blenheim.

Mr MacDonald was shot dead with a cut-down rifle after an apparent argument between two groups outside the gang house on September 15 last year. murder of Carl MacDonald outside the Lone Legion Motorcycle Club in Blenheim.Aaron James Harvey, Corey William Mackle, Peter Christopher Tait and Jason David Warren have denied the murder and unlawful assembly outside the club.Two weeks have been set aside for the trial, to be heard by Justice John Wild.

Turf war between the Copenhagen Hells Angels and immigrant gangs in the city.

Danish newspaper Politiken reports on a turf war between the Copenhagen Hells Angels and immigrant gangs in the city. While the Hells Angels has traditionally been a secretive and exclusive organisation, the paper claims that it has set up a support group to increase its manpower and that disaffected Danish youths are flocking to join.Jyllands Posten reports that the trouble has spread to Arhus, Denmark's second city, after two hand grenades were thrown at the Hells Angels' clubhouse earlier this month.London-based Danish journalist Jakob Illeborg has no doubt who is to blame for the problem. It's the horrid right-wing government alienating ethnic minorities by introducing stringent immigration controls and insisting on integration.

Hells Angels bikie associate will appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court today charged with shooting a man

Hells Angels bikie associate will appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court today charged with shooting a man at Reynella on May 1.He is the second man charged over the shooting. Police will alleged the arrested man, 34, was involved in a fight at a house in Pasadena Crescent when another man was shot in the leg.Crime Gangs Task Force officers last night arrested and charged the man with cause serious harm. The man was refused bail.

Identities of the undercover police officers will remain secret during court processes to prevent reprisals

"The work of undercover police officers is critical to stopping some of the most lucrative and dangerous criminal activity in this state."Identities of the undercover police officers will remain secret during court processes to prevent reprisals from criminals they help to apprehend.
Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who will introduce the legislation into Parliament this week, said the new laws would help police fight organised crime "from the inside".
"These laws will help expose drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal weapons trading and gang violence – including murder," he said.The Criminal Investigation (Covert Operations) Bill 2008 is aimed at facilitating the wider use of undercover police officers to combat organised crime in South Australia.
It is also the first new law in the second wave of legislative measures aimed primarily at combating motorcycle gang activities.The first wave included tighter firearms laws, riot and affray laws and measures to ban bikie gangs and stop members from associating.The new legislation will allow police to create and use false identities – including driver's licences and birth certificates – to investigate an offence or gather criminal intelligence."These laws will cover how false identity documents are applied for and on which grounds it can be granted," he said."The Bill also dictates punishments for the misuse of false identities. "It also provides greater legal certainty for covert operatives and agencies involved in undercover operations and delivers better police accountability than previous arrangements."
A significant section of the Bill allows undercover police to give evidence in court without disclosing their true identities and potentially exposing themselves and their families to harm.Under existing laws, an offender often learns the true identity of the undercover officer during the court process, even though the officer's name is suppressed from publication."Protecting our front-line fighters in the war against criminal motorcycle gangs is paramount," Mr Atkinson said.
"These brave and dedicated operatives need protection so that they can carry out dangerous but important investigations in the safest possible way".Under the new laws, false identities also will be recognised by interstate law enforcement agencies and cross-border recognition of witness protection certificates will be possible."Criminal bikie gangs don't behave themselves once they've crossed a state border," Mr Atkinson said."Sometimes they operate across different states to evade detection or capture. Cross-border recognition of South Australian undercover operations will make life easier for police and harder for criminals."The new legislation replaces and greatly expands the Criminal Law (Undercover Operations) Act 1995.Those laws primarily covered the approval for such operations and gave police officers legal immunity, but did not specifically authorise the measures now being introduced.

