17 Hells Angels Indicted for Violent Racist Attack on 3 Black Men in Ocean Beach Last June

Please see latest post on this attack.

The big news coming out of OB this morning was the announcement Monday by District Attorney Summer Stephan of grand jury indictments against 17 alleged members and supporters of the Hells Angels biker group in connection with a violent racial attack against three Black men in Ocean Beach on June 6.

The attack occurred outside a bar on Newport Avenue near Bacon Street; one of the men was stabbed in the chest, his sternum cracked in the attack, another victim was knocked unconscious – and the third ran and was not injured. The victims — ages 19, 20 and 21 — were repeatedly called a racial epithet during the incident.

The defendants — ages 22 to 57 — were indicted by a grand jury in San Diego Superior Court on Sept. 13 , most on assault charges, with hate crime and street gang enhancements. Their possible sentences could range from three to 17 years in prison. One of them, Troy Andrew Scholder, was charged with premeditated attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing. If convicted, he could face 39 years to life in prison. Scholder is reportedly a longtime leader in the local group.

All of those indicted pleaded not guilty Monday to the charges. Several were allowed to remain out of custody, but ordered not to associate with gangs and to stay away from Newport Avenue near where the attack occurred. Scholder was ordered to remain in custody without bail.

Here is more from David Hernandez at the U-T:

According to prosecutors, the attack occurred after one of the victims talked to the girlfriend of a biker. One of the men was punched and kicked all over his body. As he tried to stand, he was sucker-punched and knocked unconscious, prosecutors said.

Another victim was beaten up and left curled up on a sidewalk. Prosecutors allege Scholder then rolled him on his side and stabbed him in the chest. He suffered a “gaping wound” that exposed his lungs, Stephan said. “It is absolutely a miracle that he’s alive,” she said. The stabbing victim, unaware of the extent of his injuries and “how close he was to death,” went over to help his unconscious friend, Stephan said.

Stephan said there were many witnesses, but “none of them intervened because of the fear and terror that the Hells Angels instill in our community.”

San Diego police arrested one of the defendants after officers spotted three or four riders headed east on Interstate 8 after the attack. Officers tried to pull them over, but they didn’t stop, officials said. After a short pursuit, one of them stopped near Lake Jennings Road in Lakeside. The others got away.

Police and the district attorney’s Gang Unit worked to identify the attackers, Stephan said. “Piece by piecing,” using surveillance video, cellphone data and statements from witnesses, police and prosecutors built the case against the 17 defendants, she said.The grand jury returned the indictments after six days of testimony.

Fourteen of the defendants are accused of assaulting the victims. Three of the defendants were indicted on charges of being an accessory after the fact. Stephan said they drove Scholder — described as a longtime leader in the gang — back to the Hells Angels clubhouse in El Cajon after the attack.

“This is one of the largest violent crimes prosecutions against Hells Angels in our county and likely our nation,” Stephan said. She added that most criminal cases against the Hells Angels are based on drug- and gun-related charges. Criminal charges in violent attacks are “less common,” she said. … All of the defendants were arrested around the county Thursday. Police served 15 search warrants and seized 42 illegal guns….

A couple comments:

The U-T report states, “officers spotted three or four riders headed east on Interstate 8 after the attack. Officers tried to pull them over, but they didn’t stop, officials said. After a short pursuit, one of them stopped near Lake Jennings Road in Lakeside. The others got away.” This is curious – there was almost a hate-fueled murder on the streets of OB – police chased the probable perpetrators but all but one got away. Wow. Of course, the Angels were on bikes and they must have raced east on I-8. So, where did they go? A mystery.

Then later in the U-T report, “Stephan said they drove Scholder — described as a longtime leader in the gang — back to the Hells Angels clubhouse in El Cajon after the attack.” Another wow. That Hells Angels clubhouse is a prominent, well-known location right there on a main drag in El Cajon. Surprise. Mystery solved.

Obviously, there could have been more arrests the day of the attempted murder and assaults – but there weren’t.

And sadly, U-T reporter Hernandez quoted Stephen:

Stephan said there were many witnesses, but “none of them intervened because of the fear and terror that the Hells Angels instill in our community.”

Although, later some of those witnesses must have bravely and confidentially stepped forward as “‘Piece by piecing,’ using surveillance video, cellphone data and statements from witnesses, police and prosecutors built the case against the 17 defendants, she said.”

But it is sad that no one – no White person – rose to the occasion during the attack to try to intervene. Up against such a large group of violent bikers – it could have been a suicide mission. Unless a large group of white people on Newport decided to stop it and risk injury. But that would have had to be a spontaneous and simultaneous mass show of outrage — very unlikely.

…. And where were the police during the attack?