Bakersfield Hells Angels held man at gunpoint, blinded him in right eye during robberies: docs
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The Hells Angels claim all they did was remove property belonging to them.
Authorities call it robbery and assault.
And they have a possible motive — retaliation against a former member who was kicked out of the biker gang.
All members of Hells Angels Bakersfield arrested: KCSO
According to sheriff’s reports, members of the Bakersfield chapter of the Hells Angels went to their former clubhouse — they moved to a new location about a year ago — five times from March 1 to April 11.
The removed Hells Angels member was in jail at the time they visited, the reports say. But they encountered an older man who now lives on the property and who tried to stop them.
On their first visit, a member of the gang punched the man then held a .357-caliber handgun to his head, the reports say.
On the final visit, one of the gang members — angry upon finding a signed Willie Nelson guitar he believed the man had hidden — punched and blinded him — at least temporarily — in his right eye, according to the reports filed in Superior Court.
The entire Bakersfield chapter of the Hells Angels was arrested and charged with robbery, assault with a gun, false imprisonment of an elder or dependent adult and gang participation.
Those arrested were Ricardo Alvarez, 42, Armando Villasenor, 55, Joseph Soto Sr., 57, Joseph Soto Jr., 33, Joshua Zavala, 31, and John Seeger, 57. A seventh suspect, Joshua Vaughn, 37, was already in custody.
Alvarez, Villasenor, the Sotos and Zavala are patched members of the gang, officials say, while Vaughn and Seeger belong to the Sons of Hell Motorcycle Cub — which takes orders from the Hells Angels.
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Court hearings for Alvarez, Villasenor, Zavala and Vaughn are scheduled later this month. The Sotos and Seeger are due back in court in August.
Alvarez is identified in the documents as president of the Bakersfield chapter, and Villasenor as vice president.
Held at gunpoint and assaulted
The older man — the reports say he’s around 70 — living at the former clubhouse property told investigators Alvarez, Villasenor, Zavala and Vaughn first showed up on March 1. Alvarez told him they were they to collect “club stuff.” He told him to open the gate.
Apparently the man didn’t cooperate — the redactions in this portion of the report make it difficult at times to determine what happened — because Alvarez allegedly jumped the fence, punched him then put a gun to his head and cocked the hammer.
Believing he’d be killed if he didn’t do what the gang wanted, the man walked with them back to his home. Someone watched over him while armed with a “dead-blow” hammer — a mallet typically used for auto repair work — while the others removed items, he told investigators.
He said they stole numerous personal items.
Before leaving, Alvarez said, “If you call the cops or anybody, I’ll come back and (redacted) house (redacted) you in it,” the man told investigators.
The man said the gang members arrived twice more in March, then twice in April.
On one occasion, the man said, he tried to stop them from stealing a motorcycle. He said Vaughn drew a gun, chambered a round then pointed it at him. The man said he didn’t argue further.
On April 11 — the last time they showed up — Zavala found a signed Willie Nelson guitar and accused the man of hiding it. The man said Zavala punched him in the right eye, blinding him.
“To this day (May 13), (the man) cannot see out of his right eye,” the reports say.
Arrests made, guns and gang items seized
On June 25, more than 150 law enforcement officers from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served eight warrants at multiple locations in Bakersfield, making arrests and seizing items.
Vaughn was already in custody on charges of assault with a gun stemming from a separate incident.
Numerous weapons and dozens of items of gang paraphernalia — emblazoned with the gang’s distinctive “Death’s Head” logo — were seized. Among the paraphernalia were Hells Angels vests, shirts, hats, patches, beanies, skateboard, posters and a picture of founding member Sonny Barger.
Items taken from the old clubhouse were located, the reports say.
Authorities set up a command post at the Kern County Fairgrounds and questioned the suspects.
Villasenor said it had been a long time since he’d gone to the former clubhouse. He said they removed all club property months ago.
According to him, they did nothing wrong.
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“Villasenor explained ‘their property’ that was at (redacted) belonged to the Hells Angels Corporation; when a member is removed, they are to get their property back for the club,” the reports say.
The former member, whose name is redacted, “did something that did not coincide with their club,” Villasenor told investigators. (There’s a brief mention in another section of the reports of the former member doing something to track down his children, apparently angering other members).
Asked about Zavala taking the guitar, Villasenor appeared shocked, the reports say.
“Josh told you that?” he asked. He said the guitar was won in a raffle.
Villasenor said, “I don’t know if Josh said he might have went another day to get the guitar when we found out about it, but we have no reason to go in there and take anything that did not belong to the club.”
As best he could recall, the man living at the old clubhouse wasn’t injured, Villasenor told investigators. He said an attorney for the Hells Angels could provide authorities with a list of items taken and prove they belonged to the club.
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