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  • Gang Warfare breaks out in S.F.

    SAN FRANCISCO -- Police and residents in San Francisco's Outer Mission neighborhood were on edge after SFPD investigators identified a man killed in the area as the president of the San Francisco branch of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.

    The victim, 46-year-old Mark Guardado, was shot at about 10:30 p.m. outside a bar at 24th Street and Treat Avenue in the city's Mission District, police said.

    Authorities said Guardado was recently in Sonoma County court, facing felony charges in connection to an altercation in Petaluma last February.

    Police were investigating reports that Guardado was shot by a member of The Mongols, a rival motorcycle club. The Mongols are based in Southern California, but there are local chapters in Modesto and San Jose, authorities said.

    The Mongols and the Hells Angels clashed six years ago at Harrah's Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. The incident left three people dead.

    In response to Tuesday night's fatal shooting, there's been a heavy police presence as officers blanket the area. Police say they will continue to patrol the area in an effort to reassure residents they will remain safe despite worries of a possible war between the two motorcycle clubs.

    "We are going to try and maintain a continued effort in this area with multiple means, uniformed officers, plain-clothed officers, specialized units that we have out here tonight," San Francisco Capt. Steve Tacchini told KTVU. "We are going to try and keep as much police presence in the neighborhood as possible."

    Residents of the Mission District tell KTVU they will remain on edge until the case is solved.

    "I'm afraid some young children will accidentally get shot in the crossfire," said local resident Rita Alviar, who works with the Mission Education Project. "I'm praying that this stops in our community."
    Copyright 2008 by KTVU.com. All rights

  • #2
    Oh dear... Poor SF residents must be scared to death of a GANG WAR breaking out on the streets!

    If it happens again can we expect that city to try to legislate Biker gangs?

    We shall see... Love the hysterical reporting style of KTVU. One guy slain and it's "gang warfare"...

    OMG! LOL phui...

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    • #3
      He was the leader of the S.F. Branch of the Hells Angels.

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      • #4
        Yeah... RIP

        My condolences to his family and friends...

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        • #5
          I'm with Tant. That doesn't constitute Gang Warfare.

          He may have just been an asshole to the wrong person right then and got shot. It wasn't provably linked to him being an asshole on a prior occasions.

          And if it was this would have been an assassination by definition, but not gang warfare.

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          • #6
            Well, I guess we will have to monitor the S.F. area news in the up and coming weeks. Not saying it's gang warfare but there could be some retaliation.

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            • #7
              Biker gangs have a code... For what it's worth the HA AND the Mongols won't USUALLY jeopardize innocents.

              Or so I've heard...

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              • #8
                Biker gangs don't have the same MO as street gangs. If this was a Bloods and Crips war, or any other street gangs for that matter, there would be a great risk of innocents getting caught in the crossfire. If biker gangs are involved, usually the retaliation is more
                precise. Biker gangs really don't want the heat that comes down from killing civilians. Street gangs don.t care.

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                • #9
                  LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Dozens of burly, tattoo-covered members of the Mongol motorcycle gang were arrested Tuesday in six states after a three-year investigation in which undercover agents infiltrated the notorious group.


                  Federal agents examine a bike at the home of Ruben Cavazos in West Covina, California.
                  3 of 3 Law enforcement agents said the arrests could herald the end of the Mongol Motorcycle Club, a Southern California-based group of 600 or so members that claims to be a social club but that prosecutors say is a criminal gang involved in murder, torture, drug trafficking and other offenses.

                  "This is one of those celebrated investigations in which the organization from top to bottom has been charged and targeted," said Michael Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

                  "It puts a stake in the heart of the Mongols."

                  More than 60 people were arrested under a federal racketeering indictment that included charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, as well as gun and drug violations, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Mike Hoffman.

                  During some arrests, sharpshooters stood guard on surrounding rooftops as motorcycles were lined up and confiscated.

                  "It's going to be a large hit to their organization. We are arresting many of their top members," Hoffman said.

                  U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said he believed it to be the highest number of arrests of a motorcycle gang in the nation's history.

                  His staff planned to ask a judge for an injunction to seize the Mongols' trademarked name, a first for federal authorities. If the order is approved, no member would be able to wear a jacket or ride a bike bearing the gang's name.

                  "It would allow law enforcement to seize the leather jackets right off their back," O'Brien said.

                  Federal and local agents had 110 federal arrest warrants and 160 search warrants that were being served across Southern California and in Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio.

