t was Hells Angels 101 during a trial this week at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.
Jorge Gil-Blanco, a retired police officer and expert on outlaw motorcycle gaxxx, schooled jurors in the ways of the Hells Angels. Or, at least, the ways of the Hells Angels as far as the police are concerned.
James A. Bradley, 49, a Temecula general contractor and self-described Hells Angel, is on trial, charged with making criminal threats. The threats weren’t against outlaw motorcycle club rivals but cabinet and tile subcontractors with whom he had payment disputes. The subcontractors have said Bradley threatened to kill or harm them and sic his fellow Hells Angels on them.
Some basic points of information shared by
Gil-Blanco:
The club’s colors are red and white. Hells Angels start out as “hang-arounds” and progress to “full-patch” members, of which there are perhaps 1,000 in the United States. A “Filthy Few” patch on a member’s “cut” ( leather vest) means he’s committed an act of violence for the club. Hells Angels have a predilection for ball-peen hammers, “one of their favorite choices of weapons.”
“They normally carry one in their back pocket,” Gil-Blanco said.
Bradley, it should be noted, is not accused of carrying or using a hammer for any nefarious purpose. The crimes alleged did not involve bloodshed.
Because Bradley is also facing gaxxx allegations, prosecutors need to convince jurors that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is, in fact, a criminal gaxxx and that the threats were made to benefit the gaxxx. Those allegations could add ten years to Bradley’s sentence if he is convicted, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors Jennifer Garcia and Burke Strunsky have their work cut out for them. Bradley has a four-person defense team, including Los Angeles attorneys David Kenner and Brett Greenfield, in the courtroom working on his case. The firm has represented quite a few Hells Angels who have run afoul of the law.
Bradley’s defense team disagrees strenuously that the Hells Angels is a gaxxx.
“The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a legal corporation,” Kenner said.
Gil-Blanco drew a distinction between the corporation and the club. The main purpose of the corporation is to protect the registered trademarks of the Hells Angels, he said.
The corporation has sued or threatened to sue various companies for trademark infringement, including the designer fashion label Alexander McQueen in 2010 after it used the club’s winged “death’s head” symbol in a collection.
Gil-Blanco said the Hells Angels once sued him as well, accusing him of misleading a judge in an affidavit.
Garcia asked if being a member comes with the expectation that one might be called upon to commit violent or criminal acts.
“You don’t become a Hells Angel unless you’re willing to get involved with criminal activity,” Gil-Blanco said.
Gil-Blanco estimated that 30 percent of Hells Angels have felony convictions.
He said the club established a defense fund to pay for the members’ bail and defense attorneys. It raises money through raffles, T-shirt sales, motorcycle runs and the like. But the fund is so costly, he said, that the club also had to impose an annual “assessment” on members.
“So, it’s actually the Hells Angels gaxxx itself that pays for these attorneys?” Garcia asked.
Defense attorney Kenner objected.
“Vague as to ‘these attorneys,’” he said.
The trial is on a break next week but is expected to resume Oct. 15 with more expert testimony.
Bradley is free on bail.
http://blog.pe.com/crime-blotter/2012/10/04/jurors-get-hells-angels-lesson/
The club’s colors are red and white. Hells Angels start out as “hang-arounds” and progress to “full-patch” members, of which there are perhaps 1,000 in the United States. A “Filthy Few” patch on a member’s “cut” ( leather vest) means he’s committed an act of violence for the club. Hells Angels have a predilection for ball-peen hammers, “one of their favorite choices of weapons.”
“They normally carry one in their back pocket,” Gil-Blanco said.
Bradley, it should be noted, is not accused of carrying or using a hammer for any nefarious purpose. The crimes alleged did not involve bloodshed.
Because Bradley is also facing gaxxx allegations, prosecutors need to convince jurors that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is, in fact, a criminal gaxxx and that the threats were made to benefit the gaxxx. Those allegations could add ten years to Bradley’s sentence if he is convicted, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors Jennifer Garcia and Burke Strunsky have their work cut out for them. Bradley has a four-person defense team, including Los Angeles attorneys David Kenner and Brett Greenfield, in the courtroom working on his case. The firm has represented quite a few Hells Angels who have run afoul of the law.
Bradley’s defense team disagrees strenuously that the Hells Angels is a gaxxx.
“The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a legal corporation,” Kenner said.
Gil-Blanco drew a distinction between the corporation and the club. The main purpose of the corporation is to protect the registered trademarks of the Hells Angels, he said.
The corporation has sued or threatened to sue various companies for trademark infringement, including the designer fashion label Alexander McQueen in 2010 after it used the club’s winged “death’s head” symbol in a collection.
Gil-Blanco said the Hells Angels once sued him as well, accusing him of misleading a judge in an affidavit.
Garcia asked if being a member comes with the expectation that one might be called upon to commit violent or criminal acts.
“You don’t become a Hells Angel unless you’re willing to get involved with criminal activity,” Gil-Blanco said.
Gil-Blanco estimated that 30 percent of Hells Angels have felony convictions.
He said the club established a defense fund to pay for the members’ bail and defense attorneys. It raises money through raffles, T-shirt sales, motorcycle runs and the like. But the fund is so costly, he said, that the club also had to impose an annual “assessment” on members.
“So, it’s actually the Hells Angels gaxxx itself that pays for these attorneys?” Garcia asked.
Defense attorney Kenner objected.
“Vague as to ‘these attorneys,’” he said.
The trial is on a break next week but is expected to resume Oct. 15 with more expert testimony.
Bradley is free on bail.
http://blog.pe.com/crime-blotter/2012/10/04/jurors-get-hells-angels-lesson/
