The Investigation is Ongoing
Hey,
I wrote my first book around a stolen motorcycle called Prize Possession. It was about my bike being stolen from the Easyriders magazine offices in Agoura Hills.
Recently, we thought about writing a series about stolen motorcycles. Readers started to send me news clippings about motorcycle thieves.
The stories keep coming. So, we decided to create an archive of Stolen motorcycle stories.
Ride Fast and Free Forever,
— Bandit
by Caitlin O’Kane from https://www.cbsnews.com
South Dakota authorities on Sunday reported the first haul of crashes, arrests and citations from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the western part of the state. The annual rally started on Friday, drawing thousands of maskless riders to the streets and bars of Sturgis.
While organizers have said they expect fewer visitors than in other years, the Argus Leader reports the number of arrests and citations have increased from last year.
The Department of Public Safety reported that police made 84 arrests for driving under the influence or drug-related offenses during a 24-hour period spanning from Saturday into Sunday morning. That’s up from last year, when 76 people had been arrested in a similar time frame.
Police have also issued more citations, with 226 people getting tickets. The figure is 37 more than last year. But it appears police are less lenient this year and are letting fewer people off with warnings.
So far, police in the region have reported 18 crashes, which is down from last year’s mark of 20. None have been fatal.
Shrugging off the five million coronavirus cases now tallied in the U.S., thousands of motorcyclists converged this weekend in Sturgis for what is billed as the biggest cycle gathering in the world.
“I’ve been here since the beginning of July,” one person in Sturgis told CBS News. “People are tired of being at home, you know. This is what this rally started about is freedom.”
In June, city officials decided in an eight to one vote to go ahead with the rally, CBS affiliate KELO reports. In an email to CBS News, the City of Sturgis Public Information Officer Christina Steele said the “decision to hold the Rally came after hearing from thousands of attendees that they were coming to the event, even if it was canceled by the City of Sturgis.”
In past years, the 10-day rally in the town of Sturgis has drawn hundreds of thousands of bikers to socialize, drink and party together — raising fears among some locals that this year’s version could be a superspreader event.
For now, the north-central state is far from the hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic — Meade County, where Sturgis is located, has registered only one virus death, according to state health officials. But in the last two weeks, South Dakota has recorded an increase in the percent of virus tests coming back positive — and former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told “Face The Nation” that a second wave may be harder to control.
“This has become so pervasive across the country that it could start to infect more rural communities that have largely been untouched to date,” he said.
Some of the bikers pouring into the area are coming from distant states far more afflicted.
South Dakota, site of the famed massive sculpture of four former presidents on Mount Rushmore — where President Donald Trump held a rally last month — is one of the few to have never ordered a lockdown or insisted on mask-wearing.
Attendees in Sturgis are being encouraged, but not required, to wear masks. Few appeared to be doing so.
So far, as the town’s Main Street fills with bikes and bars fill with bikers, there is scant evidence of social distancing. Visitors to this 80th edition of the cycle rally already greatly outnumber the 6,000 residents of Sturgis, wedged into the South Dakota hills.
The rally has long been a huge economic boon to Sturgis, and vendors were taking full advantage of it on Sunday.
They peddled T-shirts marked “I survived corona” or “God, guns and Trump” or bearing a photomontage of the president wearing a leather jacket and making an obscene gesture.
While some locals worried about the two-wheeled invaders, the state’s governor warmly embraced them.
“We’re excited for visitors to see what our great state has to offer!” tweeted Kristi Noem, a Republican and strong Trump supporter.
by Colleen Lewis from http://ntv.ca/
Eight people have been charged with trafficking cocaine as a result of an RCMP investigation into outlaw motorcycle gangs called Project Barbarian.
Six of those charged are members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, also known as the Outlaws MC, or members of its support club the Fallen Few. Project Barbarian was a joint initiative between RCMP NL’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit and the Grand-Falls Windsor RCMP. The RCMP Emergency Response Team assisted in the arrests and containment of the Outlaws MC clubhouse* located in Grand Falls-Windsor.
“Project Barbarian reflects our priority to disrupt inter-provincial criminal networks responsible for the distribution of illegal drugs in our communities,” said Staff Sergeant Stefan Thoms. “Much of the drugs on our streets are due to organized crime, which includes 1% Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. These gangs often try to fool the public into believing that they are just motorcycle enthusiasts who give back to the community. That is simply not true. They are known for criminal activities, as we see here with many of those arrested being members and associates of the Outlaws MC. We will continue our work to target drug trafficking networks and lay charges wherever appropriate.
Charges laid:
The investigation included a search of the Outlaws MC clubhouse in Grand Falls-Windsor. Multiple items were seized:
BACKGROUNDER
Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Terms
1%er: An outlaw motorcycle gang member who wears a diamond shaped patch, pin or tattoo with 1% in the center, signifying that the wearer is an outlaw biker and someone who refuses to conform to the norms and laws of society.
Clubhouse: The regular meeting space for the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, also known as a bunker.
