They started a food fight at a Hells Angels clubhouse by pelting club prospects with hors doeuvres and stayed up for days on end. You have permission to edit this article. During his five years with the club, Hardisty testified, he went from being a fast track member after a harrowing situation on a California freeway, to being part of a plot to murder his close friend and fellow Hells Angels member, to being beaten for hours during his extraction from the group, to finally becoming a government informant and now lead witness in a racketeering case being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice. The brazen act of protection prompted members of the group to pull over at the next stop and tell Hardisty he was a full fledged member. The car door was opened and someone asked Hardisty if he was coming with them, or staying with Silva. The president of the Hells Angels Motorcycle chapter in Fresno was among three Angels convicted Thursday in federal court of murdering one of . Would you like to receive our daily news? During cross-examination, defense attorneys mocked Hardistys contention that he became a trusted member of the club in such a short period of time, and got him to admit to being a heavy meth user during the time in question.
Silva, who went by the nickname Doughboy, was a frequent meth user, and Hardisty partied with him during the trip, he testified. He also admitted to lying to the FBI about crimes he committed, such as possessing guns as a felon, during the time he was supposed to be informing for them. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Low 68F. During the nearly two months of government testimony, Hardisty told a defense attorney he was (expletive) crazy during cross examination, prosecutors accused defense attorneys of trying to intimidate Hardisty by contacting a member of his family on the eve of his testimony, and the owner of a Fresno funeral home described an incident where two men, one armed, pulled up to his business in July 2014 and placed a body in the cremation oven against his will. He said that months after Silvas killing he himself was beaten to a pulp and spent weeks in the hospital with a wired jaw and other injuries.
Chance of rain 80%.. They were rowdy and rambunctious. In fact, it was Silva who told him he no longer had to cover the Hells Angels emblem on his leather vest anymore, a symbolic gesture of acceptance that solidified their friendship. And he woke up Hardisty from a nap, prompting the two of them to fight. From there, Hells Angels members allegedly with Nelsons sign-off hatched a plan to lure Silva to Fresno kill him, and make sure his body would never get discovered. Locally heavy thunderstorms during the evening will give way to mainly clear skies after midnight. Would you like to receive our daily news? But two others, a government informant and former Hells Angels prospect named Steve Verhagen, and a former Sonoma charter member who was allegedly beaten out of the group also took the witness stand to offer a rare perspective of the inner workings of the secretive biker club. Register for online access, Witnesses describe riding with the Hells Angels; alleged murder plot at Laconia Bike Week 2014. Create a password that only you will remember. SAN FRANCISCO In 2010, then-Antioch, Calif. resident Joseph Hardisty joined the Hells Angels Richmond chapter after traveling to the Bay Area in search of brotherhood and purpose. Choose wisely! Wendt was furious when he heard about Silvas death threat, Hardisty testified. Winds light and variable. Looking back, he said the group consumed his life. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The alleged murder plot came to a head during Laconia Bike Week 2014, a major event for motorcycle enthusiasts in New Hampshire, where Hardisty said he and a contingency of other Hells Angels members from California, including Silva, travelled for the eight-day celebration.
I told them I couldnt do this anymore and they told me, Good youre (expletive) up too much so this is good for both of us,' Hardisty testified. I took it really serious. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. But on June 2014, in light of everything that had just happened, Hardisty said he left Silva behind. Invalid password or account does not exist. We won't share it with anyone else. Verhagen spoke about meeting a prominent Hells Angel named Ray Foakes in prison and positioning himself to be a member when he was released from San Quentin.
Low 68F. Then they beat him for hours, covered his tattoo, and took back his motorcycle and other club property, he said. It has been a dramatic trial that is scheduled to wrap up and be handed to a jury on Wednesday. For me there was a lot of turmoil there because half of my day was as an FBI informant and half was a (Hells Angels) prospect, he testified. I woke up to be a Hells Angel, I didnt wake up to go to work. Prosecutors contend that was Silva.
The reason you feel bad is that youve come in and made up a bunch of stuff about these guys, correct? Gohel said, as prosecutors loudly objected.
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Jai Gohel, an attorney representing Nelson, also recounted Hardisty commenting that he felt bad about testifying. At the same time, he agreed to become an FBI informant to make a gun charge go away, which he said caused an identity crisis in his life. Fresno Hells Angels president convicted of murdering another Angels member, racketeering, too, WaPo Analysis: A guide to the biggest moments in the Jan. 6 hearings so far, Secret Service tells House it's still seeking lost Jan. 6 texts, Hanover police arrest man with gun in library, allegedly making threats, South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh pleads not guilty to murdering wife, son, Police: Somersworth man convicted of bomb possession planned to use them against cops, Brothers accused of illegally storing asbestos, carcinogenic materials in apartments marketed to students, Names of six officers who fired weapons during deadly standoff in Manchester released, Chain-wielding man charged with assaulting Manchester police, Man arrested in Manchester shooting over the weekend, Pagans motorcycle gang shootout victim allegedly fired first at members of rival club, High speed state police chase ends in Manchester, Two Mass. Winds light and variable. Hardisty is perhaps the most important witnesses out of more than a dozen people called to testify by the federal government in April and May, in the trial of three Hells Angels members Jonathan Jon Jon Nelson, Brian Wendt, and Russell Rusty Ott who are all accused of being part of a conspiracy to murder a man named Joel Silva, a sergeant-at-arms of the outlaw biker club who seemingly dropped off the face of the earth in May 2014. He said that like Silva, his behavior was becoming so erratic the club wanted to disassociate with him and that he suspected hed meet a similar end. men arrested for gun shop burglaries, Winchester man was killed days before body found, autopsy finds, Another 12 arrested in alleged UNH fraternity hazing incident. Chance of rain 80%. Hardisty was supposed to travel back with Silva, but instead he says he was given a clear choice with major implications: Wendt and a group of others got into a car to head out to the airport together. But during their part of the trial, defense attorneys called a witness Hardistys own ex-girlfriend who testified that he confided in her that he killed Silva, which Hardisty denied on the witness stand. Four years earlier, Hardisty said he took a shot at a rival biker club member on a Southern California freeway during a Hells Angels run. He was accused of murdering a Fresno Hells Angel, someone left a voice mail of the Queen song Another One Bites the Dust on his phone, and he was being asked to report to the very same clubhouse where he says Silva was killed, so he went to a Richmond charter meeting and said he was done with the club. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Youre (expletive) crazy, Hardisty replied. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Signup today! But Silva took it too far; he threatened another Hells Angel named Sweeney, who happened to be close friends with the Boston/Salem charter president, Christopher Rain Man Ranieri.
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Hardisty said he became a witness after being arrested for an assault in Marin County. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. It wasnt the right choice and it wasnt a good choice to stay with Doughboy, even though we were friendsHe wasnt being a good Hells Angel at the time, I chose to go with the stronger group, Hardisty testified.
Verhagens testimony focused not on the alleged murder plot, but overarching evidence that prosecutors hope will convince jurors that the Sonoma Hells Angels operated as a criminal enterprise. They also gave jurors a reason not to believe Verhagen: He admitted to being a skilled liar, and after becoming an FBI informant he was arrested and convicted of a statutory rape charge involving a teen girl. As long as I was at a house, somewhere to lay my head, and I had my patch and I could do what I wanted, that was always first to me, Hardisty said on a witness stand last month. Hardisty said Wendt later joked about how he shot Silva in the back of the head after telling him he was gifting him marijuana stashed in a cubby at the Fresno clubhouse.