US charges 16 in motorcycle gang crackdown

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Federal authorities on Wednesday charged 16 members of a motorcycle gang that rivals the Hell's Angels with offenses including drug-dealing, illegal gun sales and engaging in violent acts.

Eleven of the 16 alleged members and former associates of the American Outlaws Association, also known as the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, were in custody and five were still at large, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said.

The 18-count indictment "alleges that the defendants committed, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence to protect and expand the gang's criminal operations," Gonzalez said.

"Several of the defendants are charged with assaulting members of the rival Hell's Angels motorcycle Club," Gonzalez said.
"Several defendants allegedly engaged in the sale of drugs including methamphetamines, marijuana, hashish and cocaine, while others are charged with offenses related to illegally possessing or selling firearms."

Among those listed in the indictment were members and associates David Dorris aka "Hoggs," Danny Neance aka "Milky," Robert Castillo aka "Mexican Rob," William Guinn aka "Slick," and Mark Guerra aka "Skid Mark."

Gonzalez said "the indictment paints a picture of not of a harmless group of motorcycle enthusiasts but of an international, organized and violent criminal gang."
Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms issued search warrants in Florida as well as Detroit in the northern state of Michigan.

The Justice Department described the group as "an international criminal organization whose members and associates engage in acts of violence including murder, attempted murder, assault, narcotics distribution, and firearms and gambling offenses."

Members of the Outlaws can be found in Europe, Asia and Canada, and the group has "a long-standing violent history with the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club, including assaults/batteries, shootings and fatalities."

The indictment came as part of a five-year federal, state and local crackdown on gang activity in Detroit, Michigan, the department said.
Fifteen Outlaws members were arrested last month in the northern city of Boston, Massachusetts and face drugs and weapons charges.