Ten Bay
Area Men Indicted In Hells Angels Raid
Dec. 3 (BCN) — Ten members and associates of the Hells
Angels Motorcycle Club who were arrested in federal
raids Wednesday appeared before U.S. magistrates in
San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose today and were
formally charged with committing violent acts in aid of
racketeering.
The 10 Bay Area men are among 42 Hells Angels members
and associates from five states who were indicted in
federal court in Las Vegas on Tuesday on charges
stemming from a fight between the Hells Angels and a
rival motorcycle gang, the Mongols, in Nevada in 2002.
Three people died in the fight. In addition to those
arrested, three Bay Area men who were also named in the
indictment are still at large.
The indictment was
unsealed today. All 42 defendants are accused of 10
counts of violence in aid of racketeering plus one count
of use of a firearm. A total of 34 have been arrested.
"The charges are really that they're a business
enterprise," said ATF spokeswoman Marti McKee. "They're
an ongoing criminal organization."
The defendants were
informed of the charges during their initial appearances
today and will eventually be transferred to federal
court in Las Vegas for arraignment and trial. The trial
date has not yet been set.
Two defendants who
appeared before a federal magistrate in San Jose agreed
to be transferred to Nevada without further hearings.
They are James Hannigan, 36, of Mountain View, and
Justin Harrah, 33, of Watsonville.l:
In San Francisco, four other defendants were ordered to
return to the court of U.S. Magistrate Joseph Spero on
Tuesday for a detention hearing. They are Robert Anello,
49, of Petaluma; Matt Comach, 38, of Novato; Raymond
Foakes, 40, of Petaluma; and Wayne Hodges, 52, of San
Francisco. In Oakland, U.S. Magistrate Wayne Brazil
scheduled detention hearings on Tuesday for Michael
Smullen, 46, of Pinole, and David Steely, 36, of
Concord. Brazil ordered Steve Eades, 39, of Martinez,
and Shawn Frazer, 33, of Pinole, to return Monday for
identification of their defense attorneys and setting of
a date for detention hearings.
The three fugitives are
Matthew Carlock, 29, of San Pablo; Frederick Donahue,
38, of Rodeo; and Daniel Roay, 45, of San Pablo. The
indictments are the result of a two-year, federal
undercover investigation into the operations of the
Hells Angels that culminated in the early morning
raids of 85 sites in California, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska
and Washington state. In the Bay Area, raids occurred in
large cities including Richmond, San Francisco and San
Jose. Other search warrants were executed in cities
including
San Pablo, Petaluma,
Novato, Concord and Watsonville. About 150 ATF agents
joined with local law enforcement officials to bring the
total number of personnel involved in the Bay Area raids
to between 250 and 300, officials said.
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