Life sentence for Christopher Wayne Hudson will spend at least 35 years behind bars

Christopher Wayne .
As Hudson was led to the dock before sentencing, three Hells Angels and another three men who also appeared to be bikies stood up and placed clenched fists to their hearts.Last year Hudson shot dead father-of-three and lawyer Brendan Keilar, 43 and critically injured Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard as both men went to the aid of Hudson's former girlfriend, Kaera Douglas during the peak-hour morning shooting in Melbourne on June 18.Hudson also shot Douglas in the stomach and then ran off.
Hudson, 30, pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Keilar and attempting to murder Mr de Waard and Ms Douglas.He also pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury to Autumn Daly-Holt, a stripper at the Spearmint Rhino club in King Street where he had spent the previous night.Hudson pleaded guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of an unauthorised firearm after a wild night with Collingwood footballer Alan Didak on June 12, during which he fired shots from his car as they drove to the Hells Angels' Campbellfield clubrooms.At a pre-sentence hearing, Phil Priest, QC, said his client was high on a cocktail of the drug ice, alcohol and steroids at the time of the city shootings.
He said the Hells Angels bikie carried a gun for self-defence after defecting from a rival motorbike gang and had been shot in the face and stabbed in the back at a kickboxing match in 2006.Shocked CBD workers watched Hudson calmly and deliberately gun down Mr Keilar and Mr de Waard and fire more shots at the men as they lay wounded on the ground.Tram passengers told police they watched Hudson walk away, put the gun to his jaw and then shake his head and put the weapon down his pants.Hudson was on the run for two days before handing himself in at Wallan police station.
Christopher Wayne Hudson opened fire on two members of the public during the morning peak hour in Melbourne on June 18th 2007.The bikie gang member had been involved in an altercation with his then girlfriend Kaera Douglas.Two members of the public, 43-year-old father of three Brendan Keilar and backpacker Paul de Waard approached Hudson while he attempted to drag Ms Douglas from a taxi by her hair.Hudson then pulled out a handgun and shot both men.Brendan Keilar died from at least three shot wounds while Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard suffered injuries from bullet wounds.Ms Douglas was also shot in the stomach.Hudson pleaded guilty to the murder of Mr Keilar and the attempted murder of Me De Waard and Ms Douglas.Justice Paul Coghlan sentenced Hudson to 35-years in jail for his unprovoked crime.The 30-year-old will be eligible to leave prison at the age of 65.Following the shooting, Hudson had led police on a two-day run while he attempted to escape the charges.Three members of the Hells Angel bikie gang were in attendance at the court today.Some members of the gang are alleged to have assisted Hudson in attempting to remove tattoos before he was caught by police.

Mongols are trying to increase their territory, and they are getting push-back" from Hells Angels

The Mongols, roughly 1,000 strong, are based in East Los Angeles, he said.
"The Mongols are trying to increase their territory, and they are getting push-back" from Hells Angels, Torres said. "Any time there's violence between two gangs like this, who are willing to do physical harm and damage, my concern is for innocent bystanders," Torres said. "I'm very concerned for our community and very concerned for law enforcement - I would hate to see an innocent child, an innocent person, caught in the cross fire."Authorities have described Ablett, the suspect in Guardado's killing, as a rank-and-file member of the Mongols. Police identified him as a suspect in part because of witness descriptions of the killer's motorcycle, which police say matched a bike owned by the Mongol member. Police seized Ablett's motorcycle in a search of the Modesto home where he lives with his parents, but they have been unable to find him.Guardado's funeral in Daly City on Monday drew thousands of bikers from around the United States and as far away as Europe. The proceedings were peaceful.Hells Angels members have declined to speak to reporters since Guardado was killed. An attorney who represented Guardado in a Sonoma County battery case, Pat Ciocca, declined to comment Thursday.Neighbors on Melannie Court were rattled by the blasts and the wave of law enforcement officers who came out to investigate. Police and federal agents sealed off the street and escorted school-bound children through the barricade. Several neighbors said they had no problems with the residents of the house where the bombs went off. Motorcycles occasionally came and went from the home, they said.One neighbor, who did not give his name, said he had been unable to sleep and had been painting his guest room when the bombs went off."It sounded like dynamite," he said. "Boom! Not like firecrackers. A lot louder than that. I used to feel secure on this street, but I guess I don't anymore."

