A 1984 Tribute to the new Evolution Platform
By Bandit and Zeke
Zeke, the constantly moving outlaw rode a rigid framed Shovelhead for years starting in 1979, when he slipped out of prison for the first time. He sold his chopped ’74 Superglide in ’75 to help support his family, while he was shipped off to prison.
In ’79 the man cut him out of some dank, concrete penitentiary on a windy spring morning and his first thoughts included sex and building a chopper quick.
from https://www.dcourier.com
ZANESVILLE, Ohio — A 20-year-old Prescott man was sentenced to four years in prison after leading officers on a high-speed chase through two counties in Ohio last week.
Andrew Johansen was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to three felony counts.
According to prosecutors, some time before Dec. 11 Johansen answered an ad for a motorcycle for sale in Canton, Ohio. He asked to test drive the motorcycle and drove away with the bike.
On Dec. 11, an officer tried to stop a silver Honda motorcycle on I-70 in Cambridge, Ohio. The driver, later identified as Johansen, refused to comply and sped away, reaching speeds of up to 130 miles per hour.
After leading officers and state troopers on a high-speed chase that continued on and off the interstate and through heavy traffic, Johansen eventually lost control of the motorcycle and was taken into custody, police said.
In a statement to media, Ohio State Patrol said they suspected the cold weather affected Johansen’s ability to control the bike. According to the statement, Johansen’s first words to law enforcement were, “I’m cold.” Officers on the scene noted that Johansen was shivering and displayed symptoms of hypothermia at the time of his arrest.
According to Arizona court records, Johansen has a criminal history in Arizona. Since 2017, he has been charged with unlawful flight from pursuing law enforcement, fraudulent schemes and artifices, shoplifting, trafficking in stolen property, failure to appear in court and possession or use of drug paraphernalia. The past charges were filed in Prescott Valley and Yavapai County.
Due to a recent conviction and probation status in Arizona, Johansen agreed to waive his investigation and move to sentencing. He was sentenced to four years for failure to comply, receiving stolen property and obstructing official business.
According to a report by the Zanesville Times Recorder, Johansen apologized to the court and his family at his sentencing hearing.
“I’ve hit rock bottom and I have a long road ahead of me in incarceration,” Johansen said. “I hope to use it to my benefit.”
STURGIS, S.D. — Law enforcement agencies in Meade and Pennington counties are hiring more officers, temporarily opening a second jail and keeping a courthouse open seven days a week for the Sturgis motorcycle rally and the hundreds of thousands of free-wheeling visitors it will attract over the next several days.
“We’re already busy,” Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater said before the rally officially began Friday, Aug. 2.
VanDewater wouldn’t say how many temporary officers he hires but said they come from South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota and other neighboring states. Some are working the rally for the first time while others, like one officer who is returning for his 41st rally, are repeat visitors.
Permanent officers will continue to work 12-hour shifts with no days off during the 10-day event, VanDewater said.
Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin also hires temporary deputies, mostly relying on the office’s own reserve deputies and officers with Game, Fish & Parks. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office hired eight deputies from South Dakota and neighboring states and will also have about 10 of its reserve deputies working full-time, said Chief Deputy Willie Whelchel.
The eight temporary deputies are assigned to two-person foot patrols in the office’s contract communities of Wall, New Underwood, Keystone and Hill City, Whelchel said.
The Rapid City Police Department didn’t hire extra staff and isn’t requiring its officers to work overtime as they have in past years, said Captain James Johns.
During the rally, the Meade County court remains open during the weekends and the old jail — located in the basement of the courthouse across the parking lot from the new jail — is reopened, Merwin said. Extra staff from the area is hired to help the corrections officers, but they don’t carry handcuffs or weapons.
The old jail has large group cells made of “old iron bars” and “doors that clang and bang” that hold about 25 people, Merwin said. When people are arrested, they’re first brought to the old jail to be booked and detained until their court date the next morning. Guards take away their belts and shoes for safety reasons, but let them wear their street clothes. If defendants can’t make bond, they’re moved to the new jail.
“Every day, we clean out the old jail and get ready for a new batch,” Merwin said. “It is quite a procedure. It’s been working for years and everybody is pretty conscientious about everybody’s rights, and we try not to do anything different than we do any other time of the year.”
