Jurors began deliberating Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the trial of a Temecula
businessman accused of threatening to sic his fellow Hells Angels on
subcontractors with whom he had payment disputes.
Prosecutor Jennifer Garcia said James A. Bradley, a general contractor, was so proud he had become a full member of the Hells Angels that he wanted everyone to know.
“He went around telling anybody who would listen,” she said. “He thought he was big time. He used the power of that gaxxx to get whatever he wanted.”
Bradley, 49, who is free on bond, has pleaded not guilty to criminal threats, possession of anabolic steroids and criminal gaxxx allegations. His defense attorneys have denied that he invoked the Hells Angels.
The threats were reported to Murrieta police in 2010. One subcontractor told officers that Bradley, of the Temecula-based J.A. Bradley Construction & Restoration, cursed at him and threatened to have “150 Hells Angels” come after him, prosecutors said. He described how Bradley came pounding on his office door, enraged, scaring him so badly he called the police for help, prosecutors said. Another subcontractor told a similar story of an unhinged Bradley saying he was a Hells Angel and threatening to kill him.
The trial, at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley, has focused as much on the Hells Angels organization as it has on the criminal threats. Prosecutors called expert witnesses to show the club is a criminal street gaxxx and how threats benefited the Hells Angels.
The proceedings also have been punctuated by frequent disputes between the attorneys. The prosecution repeatedly objected that defense attorneys Brett Greenfield and David Kenner, who have represented Hells Angels in many cases, were bringing up issues the judge had barred them from mentioning. The defense objected to claims that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a gaxxx and contended they were being prevented from telling the full story about Bradley.
“Let the truth come out,” Greenfield said to prosecutor Burke Strunsky, in front of the jurors Tuesday.
The defense did not present an opening statement or call any witnesses.
In his closing argument, Kenner told jurors that Bradley, in addition to being a member of the Hells Angel, is a husband, father and businessman.
Bradley was involved in “mutually heated arguments” that nearly came to blows, Kenner said, but he didn’t invoke the Hells Angels and he didn’t make criminal threats. Kenner argued that the subcontractors’ claims they were in fear for their lives strain credibility. If they had been truly afraid the Hells Angels were coming after them, Kenner suggested, the solution would have been simple – pay Bradley what he thought he was owed.
Kenner suggested that gaxxx investigators, eager to go after the Hells Angels, blew the disputes out of proportion. And he accused one subcontractor of spinning a tale of gaxxx threats to get out of his contractual obligations to Bradley.
Garcia, however, said the subcontractor’s fear was all too real.
“These people are still walking around in fear,” she said of the subcontractors and their families. “These people are going to be looking over their shoulders now and in years to come. … It’s the fear of the Hells Angels. And that doesn’t end in this courtroom.”
If convicted on all charges Bradley faces the possibility of more than 13 years in prison.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/temecula/temecula-headlines-index/20121016-french-valley-jurors-deliberating-in-hells-angels-criminal-threats-trial.ece
Prosecutor Jennifer Garcia said James A. Bradley, a general contractor, was so proud he had become a full member of the Hells Angels that he wanted everyone to know.
“He went around telling anybody who would listen,” she said. “He thought he was big time. He used the power of that gaxxx to get whatever he wanted.”
Bradley, 49, who is free on bond, has pleaded not guilty to criminal threats, possession of anabolic steroids and criminal gaxxx allegations. His defense attorneys have denied that he invoked the Hells Angels.
The threats were reported to Murrieta police in 2010. One subcontractor told officers that Bradley, of the Temecula-based J.A. Bradley Construction & Restoration, cursed at him and threatened to have “150 Hells Angels” come after him, prosecutors said. He described how Bradley came pounding on his office door, enraged, scaring him so badly he called the police for help, prosecutors said. Another subcontractor told a similar story of an unhinged Bradley saying he was a Hells Angel and threatening to kill him.
The trial, at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley, has focused as much on the Hells Angels organization as it has on the criminal threats. Prosecutors called expert witnesses to show the club is a criminal street gaxxx and how threats benefited the Hells Angels.
The proceedings also have been punctuated by frequent disputes between the attorneys. The prosecution repeatedly objected that defense attorneys Brett Greenfield and David Kenner, who have represented Hells Angels in many cases, were bringing up issues the judge had barred them from mentioning. The defense objected to claims that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a gaxxx and contended they were being prevented from telling the full story about Bradley.
“Let the truth come out,” Greenfield said to prosecutor Burke Strunsky, in front of the jurors Tuesday.
The defense did not present an opening statement or call any witnesses.
In his closing argument, Kenner told jurors that Bradley, in addition to being a member of the Hells Angel, is a husband, father and businessman.
Bradley was involved in “mutually heated arguments” that nearly came to blows, Kenner said, but he didn’t invoke the Hells Angels and he didn’t make criminal threats. Kenner argued that the subcontractors’ claims they were in fear for their lives strain credibility. If they had been truly afraid the Hells Angels were coming after them, Kenner suggested, the solution would have been simple – pay Bradley what he thought he was owed.
Kenner suggested that gaxxx investigators, eager to go after the Hells Angels, blew the disputes out of proportion. And he accused one subcontractor of spinning a tale of gaxxx threats to get out of his contractual obligations to Bradley.
Garcia, however, said the subcontractor’s fear was all too real.
“These people are still walking around in fear,” she said of the subcontractors and their families. “These people are going to be looking over their shoulders now and in years to come. … It’s the fear of the Hells Angels. And that doesn’t end in this courtroom.”
If convicted on all charges Bradley faces the possibility of more than 13 years in prison.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/temecula/temecula-headlines-index/20121016-french-valley-jurors-deliberating-in-hells-angels-criminal-threats-trial.ece
