Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Modesto Hells Angels VP, Secretary Indicted on Drug Charges
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 5 years ago on
September 20, 2019

Share

The federal government’s investigation into the activities of the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club yielded new indictments Thursday in Fresno.
Chapter vice president Michael Shafer, 31, of Modesto, was charged with conspiring to distribute marijuana, conspiring to distribute heroin, distribution of marijuana, and two counts of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.


Listen to this article:


According to court documents, officers found the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club World Rules, the rules for the Modesto Charter of the Hells Angels, minutes of club meetings, membership information, and membership agreements.
Chapter secretary Patrick Gonzales, 31, of Modesto, was charged with being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition.
Hells Angels member Ricky Blackwell was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and possession of a firearm after suffering a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.
U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced the indictments in a news release.

Officers Searched Hells Angels Residences

Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at the residences of Shafer and Gonzales, along with other locations.
According to court documents, at Gonzales’s residence officers found the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club World Rules and the rulebook that governs all Hells Angels Motorcycle Clubs. Officers also found the rules for the Modesto Charter of the Hells Angels, minutes of club meetings, membership information, and membership agreements.

Feds Arrested Modesto Chapter President in June

Earlier this year, Modesto Hells Angels President Randy Picchi was charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine for leading a drug conspiracy that involved his wife, Tina Picchi, Michael Mize, and Hells Angels member Michael Pack.
This latest case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service, Modesto Police Department, Turlock Police Department, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the California Highway Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Laurel Montoya are the prosecutors.

Potential Sentences for Those Charged Thursday

If convicted, Shafer faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison, and a $5,000,000 fine.
Gonzales faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Blackwell faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

DON'T MISS

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

DON'T MISS

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

DON'T MISS

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

DON'T MISS

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

UP NEXT

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

UP NEXT

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Bulldogs Stack Double-Doubles Like Burgers on a Plate to Beat Prairie View

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Fresno County Men Arrested in Armed Robbery Near Sanger High, Sanger Academy

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

UP NEXT

With or Without Lockridge, Can Bulldogs Get Out of Their Own Way to Become Bowl Eligible?

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

55 minutes ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

59 minutes ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

1 hour ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

2 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

3 hours ago

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

3 hours ago

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

3 hours ago

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

3 hours ago

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

3 hours ago

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

3 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged closer to 7% this week, climbing to its highest level since July. The rate rose to ...

1 minute ago

1 minute ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

6 minutes ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

26 minutes ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

55 minutes ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

59 minutes ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

Fresno motorcycle cop enforces the 45 mph speed limit
1 hour ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

2 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

3 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend