Police say all members of a chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club have been arrested in California as part of a street gang crime investigation and face kidnapping, robbery and assault charges.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office announced that a Bakersfield chapter of an “outlaw motorcycle gang” was taken into custody Tuesday as a result of a joint investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the California Highway Patrol.
“More than 150 officers seized approximately 25 firearms, ammunition, multiple high-capacity magazines and gang paraphernalia,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Police released images of firearms, including several rifles, laid out on a table along with patches, jackets and other clothing.
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Firearms and other items seized by police during arrests of the Hells Angels chapter in Bakersfield, California. (Kern County Sheriff’s Office)
Arrested were Ricardo Alvarez, 42, Armando Villasenor, 55, Joseph Soto Sr., 57, Joseph Soto Jr., 33, Joshua Zavala, 31, and John Seeger, 57, all of Bakersfield.
A seventh suspect connected to the investigation, 37-year-old Joshua Vaughn, was already in custody on other charges, and “eight search warrants were executed at various locations throughout Bakersfield,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
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More than 150 law enforcement officers were involved in the investigation, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. (Kern County Sheriff’s Office)
“Alvarez, Villasenor, Soto Sr., Soto Jr. and Zavala are active, patch-wearing members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Bakersfield Chapter,” police added. “Vaughn and Seeger are members of the Sons of Hell Motorcycle Club. This subordinate motorcycle club receives orders and directions from the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.”
According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Hells Angels members are now facing charges including kidnapping and robbery. (Kern County Sheriff’s Office)
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All seven suspects now face charges of kidnapping, first-degree robbery, criminal threats, false imprisonment, assault with a firearm, participating in a criminal street gang, criminal conspiracy, witness or victim intimidation and elder abuse, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
