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A FEARED bikie gang is trying to strengthen its presence in Tasmania.

Bandidos gang members from across the globe have been congratulating their bikie comrades in Tasmania for making it to the next phase of their initiation to become a fully-fledged chapter of the outlaw organisation.

This is despite police targeting the group to limit its emergence locally, including evicting members from their clubhouse and conducting operations that led to several people being charged with assault, theft, drug and driving offences.

The development comes a year after the Mersey River chapter established itself in the state’s North-West, sparking fears of potential bikie feuds, ice manufacturing and drug trafficking.

Tasmania Police Serious Organised Crime Division Detective Inspector Glen Ball confirmed that mainland Bandidos members, including the group’s national president, were recently in Tasmania as part of the bikie gang’s initiation process.

“The group was known as the Mersey ‘hang around chapter’ and intelligence indicates it recently progressed to a ‘probationary chapter’ following an event attended by national members, including the national president,” Insp Ball said.

“This event was the subject of a police operation which resulted in associates being charged with driving offences and drug-driving offences which are now before the court.”

Chapters of the notorious gang from Finland, Russia, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Spain commented on the Bandidos MC website, congratulating the Tasmanian Bandidos for taking a big step towards becoming fully patched members.

Comments were also posted from chapters in Darwin and Victoria.

Since the Bandidos sought to establish themselves locally last year, Tasmania Police has vowed to disrupt the group and dismantle its foothold, conducting numerous raids and laying assault, drug, theft and driving charges against alleged members and associates.

Insp Ball said that the group had been significantly disrupted and was not entrenched, despite recent bikie status developments.

“Targeted policing activity along with community engagement and liaison resulted in the members being evicted from a premises in Shearwater they were using as a clubhouse,” he said.

“There is no current intelligence suggesting they have an alternate premises.

“The Bandidos OMCG are not entrenched in Tasmania — it is believed membership totals five people statewide — and while they have been disrupted, it is likely they will attempt to establish themselves in the area again.

“Local Bandidos members and their associates have been charged with various offences, including serious drug offences, instigated by the Serious Organised Crime Unit last year.

“Tasmania Police will continue ... to ensure a hostile environment for them.”

http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/bandidos-pass-initiation-test-in-push-for-tassie-turf/news-story/808a2547ffdc8e4fa2e91e4261a92273

Here is my updated story about David Giles, who was a Hells Angel for 35 years. His status in the club he loved was unclear at the time of his death Saturday in an Abbotsford hospital.

“Formidable” Hells Angel David Giles dies months after getting record sentence

Retired Vancouver Police biker specialist Brad Stephen remembers the first time he met Hells Angel David Giles in the mid-1990s.

Stephen pulled him over on Dundas in East Vancouver after seeing Giles “peel out” of the parking lot of the old Drake Hotel.

“I remember it vividly,” Stephen recalled Sunday. “I pulled him over and he just oozed hatred for law enforcement. You could just feel the disdain coming from his pores.”

Stephen said he was polite with the powerful biker, welcoming him to the West Coast where he had just relocated.

“I remember him opening his wallet. He wanted to make sure that I saw his platinum American Express,” Stephen said, adding that in the day, the card carried a credit limit of $100,000.

“He wouldn’t engage at all, just stared me down.”

Giles died in an Abbotsford hospital Saturday, just three months after he was handed a record sentence for his role in a massive international cocaine conspiracy.

B.C. Justice Carol Ross gave the ailing 67-year-old biker an 18-year sentence, minus credit for time served, leaving a net term of just over 11 years.

It was the longest sentence ever given to a B.C. Hells Angel.

Ross said Giles was one of the leaders in a plot to smuggle half a tonne of cocaine into B.C. Undercover cops posing as South American drug exporters had duped Giles and his associates in a sophisticated multinational sting.

The judge rejected a call for a more lenient term from Giles’ lawyer Paul Gill, who said his client was critically ill and needed a liver transplant.

Giles had been incarcerated at the Pacific Institution, acting assistant warden Ronnie Gill said in a statement.

She said Giles’ family had been notified of his passing, as had the police and the B.C. Coroners Service.

While no cause of death was provided, Giles health appeared to decline over his months-long trial in B.C. Supreme Court. He laboured as he walked through the courtroom each morning and breathed heavily in the prisoner’s box.

Giles and associates were convicted last September. He was sentenced on March 31, 2017 after an unsuccessful fight to have the case thrown out due to the length of time it took to get to trial.

Giles had once served on the national executive of the Hells Angels and was close to Montreal HA president and convicted killer Maurice “Mom” Boucher.

He moved from the Montreal chapter to Halifax, then to Vancouver’s East End chapter, before becoming one of the first Kelowna Hells Angels when the bikers expanded with a new chapter there in 2007.

“He was a very formidable underworld figure in the Hells Angels,” Stephen said. “You know that he had influence and that he had cachet within the Hells Angels organization. He had connections back east and all over the world.”