Colours: The official uniform of all Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, consisting of a sleeveless leather or denim jacket with the club logo on the back and various other patches and pins attached to the front.
Full Patch: This refers to a three-piece patch on the back of the biker vest, including a top rocker, the club symbol in the centre and a bottom rocker. The top rocker will include the name of the club, and the bottom rocker will be the area/region/or city to which the club is associated.
MC: Motorcycle Club
Probate or Probationary: The applicant or probationary period to join the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.
Rocker: A gang patch of a Outlaw Motorcycle Gang member`s vest, denoting club status or affiliations.
Support Club: A subordinate gang that receives orders and acts under the direction of a dominant gang. A support club is often a labour pool for the stronger gang.
Support Gear: Clothing, jackets, jewellery and other items that display the colours and logo of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and are typically sold by the club.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – Federal prosecutors have indicted 17 people with ties to a motorcycle club on charges alleging that they operated a drug ring in Indiana and Kentucky.
The indictments announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler allege that some of defendants are members of the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club or associates of that Evansville group.
Prosecutors said they believe Evansville residents Gary Wayne Forston, 39, and Jason Wilson, 42, were the ringleaders of a drug operation that allegedly distributed methamphetamine in Evansville and nearby communities.
Forston is the Grim Reapers’ president and was previously indicted on weapons charges after a November raid on the club.
Minkler said officials had seized 23 guns, $35,000 in cash and 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of meth that has an estimated street value of more than $250,000.
Most of the defendants were allegedly mid-level distributors who are accused of selling drugs to lower-level drug dealers or directly to users, the Evansville Courier & Press reported.
The indictments are the culmination of a six-month, multi-agency investigation which included federal, state and local law enforcement.
Minkler said his office will consider pursuing forfeiture of the Grim Reapers’ headquarters.
“What we don’t want is the Grim Reapers to come back and relocate in that clubhouse and start doing business again,” he said.
by Rachel Riga from https://www.abc.net.au/
Queensland police say they have targeted several outlaw motorcycle gangs linked to “substantial trafficking of drugs” and organised crime during a series of raids across the Gold Coast.
Officers executed 15 search warrants at properties from Coolangatta to Yatala for offences involving drugs, weapons, fraud and money laundering.
The operation involved more than 110 police from the State Crime Command-Organised Crime Gangs Group, the Gold Coast District, Australian Federal Police and other external agencies as part of Operation Romeo Ionic.
Detective Superintendent Roger Lowe said eight people had been charged with 22 offences.
“Our investigations are centred on this criminal syndicate which operates across South East Queensland into northern New South Wales and their alleged involvement in trafficking dangerous drugs, rebirthing of vehicles, substantial fraud and other serious crimes,” he said.
Weapons, including a handgun and a rifle, various quantities of drugs, and phones were seized during the searches.
“They’re really governed by greed and their involvement in normally illicit drugs and weapons, unlawful trafficking, so it’s not uncommon to see these gangs cross over and do business with each other and particularly even on an international scope.”
A 33-year-old Southport man, alleged to be a member of the Lone Wolf motorcycle gang, is among those in custody.
He is due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday on weapons and drug trafficking charges, and a 28-year-old man from Redland Bay, allegedly a member of the Mongols, is due to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court.
The police operation was launched last year and investigations are still underway.
21 September 2019, Bavaria, Munich: “NO E-Scooter” is on a sign on the way to the Oktoberfest, next to it there are E-Scooters parked. The largest folk festival in the world lasts until 6 October.
by Zac Palmer from https://www.autoblog.com
Drinking and riding carries the same penalty as drunk driving
Oktoberfest just wrapped up in Munich, and surprisingly, there’s some pretty alarming transportation-related news coming from it. Ride-sharing scooters and drunk party-goers don’t make for a good combination, but that’s exactly what German police had to fend with throughout the 16-day-long event.
According to German news outlet Deutsche Welle, and picked up by The Drive, local police say they caught 414 people riding scooters while under the influence. Of those, 254 riders had their driver’s licenses revoked on the spot. Germany treats scooters the same as cars, so there are serious consequences for not following the rules of the road — similar to America, there are repercussions for drunk driving. What remains unreported is how many accidents or injuries occurred as a result of all the drunk scootering.
German police were on high alert when it came to the scooters, as they were just unleashed on the public in June this year. The numbers are slightly better for folks who were driving an actual car in the city of Munich during the festival. Police found 315 drunk drivers and forced 215 of those to give up their licenses immediately.
Millions from all over the globe attend Oktoberfest every year. Beer is consumed in copious amounts in massive beer glasses known as steins — the only size of beer served in the beer tents amounts to 33.8 ounces. Drinking tasty German beer and singing all day may have given some folks a little too much confidence to pilot an E-scooter home rather than walking like the rest of the crowd. Police did a great job of keeping the scooters from entering onto the Oktoberfest grounds, banning their use during the festival itself.
We’ll leave you with a few fairly obvious words of advice: Don’t drink and scoot at the same time. Traveling at the pace of a brisk jog is not worth losing your driver’s license.
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