John Punko, Ron Lising, Jean Violette and Randy Potts face a total of 28 counts including illegal firearms, extortion

The Hells Angel prospect binder detailed "things that need to be done around the clubhouse," including fixing the dishwasher, repositioning the television satellite, cleaning out the bathroom cupboards, powerwashing the deck and "trimming the screwy tree." Club aspirants were also expected once a month to clean the coffee machine, ice bins and gym and to "Pledge" the wood. They were also required to call in a cleaning lady once a month.
The four Hells Angels - John Punko, Ron Lising, Jean Violette and Randy Potts - face a total of 28 counts including illegal firearms, extortion and uttering threats.
Thirteen of the charges allege the crimes were carried out for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization, the East End chapter of the Hells Angels. Other evidence entered as exhibits included "world rules" that state no cops, ex-cops, boneheads or snitches could join the gang.
Police also seized a black leather vest decorated with the distinctive Hells Angels insignia, including a winged skull known as the "death head," and hundreds of patches. RCMP Const. Dave Brown, who was responsible for tagging and bagging the evidence seized, showed the jury a legal document that declared the death head and other insignia as trademarks of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, as well as a birthday and anniversary date list for members. Brown also read a note listing the names of members wanting tickets for a concert by heavy metal rockers Metallica, prompting B.C. Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly to ask if Metallic (sic) was a band. "Fortunately, there's no one on the jury as old as I am," he noted.

funeral of Mark “Papa” Guardado, the 46-year-old president of the San Francisco chapter who was shot after a barroom brawl

Hells Angels don’t do quiet funerals. The funeral of Mark “Papa” Guardado, the 46-year-old president of the San Francisco chapter who was shot after a barroom brawl, brought about 2,000 Hells Angels to Duggan’s Serra Mortuary in Daly City, most driving the biggest, baddest, loudest Harley’s ever.Hells Angels came from chapters all over the country but that’s not all. They also came from as far away as Stuttgart, Germany, Alberta, Canada and Melbourne, Australia. Guardado was shot and died from his wounds on Sept. 2 outside a bar in San Francisco’s Mission District around 10:30 p.m., about a mile from the Hells Angels chapter clubhouse, where he lived. San Francisco Police are looking for a suspect in Guardado’s shooting, Christopher Ablett, 37, of Modesto, a member of the rival Mongols Motorcycle Club. If I were him, I would hope the San Francisco Police find me before one of the Hells Angels does because he’ll stand a better chance with the police than he will with the Hells Angels.

Hells Angels and associates and then-local Hells Angels president Dale Donovan.

Andrew David Janz, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import firearms, weapons trafficking, possessing a firearm while prohibited and possession of the proceeds of crime. Janz was one of 18 people arrested last December as part of an RCMP-led sting operation dubbed Project Drill. Janz will return to court for sentencing on Sept. 18. Career criminal Scott Robertson was paid $500,000 to buy drugs from Project Drill suspects while police recorded the proceedings. Among those caught in Project Drill's net were several Hells Angels and associates and then-local Hells Angels president Dale Donovan. In 1998, Janz was sentenced to four years in prison on arson and assault charges arising from the Headingley jail riot of 1996.

The Mongrel Mob police today charged three men over the separate killings of William Taikato, 40, and Darrell James Crawford, 35,

Tauranga police today charged three men over the separate killings of William Taikato, 40, and Darrell James Crawford, 35, but searches have failed so far to find the pair."They have literally disappeared," said Detective Sergeant Daryl Brazier.
But there was "no question" the two men, who knew each other casually and were both involved with drugs and gangs, had been murdered, he said."We haven't recovered the bodies yet but it remains our principle focus. We will continue to work (on the two separate investigations, Operation Burd and Operation Orca) until we do."
Mr Brazier said the families of Mr Taikato, a father of two missing since December 20 last year, and Mr Crawford, last seen on August 12, 2007, were "desperate to get them back".Outside Tauranga District Court this afternoon, once the three accused had appeared before a judge, Mr Crawford's parents welcomed today's arrests.one of the defendants is charged with their son's murder while all three face counts of killing Mr Taikato.Fiona Crawford appealed for anyone who knew where her stepson's body was to "have the guts to come forward. Give us some closure".She and her husband Dave had searched widely since he disappeared and had even consulted a psychic. They now accepted that he was dead."It's horrible knowing that he is lying out there somewhere. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," Mrs Crawford said.
He was a good person who had "got in over his head" with drugs, she said.Before that, he had a good job as a welder, was passionate about motorbikes and speedway, and loved his parents, brother and sister.Detective Inspector Rob Jones said investigators would "dearly love to locate the bodies".Not having them was a "complicating factor" and it was unusual to lay murder charges without bodies "but it's not insurmountable."He said the Tauranga drug scene was central to police inquiries into both murders.There were also connections to two local gangs, the Mongrel Mob and the Greasy Dogs - a small but long established motorcycle gang.
Further arrests were expected."We know others are directly or indirectly involved," said Mr Jones.A core team of about 10 had been investigating the disappearance of the two men for many months.Although Mr Crawford's car was found last year at Oropi, on the outskirts of Tauranga, unlocked and with the keys in the ignition, there had been no sign of Mr Taikato's vehicle.It was a green 1996 four-door Holden Commodore, with the registration number UF9688.Police were appealing for any information, which would be treated in strict confidence, to further their inquiries.A $50,000 reward is still on offer for each of the murder cases.In court today the three men charged had their names suppressed until late Thursday so they could tell their families.
A 50-year-old Te Puke man was accused of killing both Mr Taikato, 40, on or about December 19 last year, and Mr Crawford, 35, on or about August 12, 2007.
Two Welcome Bay men, aged 41 and 33, face counts of murdering Mr Taikato.The men were remanded in custody to appear again on October 14.

