South Australia's Supreme Court has been asked to speed up a constitutional challenge to the state's new anti-bikie laws.
Two members of the Finks Motorcycle Club are challenging the legislation which allows bikie clubs to be outlawed and members prevented from associating with one another.A lawyer for the two men says they are challenging the constitutional validity of the laws.
The lawyer say he has invited the other state and federal attorneys-general to be heard, as required for a constitutional challenge.
He says it could take up to four weeks for a response.
But a lawyer for the State Government has asked for a hearing as early as July, saying the control order process had ground to a halt while awaiting the outcome of the Supreme Court case.
The matter will be discussed further on Tuesday.
Bikers jailed for airport brawl
Birmingham, U.K.
Seven members of two rival biker gangs have been jailed for six years each for their part in a mass brawl between the gangs at an airport.
Up to 30 members of the Hells Angels and Outlaw biker groups clashed at Birmingham Airport last January, some wielding knuckledusters and hammers.
An eighth man due to be sentenced has fled the country, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Four men were members of the Outlaws and three were with the Hells Angels.
Three injured
The fight started when a few gang members spotted a small group of rival bikers on the same flight back from Alicante, Spain, the court heard.
They rang ahead for reinforcements who met them at the airport with various weapons, including a meat cleaver.
Passengers had to take cover from the violence that ensued in the arrivals area, the court heard.
Three gang members were injured and one suffered a serious head injury.
Four Outlaws - Mark Moseley, 46, of Orchard Rise, Sheldon, Birmingham; Neale Harrison, 46, of Bell Green Road, Coventry; Mark Price, 50, from Westbury Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire; and Jeremy Ball, 46, from Plant Street, Cheadle, Staffordshire; were found guilty of rioting in May.
Three Hells Angels - Paul Arlett, 35, from Penn Road, Wolverhampton; Sean Timmins 38, from Briewood Road, Wolverhampton; and Leonard Hawthorne, 52, of Eve Lane, Dudley; were also found guilty of rioting last month.
But the court heard on Friday that that Mark Larner, 47, from Penn Road, Wolverhampton, had left the UK for South Africa "with a substantial amount of money, and clearly is therefore at large".
A warrant was issued for his arrest but he was not sentenced in his absence.
Sentencing the men, Judge Patrick Thomas QC, said the jail terms would have a substantial impact on the families of the convicted men but their actions gave him no choice.
"Your conduct gives me no choice," he said.
"You are all family men, and the effects of your actions on your families will be very substantial.
"While any individual remains adherent to a biker club to the extent that he sacrifices his own moral judgment, that presents a real danger to the public of causing serious harm."
'Risk to the public'
West Midlands Police said the "horrendous" violence during the riot was unprecedented in the history of the airport.
A costly police security operation - including the presence of armed officers - was carried out for the duration of the six-week trial.
Officers worked with colleagues in the Warwickshire force which said on Friday that attempts were being made to prevent the annual Hells Angel Bulldog Bash near Stratford-upon-Avon from going ahead later in the summer.
Seven members of two rival biker gangs have been jailed for six years each for their part in a mass brawl between the gangs at an airport.
Up to 30 members of the Hells Angels and Outlaw biker groups clashed at Birmingham Airport last January, some wielding knuckledusters and hammers.
An eighth man due to be sentenced has fled the country, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Four men were members of the Outlaws and three were with the Hells Angels.
Three injured
The fight started when a few gang members spotted a small group of rival bikers on the same flight back from Alicante, Spain, the court heard.
They rang ahead for reinforcements who met them at the airport with various weapons, including a meat cleaver.
Passengers had to take cover from the violence that ensued in the arrivals area, the court heard.
Three gang members were injured and one suffered a serious head injury.
Four Outlaws - Mark Moseley, 46, of Orchard Rise, Sheldon, Birmingham; Neale Harrison, 46, of Bell Green Road, Coventry; Mark Price, 50, from Westbury Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire; and Jeremy Ball, 46, from Plant Street, Cheadle, Staffordshire; were found guilty of rioting in May.