                  The sweep, dubbed Operation Black Rain, was to continue throughout the day Tuesday, agents said.

                  Among those arrested were the gang's former national president, Ruben Cavazos.

                  Hoffman said the Mongols had been recruiting members of Los Angeles street gangs to assist in their operations. The Mongols are primarily Latino and formed because the Hells Angels refused to allow Hispanics.

                  The indictment describes a tightly organized group that routinely engages in violence and sometimes attacks black people. It commits robberies, steals motorcycles and funds itself in part by stealing credit card account information, the indictment said.

                  Four ATF agents infiltrated the gang and were accepted as full members, a difficult process that requires winning the trust of the gang's top leaders over a period of months, Hoffman said.

                  The agents were required to live away from their families in homes set up to make it look like they lived a Mongols lifestyle, Hoffman said. Four undercover women ATF agents pretended to be biker girlfriends and attended parties with the agents; women are not allowed to become full members of the gang.

                  "If you go to a party all the time and you don't ever bring a girl around, it's kind of weird," Hoffman said. "Someone might get suspicious."

                  To be accepted in the gang, the ATF agents had to run errands and were subject to a background check by private detectives.

                  John Torres, the ATF agent in charge in Los Angeles, said the agents never committed any crimes during their undercover work.

                  Outside Cavazos' home in West Covina, about 18 miles east of Los Angeles, a red, custom-modified Harley-Davidson motorbike sat outside. No occupants were home but several police and ATF agents were seen going through items in the house.

                  Cavazos wrote a memoir, "Honor Few, Fear None: The Life and Times of a Mongol," published by HarperCollins in June. HarperCollins publicist Sarah Burningham in New York City said she only handles book-related issues for Cavazos, but would forward an e-mail from The Associated Press requesting comment.

                  Cavazos is the night shift CAT scan technician at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda said.

                  Another former Mongols national president, Roger Pinney, alleged in an interview with The Associated Press that Cavazos was the problem, not the club in general.

                  "They were just on the verge of cleaning up their act," said Pinney, who is no longer a member and is serving probation from his role in an infamous brawl at Laughlin, Nevada, in 2002 in which three people died. "It's not a club-run deal. It's individuals who are the ones who decide to commit crimes."

                  Pinney said he warned other club members that Cavazos was trouble.

                  "He was throwing all the good members out and bringing gang members in," Pinney said. "He was trying to be a drug lord or something."

                  Pinney doesn't believe the raid will force the Mongols off the road. "The Mongols aren't going away, and neither are the Hells Angels," he said.

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                  • #10
                    Cool! Looks like the GOOD guys win this round, eh?

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Hardball View Post
                      Well, I guess we will have to monitor the S.F. area news in the up and coming weeks. Not saying it's gang warfare but there could be some retaliation.
                      A little further north some alleged "Mongols" attacked a local HA member last week...

                      Four men accused of gunning down a Hells Angels member outside an Old Town bar last week were arraigned in court Thursday afternoon on charges of attempted murder, assault with a firearm and participating in a criminal street gang.

                      At their Thursday arraignment, the suspects -- Eric Gunner Lundin, 28, Dustin Christopher Liebes, 36, Brad Lee Miller, 26, and Redding resident Eric Dean Garcia, 28 -- all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and were appointed public defenders.

                      Investigators in the case have speculated the shooting may have resulted from a rivalry between two biker gangs: The Hells Angels and the Mongols.

                      Eureka Police Detective Patrick O'Neill could neither confirm nor deny the four suspects are members of the Mongols, but Thursday's charges indicate authorities do believe the shooting was gang-related.



                      Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime - Times-Standard Online

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                      • #12
                        I heard this was becoming an issue.. Maybe they can get everyone together to resolve the issue.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by ProKarateShop View Post
                          I heard this was becoming an issue.. Maybe they can get everyone together to resolve the issue.
                          yeah, maybe they can cut a "We Are The World" type album, with Sonny Barger doing the Bruce Springsteen part. The hard part would be getting MJ on it, so we might wanna go with Prince on this one.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Tokyo Kid View Post
                            yeah, maybe they can cut a "We Are The World" type album, with Sonny Barger doing the Bruce Springsteen part. The hard part would be getting MJ on it, so we might wanna go with Prince on this one.
                            lol, amusing.. but i think those guys are more "productive" in their respective businesses when there is peace

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