While still an East End member, Giles and several others were arrested and charged after a major police investigation during which agent Micheal Plante infiltrated the chapter.

Several bikers and associates were convicted, but Giles beat all his charges.

Plante later told Postmedia that he wore a wire into an East End meeting the night the bikers offered him a position in the Hells Angels program.

Giles jokingly said: “You are not going to, like, become a Hells Angel and then quit and write a book about us, are you?”

Giles was again the target of police in the E-Predicate investigation, resulting in his arrest on a series of charges in August 2012 and his conviction four years later.

During the investigation Giles and his associates gave police a $4-million down payment and arranged for an initial shipment of 200 kilograms of cocaine to be delivered to Burnaby warehouse on Aug. 25, 2012

“Considering the nature of this transaction, the quantity of drugs involved, the intention for it to be an ongoing venture, Mr. Giles’ role and Mr. Giles’ personal circumstances, I have concluded that the fit sentence is 18 years,” Ross said.

Ross also noted that Giles had a tough early life — born in Saint John, N.B., to an alcoholic mother who died early. He finished Grade 5 and was then “committed to a reformatory that has become notorious for abuse.”

He went on to foster care and a life of crime, though his last conviction before E-Predicate was in 1984 for trafficking.

Giles spent 35 years of his life as a Hells Angels. But his status with the club was uncertain at the time of his death.

Hells Angels spokesman Ricky Ciarniello did not respond to a Postmedia request for comment.

http://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/real-scoop-hells-angel-david-giles-dies-months-after-record-sentence

TWEED POLICE have charged two outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) members following a bikie brawl at Tweed Heads West, on Wednesday, June 21.

Two men, aged 39 and 37 were arrested at Tweed Heads Police Station over the weekend and charged with fighting in a public place.

Police said they were called to the Seagulls Club on Gollan Drive following reports that two groups of people were fighting.

However, when the officers arrived they found the two groups had already left the club.

A number of men were located and detained in a nearby car park but were released overnight pending further inquiries.

Police said their inquiries suggested several people involved in the incident were members of rival OMCGs.

Both men were granted bail and will appear before Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday, July 17.

http://www.tweedvalleyweekly.net.au/two-charged-following-tweed-heads-west-bikie-brawl/

An intermediate appeals court ruled Wednesday that McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna should not be disqualified from prosecuting the case of a biker arrested after the 2015 shootout at Twin Peaks.

The opinions from Waco's 10th Court of Appeals maintain Reyna's status over the case. However, the court's ruling was a bit unusual in the sense that it featured opinions from all three judges, with two concurring opinions.

Justice Al Scoggins denied biker Matthew Clendennen's petition for mandamus in a single sentence, while Chief Justice Tom Gray wrote a six-page concurring opinion and Justice Rex Davis wrote a three-page concurring opinion.

Dallas attorney Clint Broden, who represents Clendennen, appealed an October order by 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson denying a motion to disqualify Reyna, who went to the scene and advised Waco police commanders about how to proceed after the deadly May 17, 2015, melee at Twin Peaks.

Broden asked the court to issue a writ of mandamus, which would have ordered Johnson to disqualify Reyna and appoint an "independent and unbiased" prosecutor to take over the case.

Broden said Wednesday evening that he will confer with Clendennen, a former member of the Scimitars group, before deciding if he will appeal the decision to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

"I was very pleased that at least Judge Davis was troubled by Abel Reyna's actions and that Judge Gray's decision was not based on the merits of the petition, but rather procedural issues, and we are invited to raise the issues again at a later time," Broden said. "I want to study the opinions a little more carefully to make a decision on where we are going to go from here. At least one member of the court had questions about Reyna's actions that day, so it may be that the Court of Criminal Appeals may need to decide this."

A phone call to Reyna seeking comment about the rulings went unreturned Wednesday evening.

Broden argued that Reyna "crossed the line" by ordering the mass arrests of 177 bikers on identical charges on May 17, 2015. He argued that Reyna usurped the judgment of Waco's top police commanders with 100 years worth of collective law enforcement experience, who, Broden said, had decided before Reyna arrived that most of the bikers were mere witnesses.

During oral arguments before the three-member court in March, the justices asked Broden if he had any legal precedent to determine exactly where the line is for prosecutors, who routinely give advice to police agencies, assist them with drafting search or arrest warrants and other legal matters.

Broden paraphrased the famous line from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, who in 1964 while reviewing an obscenity case, said, "I know it when I see it."

"This is pornography," Broden said. "This is so far over the line that it's ridiculous. That might explain why there is no case law on it."

In his concurring opinion, Davis said Reyna came close to abusing his authority but did not "cross the line."

"The events and circumstances surrounding what has come to be commonly referred to as the 'Twin Peaks shootout' are unique in McLennan County," Davis wrote. "That aside, the decision making on that day by the district attorney, though no doubt well intended, came very close to being an abuse of his professional discretion.