While any individual remains adherent to a biker club to the extent that he sacrifices his own moral judgment, that presents a real danger to the public of causing serious harm
Judge Patrick Thomas QC
Public 'at risk' from gangs
Three Hells Angels - Paul Arlett, 35, from Penn Road, Wolverhampton; Sean Timmins 38, from Briewood Road, Wolverhampton; and Leonard Hawthorne, 52, of Eve Lane, Dudley; were also found guilty of rioting last month.
But the court heard on Friday that that Mark Larner, 47, from Penn Road, Wolverhampton, had left the UK for South Africa "with a substantial amount of money, and clearly is therefore at large".
A warrant was issued for his arrest but he was not sentenced in his absence.
Sentencing the men, Judge Patrick Thomas QC, said the jail terms would have a substantial impact on the families of the convicted men but their actions gave him no choice.
"Your conduct gives me no choice," he said.
"You are all family men, and the effects of your actions on your families will be very substantial.
"While any individual remains adherent to a biker club to the extent that he sacrifices his own moral judgment, that presents a real danger to the public of causing serious harm."
'Risk to the public'
West Midlands Police said the "horrendous" violence during the riot was unprecedented in the history of the airport.
Ms Rowe said the biker gangs were a risk to the region
A costly police security operation - including the presence of armed officers - was carried out for the duration of the six-week trial.
Officers worked with colleagues in the Warwickshire force which said on Friday that attempts were being made to prevent the annual Hells Angel Bulldog Bash near Stratford-upon-Avon from going ahead later in the summer.
Bill Holland, Assistant Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, said they were taking legal advice to have the event's licence withdrawn after organisers were granted a 10-year licence by district councillors last year.
"It is a matter of official record that over many years, outlaw motorcycle clubs have been actively engaged in organised crime," he said.
"There is a clear, evidenced, and significant risk to innocent members of the public if the Bulldog Bash is allowed to take place."
But a spokesman for organisers of the event rejected the claim saying they were "deeply disappointed" by the allegations made by the force.
Public 'at risk' from rival gangs
Warwickshire
The jailing of seven bikers for their part in rioting between two rival gangs at an airport has prompted police to call again for an annual biker event to be cancelled.Organisers of the Bulldog Bash, held at Long Marston airfield in Warwickshire every August, were granted a 10-year licence last year, despite police opposition.
But police said the recent escalation in violence between the Outlaws and Hells Angels, gangs which have an ongoing feud that stretches back 40 years, means innocent members of the public could be put at risk.
But a spokesman for the organisers said they were "deeply disappointed" by the allegations being made by police and said they were unfounded.
Seven men from the two rival gangs were each jailed for six years on Friday after a brawl at Birmingham Airport's Terminal Two last January.
But on top of that incident, 35-year-old Hells Angel Gerry Tobin was shot dead on the nearby M40 in Warwickshire after leaving the Bulldog Bash in 2007.
The seven men later jailed for his murder turned out to be the entire Chapter of the South Warwickshire Outlaws, based in Coventry.
Peter Wilson, BBC Midlands Today's crime correspondent, said there had been a vast expansion of chapters across the globe since the 1990s.
The growth has also been linked to organised crime and increasingly bitter violence as rival gangs have fought over the drug trade.
Warwickshire Police have said they also believe the Bulldog Bash is used to raise funds for the Hells Angels, which they say is an organised criminal gang.
The force said it prepared to go to court to try to get it stopped.
Bill Holland, Assistant Chief Constable, said although the majority of the 20,000 people who attend the festival are law-abiding, they are not fully aware of the true illegal behaviour of outlaw motorcycle clubs.
"It is a matter of official record that over many years, outlaw motorcycle clubs have been actively engaged in organised crime," he said.
"Their activities have included murder, extortion, robbery, prostitution, drugs and firearms offences.
"There is a clear, evidenced, and significant risk to innocent members of the public if the Bulldog Bash is allowed to take place.
"The Hells Angels are an organised crime group, as are the Outlaws."
He said the two groups were not just passionately interested in motorbikes - "there's something more sinister going on here to do with organised crime".
Mr Holland added: "My purpose in opposing the Bash is primarily to protect the public from harm, directly through being caught up in some sort of attack, particularly going to and from the event, but also recognising that the proceeds of the event go to the Hells Angels, who are themselves an organised crime group."
