By DAVE DOWNEY ddowney@californian.com North County Times
REGION: Riverside County settles suit with motorcycle club..
Riverside County officials announced Monday they have reached a settlement with the Vagos International Motorcycle Club in a lawsuit the club filed in March, one year after county officials launched a massive sweep aimed at club members and stated in a news conference that some members may have been responsible for several booby-trap-style attacks on Hemet police.
Two men were arrested in July 2010 in connection with the attacks and officials determined they were were not Vagos members.
The attempts on the lives of police officers abruptly stopped in summer 2010.
Arthur Cunningham, an attorney for the San Bernardino law firm of Lewis, Brisbois & Smith who defended the county in the suit, said the settlement called for Riverside County to issue a statement.
"It's simply trying to clarify the lack of involvement of the Vagos in the incidents that led to the arrests of the suspects that the DA's office is prosecuting," Cunningham said in a telephone interview.
Cunningham said the settlement did not call for a payment to be made to the club or its members. But he said property seized from members during a March 2010 sweep will be returned.
The first of several attacks came in early December 2009, when someone left a crude device known as a punji trap on the front porch of an officer's home. The weapon was fashioned out of wooden boards pierced by dozens of upward-pointing nails.
In late December, someone pushed a natural gas pipe through a hole drilled into the roof of the Hemet gang enforcement unit's headquarters, filling the building with flammable gas. It was discovered and no one was hurt. Police had said that a tiny electrical spark ---- even from flipping a light switch ---- could have ignited the gas.
On Feb. 23, 2010, a homemade zip gun made out of pipe and attached to the gang unit's sliding gate fired when an officer opened the gate, with the shot narrowly missing the officer.
On March 5, another improvised pistol-like device fell off a detective's car.
The alarming incidents prompted then-District Attorney Rod Pacheco to launch, in connection with county and Hemet law enforcement officials, a sweep targeting 94 people said to be Vagos members at 73 locations around the county, including Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Sun City, Homeland and Wildomar. A total of 30 people were arrested on suspicion of parole violations and drug and weapon charges. None of them were charged in connection with the attacks.
"When you try to kill law enforcement officers in this county, you are going to get a very significant response," Pacheco said at the time.
However, the attacks continued.
Someone torched four Hemet city trucks on March 23 of last year and a structure at the police shooting range on April 12.
On June 3, there was a failed attempt to launch a rocket from the roof of a Hemet market into a police station across the street.
On June 28, an evidence building was set ablaze
Then, a short time later, a pair of arrests were made.
The district attorney's office charged Nicholas John Smit, 39, of Hemet, and Steven William Hansen, 36, of Homeland, with attempted murder in connection with some of the attacks.
Regarding the string of events, Riverside County on Monday issued this statement:
"In or around March of 2010, the city of Hemet, the district attorney's office, the Riverside (County) Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies were investigating a series of attacks upon law enforcement officers. Early on, one aspect of the investigation directed the attention of the investigating agencies to the group known as the Vagos International Motorcycle Club. At that stage of the investigation, there was a great deal of media attention on the progress of the case.
"However, further investigation led the investigating agencies in other directions which turned out to be more fruitful. Ultimately, two men who were not affiliated with the Vagos were arrested. Both have been charged in one of the attacks and one of the men has been charged in five of the attacks on law enforcement officers. Both men are currently awaiting trial. Several of the incidents remain unsolved.
"Nevertheless, after a thorough investigation, the district attorney's office is reasonably satisfied, at this time, that the Vagos International Motorcycle Club was not involved in the 2010 attacks on law enforcement officers. Any emotionally charged or colorful remarks made by, or at the direction of, the former district attorney, Rod Pacheco, during the heat of the investigation which were expressly or impliedly offensive to the Vagos are unfortunate."
On March 17 of this year, the Vagos club filed suit in Riverside Superior Court alleging that law enforcement officials defamed the club at the March 2010 news conference by referring to its members as "terrorists" and "cockroaches," among other references. The suit named as defendants Pacheco, Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana, sheriff's Capt. Walter Meyer, district attorney spokesman John Hall, Riverside County and the city of Hemet.
