Posted on 08/12/2006 4:17:00 AM PDT by SLB
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) -- Biker gangs have made the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally a violence-marred affair in the past.
The rally, which draws about half a million people each August to the Black Hills in western South Dakota, has since gotten older, laid-back and more diverse.
But this year, gunshots about 75 miles away reminded attendees about the gangs. Authorities said two men affiliated with the Hells Angels shot and wounded five Outlaws Motorcycle Club members in Custer State Park earlier this week.
Suzanne Church, who has ministered to biker gang members at Sturgis since 1997, said she hopes there's no more violence.
"We hate to see people die and go to hell," she said.
The rally attracts bikers of all walks of life, who ride throughout the Black Hills, a patch of forest and valleys 100 miles long and 50 miles wide on South Dakota's western edge. Sturgis, a town of about 7,000, is on the northern edge of the Hills, while Custer State Park is in the south.
Some Hells Angels members own land near Sturgis, so the gang has a presence at every rally, said Jim Bush, Sturgis police chief. Law enforcement officers knew that hundreds of Outlaws members planned to gather at a rented southern Hills campground, Bush said.
The Outlaws are one of the nation's four largest motorcycle gangs, along with the Hells Angels, Pagans and Bandidos. The Outlaws have chapters in 20 states, Europe, Canada and Australia.
A posting on its Web site said law enforcement agencies were informed of the group's plans to attend Sturgis.
It said: "We are not going there to makes any type of statement, or display of power. We are simply going there to enjoy the Sturgis venue, see the historical sights and spend time with our Brothers."
Authorities have their own term for the gangs.
"We classify these organizations as crime syndicates," said Bernard Zapor, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in St. Paul, Minn.
The last major violence involving motorcycle gangs during the Sturgis rally was in 1990, when a Sons of Silence member shot an Outlaws gang member during a bar brawl in which two other Sons of Silence members were stabbed.
"They have not changed," Bush said of the major gangs. "They're as organized and involved in crime as they ever have been."
It was one of only a few major rally-related incidents of violence, Bush said. The only other gang arrests have been three or four members picked up for unrelated crime, he said.
"They usually get along pretty good," Bush said.
In Tuesday's shooting, Chad John Wilson, 30, of Lynnwood, Wash., and John James Midmore, 32, of Valparaiso, Ind., face five counts of attempted first-degree murder. A judge set bond Thursday at $5 million each.
One victim was still in critical condition at Rapid City Regional Hospital on Thursday. Another was in stable condition at a Sioux Falls hospital, said Sara Rabern of the South Dakota Attorney General's office.
On Main Street in Sturgis, a few people wearing Hells Angels vests and T-shirts were spotted at the 66th annual rally, which ends Sunday.
The gang runs a vendor table that sells club pins, T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items. None of three men staffing the table wanted to discuss the shooting. A worker at a tattoo shop down the street that the gang runs also refused comment.
Jim Vlahakis, state Division of Criminal Investigation director, said more than 300 Outlaws members representing 119 different chapters have been seen in the area, along with 80 to 100 Hells Angels members.
Vlahakis said authorities plan to meet with the two gangs to "try to head off any potential problems" but had not done so as of Thursday.
Officers were prepared to respond to gang violence, Bush said, adding that eventual retaliation is likely.
"It may not happen here," Bush said. "It could happen a month from now" somewhere else.
On the Net:
Outlaws: http://www.outlawsmc.com/
Hells Angels: http://www.hells-angels.com/
I just read your profile. After reading it I am confused as to how you could say things that you probably know are not true. Sure there are some bad Angels, as there are some bad ministers. The majority are not though. As I said earlier I have never been an Angel or prospected with them but I have ridden with them and partied with them and most of the ones I knew were great guys. To bunch them all together saying they are all drug-peddling crime syndicates is ridiculous.
I don't think you understand my perspective -- Musica never picked on anyone just because she could.
Most of these bullies also wasted their youth and now are aged well before their time. They are suffering physically and I hope they are in agony morally.
I remember what it was like to suffer at their hands. I find it extremely difficult not to feel satisfaction that it is they who suffer now.
I don't think you understand to whom I am poking. Aged BULLIES are getting their just desserts. NO matter what people on this thread try to say, biker gangs in their prime were criminals, cowards and bullies.
I don't understand why anyone would want to stick up for bullies and cowards. THAT is not a onservative value.
I am just talking about the ones who are bad.
If your biker gang friends are OK, good for you and for them. But I never met any that were anything less than what they seemed: bullies and cowards -- little men with big bikes hey needed to overcome their feelings of insecurity.
But if that shoe doesn't fit your crowd, bully for you.
That's not PC. It's dumb.
Have they rebuilt it since Michael Moore blew it up? ;-)
I could tell you some stories about the Outlaws. And Don McClean told us all some stories about the Hell's Angels in his song "Bye Bye Miss American Pie." They're the worst, I don't care how cool they look.
"Thank you for your positive report about our Rally. I've lived in the Black Hills for nearly forty years."
The breakfast buffet sounds great. I stopped attending the Sturgis Rally after 2002 for a lot of reasons, mostly because I had been there so many times that there was nothing new to see and I live 2100 miles away.
I suggest to everyone, bikers and otherwise, that they check out that region of the country. It is unlike any place I have ever been.
Living in New Hampshire, I am sick to death of trees, hills and rocks (and rude New York tourists). In western South Dakota, I can go from landscapes reminiscent of the grand canyon to the rockies to the desert in 90 minutes.
My favorite ride is Iron Mountain Road and the Custer Park. Having to stop to let bighorn sheep and buffalo cross the road is something you simply cannot experience in the northeast.
I recommend a trip to the Black Hills a few weeks before or after Sturgis bike week.
On the other hand, if you are a hard core biker with any brand of bike, (including the silliest of scooters) you should experience Sturgis bike week at least once. Anybody who tells you about violence or lack of civility is full of crap.
The breakfast buffet at the VFW is always fun and beers at Buck n' Gator is worth the trip.
I can tell you, the dentists drilled them....
The very best time to visit the Black Hills is after school starts. Our autumns are spectacular. "Buck 'n Gator" is interesting. We always try to take new visitors there for a bit of local flavor. Iron Mountain Road is a must. We live only about seven miles from Rushmore, so we travel it often. We have big horn sheep show up here quite often. Too many people overlook the Black Hills as a vacation destination. They have no idea what they are missing.
Thank God, they are nearing 60! Let's be honest; Harleys are for old rich white men and their fat-assed wives....
But I never met any that were anything less than what they seemed: bullies and cowards
I am still waiting to find out who the Angels are that you know, other than the ones you have seen in the movies. Which ones are the cowards? What makes them cowards? Who are the bullies, what (other than in the movies again) have you ever seen that makes them bullies. You are big on talk, but that is about all.
...and now you have the 'urban bikers' that are causing the same sort of problems for sportbikers.
They wear their 'colors'; in this case red and blue for the ol' Crips/Bloods; if they are Hispanic then its the Nortenos and Sudenos.
They are infilitrating everything. Just try and sit through an episode of "Superbikes" on SPEED TV. It makes me sick.
sever "go fast" addictions
Part of John D's problem could be where he's from. JohnD if you are in California, then you would know that there have been decades of problems with the Hells Angels. Free was talking about actual cases that went to trial in Mendocino County.
Read this from CNN (yes Commie News Network):
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/03/hells.angels.raids/index.html
"The gang is believed to be involved in a variety of criminal activities, including the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, firearms and explosives trafficking, extortion, and motorcycle theft," the statement said.
This from the DEA:
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/sanfran042106a.html
gangs are gay.
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