The Pennington County court functions as normal during the rally and while no extra jail staff is hired, workers aren’t allowed to take vacation or do any special training, Whelchel said.
Enforcement priorities
“You name it, we have it here,” VanDewater said about the crimes he sees during the rally.
But he said the most common issues Sturgis police officers deal with are people parking where they’re not allowed to, followed by drunken driving and drug use.
Cars and motorcycles illegally parked in alleys, handicap spots and other off-limits areas are ticketed and towed to impound lots, the police chief said. “If we just leave them there, we’re not fixing the problem.”
“We allow officer discretion. We just ask that the issue is addressed,” VanDewater said when asked if his officers have to let some violations slide since they’re so busy. “We give more verbal warnings than we do citations.”
VanDewater said officers may give warnings to people urinating in public, carrying open alcohol containers and breaking traffic rules by speeding or not wearing a seat belt. But anyone charged with violent crimes or DUIs will be arrested.
“They will go to jail, and we don’t need them hurting themselves or especially someone else,” he said of drunken drivers.
James said most of the Sturgis activity in Pennington County takes place outside city limits, on the highways, and in Wall and the Mount Rushmore areas. Rapid City officers are mostly focused on road safety and noted some popular stores and venues, such as the Harley-Davidson dealership in Rapid City, provide their own security. He said the department’s goal is to make sure things go smoothly and seem normal for those who work and live in Rapid City.
Pennington County deputies focus on traffic safety and stopping drunken drivers as they prepare for six or seven major motorcycle rides that cross through the county, Whelchel said. Deputies make sure they’re visible and stationed around the county so they can quickly respond to emergencies.
“We want to be able to save lives. That’s our goal every day we come to work,” he said.
Whelchel and James agreed that it’s important to distinguish between those who are recklessly breaking traffic laws and those who may make a mistake because they’re tourists who aren’t familiar with the area.
“We got to help educate folks and guide them,” Whelchel said.
James and VanDewater said they’re not worried about how the rally will be impacted by South Dakota’s new law that says permits aren’t needed to carry a concealed weapon. They said officers are already trained to act as if anyone could be armed.
Prosecutors drop all charges in deadly Waco biker shootout case that left nine dead, 20 injured and 177 arrested
No one will be convicted for the 2015 shootout between rival biker gangs in Waco restaurant parking lot that left nine people dead and at least 20 injured, prosecutors in Texas said Tuesday.
In a statement announcing all charges will be dropped in the deadliest biker shooting in U.S. history, McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson said any further effort to prosecute the case would be a ‘waste of time, effort and resources.’
‘In my opinion, had this action been taken in a timely manner, it would have, and should have, resulted in numerous convictions and prison sentences against many of those who participated in the Twin Peaks brawl,’ Johnson said.
‘Over the next three years the prior district attorney failed to take that action, for reasons that I do not know to this day.’
The shooting outside a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco on May 17, 2015, involved rival biker gangs, the Bandidos and Cossacks, and occurred as bikers from various groups were gathering to talk over matters of concern.
Fights and gunfire broke out. Waco police officers monitoring the gathering also fired on the bikers, killing at least two.
Surveillance footage showed many bikers running from the scene and ducking for cover after gunshots rang out.
A smaller number could be seen pointing and firing weapons, slinging a chain or participating in fistfights.
Law enforcement officers recovered dozens of firearms, knives and other weapons from the restaurant and adjacent parking lot, many of which officers organized indiscriminately into piles on the pavement and in the back of a police vehicle, dash-cam video showed.
Law enforcement officials took the extraordinary step of arresting 177 bikers after the shooting, then charged 155 of them with engaging in organized criminal activity. Many were held on a $1 million bond.
Former District Attorney Abel Reyna ultimately dropped charges against all but 24 and re-indicted them on riot charges. Those were the cases that came to an end Tuesday.
Only one case was prosecuted in court and that ended in a mistrial.
More than 100 bikers have filed civil rights lawsuits alleging McLennan County, the city and others violated the plaintiffs’ civil rights by arresting them without probable cause after the shooting,
‘It’s a travesty that so many people were rounded up and then investigated, instead of vice versa,’ Mark Snodgrass, president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said Tuesday. ‘A lot of these people’s lives were put on hold for four years.’
