Anti-gang law eyed in biker case

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. – A prosecutor says he will use an anti-gang statute in prosecuting six New England members of the Hells Angels, including one from Maine, who are accused of beating a group of rivals.

The bikers are accused in a July 29 attack on members of the rival Bandidos in the parking lot of the Gingerbread Antiques building in Eureka Springs. The six Hells Angels are charged with four counts each of first-degree battery and one count apiece of aggravated rioting.

Police said the Hells Angels used knives and a baseball bat in the ambush of the four Bandidos.

Eureka Springs lawyer Tim Parker is representing the accused Hells Angels and said he will enter innocent pleas for his clients. He also said the bikers are not gang members – they’re members of a motorcycle club.

“I don’t know what evidence the prosecution holds,” Parker said. “Once I have all that assimilated, then I’ll be prepared to better prepare the defense.”

Officials say between 300 and 400 Hells Angels from around the country were in Eureka Springs as part of a summertime run.

The state’s anti-gang law says enhanced penalties are available when a defendant is convicted of committing a violent crime with two or more other people.

Three of the Hells Angels posted $50,000 bond – Jason David Gallo, 36, Eric Claudio Franco, 32, and Christopher Michael Sweeney, 37, all of Massachusetts. They were released Wednesday, and Parker said they’ve gone home.

Three others remain in the Carroll County Jail – Robert Thomas Reynolds, 37, Manny R. Monteiro, 32, and Derek Jeffrey Roy, 21. Reynolds is from New Hampshire, Monteiro is from Massachusetts, and Roy is from Maine.

The injured Bandidos were all from Texas.

The run began without trouble, with police working to keep the Bandidos and Hells Angels separated. Authorities said most of the Hells Angels already had left when the fight broke out.

The FBI classifies the Bandidos and Hells Angels as outlaw motorcycle gangs. Rogers said there is “some information sharing” with federal authorities, but the charges are being pursued much like any other battery case. Federal authorities say the biker gangs are responsible for violent crimes and drug trafficking.