Surrounded by a group of Hells Angels members at a First Street gas station

Dozen police cars arrived after a man reported being tipped off his bike on Interstate 580 and then being surrounded by a group of Hells Angels members at a First Street gas station near the I-580 off-ramp.The man, whose city of residence and age were not released, told officers he was exiting the freeway at First Street about 3 p.m. when a rider in a group of bikers pulled up and told him to get behind them, Bye said. The man told police that when he didn't drop back, he was run off the road.The riders then pulled into the gas station and got into an argument. The man called police, saying he was surrounded, Bye said. Twelve people were detained at the scene. Two were arrested for weapons violations and another for the altercation.Bye said the lone biker suffered a bruised knee and was the only one injured.

street corner where Guardado was shot, across from a bar and a nail salon, there was a makeshift memorial where someone had written RIP Papa Frisco.

The president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was shot and killed Tuesday night on a Mission District street, police said Wednesday.
Mark "Papa" Guardado, 45, was shot at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday near 24th Street and Treat Avenue, about a mile from the group's clubhouse where he lived. He died at San Francisco General Hospital.Witnesses told investigators that Guardado and the gunman struggled before the shooting."They had a wrestling match first," said Lt. Mike Stasko of the San Francisco police homicide detail. Then "the guy shot him, and he got on his motorcycle and left."Police have made no arrests, but said one avenue they are exploring was that Guardado was fighting with a rival in another motorcycle group. "We're looking at all the options," Stasko said.An attorney who was defending Guardado in a battery case in Sonoma County said that he was "absolutely devastated" by the killing and that "Mark was a wonderful human being.""His friends loved him," said the attorney, Patrick Ciocca. "He really was an all-around good guy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are going to miss him dearly."
Members of the Hells Angels at the group's clubhouse on Tennessee Street in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco declined to talk about the killing.
At the street corner where Guardado was shot, across from a bar and a nail salon, there was a makeshift memorial where someone had written in large, black letters, "RIP Papa Frisco."The group's San Francisco chapter - or "Frisco," as its members call it - is the second-oldest Hells Angels club in the country, after Fontana in San The Hells Angels have long feuded with another motorcycle group, the Mongols. In 2002, a brawl between dozens of members of the two groups in a Laughlin, Nev., casino resulted in the deaths of three bikers and 13 injuries.
Guardado had an assault conviction in Massachusetts and served prison time there in the 1990s, but had no significant criminal record in California. When he died, however, he was facing charges in Sonoma County stemming from a beating outside a bar in Petaluma earlier this year. Police said the incident happened Feb. 10 at McNear's Saloon & Dining House. Guardado bumped a bar patron, who was not a member of a motorcycle gang. The patron fled the bar, authorities said.
Once outside, the victim was surrounded, beaten and kicked by several other alleged members of the Hells Angels, prosecutors said. Guardado started the attack for no reason, said Sgt. Jim Stephenson of the Petaluma police street crimes unit.
"We can't determine any motive - it was just what they do," Stephenson said. "It's just intimidation."In July, federal and local authorities raided the Hells Angels' clubhouse in San Francisco, and Guardado was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal mushrooms. Guardado "was an extremely dangerous gang member," said Victoria Shanahan, the Sonoma County prosecutor in the Petaluma case. "I find it interesting the fact that they were arguing they are not gang members, but this appears to be a gang-motivated killing."