"Particularly, his not deferring to law enforcement on the issues of arrest and reporting can certainly be called into question. However, even though I have significant concerns about his actions and about how close he was to abusing his discretion, I believe that he did not cross that line."

Davis determined Johnson did not abuse his discretion by denying the initial motion in October.

Broden also alleged in his motion to disqualify that Reyna should be removed from the case because he is being sued by more than 100 bikers in federal civil rights lawsuits and has a financial stake in ensuring they are convicted.

He also alleged that Reyna should be disqualified because he will be a witness during Clendennen's trial.

Gray, in his concurring opinion, said that while Broden "has presented some evidence of a disputed fact," he has not exhausted other legal remedies available to him.

"Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy," Gray wrote. "It is to be utilized only when other legal remedies are inadequate. Thus, if there is another legal remedy available to Clendennen, a petition for writ of mandamus should be denied."

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/twin-peaks-biker-shooting/appeals-court-denies-bid-to-disqualify-reyna-in-twin-peaks/article_31dee377-fa14-5fb7-9f08-0502ac6ac8e9.html

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – The San Marcos Police Department says more motorcycle gangs are making their way into downtown San Marcos.

Brandon Winkenwerder, the San Marcos Police assistant chief, says the department has received calls on two occasions involving large groups of Bandidos visiting downtown bars.

“Parking has always been an issue downtown and when you go and start parking 20 or 30 motorcycles on a sidewalk, it becomes an issue with anyone wanting to move around down there,” said Winkenwerder.

The assistant chief says each time police have been called, the group has moved their motorcycles without causing any problems.

After learning of an increased presence, the Downtown Association sent out an email to local businesses. “To avoid issues that come along with a gang’s influence and control in a community, police are recommending that downtown establishments keep an eye out and consider implementing strategies to make their space unwelcoming to this group,” the Downtown Association said.

The email continues by suggesting businesses could enforce a dress code and post signage at the door. “If members of the gang try to enter, staff can say ‘sorry, policy says we can’t have you here.’ If they still enter, police can arrest them for criminal trespassing because the signage and staff has provided notice that they are not allowed, thus meeting the requirements of the law.”

According to police local businesses have enforced dress codes in the past due to gang activity. “It’s kind of been something that has happened in the past and these guys are here and once they are gone another group will come in. Every few years it seems to happen again and it raises everyone’s awareness and questions to be asked,” said Winkenwerder.

But it’s those kind of questions that one local business owner hopes won’t turn other bikers away from visiting downtown. “I want bikers in here; I would love to see more bikers here. Like I said, we do sale biker stuff and I’m totally against it,” said Kristan Alvarez, owner of KnDs in downtown San Marcos.

“I know a lot of bikers, Bandidos specifically and I just feel like they aren’t all bad people, they shop here all the time and I want to welcome them here,” said Alvarez. “I was a little upset that they were kind of pushing them away, I lose sales because of that.”

http://kxan.com/2017/07/05/san-marcos-police-warn-downtown-businesses-of-biker-gangs/

Police have confirmed one arrest was made after a large group of bikers caused disruption on one of Blackpool’s busiest stretches of road.

Motorists driving along the town’s Talbot Road near the Devonshire Road junction were held up when the bikers, some of whom wore Hell’s Angels jacksets, congregated on the road after 3pm on Friday.

Traffic was brought to a standstill as the group blocked the road.

Police attended the scene and a disturbance resulted in one of the motorcyclists being arrested.

Police say no other arrests were made but stressed there was a large group of bikers gathered around them as they attempted to apprehend the one male.

Officers are still keen for more information into what occurred and are requesting anyone with film footage to forward it to them.

A police spokesman said: “We arrested one person and he has been released pending further investigations, which are currently on-going.”

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/crime/police-confirm-one-arrest-in-biker-incident-1-8639955

While the RCMP kept a close eye on motorcycle gang activity across the island this weekend, there has been little issue so far.

Members of the outlaw motorcycle gangs Bacchus and the Outlaws were to take part in a motorcycle run across Central and Eastern parts of the island.

The RCMP and RNC have been monitoring events throughout the weekend, engaging with Bacchus and Outlaws members, but indicate there’s been little, if any, illegal activity involved.

http://vocm.com/news/biker-gangs-keep-the-peace-at-nl-gathering/

The leader of a now defunct Wangaratta bikie gang is facing more than a year in jail over serious drug trafficking and weapons offences.

Ronnie Harding, 52, pleaded guilty for the first time to more than 30 charges when he appeared in Wangaratta County Court on Friday.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Moore said the Wangaratta South man had been the focus of an investigation for two months before police raided his home and the Tramps Motorcycle Club headquarters on Frank Hayes Drive on January 6 last year.