In a statement, a spokesman for the Bash said it is a "well run, well regulated and tightly controlled commercial event" with any profit re-invested.
"In 22 years, there has never been a serious incident - events off site are beyond the control of the organisers as accepted by Stratford council last year when they granted us a ten-year licence," a spokesman said.
"There is absolutely no evidence of any threat of 'serious harm' to the public - in the past the police and the local council have actually praised the safety and organisation of the event."
If the festival does go ahead, the force would conduct a major security operation.
'Benefited traders'
It called for a review of the event's licence earlier this year but it was rejected by Stratford-on-Avon District Council in May.
Some people living near to the airfield said the police operation in 2008 caused disruption to villagers, with one resident saying it was "over-the-top".
Last month, villagers were consulted about future policing of the event.
Morris House, from Quinton Parish Council, said most villagers welcomed the festival as it benefited local traders.
But with less than two months until the event takes place, Mr Holland has acknowledged that he has to act quickly if he is to succeed.
He said: "I am still taking legal advice as to how best to get the licence withdrawn for 2009.
"It's proving to be a very long, drawn out, and difficult process, but I am persevering with that."
Colours banned at ride for Daniel
Queensland The newly formed United Motorcycle Council of Queensland slammed police yesterday after members of outlaw motorcycle clubs were told they could not wear their club’s colours and participate in the Ride for Daniel.
UMC spokesman Terry Walker said plans to join the ride were scuttled after “an unlawful edict” from police banned motorcyclists from taking part in the event if they wore clothing which identified them as belonging to an OMC.
The Ride for Daniel website had listed the provision in their guidelines, but Mr Walker claimed it was police playing politics.
“It should be a matter of serious concern for all Queenslanders that the police in this state now believe they have the right to dictate the clothes that private citizens can wear while riding down the highway,” Mr Walker said.
“Queensland is a democratic society. It’s not illegal – yet – to be a member of a motorcycle club and to wear your club’s colours.”
Mr Walker’s club, the Tribe of Judah, was not one of the clubs listed as being unable to wear its colours but he said the UMC had wanted to ride together to show “support for the event stretched right throughout Queensland’s motorcycle community”.
The council, represented by 200 members, donated $10,000 to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation after the ride.
Bruce Morcombe said the foundation board understood why police asked for OMC members not to ride in their club’s colours, but had encouraged the riders to come along without their identifying colours and badges.
“Out of respect for the foundation, they did not ride with the event and turned up at the end at the Ettamogah Pub to acknowledge the other riders and to donate to the foundation,” Mr Morcombe said.
“They didn’t ride because they didn’t want to upset plans for future rides.”
Many of the council members arrived at the event’s finale with their children. They donated their cheque, applauded the other riders and left.
San Jose police seek possible rape victims of Vagos Motorcycle Club members
Three reported members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club are behind bars on suspicion of gang raping a woman in their North San Jose clubhouse last month, and detectives are asking if other women have been similarly attacked.
Charged with multiple counts of sex assault along with gang enhancements are: Eduardo Larios, 28; Jose Portillo-Garcia, 28; and his younger brother, Edwin Portillo-Garcia, 18, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
Larios is being held without bail and the two brothers on $1 million and $995,500 respectively, officials said.
The case has been sealed and police released few details this week; just enough —they say — to inspire any other victims of the local "Green Nation" to report what happened to them. Police praised the woman in this case for helping them arrest the three men.
"It takes a lot of courage," said detective D. Marchetti.
"Any other victims who came forward would be helping to keep this from happening to any other women," continued Sgt. J. Robb. "Their courage would be a benefit to all women."
The woman, who is in her 30s and has not been identified by police, met the three men at a nightclub in San Jose on May 4. She did not know them. They told her they would drive her home, police said. Instead, they drove her to their clubhouse on Kings Row and sexually assaulted, beat and threatened her, according to investigators.
The woman was driven by a relative to a hospital and police were called.
After making arrangements for the woman's safety, Marchetti and Robb tracked down one of the suspects by using information they gathered from an unrelated robbery. In that March case, Edwin Portillo-Garcia allegedly swung a baseball bat at an employee of the Tropicana Liquor Store on Story Road as he was stealing a 12-pack of Tecate beer, according to police. They arrested Portillo-Garcia and another man drinking the beer on their lawn.