San Francisco police today are investigating two shootings in the Mission District Thursday night, including one that left two men dead

San Francisco police today are investigating two shootings in the Mission District Thursday night, including one that left two men dead and a woman injured.
The fatal shootings happened at about 9:45 p.m. Thursday night near the intersection of 24th Street and Utah Street, according to police.The victims were standing out on the street when two male suspects approached them and started shooting before fleeing in a vehicle, police said.Two people were also shot earlier Thursday night at about 6:30 p.m. in the area of 18th and Bryant streets, according to Sgt. Wilfred Williams. The two victims were sitting in a parked vehicle along with a 4-month-old child when they were shot. The two were driven to San Francisco General Hospital friends and were being treated for injuries considered life-threatening. One victim suffered a gunshot wound to the head, police said.Williams said a man was witnessed fleeing the scene in a compact silver vehicle.The shootings Thursday night were the latest in a series of violent incidents this week in the Mission District.The San Francisco Police Department's gang task force was monitoring the Mission District on Wednesday night after the president of the Hells Angels San Francisco chapter was murdered a day earlier.Mark Guardado, 45, was found suffering from gunshot wounds near the intersection of 24th Street and Treat Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.A 24-year-old man, Marcelino Canul-Castro was also killed earlier early Monday morning.Canul-Castro was found suffering from gunshot wounds by officers in the first block of San Carlos Street. The San Francisco resident was taken to a hospital where he died, according to police.

Rocco Dipopolo insisted that he no longer "rolls with the club" despite the fact that his brother Damiano is a full-patch member of the Kelowna chapte

Rocco Dipopolo insisted that he no longer "rolls with the club" despite the fact that his brother Damiano is a full-patch member of the Kelowna chapter, and a former East End member. "Thirteen years ago, I was rolling with the Hells Angels," Dipopolo said Friday. "Now I am a businessman . . . what were you doing 13 years ago?"
Insp. Andy Richards, a biker expert with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Dipopolo at one time was on his way to earning his patch with the East End chapter. "I can confirm that he was a prospect of the club at one point," Richards said. Dipopolo, who owns property in Vancouver and Kelowna, registered Maximum Core Cardio Studio Ltd. last May 23, according to B.C. government records. Three days later, the company applied to Vancouver City Hall for approval to open a gym, a few blocks from Dipopolo's house. The application says the multi-level gym would offer "personalized weight training, boxing, Pilates, yoga, nutrition and much more." "I hope that I can be given the opportunity to give people inner balance, control and strength through this facility as well as provide new standards for going green in Vancouver," Dipopolo said in his application letter.
Dipopolo that he would not let Hells Angels or any gang wear logos or patches in his gym if he gets permission to open it. "I run the show. There aren't going to be any gangs coming here and if they come, they won't be wearing their colours," he said.
Asked about his relationship with his full-patch twin, Dipopolo said: "My brother is not me . . . he lives in his house. I live in mine." A recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling in the divorce between Damiono Dipopolo and Janette Wu shows some financial links between the twins. The February 2008 ruling says Rocco and Damiano were business partners in a cafe in the 1990s and that Damiano gave Rocco $30,000 from some lottery winnings "on a date which was not clear in the evidence." But Friday, Rocco Dipopolo's lawyer, Kevin Drolet, sent a letter to The Sun, threatening a lawsuit and stating: "We wish to be clear that neither Mr. Dipopolo nor his businesses are affiliated with the Hells Angels. Mere insinuation of the existence of such a link could cause serious harm to Mr. Dipopolo, his businesses and his reputation. Should you persist, legal action will surely follow."
Vancouver City Councillor Raymond Louie said it makes no difference with whom a business applicant may be connected. "The city of course does not discriminate based on association. Our job at the city is to ensure that property land use is conducted within our boundaries. So we will ensure that whatever applicant comes forward - in this particular case a gym - conforms to existing zoning bylaws and the impacts of the use aren't disruptive to the neighbourhood."