They found chemicals such as pseudoephedrine and iodine – use to make methamphetamine – as well as lysergic acid, ketamine and cannabis.

The weapons included 14 unregistered firearms – both rifles and revolvers, some of them loaded – explosive tubes tied in bundles of three, a pen pistol, baton and pepper spray.

Eight charges related to stolen goods found at his home including a BMW X5, a boat worth $8900, generators and 17 water meters stolen from his previous employer North East Water.

“His DNA was found on most of the guns at the clubhouse and also on the pen pistol at his property,” Me Moore said.

Barrister Adam Chernok said a psychological report found Harding “was overwhelmed with personal trauma and stress” due to a separation from his wife.

He said there was a reason Judge Jim Montgomery had never heard of the Tramps, even though police would categorise the group as an outlaw motorcycle gang.

“The Tramps are not in the same sort of category as the other outlaw motorcycle gangs,” Mr Chernok said.

“They have done considerable charity work. It’s a bikie club with six members that ultimately disbanded.”

He said Harding had no criminal history and turned to drugs to self-medicate for a heart condition, arguing the man deserved a chance to turn his life around.

But Judge Montgomery agreed with Mr Moore than a jail sentence should be more than 12 months.

“It’s about time he got his life in order, he’s a bit old for that sort of stuff,” he said. “It’s just too many offences without any real explanation.”

Harding will be sentenced on Monday.

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/4778011/long-stint-in-jail-coming-to-bikie-boss/

A FORMER patched Mongols bikie has been sentenced to jail by a Gold Coast magistrate for driving twice without a licence after previously being disqualified by a court order.

Southport Magistrates Court heard Raymond Foelz, 27, was a “recidivist offender” and had been sentenced for getting behind the wheel while disqualified on four separate occasions between 2010 and 2015.

He was on Tuesday found guilty of two counts of driving without a license disqualified by a court order after electing to dispute the charges at trial.

The court heard he was disqualified until August this year but had driven on two occasions at Southport in March.

Foelz was sentenced in two separate courts for each offence today.

In sentencing on the first count, Magistrate Mark Howden told Foelz he did not receive any benefit for taking the matters to trial as it showed no “remorse”.

“In my view, you need to be deterred from driving,” he said.

Foelz’s defence lawyer Mollie Roper, of Moloney MacCallum Lawyers, tendered a large pile of positive character references to the court that spoke of the 27-year-old’s “good work ethic” and the fact he financially supported his two young children.

“It is unfortunate to see a family man and someone who is a good person, with good prospects in life before the court for an offence like this,” Mr Howden said.

Magistrate Howden sentenced Foelz to six months’ jail, to be suspended after two months have been served.

Foelz was also disqualified from driving for three years.

During the sentencing for his second charge, Magistrate Andrew Sinclair sentenced him to nine months jail to be served concurrently with the six month sentence.

The nine months jail will be suspended for three years once he is released on parole in September.

Foelz’s sentence came less than a week after he was fined $1000 after buying a stolen BMW, jetski and trailer for $10,000 that were found at a Chevron Island apartment in January.

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/an-exmongol-bikie-has-been-jailed-for-repeated-unlicensed-driving/news-story/3aa7d4ea05f0eb119e1e2f4c2f6cf713?nk=a63394188672cf73ab6ddb52df5e3829-1499895540

SEBASTIAN — Out-of-town members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club had a run-in with the law after a fight broke out at Earl's Hideaway bar Sunday night, according to police reports.

It started when a patron got angry about an Outlaws member wanting to take a photo of himself with the patron's girlfriend, police said Wednesday.

That led to three patrons — none were motorcycle club members — being injured, said police spokesman Cmdr. John Blackledge. They had cuts to the face and bruises.

Four Outlaws members were arrested at the bar in the 1400 block of Indian River Drive. The waterfront bar is popular with motorcyclists.

The Outlaws' motto is "God forgives, Outlaws don't." Membership is limited to men driving American-made motorcycles, according to the club's website

Sunday night, the Sebastian bar was packed with about 75 people, including 15 Outlaws from South Florida, when the fight broke out, police said.

After police intervened at about 6 p.m., a police officer attempted to handcuff Outlaws member Daniel Fournier, 40, of Boynton Beach. Fournier attempted to break away, leading to the officer "escorting him to a nearby wall," according to an arrest report.

At the same time, "members of the Outlaws began to step in closer," according to police reports. They left after being ordered to leave, according to arrest affidavits.

Fournier was charged with resisting an officer.

Fort Lauderdale club member John McMahon Potts, 25, was charged with battery, as was another member, Ray Rodriguez, 46, of Coconut Creek.

Outlaws member Jason Bowman, 40, of Fort Lauderdale, was charged with a gun law violation: carrying a firearm into a bar.

A loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun was found on his motorcycle and, according to the affidavits, he told officers he took it into the bar.

