Entire Hells Angels chapter arrested in California, police say

The entire Bakersfield, Calif., chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was arrested as part of a kidnapping, robbery and assault investigation, authorities said Tuesday.

The arrests included five active members of the club’s Bakersfield chapter, as well as two others who are members of Sons of Hell, a motorcycle club that responds to the Bakersfield Hells Angels chapter, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Authorities seized 25 firearms, an unspecified number of rounds of ammunition and gang insignias, according to the statement, released in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The arrests occurred Tuesday morning and were the result of a joint investigation by the ATF, the sheriff’s office and the California Highway Patrol. The investigation is ongoing, the agencies said.

One of the seven suspects, John Vaughn, 37, was already in custody on “other charges,” according to the release. All suspects so far are believed to be from Bakersfield.

The remaining prisoners were identified as Ricardo Alvarez, 42; Armando Villasenor, 55; Joseph Soto Sr., 57; Joseph Soto Jr., 33; Joshua Zavala, 31; and John Seeger, 57.

Vaughn and Seeger are members of Sons of Hell, according to the release; the rest were said to be members of the Bakersfield chapter of the Hells Angels.

The suspects have not been formally charged.

The allegations that led to the arrests include kidnapping, robbery, criminal threats, false imprisonment, assault with a firearm, membership in a criminal street gang, criminal conspiracy, intimidation of a witness or victim and elder abuse, authorities said in the release. .

It was unclear whether the investigation stemmed from a single incident or a series of alleged crimes. Kern County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lori Meza said details cannot yet be revealed because the investigation is ongoing.

It is unclear whether the suspects have retained an attorney. The Kern County Public Defender’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice designates the Hells Angels, founded in the years after World War II in Fontana, California, as an outlaw motorcycle gang and criminal enterprise.

Its colorful history includes attacks by members on spectators at Altamont in 1969, the club’s love-hate relationship with the late author Hunter S. Thompson and its deadly confrontation with members of the rival Mongols in 2002 in Laughlin, Nevada.

Federal authorities allege the gang has long been involved in drug and firearms trafficking.