After serving search warrants earlier this month, the San Jose SWAT unit, also known as MERGE, helped arrest Larios and the elder Portillo-Garcia at San Jose residences. Edwin Portillo-Garcia was arrested a day later in Elk Grove.
Vagos are considered — along with the Hell's Angels and Mongols — as a major outlaw motorcycle club in California, experts say.
The Vagos often wear the color green and a patch with a picture of the Norse god of mischief Loki. Criminal gang experts say the gang was founded in San Bernardino in the 1960s. Authorities report that the Vagos have approximately 300 members among 24 chapters located in California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Mexico. Club members, they say, have been involved in the methamphetamine trade and have been implicated in assault, extortion, insurance fraud, money laundering, murder, vehicle theft, witness intimidation and weapons violations.
Gang experts say that Vagos and other criminal motorcycle gang members sometimes wear specific insignia — wings, for example — to show that they have committed a sexual assault or other crimes.
Biker challenges ban on wearing patches
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, June 9 (UPI) -- A Canadian member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club is challenging the province of Saskatchewan's ban on wearing club patches in licensed bars.
Jesse Bitz, 36, and five other club members were charged last year under the year-old provincial Safer Communities and Neighborhoods Act for wearing the club's trademark designs on their vests in a bar, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported.
Monday, Bitz's lawyer argued in a Saskatoon court the law was unconstitutional as it encroached on the federal rights of freedom of expression.
In turn, prosecutor Graeme Mitchell said the province was within its rights to define public safety in provincially licensed establishments, the report said.
The law was created to counter gangs involved with drug trafficking, prostitution, racist groups and child exploitation, provincial investigator Dwayne Gulka testified.
The challenge was the first of its kind and the fate of the other five bikers charged hinges on the outcome of the ongoing hearing, the newspaper said.
Biker feared for his life, girlfriend tells trial
Jun 09, 2009 04:49 PM
Peter Edwards Staff Reporter
LONDON, Ont. – Murdered Bandidos motorcycle club member Luis Raposo told his girlfriend that he could be killed because he shared confidential club secrets with her, a mass murder trial heard today.
"He told me that things that he told me could get him killed," Carrie Caldwell, a London nurse, told the Bandidos mass murder trial.
Caldwell said that Raposo, 41, of Toronto, was the secretary of the Bandidos national chapter and told her that the Winnipeg arm of the club hadn't been paying their dues, as required by club bylaws.
"I don't think they paid at all," Caldwell told the jury in the largest mass murder in modern Ontario history.
It was Raposo's duty to collect dues and the Winnipeggers frustrated him by not paying, she said.
"He said they weren't getting paid," Caldwell told court.
She said the conversation took place in early 2006.
Raposo's bullet-riddled body was found early in the morning of Sat., April 8, 2006 on the outskirts of Shedden, 14 kilometers from the farm of fellow club member Wayne Kellestine, 60, in Iona Station, west of London.
Also found by a farmer's field in abandoned vehicles were the bodies of seven bikers connected to Kellestine and Raposo: John Muscedere, 48, of Chatham: Frank Salerno, 43, of Oakville; Paul Sinopoli, 30, of Jackson's Point, Jamie Flanz, 30, of Keswick, Michael Trotta, 31, of Mississauga and Torontonians George Jessome, 52, and George Kriarakis, 28.
Kellestine and five other men face eight first-degree murder charges, including one for the murder of Muscedere.
Caldwell recalled a tense conversation between Kellestine and Raposo in early 2006, when the bikers discussed how the American headquarters of the club wanted to expel them.
She recalled Raposo saying that it was tough for him to communicate with the Americans, since the Canadian bikers were in breach of several club rules.
Court has heard that the American bikers were frustrated that the Canadians hadn't been communicating with them, as required by the club's constitution.
She recalled that Raposo asked Kellestine, "What am I supposed to do? We're breaking the rules."