Blackledge said the incident is the first of its type in five years.

"We will not tolerate unlawful behavior," Blackledge said.

Deshaun Marshall, 17, is sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday, June 23, 2017, at the Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach. In April, he was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery while in possession of a firearm. Marshall, 15 at the time, and another teen, Cazory Henry, robbed and killed Reginald Davis Jr. Wochit

http://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/crime/indian-river-county/2017/07/12/outlaws-motorcycle-club-members-arrested-sebastian/468616001/

NAPLES – Leesburg police, with the help of the FBI and Collier County sheriff’s deputies, have nabbed the fourth and final known suspect in the motorcycle gang slaying of a rival club member during Bikefest.

Gregory Alan Umphress, 32, was arrested without incident on Saturday, according to Leesburg Police Lt. Joe Iozzi.

Investigators say that members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club tried to force David R. “Gutter” Donovan at knifepoint to give up his Kingsmen gang colors in a turf dispute outside the Circle K on west Main Street. He was shot when he refused.

Other Kingsmen were also forced to leave the store and go outside during the April 29 incident, but Donovan bore the brunt of the gang’s furor.

“Shoot that (expletive), Marc Edward Knotts, allegedly told Outlaws members.

“We haven’t confirmed who the shooter was. It could be one of the four,” Iozzi said.

The men face charges of principal to first-degree murder and kidnapping. Torres also faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Knotts, 48, is the president of the Ocala chapter.

Bikers scattered after the shooting. Three Kingsmen ran into the store and hid behind shelves until clerks called police. One Kingsmen opened the door and opened fire on Outlaws fleeing the scene.

Knotts, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was hit in the back, arm and leg. He was treated and released from a hospital.

No one has been charged in that shooting.

When a detective went to the Ocala clubhouse in May to arrest Knotts, he said, “Give me 10 minutes so I can put my boots on,” Iozzi said.

Miguel Angel Torres III, 37, of Rockledge, turned himself in to police in June. He is the one who allegedly put the knife to Donovan’s throat.

Police also arrested Jesus Alberto Marrero, 35, in May.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20170725/fourth-suspect-arrested-in-biker-gang-slaying

Police say it was a relatively quiet weekend on city streets even with hundreds of Hells Angels motorcycle gang members in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Calgary chapter.

Just two members of the motorcycle club were ticketed for minor traffic infractions, police said.

“It went as we had expected. It was fairly quiet. Just a couple summonses written,” said Supt. Cliff O’Brien.

Calgary police warned the public last Thursday that around 500 bikers would be rolling into town to gather for a weekend of partying in part to mark 20 years since the patch-over ceremony when the Hells Angels took over from the Alberta Grim Reapers.

At least two police vans were parked outside of the Calgary Hells Angels clubhouse on 84th Street S.E. on Friday night where a large tent was erected for the celebration.

Witnesses reported that it appeared some Hells Angels members came and went quietly from the clubhouse property using shuttle buses or cars rather than motorcycles.

O’Brien said last week’s warning to the public was intended to alert Calgarians so they wouldn’t be surprised when bikers rolled into town wearing their colours.

The Hells Angels aren’t the only biker gang operating in Alberta. There have been at least four international biker groups that have moved into the province in recent years: The Mongols, the Rebels, the Vagos and the Warlocks.

Authorities say there’s plenty of disputes between those four groups: police documented 20 instances of conflict between Angels and Warlocks over just two months last year.

The Vagos opened a new chapter in Alberta in 2015. The Mongols, who have a presence throughout the province, also opened a new chapter in 2015.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/quiet-weekend-despite-hells-angels-rolling-through-town-police

A man has been found guilty of murdering a member of a rival motorcycle club in Limerick.

Alan McNamara from Mountfune in Murroe, Co Limerick shot Andrew O’Donoghue outside his clubhouse in July 2015.

Alan McNamara is a member of the Caballeros Motorcycle Club and Andrew O’Donoghue was a member of the Road Tramps.

On July 19th 2015, McNamara was beaten up outside a pub in Doon, Co Limerick by some Road Tramps bikers as part of an apparent turf-war.

His leather sleeveless jacket with club patches was taken off him - the ultimate insult to a biker, the court heard.

He claimed he and his family were later threatened outside his home by three members of the Road Tramps - one of whom had a gun.

The next day, he drove up to their clubhouse where he met Andrew O’Donoghue at the gates and shot him in the head.

He claimed he was acting in self-defence, but the jury disagreed and found him guilty of murder after deliberating for two hours and 43 minutes.

He will be sentenced in October alongside his stepson Robert Cusack who admitted hiding the shotgun used to kill Mr O’Donoghue.

https://www.todayfm.com/News/Man-Found-Guilty-Of-Murdering-Rival-Biker-in-Limerick

Santa Fe police have arrested a man in a motorcycle-gang shooting that led to a lockdown of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

But police are not releasing the names of either the suspect or the man who was wounded Saturday. Police say the victim, a member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, could become a target of rival Bandidos Motorcycle Club members if his name became public.

