OFF THE WIRE
North County Times |
More than two dozen people, including three Oceanside residents, were arrested Thursday for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking operation with ties to the Hells Angels, an FBI spokesman said.
The arrests stem from a two-year investigation by the FBI's Violent Crime Gang Task Force, focusing on methamphetamine trafficking and other crimes tied to the motorcycle gang in San Diego, said Special Agent Darrell Foxworth.
More than 250 law enforcement officers took part in sweeps Thursday that saw 26 people arrested and 19 sites searched in San Diego County; authorities seized 10 firearms, drugs and cash.
An additional six suspects were already in custody. Four more remain fugitives, bringing the total number of suspects to 36, Foxworth said.
Three of those charged in operation were Oceanside residents Anthony James Medvec, Patrick James Haggerty and Derek Ralph Low, Foxworth said.
The defendants are slated to appear in a federal courtroom in San Diego Friday to face charges of conspiracy to distribute meth.
Dozens arrested in alleged Hells Angels drug ring
By Jen Lebron Kuhney , Reporter - Watchdog
Pauline Repard , Reporter - Public Safety
Originally published September 30, 2011 at 12:42 p.m., updated September 30, 2011 at 7:31 p.m.
About three dozen people with ties to the Hells Angels are being held without bail in a federal drug conspiracy investigation, while two more suspected members are still on the loose.
The defendants are accused of being part of a drug ring that sold tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine in the past two years.On Thursday, 26 people were arrested in a raid that involved more than 250 law-enforcement officers. Six others were already in custody.
Also Thursday, 42-year-old Stephen Sanders, former president of the San Diego charter of Hells Angels, surrendered to FBI agents and police in Honolulu. He was wanted in connection with the 2007 kidnapping, torture and robbery of a member who had told the group he wanted out, according to arrest warrants.
FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth said authorities are seeking Mary Saber and Quinton Koonce II for alleged crimes associated with the drug ring.
“With respect to this case, there is more work to be done. But investigations such as this one help make San Diego a safer community,” Foxworth said.
Court records show the FBI used wiretaps, video and other sophisticated surveillance techniques for nearly two years to compile evidence against the defendants. Foxworth said authorities conducted a series of drug purchases and used cooperative sources to help collect additional evidence.
The lead defendant in the case is Michael Ottinger Jr., who has been indicted in state court in connection with the killing of a member of a rival motorcycle club, according to court documents. He also has been in federal custody on other narcotics charges.
Court records show that he served as sergeant-at-arms for the San Diego charter of Hells Angels before he was arrested last December.
In a San Diego-based federal court hearing Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major decided to hold all the defendants without bail until a second hearing scheduled for Monday morning. She said they pose a significant flight risk and a danger to the community because 10 weapons were confiscated during the raid.
In Honolulu, Sanders surrendered at a park in an arrangement brokered by third parties, said agent Thomas Simon of the Honolulu FBI office.
Sanders; David Dabbs, 41; Dustin Harroun, 30; and Troy Scholder, 30, were among several Hells Angels sought in a raid on their El Cajon clubhouse on Aug. 3. Federal drug agents and El Cajon and San Diego police found no one inside.
Simon said Sanders is being held in jail for extradition.
jen.kuhney@uniontrib.com • (858) 480-9582 • Twitter @jenkuhney
