Modesto Hells Angels VP, Secretary Indicted on Drug Charges

The federal government’s investigation into the activities of the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club yielded new indictments Thursday in Fresno.

Chapter vice president Michael Shafer, 31, of Modesto, was charged with conspiring to distribute marijuana, conspiring to distribute heroin, distribution of marijuana, and two counts of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

Chapter secretary Patrick Gonzales, 31, of Modesto, was charged with being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition.

Hells Angels member Ricky Blackwell was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and possession of a firearm after suffering a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced the indictments in a news release.

Related Story: Modesto Hells Angels President Arrested on Meth Charges (link is external)

Officers Searched Hells Angels Residences

Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at the residences of Shafer and Gonzales, along with other locations.

According to court documents, at Gonzales’s residence officers found the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club World Rules and the rulebook that governs all Hells Angels Motorcycle Clubs. Officers also found the rules for the Modesto Charter of the Hells Angels, minutes of club meetings, membership information, and membership agreements.

Feds Arrested Modesto Chapter President in June

Earlier this year, Modesto Hells Angels President Randy Picchi was charged (link is external) with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine for leading a drug conspiracy that involved his wife, Tina Picchi, Michael Mize, and Hells Angels member Michael Pack.

This latest case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service, Modesto Police Department, Turlock Police Department, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the California Highway Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Laurel Montoya are the prosecutors.

Potential Sentences for Those Charged Thursday

If convicted, Shafer faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison, and a $5,000,000 fine.

Gonzales faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Blackwell faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.


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