Capt. Robert Vasquez of the Santa Fe police said the medical center released the shooting victim Sunday. He received what police called non-life-threatening injuries.

“He identified a Bandido as the one who shot him,” Vasquez said of the victim. “Due to the nature of conflict between the two groups, if the opposing group does not know the victim’s name, then we would be giving him away.”

So far police have arrested a member of the Vagos gang who “engaged in the exchange of gunfire with the Bandidos,” Vasquez said.

He said police also have the names of suspects in the shooting, which took place near Camino de Gusto and Alamosa Drive.

Police were attempting to gain access to a residence of one Bandidos member near the site of the shooting.

“Apparently there are multiple bullet holes in this residence, but they [the Bandidos] were not too cooperative with us,” Vasquez said. “They would not allow law enforcement officers to enter the scene and process the investigation.”

The two gangs, which have chapters in the West, have carried on a violent feud. Vasquez said it was too early to assume because of Saturday’s shooting that the conflict between the two groups is heating up again in the Santa Fe area.

But the tension from the shooting was so palpable that police ordered a lockdown at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in case members of either gang showed up.

One woman who pulled into the hospital’s parking lot to drop off a friend at the emergency room found herself staring into the barrels of an assault rifle and a pistol wielded by nervous police officers who thought she could have had some role in the gang conflict.

The woman said it was coincidence that she was driving to the hospital at the same time the ambulance and police car were transporting the shooting victim there. She reached the passenger drop-off point in the parking lot when police turned their guns on her.

“I hadn’t gone 5 feet when I heard, ‘Stop the car!’ I looked to my left and there’s an assault rifle pointing at me and I look to my right and there was a pistol pointing at me,” she said in an interview. “I was asking myself, ‘Am I going to make it home to my family?’ ”

She kept her hands in the air as the officers trained their weapons on her. “It could have been 30 seconds, but it seemed like hours to me,” she said.

She said the two officers questioned her as to why she was following the ambulance. After hearing her explanation, she said, they apologized and sent her on her way.

Vasquez said police officers transporting the victim watched as two vehicles — a white Jeep driven by an unknown motorist and the woman’s car — followed the ambulance to the hospital.

The Jeep “aggressively” sped by the officers at the entrance to the hospital while the woman drove her car into the parking lot, he said.

“The officer [in the patrol car] was concerned,” Vasquez said. “We had a shooting victim who is a member of one motorcycle group in the hospital and he didn’t know if members of the other group would show up at the hospital to continue the confrontation.”

A passenger in the woman’s car said he had gotten out of the vehicle before officers approached the woman with guns drawn. He then spoke to one of the officers, who explained that police were concerned gang members might show up at the hospital for revenge.

“That’s policy, I guess,” the passenger said. “I think they could have done it another way. But I’m not a police officer.”

Vasquez and Arturo Delgado, a spokesman for the hospital, said the lockdown was called off at about 10 p.m. But the passenger said when he left the hospital at about 11:30 p.m. police officers were still stationed outside.

The U.S. Department of Justice says the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, which originated in Texas in the mid-1960s, has at least 2,000 active members in 93 chapters around the country, including New Mexico. Bandidos members were involved in the shootings at a Waco, Texas, restaurant in May 2015 that killed nine people.

The Vagos also started in the 1960s. That club has several hundred members scattered in across 20 chapters in California, Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii and Mexico.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/police-arrest-member-of-biker-gang-in-shooting/article_8ae2ef8d-8f03-595a-91c0-5670c411f63d.html

REBELS Motorcycle Club has provided a statement to police about an ex-member accused of shocking domestic violence offences.

The man is charged with 23 crimes, including torture and rape, against his ex-wife, and 44 against a more recent partner. The 33-year-old father of four, who cannot be named to protect the alleged victims, unsuccessfully applied for bail in Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday.

The ex-wife made complaints of historic abuse allegedly committed between 2006 and 2012.

Senior prosecutor Mark Fenlon told the court that many of the 44 fresh charges, allegedly committed since October, breached a Western Australian restraining order and a Queensland domestic violence order (DVO).

On October 28, the man allegedly covered the woman’s face with a pillow, causing her to black out.

In April, the man allegedly forced his partner to drive him to Brisbane.

“While in a hotel, under the influence of methylamphetamine, the defendant searches her phone, hits her on the leg with the phone, straddles her, grabs a pillow and covers her face,” Mr Fenlon told the court.

He then allegedly pinned her to a wall and bit her cheek.

Mr Fenlon said on June 30, the man asked his partner to help with cooking, and when she complied he snapped “Why don’t you just f***ing take over then?”

“The victim stated without any warning, the defendant turned around with a metal fork and stabbed her in the left forearm,,” he told the court.