Hudson, a Hells Angels bikie, shot Mr Keilar at close range then fired twice more on the family man as he lay dying on the ground

Hudson, a Hells Angels bikie, shot Mr Keilar at close range then fired twice more on the family man as he lay dying on the ground near the intersection of Flinders Lane and William Street.Mr Keilar's sister Jane Mann said in a victim impact statement tendered to court, that his "sad and tragic loss" had caused his family "extreme emotional trauma".She said Mr Keilar came from a close family who had been "devastated" by his violent killing.Prosecutor Ray Elston, SC, said Mr Keilar's wife had been too traumatised to write a victim impact statement.Mr Keilar and Mr de Waard, who survived after being shot twice, were trying to calm Hudson as he violently assaulted his part-time girlfriend Ms Douglas.Ms Douglas had a kidney removed after being shot in the upper body and Mr de Waard still has a bullet lodged in his pelvis.Hudson today pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to murdering Mr Keilar, 43, attempting to murder Mr de Waard and Ms Douglas, and intentionally causing serious injury to stripper Autumn Daly-Holt.He also pleaded guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of an unauthorised firearm after spending a wild night drinking with Collingwood footballer Alan Didak during which he fired shots from his car as he drove the star player to the Hells Angels' Campbellfield club rooms.Psychologist Jeffrey Cummins said Hudson was "living a full on drug-using lifestyle" at the time of the shootings and had taken to constantly carrying a firearm after after he was shot in the face at a NSW boxing match in 2006 following his defection from the Finks bikie gang to rival club, the Hells Angels.

Hells Angel bikie Christopher Hudson should be jailed for life for shooting one man dead and wounding two other people

Hells Angel bikie Christopher Hudson should be jailed for life for shooting one man dead and wounding two other people Melbourne last year, prosecutors say.Forensic psychologist Jeffrey Cummins told the court, ''He was living a full-on drug-using lifestyle.''Hudson, 30, was high on a cocktail of the drug ice, alcohol and steroids when he went on the shooting spree during peak hour on June 18 last year, the Victorian Supreme Court was told yesterday.Solicitor and father-of-three Brendan Keilar, 43, was fatally wounded and Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard critically injured when they went to the aid of former Sydney model Kaera Douglas, who was being attacked by Hudson.Ms Douglas was also critically wounded in the shooting.Prosecutor Raymond Elston SC said witnesses described Hudson as calm and his actions deliberate before he walked away.''I just couldn't get over how calm he looked when he walked off,'' said one.But defence lawyer Phillip Priest QC said Hudson tried to take his own life after realising the enormity of his actions.The court heard Hudson led a reckless lifestyle, was involved in the night club and strip club scene and regularly used drugs and alcohol.
Mr Cummins said Hudson was addicted to amphetamines, ice and was on steroids at the time of the shooting.He said Hudson often carried a gun after he was shot in the face at a NSW boxing match in 2006, after he defected from the Finks bikie gang to rival club, the Hells Angels.He developed post-traumatic stress disorder after that shooting.Despite this, psychiatrist Daniel Sullivan said Hudson was not psychotic at the time of the shooting and did not have a significant mental disorder, nor a history of depression or anxiety.Dr Sullivan said Hudson did have a history of aggression towards women.A long list of more than 60 previous convictions was presented to Justice Paul Coghlan, many of which included violence, assaults against women and the use and possession of weapons.The prosecution has called for no parole, but the defence is seeking a minimum term, arguing Hudson had shown remorse and pleaded guilty early.Justice Coghlan agreed with the crown that the case had caused shock in the community and a life sentence was worth consideration.
''This is a case where a non-parole period should be imposed,'' he said.
Mr Keilar's sister, Jane Mann, said in her victim statement that his death was a tragic and sad loss that had devastated their close family.The court heard Mr Keilar's widow had not supplied a victim statement because she could not articulate her grief.Hudson pleaded guilty to one count of murder, two of attempted murder and one of intentionally causing serious injury.The court was told that just before the shooting, Hudson had kicked exotic dancer Autumn Daly-Holt until she was unconscious and bleeding on the steps of the King Street club Bar Code.
Hudson then forced his casual lover Ms Douglas to walk with him into an underground car park where he threatened her with a gun.A petrified and screaming Ms Douglas managed to escape and was trying to get inside a taxi when Hudson tried to drag her away by the hair.Hudson shot at Mr Keilar and Mr De Waard and continued firing when they were on the ground after they intervened.

