Edition 10-25-04

Nov 14 (Sun) Sarasota, “7th Annual Great Teddy Bear Run,” Sarasota HOG Chapter. Starts at University Center Parking Lot, I-75, exit 213 & University Pkwy. Registration starts at 10 a.m. Parade leaves at 11:30 a.m. Fee: $10 + a new stuffed animal.

British supermarket chain Asda has banned teenagers from buying eggs, commonly used for holiday-related vandalism, in the run-up to Halloween. The store said the decision was taken following reports of egg-related vandalism last Halloween, the BBC reported Sunday. However, the ban does not affect all teenage shoppers. "If a 15-year-old goes into one of our stores and buys a pint of milk, a loaf of bread and a packet of eggs then that seems normal," a spokeswoman said. Other supermarkets have not yet implemented a full ban, although some have implemented "common sense" policies. 

The nation of Bangladesh covers approximately the same land area as the state of Wisconsin. Yet it ranks eighth in population among all the world's countries. 

Cars and trucks have a small, rugged box of electronics that can reveal how the vehicle was operating before a crash. Few drivers were aware that they were sitting on such hardware until last August, when police sought the box from U.S. Representative Bill Janklow's Cadillac after he hit and killed a motorcyclist in South Dakota.

Event data recorders began to be installed in U.S. passenger vehicles in the mid-1970s to deploy air bags when they detect extreme changes in velocity. Automakers gather data from boxes in random accidents to analyze which velocity deltas, stored by the boxes, caused deployment, useful for improving designs. But since 1999 the units, typically installed under the front seat carpet, now record vehicle speed, engine rpm, degree of throttle (accelerator) and brake deployment, and seat-belt engagement. Coupled with crash injury reports, the data are used to enhance performance or to help in recalls of faulty systems

By Richard Gazarik TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, October 24, 2004 Renee Hoffman remembers lying in bed at night, a butcher knife beneath her pillow for protection, trembling in fear of her stepfather. 
Her brother, Peter Hoffman, remembers the night a bullet just missed his head when motorcycle gang members shot up his family's trailer in New Derry in retaliation for a drug deal gone sour. 

Growing up with David Munchinski as their stepfather is something the Hoffmans have spent years trying to forget. 

When they heard he may be released from prison after serving more than 17 years for two killings he may not have committed, the fear and anxiety they felt as children returned. 
"This man tormented me the entire time we were growing up," said Renee Hoffman, 36, who is so afraid of him that she refuses to divulge where she lives. "Whenever he wanted to, he would take out his anger on us." 

Renee Hoffman said Munchinski married her mother, Veronica Lazur, and the couple also had a son and daughter together, Raina Munchinski and David Alexander Munchinski, neither of whom responded to messages seeking comment. In recent years, Raina Munchinski, who has been living in Florida, has helped in her father's legal efforts to win release from prison. 

Munchinski was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the Dec. 2, 1977, murders of James "Petey" Alford, 22, of Hempfield Township, and Raymond Gierke, 28, of Bear Rocks, who died at Gierke's Fayette County home. The killings remained unsolved for five years until police arrested Munchinski and a co-defendant, Leon Scaglione, who died in prison in 1996. 

Earlier this month, a judge vacated Munchinski's conviction and sentences and accused former Fayette County prosecutors Gerald Solomon and Ralph Warman, now judges, and attorney John A. Kopas III of prosecutorial misconduct. 

NORTH PALM SPRINGS -- A confrontation over "colors" at a biker rally at an Indian Avenue bar in North Palm Springs Saturday ended with gunshots and the arrest of four men.

The shots were apparently fired in an effort to stop the beating of a man who was being stripped of his "colors," the vest that identified him as a member of the Viet Nam Vets Motorcycle Club, by another faction of that same club, said Sgt. Dennis Graham of the Palm Springs Police Department. 

The victim suffered serious injury and was taken to an unnamed local hospital. Information on his identity was not available Saturday night as police feared he could still be a target for retribution.

Graham said security had been posted at the hospital with him. His condition was unknown late Saturday night.

Two men suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds in the melee that involved nearly 20 people in the parking lot adjacent to the Handlebar & Grill, at 19-345 Indian Ave., which held the rally. Police said the event was an inaugural run for the Green Machine Motorcycle Club 111 chapter. 

Both of those men, David Edmond Caudillo, 59, of San Diego and George Allen Sanchez, 44, of Sylmar, were treated at the scene by paramedics but refused further medical attention.