In a statement, Reyna said he disagrees ‘with the overall result as well as several statements and accusations within Mr. Johnson’s press release; however, it is solely his decision on how to proceed with any case in the District Attorney’s Office.’
Americans have always believed in the power of redemption ‑‑ that those who have fallen can work toward brighter days ahead. Almost all of the more than two million people in America’s prisons will one day return to their communities. In each case, they will have served their sentence and earned the chance to take their places back in society. During Second Chance Month, we draw attention to the challenges that former inmates face and the steps we can take to ensure they have the opportunity to become contributing members of society.
Inmates are often eager to leave behind the challenges presented by incarceration. Too often, however, they find the transition to life outside of prison to be daunting. If they are not able to find jobs and housing and rebuild relationships with family and friends, they may find it harder to escape the cycle of reoffending. Sadly, 5 out of 6 State prisoners are rearrested within 9 years of their release, and more than a third of former Federal prisoners will be rearrested within 5 years of their release. In addition to the harm caused to the victims of crime, these high recidivism rates place a significant financial burden on taxpayers, deprive our labor force of productive workers, and leave families without spouses, children, and parents.
My Administration is committed to helping former prisoners reenter society as productive, law‑abiding citizens. For this reason, I signed into law the bipartisan FIRST STEP Act. This new legislation makes several positive reforms to increase the likelihood of successful prisoner reentry. The legislation provides improved opportunities for inmates to engage in educational coursework and vocational training, and establishes pilot mentorship programs. It also allows prisoners who successfully complete evidence‑based recidivism reduction programs to earn time credits to apply toward prerelease custody or supervised release, reducing their time in prison. Because maintaining family and community ties is key to a successful reentry into society, the bill includes provisions that allow inmates to be placed in facilities closer to their home communities, facilitating family visitation during their time of incarceration. Finally, the law makes adjustments to sentencing rules that will make our criminal justice system more fair, reducing penalties for certain drug offenders.
This month, we celebrate those who have exited the prison system and successfully reentered society and renew our commitment to providing support and resources that former inmates need to meet their responsibilities, rediscover their self‑worth, and benefit from the gift of a second chance. We also express our sincere gratitude to all those who play a significant role in helping reduce recidivism, including faith‑based and community organizations and employers willing to hire workers notwithstanding a criminal history. By reducing recidivism and putting former inmates on the path to success, we can reduce crime and enhance the safety of our communities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2019 as Second Chance Month. I call on all Americans to commemorate this month with events and activities that raise public awareness about preventing crime and providing those who have completed their sentences an opportunity for an honest second chance.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.
DONALD J. TRUMP
NEWS AT https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-second-chance-month-2019/
‘Taco’ Bowman was president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Harry Joseph “Taco” Bowman, the former president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club who was on the FBI’s top ten most wanted fugitive’s list, will have his funeral on Saturday at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
Bowman’s funeral is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. A procession from the fairgrounds to Bear Creek Cemetery on North Union Road in Madison Twp. will begin at 12 p.m.
Sheriff’s Deputies will be shutting down North Union Road to Hoover Avenue in Trotwood for the funeral.
Additionally, deputies will also partially close down Infirmary Road from the Montgomery County fairgrounds to SR-35 for the procession.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said officers are not expecting any safety issues but given the size of the crowd and the reputation of the group, they do have contingency plans in place.
“There’s always concerns when you have get large groups of people who have been known to be violent. They do not try to hide that fact,” Streck said. “(But) We don’t have any chatter of suspected violence, we don’t have any indications that other clubs are going to try and cause trouble at the event.”
Bowman, who was serviving a life sentence in federal prison, died on Sunday at the Federal Medical Center in North Carolina. He was 69 years old.
According to the Detroit News, Bowman was considered one of the most infamous motorcycle gang leaders in U.S. history. The Outlaws were rivals to the Hell’s Angels.
Bowman was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List in 1998, interrupting what had been a relatively low profile kept by Bowman while serving as leader of the Outlaws.
In 2001, he was convicted in a Federal court in Florida of the murders of several rival gang members, firebombings, racketeering and conspiracy among other charges. He was sentenced to two life sentences plus 83 years.
Bowman had a long-running feud with Hell’s Angels leader Sonny Barger over which gang was superior.
Several members of the Outlaws were previously interned at Bear Creek Cemetery.
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