Off the Wire
MCs in the News
By Hicham Raache
TIMES RECORD
Fort Smith police warned business leaders Monday of a rise in outlaw biker gangs and a growing threat of biker-related crime; however, local bikers maintained they are not criminals.
In the 17th Problem-Solving Meeting hosted by the Fort Smith Police Department, Sgt. Danny Baker, supervisor of the Police Department's Street Crimes Unit, advised Fort Smith business leaders not to allow outlaw biker gangs in Fort Smith and surrounding areas to gain a foothold in the area by using their facilities while wearing their biker colors.
Baker said Fort Smith police were informed three years ago that biker gangs were targeting Fort Smith for such a foothold.
"We were told that we better get ready because there is a big push for Fort Smith and the River Valley ... that there will be a bunch of outlaw bikers coming in to set up camp, and that their intentions weren't honorable," Baker said.
Around 50 people attended the 6 p.m. meeting in a room at Riverfront Park. Among those in attendance, were about four members of the Fort Smith chapter of Diablo Lobos, which is considered by law enforcement to be an outlaw biker gang.
"I appreciate everyone being here today, and those of you wearing colors, I appreciate you attending," Baker said.
However, Baker said that he was not going to hold back in warning members of the Fort Smith business community against what he described as the criminal nature of outlaw biker gangs.
In his PowerPoint presentation, Baker cited FBI and other national law enforcement reports, which state that outlaw biker gangs are involved in crimes ranging from drug smuggling, extortion, murder, burglary, kidnapping, assault, illegal gambling and weapons violations. Baker also cited specific cases where outlaw bikers were cited for such crimes.
Baker said more than 300 outlaw motorcycle gangs are operating across the United States, and that Fort Smith law enforcement is aware of members of several in the area, including: Outlaws, also known as A.O.A., American Outlaws Association, which has a fenced white clubhouse decorated by its black-and-white skull and bones logo; Bandidos, which along with the Hell's Angels, is considered by law enforcement to be one of the two largest outlaw motorcycle gangs in the United States, and has members who have been convicted in other parts of the country for cocaine distribution and other crimes; Black Pistons, which is considered an Outlaws support club used as a recruitment source for prospective outlaw members; and the Diablo Lobos, which Baker said is indigenous to Fort Smith and has a chapter in Wisconsin.
In the past, Diablo Lobos has sponsored toy runs for children in need.
However, Baker cited a national law enforcement report that stated charity from outlaw biker gangs is an attempt to mask a criminal nature.
Mike Evert, a Diablo Lobos member who was in attendance at the presentation, said Baker's remarks against Diablo Lobos were untrue.
"We're not a gang, we're a club," Evert said. "That's what Diablo Lobos Motorcycle Club stands for."
Evert and fellow Diablo Lobo Mike Fry said they respect other biker clubs in the area and are not looking to have fights with them in establishments such as bars.
Fry said that although bikers have been arrested for crimes in other parts of the country, members of law enforcement should remember that the Diablo Lobos have been civil members of the Fort Smith community.
"Before they put us as part of that other stuff, they should look at our history in Fort Smith," Fry said.
The only recent arrest of a suspect believed to have outlaw biker affiliation occurred on July 8, when James Darin Jewell, 39, was arrested on a felony first-degree terroristic threatening warrant.
Jewell was accused of following two employees of the Electric Cowboy, both of whom he had arguments with while at the Cowboy, to the parking lot of Denny's.
The two Cowboy employees said Jewell, who they said had a bandanna wrapped around his face, pulled into the parking lot on his motorcycle, produced a semi-automatic handgun, claimed Bandidos membership and said he would let them live this one time.
Members of both the Bandidos and Diablo Lobos contacted the Times Record last week and said that Jewell was in no way affiliated with their clubs.
Fort Smith police maintain that Jewell claimed to be a member of the Bandidos.
Baker said that although there has only been one biker-related arrest, there are other local crimes that may be linked to outlaw bikers.
Baker also said that although there is not a rash of outlaw biker crime currently, Fort Smith police are working to stop it before it arrives.
Baker advised members of the business community, particularly owners of local bars, not to allow members of the outlaw biker community to wear biker gang colors inside their establishments.
He said that although outlaw bikers would promise to bring in higher paying clientele, they would ultimately take over an establishment through intimidation and extortion, cause damage and drive away business.
He said any suspicious activity or criminal acts from outlaw bikers should be reported to Fort Smith police or any other local law enforcement agency.
"You have to resolve within yourself that Fort Smith does not welcome anyone who would ally themselves with a criminal organization," Baker said.
original article