Caudillo, who was shot in the upper left arm, is a member of the Viet Nam Vets and Sanchez, whose hand was grazed by gunfire, is a prospective member. 

Both were ultimately arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and booked into Palm Springs Jail on $25,000 bail, Graham said.

The man who allegedly introduced the gun into the the fight, in which numerous knives were already present, was also arrested.

Police said Gary Lane Stroup, 58, of San Bernardino and a member of the Warrior Brotherhood Motorcycle Club was apparently attempting to assist the victim when he sustained deep cuts to his face. He then pulled out the semi-automatic handgun and fired three rounds before other bikers overpowered him and a struggle for the weapon began, Graham said.

They were still fighting over the gun when officers, who had been surreptitiously monitoring the event, took charge of the situation.

Stroup was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and his bail was set at $25,000. 

The fourth man, William Garrett Morrow, 56, of San Diego, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a ballistic vest during the commission of a felony and possession of an illegal knife. Morrow’s bail was set at $5,000. 

Numerous outlaw motorcycle groups were present for the Saturday afternoon event, most of which are offshoots of established outlaw gangs, including the Hell’s Angels and the Vagos, Graham said.

The Green Machine is said to be affiliated with the Vagos Motorcycle Club, which authorities say has ties to the Mongols.

Boston - Thirteen North Shore men are facing charges of conspiracy to distribute more than $2 million worth of oxycodone, federal prosecutors said Thursday.  Federal prosecutors said the defendants were part of an OxyContin distribution ring operating in the Gloucester area between October 2003 and June 2004.  The conspiracy allegedly involved the possession and distribution of approximately 35,000 80-milligram tablets of OxyContin with a street value of more than $2 million.  Carlos Espinola, a member of the Red Devils Motorcycle Club, was allegedly the major supplier in the Gloucester area, supplying bulk quantities of OxyContin to mid-level suppliers, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.  No other members of the club were mentioned.  Bikernews.net 

From the Field - The Slaughter Resumes 
DOL agents with the help of Park Service Rangers and a variety of law enforcement officers captured and slaughtered a buffalo bull on Tuesday, October 19. The buffalo was not tested for brucellosis before being sent to a Montana slaughterhouse. The bull was grazing peacefully on National Forest lands near the Lower Bear Trap housing development. DOL justified the slaughter by citing private property concerns. It just so happens that local DOL agent, Shane Grube, lives in Lower Bear Trap, so you might guess who made the complaint. The DOL also tried to justify the slaughter based on the fact the current population of buffalo in the Park is over 3000. 
However, the management plan clearly states that population can not be used as a justification for not testing buffalo until after the late winter/early spring count.

Thu, October 21, 2004 
Hells Angels' grip a boon for drug trade By DOUG BEAZLEY, EDMONTON SUN The recent move by the Hells Angels to absorb their outlaw biker rivals the Bandidos in Alberta is going to allow the gang to sink its claws deeper into the province's drug trade, say police and organized crime experts. "The fact that the Bandidos patched over to the Hells, that's not the problem. That's all just inside baseball - with bigger bats," said Staff Sgt. Peter Ratcliff, president of the Edmonton Police Association. 

"What it does mean is that (the Hells Angels) can concentrate on business now - the Hells Angels run this province. There is absolutely no upside to this development." 

Cameron said nationwide police pressure probably inspired the Hells Angels' new policy of detente with the Bandidos. 

After the Bandidos chapter established itself in Edmonton late last year, he said, investigators got the message out to Hells Angels that cops weren't going to sit still for another biker war with a sky-high body count. 

While the patchover increased the Hells Angels' numbers in Alberta - police sources suggested this week the gang tripled its strength - Cameron said it didn't affect the overall number of outlaw bikers in the province. 

Meanwhile, there's the small matter of the Bandidos' gear. Gang members who attended the funeral of local chapter founder Joey Campbell last winter were spotted wearing brand-new Bandidos vests. 

Although the vests would fetch a tidy sum in an Ebay auction, no gang member would risk the wrath of former gang brothers by selling his colours, said biker expert and former Surete du Quebec officer Guy Ouellette. 

"First of all, the Bandidos colours are under copyright by the gang," he said. "And it would show an extreme lack of respect to sell your former colours. The Bandidos wouldn't be too happy with anyone who did that, especially now that they're supposed to be at peace with the Hells."