Whole group of Hells Angels from Bakersfield arrested

June 26 (UPI) – California authorities have arrested the entire Bakersfield branch of the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle gang on various charges, including kidnapping.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office, north of Los Angeles, announced the police action in a statement, saying that six members of the gang were arrested Tuesday morning and a seventh member was already in police custody.

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Little was disclosed about the reason for the arrests, but the bureau said the arrests followed a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol.

The alleged gang members are accused of kidnapping, aggravated robbery, criminal threats, false imprisonment, assault with a firearm, criminal conspiracy and other crimes.

During the execution of eight search warrants throughout Bakersfield on Tuesday, around 25 firearms, ammunition, several high-capacity magazines and gang-related paraphernalia were seized, it said.

The sheriff’s office identified the suspects as Rocardo Alvarez, 42, Armando Villasenor, 55, Joseph Soto Sr., 57, Joseph Soto Jr., 33, Joshua Zavala, 31, John Seeger, 57, and Joshua Vaughn, 37.

According to the defendants’ jail records posted online by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the majority of the defendants are being held at the Lerdo Justice Facility, with the exception of Vaughn, who was already in police custody on Tuesday. His jail records show he is being held at the Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility.

The majority of the defendants received bail of $800,000, with the exception of Vaughn, who was charged with 13 felonies and whose bail was set at $670,000, and Zavala, who was charged with 15 felonies and whose bail was set at over $1 million.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office identified Alvarez, Villasenor, Soto Sr., Soto Jr. and Zavala as “active, patched members” of the Bakersfield chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Vaughn and Seeger were described as members of the Sons of Hell Motorcycle Club who take orders and instructions from the other group.

The Department of Justice has classified the Hells Angels as an outlaw motorcycle gang, a group that uses its motorcycle clubs for criminal activities.

The Justice Department said there are more than 300 active OMGs and noted that the Hell Angels are among those that pose “a serious domestic threat to the country.”