Defence solicitor Nathan Smith said the man would defend all charges, except for the DVO breaches relating to text messages.

Mr Fenlon told the court that a week after the alleged fork incident, the man allegedly sent the woman four text messages.

“(He wrote), ‘Please don’t do this, I love you, you’re not in danger with me. My heart is broken, please, you are the glue to put it back, I can’t live without you, you can’t live without me,” Mr Fenlon said.

“If none of this has happened, why does he have to say she’s not in danger?”

Mr Fenlon told the court that the last time the man was granted bail in Magistrates Court, he lied by telling the court he was not associated with Rebels Motorcycle Club.

“Your Honour has statements attached to that brief from the president and the sergeant at arms of the Charters Towers Rebels Motorcycle Club saying not only was he a nom (prospective member or nominee) but he worked in their bar,” he said.

Magistrate Steven Mosch refused bail, saying there was an unacceptable risk the man would reoffend.

“The defendant has been maintaining a relationship with the aggrieved, in breach of two court orders, and I have little faith that if I was to grant bail now, and impose a condition that he have no contact with the aggrieved, he would have any regard to an order made by me today,” he said.

The man is due back in court on August 23.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/national/rebels-provide-police-statement-about-exmember-on-dv-charges/news-story/a1b437c7c29e3eb106eb440703541438

WACO, Texas (KWTX) A Waco area man and his son, who are among the scores of bikers arrested after the 2015 Twin Peaks shootout whose cases were dismissed this week, say their lives have changed drastically over the past three years.

The engaging in organized criminal activity cases against John Wilson, 55, and his son Jacob, 31, were dropped on Tuesday, nearly three years after the May 17, 2015 shootout at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant that left nine bikers dead and more than 20 others injured.

They were among the 177 bikers arrested that day.

"In hindsight I wish I could turn the clock back and not go but we did," said John Wilson, a member of the Cossacks biker organization who, along with his son, operates the Legends Cycle Shop off Interstate 35 on the south side of Waco.

"There were some arguing and then it sounded like everything was going to be OK and then all of a sudden someone threw a punch then within a very short amount of time, like a second, the first gunshot went off and when the shooting started,” he said.

“I can't really tell you about what happened because I was grabbing a whole bunch of cement and getting down behind a motorcycle and staying out of the way of any gunfire until I could get back inside the building.”

Wilson, who was president of the six-member McLennan County chapter of the Cossacks at the time, says it was his understanding that it would be a peaceful encounter at the restaurant.

"I was initially told about 12 to 15 of us were going to go to this meeting. We were going to sit there and sit through this meeting, shake hands and try and do an olive branch but didn't turn out that way obviously."

Once the shooting started, Jacob Wilson, who was outside the restaurant, says he, too, hit the ground and crawled onto the patio in search of his father.

"As soon as I heard the gunfire stop, I ran under the wire on the patio I was looking for my father to make sure he wasn't shot or killed or injured in any kind of way."

John Wilson says he knows some committed crimes, but he says arresting everyone and not processing them quickly over the next few days was just not right,

"There were individuals that made bad decisions that day but most of the people regardless of what patch they had on were completely innocent of these crimes that day,” he said.

“It's a shame because the evidence was available to make these decisions in the first year certainly, if not the first six months and these people the ones that they knew were innocent have been allowed to suffer I think that's the most tragic thing."

The Wilsons say the last few years have drastically changed their lives.

"Persecuted, is how I felt. I felt like when you're in jail on a $1 million bond and you don't make a lot of money, feels like you're never going to get out," Jacob Wilson said.

"Obviously it's hurt our business drug my family's name through the dirt you know you're lost friends over it it's just been tough all the way around," he said.

His father says his faith has kept him going.

"You go through something like that and it certainly gives you a new appreciation for life and I just praise God for every day that I'm allowed to continue living."

The Wilsons remain a part of the Cossacks, but John says he's no longer the leader.

"I serve as a chaplain in our club. We have a chaplain’s chapter that ministers to the Cossacks and to their families."

John says the criminal justice system has been more of an enemy than the Bandidos.

http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Father-son-bikers-emerge-from-cloud-of-Twin-Peaks-shootout-482430091.html

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police believe a pair of early-morning shootings in and around the Linden neighborhood on Saturday may be connected, with the same suspect shooting three different people within a few minutes of each other.

The first reports of gunfire came before 5:00 a.m. at Zulu’s Motorcycle Club on Windsor Avenue. Detectives say two men were shot at that location and taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

Minutes later, a second shooting was reported on East Hudson Street at Grasmere Avenue. The victim, also male, was shot and taken to Grant Medical Center in critical condition. Columbus Police say he is now expected to survive.

Investigators believe the shooter on Windsor Avenue may have jumped into a car and headed northbound after the gunshots at Zulu’s. According to a detective, the subsequent shooting on East Hudson Street was likely a drive-by and may have been carried out by the same suspect.

