Cops nail Mongol biker in Frisco Hells Angels slaying

This from the San Francisco Chronicle (thanks to a NorCal Crime Scene reader)

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A suspect in the slaying of the leader of the San Francisco Hells Angels chapter is now facing federal murder and weapons charges, court records show.

Christopher Ablett, 36, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to charges of murder in aid of racketeering and two gun-possession charges in the September slaying of Mark “Papa” Guardado, the head of the Hells Angels’ “Frisco” chapter.

Authorities believe Ablett shot Guardado, 46, after what police describe as a “wrestling match” outside a Mission District bar the night of Sept. 2. Witnesses told police that the killer rode away on a motorcycle; police later searched the home in Modesto where Ablett lived with his parents and his two children and seized a 2005 Harley-Davidson.

Police say Ablett is a member of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, a rival group to the Hells Angels.

Ablett killed Guardado “for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing his position in the Mongols, an enterprise engaged in racketeering,” according to an indictment handed down July 23 by a federal grand jury in San Francisco and unsealed Wednesday.

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Mongols fenced out of Lancaster meeting threaten lawsuit

This comes from the Associated Press: 

LANCASTER – The notorious Mongols biker gang has been fenced out of a Mojave Desert motel where hundreds of motorcyclists were destined for a weekend rendezvous.

City officials shut down the Desert Inn and installed chain-link fencing at the entrances Thursday to block the biker meeting in Lancaster, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

The 144-room motel has a $16,000 contract to provide weekend space and rooms for up to 300 Mongols for their annual meeting, but the city used a tax case to shut down the motel. City Manager mark Bozigian said Desert Inn owner Hui Su is past due on $180,000 in motel bed tax payments.

Mayor R. Rex Parris this week said the gang was not welcome in Lancaster because they “are engaged in domestic terrorism … and they kill our children.” He said the motel owners refused to comply when he asked them to renege on the contract.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s Capt. Axel Anderson said closing the Desert Inn helps ensure public safety, noting that the gang has been implicated in murder and drugs.

Dozens of Mongol members were indicted last year on drug trafficking, murder and other charges, and their former leader, Ruben “Doc” Cavazos, later pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge.

Mongols lawyer Albert Perez Jr. said a lawsuit is planned over the motel contract dispute. He said up to 800 people, including members from 10 states and their families, were expected to attend the event.

“They’re upset because they’re getting a bad rap.”

Unrelated Mongol News from Aging Rebel — has some pretty interesting commentary about the recent arrest of a gang member in connection with the slaying of a Mongol last summer just outside of Pasadena.

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Toonerville crew arrested in connection with Mongol slaying

LAPD Press Release: 
On October 8, 2008, at 1:55 a.m., Manual Martin was riding his motorcycle on the eastbound 210 Freeway while transitioning to the southbound 2 Freeway in the city of Glendale.  A car pulled up next to him, and within a few seconds, the occupants fired thirteen shots. Martin was shot once in the chest and died within minutes.  Seven additional bullets hit his motorcycle.  The Glendale Police Department investigated the murder and identified the suspects as members of a local street gang.  Their investigation also revealed that the gang was responsible for other crimes.  
This from the Associated Press: 
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton says officers have arrested 19 members of one of the city’s most violent gangs. 
The arrests Thursday by Los Angeles and suburban Glendale police  were the result of a 10-month investigation of the Toonerville gang.
After a member of the Mongols motorcycle gang was gunned down on Interstate 210 last
October, Glendale police used a wiretap and discovered key evidence that led to the arrests.
Police say four murder suspects, four attempted-murder or assault suspects and 12 drug
suspects were arrested in the early morning raid. Police found 48 guns in one house and 63 guns in all.
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Mongols gang leader Doc Cavazos cops a guilty plea

We’ve been following several sealed motions in this case via the Federal court’s PACER system. It appeared as if West Covina resident Doc Cavazos entered into a plea deal with the feds and now the Associated Press is reporting that he’s looking at 20 years in prison:

LOS ANGELES  — The former national president of the notorious Mongols
motorcycle gang has pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge in a case that
accused other members of murder, drug trafficking and violent attacks.

Prosecutors revealed January’s guilty plea by Ruben “Doc” Cavazos in court papers filed on June 29. He could face up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

A phone message left with Cavazos’ attorney Angel Navarro was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Cavazos and other Mongol leaders directed members to engage in murders, extortion,
robberies and drug trafficking to “promote and further the activities of the Mongols
gang,” according to a 177-page indictment.

