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Press Release

Fourth Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Member Indicted After Investigation into Brutal Beating at the Vallejo Clubhouse

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Kenneth Caspers Jr., 55, of Vacaville, charging him with being a felon in possession of ammunition, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Caspers is the fourth individual to be indicted in the Eastern District of California based on an investigation into a brutal beating at the clubhouse for the Vallejo chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. The other three defendants—Jaime Alvarez, Dennis Killough Jr., and Michael Mahoney—were indicted by a grand jury in 2022.

According to court documents, in October 2021, two different victims—both of whom were members of a different motorcycle club that is considered a “puppet” (or subordinate) club of the Hells Angels—were beaten by Caspers, Mahoney, Alvarez, Killough, and other club members based on perceived infractions of the Hells Angels’ rules.

According to court documents, on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Caspers’ Vacaville home and found several firearms and ammunition, including 18 rounds of .22‑caliber, .25‑caliber, and/or .38 caliber ammunition in Caspers’ master bedroom and bathroom. Caspers has previously been convicted of several felony crimes—including a previous felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm—that prevent him from possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the Vacaville Police Department, the Vallejo Police Department, the Fairfield Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron D. Pennekamp and Jason Hitt are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Caspers faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The three other defendants have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced as follows: Alvares on March 7, 2023, Killough on March 27, 2023, and Mahoney on May 2, 2023. They all face a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Updated January 26, 2023

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods