A group of three bikers watches as a van from the medical examiner's office
arrives to remove the bodies of the three shooting victims at Mormon Lake in
July 2011. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun).
The Sons of Hell motorcycle club is suing area law enforcement agencies over their response to a double-murder/suicide at a motorcycle rally at Mormon Lake two summers ago.
The club was illegally targeted so that law enforcement could obtain information about what they saw as an "outlaw motorcycle gaxxx," the plaintiffs say in the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court earlier this month.
The Sons of Hell are now seeking monetary damages and demanding policy changes from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Members claim that officers violated their constitutional rights to due process, free association and unlawful detention. The club also cites a law that prevents discrimination in public places.
Deputies assigned to the 2,000-person Too Broke for Sturgis rally heard what sounded like gunshots at about 11:20 p.m. on July 23, 2011.
A flood of calls immediately came into the 911 system advising dispatchers of a shooting at the campground with multiple victims.
Investigators found two women who had been sitting in chairs outside a camper when they were shot, according to officials. One man was found shot several times. The other man was found dead on the ground with a handgun near his hand.
The shooting drew a heavy police response, with officers from the sheriff's office, the Department of Public Safety, the area anti-gaxxx task force, and the Flagstaff Police Department.
Investigators quickly determined that Christian Tejada got into an argument with his wife Desiree Tejada over having guests over for dinner in the Too Broke for Sturgis campgrounds. He shot and injured his wife and then turned the gun on their two guests, Edgar and Trina Atzin, killing the couple. Desiree Tejada survived being shot six times.
The suit accuses officers of entering the Sons of Hell campground under the premise of investigating the murders so that a gaxxx task force group could obtain information about the club for electronic "criminal street gaxxx" databases.
The plaintiffs say that club members, their spouses and families -- some of whom were in their underwear -- were forced from their tents and motor homes at gunpoint.
The bikers claim they were held and interrogated for three hours on false information provided by a reportedly drunk rally-goer before being released. The group also claims that law enforcement was acting prejudicially on the belief that the group is an "outlaw motorcycle gaxxx" with ties to the Hells Angels.
The suit specifically names not only the agencies but also the officers themselves as well as their spouses.
A spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office acknowledged the lawsuit, but said that the agency could not comment on ongoing litigation.
http://azdailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/45d59ae8-e31d-56c1-a5a0-9c60ef9c3bc4.html
The Sons of Hell motorcycle club is suing area law enforcement agencies over their response to a double-murder/suicide at a motorcycle rally at Mormon Lake two summers ago.
The club was illegally targeted so that law enforcement could obtain information about what they saw as an "outlaw motorcycle gaxxx," the plaintiffs say in the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court earlier this month.
The Sons of Hell are now seeking monetary damages and demanding policy changes from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Members claim that officers violated their constitutional rights to due process, free association and unlawful detention. The club also cites a law that prevents discrimination in public places.
Deputies assigned to the 2,000-person Too Broke for Sturgis rally heard what sounded like gunshots at about 11:20 p.m. on July 23, 2011.
A flood of calls immediately came into the 911 system advising dispatchers of a shooting at the campground with multiple victims.
Investigators found two women who had been sitting in chairs outside a camper when they were shot, according to officials. One man was found shot several times. The other man was found dead on the ground with a handgun near his hand.
The shooting drew a heavy police response, with officers from the sheriff's office, the Department of Public Safety, the area anti-gaxxx task force, and the Flagstaff Police Department.
Investigators quickly determined that Christian Tejada got into an argument with his wife Desiree Tejada over having guests over for dinner in the Too Broke for Sturgis campgrounds. He shot and injured his wife and then turned the gun on their two guests, Edgar and Trina Atzin, killing the couple. Desiree Tejada survived being shot six times.
The suit accuses officers of entering the Sons of Hell campground under the premise of investigating the murders so that a gaxxx task force group could obtain information about the club for electronic "criminal street gaxxx" databases.
The plaintiffs say that club members, their spouses and families -- some of whom were in their underwear -- were forced from their tents and motor homes at gunpoint.
The bikers claim they were held and interrogated for three hours on false information provided by a reportedly drunk rally-goer before being released. The group also claims that law enforcement was acting prejudicially on the belief that the group is an "outlaw motorcycle gaxxx" with ties to the Hells Angels.
The suit specifically names not only the agencies but also the officers themselves as well as their spouses.
A spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office acknowledged the lawsuit, but said that the agency could not comment on ongoing litigation.
http://azdailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/45d59ae8-e31d-56c1-a5a0-9c60ef9c3bc4.html