When in Rome secret hideout belonging to members of the motorcycle gang Hells Angels

Five people were arrested after Roman police discovered an arsenal of weapons in a secret hideout belonging to members of the motorcycle gang Hells Angels. During a random routine control on Via Castel di Leva, located just outside the G.R.A. near Colli Albani, police retrieved truncheons and several knives in the car, which led them to a Hells Angels circle where guns, swords, crossbows and a bazooka were found.
The two men inside the car, both thirty years old and with clean records, were arrested. A third person’s car was also inspected and more truncheons and knives were found, which led the suspecting police to search a locale near the control checkpoint, where the arsenal was found. Two more men inside the premises, 48 and 32 years old, were arrested, and will now face charges of committing criminal acts, detention of fire and common arms and war weapons .

Hells Angels clubhouse, a heavily fortified structure on Ortono Avenue in the Wilson Road-Bloor Street neighbourhood, was ordered forfeited

infamous Angels clubhouse, a heavily fortified structure on Ortono Avenue in the Wilson Road-Bloor Street neighbourhood, was ordered forfeited to the Crown after a brief hearing Tuesday. Superior Court Justice Donald Ferguson made the order with the consent of the defendants, who include two high-ranking Angels currently facing accusations of plotting to murder an underworld rival.The property was seized under the Civil Remedies Act, which allows the Province to apply for forfeiture of property linked to criminal enterprises.A resolution in the matter comes almost exactly two years since the property -- 487 Ortono -- was frozen by the courts as the Crown announced its intention to seek forfeiture. The clubhouse was raided as part of Project Tandem, a sweeping police strike that saw more than two dozen Angels and associates busted on a variety of charges, most of them related to drugs and weapons.Arrested in the sweep were Mark Stephenson and Remond Akleh, respectively the president and former president of the Angels’ Oshawa chapter, on charges of conspiring to murder a rival. Their trial is scheduled to begin in Superior Court this fall.Mr. Akleh, Mr. Stephenson and a third Angels member, David Wilgosz, were identified by the province as the owners on title of 487 Ortono and named in the action launched under the Civil Remedies Act. Court proceedings on the matter have occurred intermittently over the past two years.In documents on file at the Whitby courthouse the Crown alleges the property was the meeting place of members of a known criminal organization, and that for years the Angels had sold liquor at a bar inside the compound without a licence, effectively operating a booze can.
What happens next is unclear. Representatives of the City of Oshawa and Durham Regional Police said they’re awaiting an official announcement from the provincial Attorney General on what might happen with the property now that the court process is concluded.“We initiated (the Civil Remedies motion) based on the legislation,” said police spokesman Dave Selby. “Their laws opened the door to initiate the paperwork.”Also reserving comment was James Anderson, a spokesman in Oshawa Mayor John Gray’s office. The mayor is on record as saying he wants the rambling red and white building razed and replaced, preferably with a single family dwelling that would blend with the residential neighbourhood.
In one other instance involving a property seized under the Act, a home in west Oshawa that had been used for a marijuana grow op was refurbished and put up for sale.Francesca MacKenzie, who has lived with husband Bradley next door to the Ortono clubhouse for more than 20 years, expressed ambivalence over the ruling.
While having the clubhouse gone might be a boon to the value of their property, Ms. MacKenzie said she’s leery of legislation that allows government to seize property from private citizens.And like others on Ortono, a short cul-de-sac lined with homes in the shadow of Hwy. 401, the MacKenzies say they never worried about confrontations with their notorious neighbours.“They were always really nice to us,” Ms. MacKenzie said.A common sentiment on Ortono was that it wasn’t the Angels that were an irritant so much as the attention they attracted from police. Cops constantly conducted surveillance on the clubhouse, monitoring the comings and goings of visitors, and people with no ties to the club would often get caught up in those efforts, Mr. MacKenzie said.He recalls one night being followed to work by the police helicopter, and said he was pulled over on several occasions while merely coming to and going from his home.
Since the Angels were ousted from their digs in the fall of 2006 there are still curiosity seekers looking to get close to the property, but police presence has tailed off, he said.The MacKenzies agree with the stance taken a couple of years ago by Mayor Gray. They want the clubhouse, the Hells Angels’ ungainly physical legacy in Oshawa, gone.

