Former Hells Angels president speaks out amid charges
- Six members of Hells Angels motorcycle gang were arrested
- Approximately 25 firearms were seized by law enforcement
- Former president: 'Sometimes they have a tendency to overcharge'
Testing on staging11
(NewsNation) — George Christie, a former Hells Angels chapter president, said the recent charges the group is facing “aren’t out of the ordinary.”
The entire Bakersfield, California chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club has been apprehended and six people were arrested.
“I don’t know all the circumstances, but you get all these agencies together, and sometimes they have a tendency to overcharge,” Christie said during an appearance Tuesday night on “Banfield.” “It seems to me that all the different charges listed all kind of brush against each other. … You might see all of these charges dismissed, who knows?”
All of the suspects were arrested on multiple charges including kidnapping, robbery, assault with a firearm and elder abuse, among others, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
Ricardo Alvarez, 42; Armando Villasenor, 55; Joseph Soto Sr., 57; Joseph Soto Jr., 33; Joshua Zavala, 31; and John Seeger, 57, were arrested Tuesday and booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Lerdo facility, police said.
Joshua Vaughn, 37, was already in police custody on other charges. According to police, both he and Seeger are members of Sons Of Hell, another motorcycle gang that answers to Hells Angels.
The joint investigation between the sheriff’s office, California Highway Patrol and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led to the seizure of 25 firearms, along with magazines, ammunition and gang-related paraphernalia, police said.
Investigations remain ongoing.
NewsNation’s Patrick Djordjevic contributed to this report.