Also facing eight first-degree charges are Winnipeggers Marcello Aravena, 33, Michael Sandham, 39, and Brett Gardiner, 24, and Frank Mather, 35, of no fixed address.
The trial continues
Police briefed on dangers of motorcycle gangs
Arkansas
aw enforcement officials from across the state learned about the risks associated with motorcycle gangs Wednesday during a Fayetteville seminar hosted by the Criminal Justice Institute.
"If we can give you one piece of information that may save you one day or night, then this has been a successful class," said Hot Springs police Capt. Rick Norris. "If you get more than that, then I've done the best job in the world."
Norris, along with Scotty Dodd, Arkansas State Police senior special agent, instructed Wednesday's seven-hour training course at the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement from eight agencies across the state participated in the seminar.
The program provided a detailed history of motorcycle gangs across the country including the Bandidos, Hells Angels, Mongols, Outlaws, Pagans, Sons of Silence and others. Officers also learned about the dangers, trends and organizational structure associated with each group.
"All of you are from different parts of the state," Norris said. "We have to do a better job of sharing intelligence among ourselves."
During his PowerPoint presentation, Norris defined an outlaw as "a dangerous person who lives outside the law." Outlaw motorcycle gangs date back to World War II, he said. They were initially formed as social clubs by veterans, but later began engaging in criminal acts. As they grew in power and influence, rival motorcycle gangs began to form.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are now more than 300 active outlaw motorcycle gangs in the U.S., ranging in size from single chapters with five or six members to hundreds of chapters with thousands of members worldwide.
The Hells Angels, Bandidos and Outlaws Motorcycle Clubs conduct most of the criminal activity linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, specifically activity related to drug trafficking and crossborder smuggling.
Though motorcycle gangs aren't prevalent in Arkansas, Dodd said the area isn't exempt from potential threats.
"With Bikes, Blues & BBQ being the largest rally in Arkansas, that's where the problem is going to be," he said. "(Outlaw motorcycle gangs) want to draw as much attention to themselves as possible. It's their way of saying, 'This is my territory, I'm taking over.'"
Dodd emphasized that Bikes, Blues & BBQ hasn't experienced any outlaw motorcycle gang activity during its past nine years in operation.
The four-day festival is one of the five largest motorcycle rallies in the country, drawing in an estimated 400,000 visitors last year.
"I don't think there will be a big uprising at Bikes, Blues & BBQ this year, but if something does happen in Arkansas, it's more likely to happen at the biggest motorcycle rally in the state," Norris said. "We don't want to see it happen anywhere, but we do want to communicate with other law enforcement so we can learn about any new trends in the area."
The last motorcycle gang-related incident in Arkansas took place July 29, 2007, during a Hells Angels gathering in Eureka Springs. Four Bandidos from Texas were stabbed and beaten with bats during a fight with several Hells Angels. The victims were hospitalized, but their injuries were not life threatening.
"Not everyone who rides a motorcycle is an outlaw biker, but there are certain things you need to look for," he said. "By increasing awareness, we hope to maintain officer safety."
Fla. man charged with 2003 Bad Water Bill's blaze
Virginia.By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com
(3:00 p.m.) STRASBURG -- Nearly six years since Bad Water Bill's Barbeceue Barn was burnt to the ground, federal prosecutors have charged a man with torching the local biker hangout.
Willliam Wardell "Cosmo" Webelir, 56, of Port Richey, Fla., has been charged with arson, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia.
The fire came just several months after numerous members of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club and their associates were rounded up following a multi-jurisdictional investigation into drug and gun crimes in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. A couple of Bad Water Bill's workers were among those busted, and, drug use was common there, according to trial testimony.
The arson was related to rivalry among biker gangs, according to the news release.
Local Pagan Motorcycle Club members were upset that the Titan Motorcycle Club, which is "a support club or 'duck' for the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club," planned to have a bike show at the barbecue joint on Oct. 25, 2003, the release says. That prompted Webelir and perhaps at least one other person, according to the release, to set the fire early that morning.
Webelir was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Roanoke on May 7, but the indictment was sealed until today. He faces up to 20 years behind bars, the release says.
For further developments, visit nvdaily.com or read the print edition of The Northern Virginia Daily.Add to Technorati Favorites
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