Jean Joseph Violette, Ronaldo Lising, 28-count indictment against four alleged members of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.

The four accused -- Jean Joseph Violette, Ronaldo Lising, Randall Richard Potts and John Virgil Punko -- entered not guilty pleas in court to the charges.
28-count indictment against four alleged members of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.The indictment alleges the Hells Angels chapter is a criminal organization and that its members committed crimes such as extortion and uttering death threats "for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization, to wit the East End charter of the Hells Angels."Other charges contained in the indictment include possession of grenades, illegal semi-automatic handguns and silencers.The trial judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly, told the prospective jurors that the trial is set to begin next Monday and could continue until next June. Those selected for the jury, he added, can contact family and employers "to tell them the good news," prompting laughter from the potential jurors.The jury selection process involves a "challenge for cause" to make sure potential jurors will be unbiased: One of the questions posed to prospective jurors is whether they have heard, seen or read anything in the media about the Hells Angels or the accused, and whether the potential juror has an opinion about the case that cannot be set aside to arrive at a verdict based solely on evidence heard in court and the instructions of the trial judge.Several potential jurors admitted bias against the Hells Angels and one man revealed he had read about the case in The Vancouver Sun. By 3 p.m. Wednesday, only one juror had been deemed acceptable, a man who is a retired Telus employee.

The president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hell's Angels was shot and killed in the city's Mission district Tuesday night

The president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hell's Angels was shot and killed in the city's Mission district Tuesday night, according to authorities.
Although San Francisco police have not yet confirmed that the victim was Mark Guardado, 45, KCBS has received confirmation from Petaluma Police Captain David Sears, who investigated Guardado last month in connection with several assault cases.
San Francisco police say they received reports of shots fired near the intersection of 24th Street and Treat Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Officers arrived and found the victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Investigators say only that the suspect may have fled the area on a motorcycle



Mark "Papa" Guardado, 45, was found about 10:30 p.m. with gunshot wounds at 24th Street and Treat Avenue, about a mile from the group's clubhouse. He died a short time later at San Francisco General Hospital. Police think Guardado may have been in fight with a rival in another motorcycle group before he was killed. Witnesses told investigators that he and the gunman struggled before the shooting and that the suspect fled on a motorcycle. At the time of his death, Guardado was the subject of an ongoing investigation into an assault with a deadly weapon incident, said Sgt. Jim Stephenson of the Petaluma Police Department. "He beat up a random guy at a bar," said Stephenson. "He beat him with his hands and feet."When police responded to the Petaluma bar, officers said Guardado volunteered the fact that he was president of the San Francisco branch of the notorious motorcycle gang."He told us he was president, plus it was on his jacket," said Stephenson, who also told CBS 5 that Petaluma police kept the jacket as evidence in the case.
Guardado filed suit in May against Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies who refused to let him and a co-defendant wear their Hell's Angels insignia in court. A judge later backed up the Sheriff's Department and disallowed the two defendants from wearing the insignia.The San Francisco chapter is one of the oldest Hells Angels branches in the country. The half-centry-old club is known for an outlaw image, and its members have been a target of police anti-gang and anti-drug efforts.

Mark "Papa" Guardado, was fatally shot last night on a Mission District street during a fight with a suspected rival motorcycle gang member.

Mark "Papa" Guardado, was fatally shot last night on a Mission District street during a fight with a suspected rival motorcycle gang member.
"They had a wrestling match first," said Lt. Mike Stasko of the San Francisco police homicide detail. Then "the guy shot him, and he got on his motorcycle and left."Mark Guardado shot last night in SF Mission District.Guardado died at San Francisco General Hospital.Attorney Patrick Ciocca, who once defended Guardado, said he was "absolutely devastated" by the death, characterizing the Hells Angels leader as a "wonderful human being."At the street corner where Guardado was shot, across from a bar and a nail salon, there was a makeshift memorial where someone had written in large, black letters, "R.I.P. Papa Frisco."Nearby, others wrote "never forget" and "we will always love you." Five burned-out candles lay nearby.An opposing view of Guardado is generally expressed by criminal prosecutors. To them, he was an extremely dangerous gang member.Members of the Hells Angels at their clubhouse declined to comment on Guardado's death.