A Ford Taurus with bullet holes along the driver’s side was impounded as evidence late Saturday morning.

http://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/police-morning-shootings-in-linden-may-be-related

LACONIA — A Laconia man has begun serving a 39-month prison term for drug trafficking after being sentenced in U.S. District Court in Concord.

James Cunningham, 61, who federal authorities said was a member of the Hells Angles, was sentenced Thursday. He pleaded guilty in January to four counts of distributing methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Cunningham sold methamphetamine on four occasions in 2013 to someone cooperating with the FBI. Three of the drug transactions took place in Manchester and one occurred in Merrimack, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray.

Cunningham will be on supervised release for three years following his release from prison. He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

“Drug trafficking crimes cause tremendous damage to our community,” said Murray. “In addition to the terrible problems of overdoses and addiction, drug trafficking often is associated with violence and can jeopardize the safety of the citizens living in the Granite State. We continue to work each day with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute drug traffickers so that we can decrease violence and improve the quality of life in New Hampshire.”

“Today, Mr. Cunningham, a member of the notorious Hells Angel biker gang, will begin paying the price for the irreparable harm that his drug trafficking caused within our communities,” said Harold H. Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division.

This case was investigated by the FBI New Hampshire Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which is comprised of the FBI, the New Hampshire State Police, New Hampshire Probation and Parole, and the Police Departments of Hudson, Manchester, and Nashua. Assistance was provided by the Laconia Police Department.

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/hells-angels-member-sentenced-to-months-for-meth-sales/article_1b4c3d18-553b-11e8-a29c-d34d6a46fbcd.html

A Bandidos bikie gang member has been charged after allegedly threatening to stab another man and punching him in the face.

The alleged encounter occurred at a Broadbeach shopping centre on May 4.

Detectives from the Organised Crime Gangs Group’s Taskforce Maxima executed a search warrant at a Coolabah Crescent, Robina residence, and arrested Jacques Teamo, 48, about 9am on Sunday.

This follows the investigation into the alleged assault of a 29-year-old man who was punched in the face and threatened to be stabbed.

Teamo was charged with one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm (whilst pretending to be armed) and wilful damage in relation to the alleged assault on May 4.

He was further charged with unlawful possession of a dangerous drug (methylamphetamine) and possession of a drug utensil following Sunday's home search.

This is not the first time Teamo has been involved in a shopping centre altercation.

In 2012, he was shot by Mongols bikie Mark James Graham in the middle of Robina Town Centre, Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Teamo has been refused bail and will appear at Southport Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5723171/Bandidos-bikie-arrested-terrifying-shopping-centre-assault.html

A specialist gang crime squad from Perth has been working with Kalgoorlie police and detectives to target bikie groups in the region.

The initiative, which is part of Operation Fortitude, led to the execution of several search warrants, including on licensed premises, and resulted in a number of seizures, including of a handgun and a revolver.

Kalgoorlie police officer in charge Senior Sergeant Peter Healy said from time to time the local police force received a surge of specialist forces to reinforce its day-to-day operations.

“I know there were a lot of search warrants and there were a lot of other activities which the police did in relation to targeting those specific (bikie) groups,” he said.

“Some of those were probably not evident to the members of the public and I believe that we visited some licensed premises in relation to it.

“One of the items which was of interest to us was a handgun and ammunition, so an investigation into proferring charges on that weapon are ongoing.”

Superintendent Darryl Gaunt said the team had completed investigations into locally based motorcycle group members.

“We know from our wastewater testing here that Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a high level of consumption of meth, and while there are a variety of sources we suspect it comes in from, that is just one more,” he said.

“Outlaw motorcycle club groups are linked across the world in organised crime, particularly drugs and drug distribution, so wherever there is an outlaw gang where we believe there are links with the distribution of drugs, we will try to catch them.

“We are not looking at one group specifically, there are at least a couple which have a presence here as well as people who have associations with other groups.”

Sergeant David Christ said the traffic unit had a daily muster to discuss hotspots around town.

“One of them is motorcycles up and down Hannan Street and the CBD,” he said.

Asked if the police would respond to reckless riding that happened in front of them, Sgt Christ said “absolutely”. Sen. Sgt Healy said the local force’s relationship with the specialist squad was ongoing.

“The local police here work very closely with our colleagues in crime and from time to time you will see a large influx of organised crime or gang-crime squads which assist our local police,” he said.

“Gang crime were here for a week but just because they left town doesn’t mean that we are not looking at people committing those sorts of offences.

“The intelligence we gather from our search warrants is something we look into and it can obviously lead us to new investigations, which is something we will keep to our chest.”

https://thewest.com.au/news/kalgoorlie-miner/gang-squad-turns-screws-on-bikies-ng-b88828884z

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(AUS) Rebels provide police statement about ex-member on DV charges

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