Cunningham said that as a result of the settlement the suit will be dismissed in a few days.
Two men were arrested in July 2010 in connection with the attacks and officials determined they were were not Vagos members.
The attempts on the lives of police officers abruptly stopped in summer 2010.
Arthur Cunningham, an attorney for the San Bernardino law firm of Lewis, Brisbois & Smith who defended the county in the suit, said the settlement called for Riverside County to issue a statement.
"It's simply trying to clarify the lack of involvement of the Vagos in the incidents that led to the arrests of the suspects that the DA's office is prosecuting," Cunningham said in a telephone interview.
Cunningham said the settlement did not call for a payment to be made to the club or its members. But he said property seized from members during a March 2010 sweep will be returned.
The first of several attacks came in early December 2009, when someone left a crude device known as a punji trap on the front porch of an officer's home. The weapon was fashioned out of wooden boards pierced by dozens of upward-pointing nails.
In late December, someone pushed a natural gas pipe through a hole drilled into the roof of the Hemet gang enforcement unit's headquarters, filling the building with flammable gas. It was discovered and no one was hurt. Police had said that a tiny electrical spark ---- even from flipping a light switch ---- could have ignited the gas.
On Feb. 23, 2010, a homemade zip gun made out of pipe and attached to the gang unit's sliding gate fired when an officer opened the gate, with the shot narrowly missing the officer.
On March 5, another improvised pistol-like device fell off a detective's car.
The alarming incidents prompted then-District Attorney Rod Pacheco to launch, in connection with county and Hemet law enforcement officials, a sweep targeting 94 people said to be Vagos members at 73 locations around the county, including Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Sun City, Homeland and Wildomar. A total of 30 people were arrested on suspicion of parole violations and drug and weapon charges. None of them were charged in connection with the attacks.
"When you try to kill law enforcement officers in this county, you are going to get a very significant response," Pacheco said at the time.
However, the attacks continued.
Someone torched four Hemet city trucks on March 23 of last year and a structure at the police shooting range on April 12.
On June 3, there was a failed attempt to launch a rocket from the roof of a Hemet market into a police station across the street.
On June 28, an evidence building was set ablaze
Then, a short time later, a pair of arrests were made.
The district attorney's office charged Nicholas John Smit, 39, of Hemet, and Steven William Hansen, 36, of Homeland, with attempted murder in connection with some of the attacks.
Regarding the string of events, Riverside County on Monday issued this statement:
"In or around March of 2010, the city of Hemet, the district attorney's office, the Riverside (County) Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies were investigating a series of attacks upon law enforcement officers. Early on, one aspect of the investigation directed the attention of the investigating agencies to the group known as the Vagos International Motorcycle Club. At that stage of the investigation, there was a great deal of media attention on the progress of the case.
"However, further investigation led the investigating agencies in other directions which turned out to be more fruitful. Ultimately, two men who were not affiliated with the Vagos were arrested. Both have been charged in one of the attacks and one of the men has been charged in five of the attacks on law enforcement officers. Both men are currently awaiting trial. Several of the incidents remain unsolved.
"Nevertheless, after a thorough investigation, the district attorney's office is reasonably satisfied, at this time, that the Vagos International Motorcycle Club was not involved in the 2010 attacks on law enforcement officers. Any emotionally charged or colorful remarks made by, or at the direction of, the former district attorney, Rod Pacheco, during the heat of the investigation which were expressly or impliedly offensive to the Vagos are unfortunate."
On March 17 of this year, the Vagos club filed suit in Riverside Superior Court alleging that law enforcement officials defamed the club at the March 2010 news conference by referring to its members as "terrorists" and "cockroaches," among other references. The suit named as defendants Pacheco, Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana, sheriff's Capt. Walter Meyer, district attorney spokesman John Hall, Riverside County and the city of Hemet.
Cunningham said that as a result of the settlement the suit will be dismissed in a few days.
Call staff writer Dave Downey at 951-676-4315, ext. 2623.
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