Among other things, prosecutors claim Cavazos was involved in negotiating with Mexican Mafia leaders over the collection of payments for drug trafficking in areas controlled by that gang and getting Mongol members to commit crimes against people who challenged the gang’s authority.

 

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Cops raid Mongols Motorcycle Club sites

SAN GABRIEL — Police seized Mongols motorcycle-gang paraphernalia Thursday during a Parole Probation Compliance Check of 40 locations in Rosemead and South San Gabriel, officials said.

The items bearing the Mongols insignia included shirts, jackets, a clock and beanies.

They where found in the home of Mauricio Montano, on the 8100 block of Blewett Street in San Gabriel, according Sgt. Mark Flores of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station.

Montano is believed to be part of a Pico Rivera chapter of the outlaw Motorcycle gang, officials said. He was taken into custody but not arrested.

“We will write up a report and start an investigation,” Flores said. “We will hand it over to the Federal Government.”

A federal judge in October barred the Mongols gang from wearing or distributing its logo. The order came one day after a nationwide federal sweep, which landed 61 Southern California Mongols members in jail.

During Thursday’s operation, police made six arrests. The charges included marijuana cultivation, possession of methamphetamine, procession of narcotics and narcotic paraphernalia and felons in possession of ammunition.

The operation included about 50 officers from the Detection Unit, Asian Gang Task Force and Special Projects Team.

The action follows a similar raid in Azusa.

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Mongols under close watch in Azusa when Pico Rivera shooting occurred

This from the “Aging Rebel” blog, which adds some context to several of the stories we’ve reported about the triple homicide in Pico Rivera Saturday night:

Last week the Azusa, California Police Department issued a “tactical alert” that the Mongols were planning a party at a restaurant on Foothill Boulevard, old Route 66, in Azusa. When the partiers arrived they were greeted by a command center and officers from the Montebello, Azusa, Glendora, Arcadia and Monrovia Police departments. The Mongols and friends were also surveilled by a Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department helicopter.


A source has alleged that ATF Case Agent John Ciccone and another well known “outlaw motorcycle gang investigator” named Chris Cervantes both attended the event with their special spy cameras. Cervantes works for the Montebello police and his hobbies include the Mongols.

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From the e-mail bag

We’re working to verify these stories now. Just thought I’d share some of the mail. First a car crash Sunday in Rowland Heights:

There was a car crash on May 17th, 2009, Sunday. My fiance was behind the car when it got hit by an suv, the car flipped over and landed in Joe’s Crab Shack. My fiance saw the car flipped upside down and he saw the passenger with their eyes open and blood everywhere. He was sure they had passed away, and has been pretty tramatized about it. I’ve been looking everywhere on the internet to see if it was reported and I havent found anything. I was wondering if you will be reporting it? or is there anywhere that they might where I can find it. I just would like to give him some peace of mind and me as well. Thank you so much šŸ™‚ It happened in Rowland heights by the Puente Hills Mall.


Next, a stabbing in Highland Park (also Sunday):

There was a stabbing in Garvanza Park near the corner ofAvenue 64 and Meridian last night (Sunday, the 17th) at approximately6 pm. The small park was full of families at that time and I believe thestabbing victim has since succumbed (based on the memorial that nowstands in the park). There was a heavy LAPD presence in the park justafter the slaying.
As I have seen no mention of this incident in the media anywhere, I thoughtI’d bring it to your attention.


Questions about the Mongols motorcycle gang:


I’ve recently become aware that they’remaking a film about William Queen’s book, “Under and Alone.”
After reading the book, I began to wonder how The Mongols got to be what they are today. I knew one of them, very briefly, 30 years ago, and he and his friends were not like the book described at all.
I read the article in the SGV Tribune and,although they weren’t boy scouts,Tony Vodnik’s description was more what I remember.
He may be able to answer some questions for me.
If you have a way I can contact him via email, and can share that info with me – or forward this to him, I’d appreciate it.


Finally, a drive-by in Rowland Heights:


I was told by a friend that there was a drive by shooting in Rowland Heights last week.
I wanted to make sure of those facts. I saw a deputy sheriff so I asked him if there was
in fact a drive by shooting in Rowland Heights. He said yes there was one.
Why isn’t there any mention of it on your site or in the Newspaper?


Care to chime in on any of these incidents?




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