The entire chapter of the Bakersfield, California, Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was arrested as part of a kidnapping, robbery and assault investigation, authorities said Tuesday.
Those arrested included five active members of the club’s Bakersfield chapter, as well as two others who are members of Sons of Hell, a motorcycle club that answers to the Bakersfield Hells Angels chapter, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Law enforcement officials seized 25 firearms, an unspecified amount of ammunition and gang regalia, according to the statement released jointly with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The arrests, which occurred Tuesday morning, were the result of a joint investigation by the ATF, the sheriff’s office and the California Highway Patrol. The investigation continues, the agencies said.
One of the seven suspects, John Vaughn, 37, was already in custody on “other charges,” the statement said. All suspects so far are believed to be from Bakersfield.
The others arrested were Ricardo Alvarez, 42; Armando Villasenor, 55; Joseph Soto Sr., 57; Joseph Soto Jr., 33; Jozua Zavala, 31; and John Seeger, 57.
Vaughn and Seeger are members of Sons of Hell, according to the statement; the rest are said to be members of the Bakersfield chapter of the Hells Angels.
They have not been formally charged.
Charges leading to the arrests include kidnapping, robbery, making criminal threats, false imprisonment, assault with a firearm, participation in a criminal street gang, criminal conspiracy, intimidating a witness or victim and elder abuse, police said in the statement.
It was not clear whether the investigation stemmed from a single incident or a series of incidents. Kern County sheriff’s spokesperson Lori Meza said details cannot yet be revealed because the investigation is ongoing.
It is not clear whether the suspects have retained a lawyer. The public defender’s office for Kern County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US Department of Justice labels Hells Angels, founded in the years after World War II in Fontana, California, as an illegal motorcycle gang and criminal organization.
Its colorful history includes members’ attacks on concertgoers in Altamont, California, in 1969, the love-hate relationship with late author Hunter S. Thompson and the deadly clash with members of the rival Mongols in Laughlin, Nevada, in 2002.
Federal authorities allege the gang has long been involved in drug and firearms trafficking.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
