An entire chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was arrested on various violent charges, police say.
Six members of the Hells Angels biker gang were arrested in Bakersfield, California, on Tuesday, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said. A seventh member has been charged but was already in custody, according to the sheriff’s office.
Five of those charged are “active” Bakersfield Hells Angels chapter members. The other two arrested are members of the Sons of Hell Motorcycle Club, a sub-affiliate that police say takes orders from the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
The charges facing all seven members include kidnapping, robbery, assault with a firearm and elder abuse. However, officials have yet to release further details on what led to the charges. They are all being held in the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Lerdo facility.
The sheriff's office said 150 officers executed eight search warrants and assisted with arrests. They seized guns, ammunition, high-capacity magazines and “gang affiliate paraphernalia.”
The five active members of the Bakersfield chapter are Ricardo Alvarez, Armando Villasenor, Joseph Soto Sr, Joseph Soto Jr, and Joshua Zavala.
The two sub-affiliate members charged are Joshua Vaughn and John Seeger. According to the sheriff’s office, Vaughn was already in jail on separate charges.
“This investigation is ongoing, and charges are being referred to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office,” the sheriff’s office said.
The Independent has contacted the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal authorities argue the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, which was founded in California more than 70 years ago, engages in the trafficking of drugs and firearms.
Last year, the San Diego County District Attorney charged 17 people, including several Hells Angels members, in connection with an attack on three Black men at nearby Ocean Beach. Prosecutors say the three victims were chased, called racial epithets and attacked.
One victim was stabbed by a Hells Angels leader, prosecutors say, while the second victim was beaten and the third escaped without injury.
A grand jury indicted 14 of the 17 with the assault and handed hate crime charges to 11 of those charged. The leader was also charged with attempted murder. The final three defendants were charged as accessories.
Eight defendants have since pleaded guilty, the OB Rag reports. Those remaining, including the leader, will face trial in August.
