Posted on 08/12/2006 4:17:00 AM PDT by SLB
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) -- Biker gangs have made the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally a violence-marred affair in the past.
The rally, which draws about half a million people each August to the Black Hills in western South Dakota, has since gotten older, laid-back and more diverse.
But this year, gunshots about 75 miles away reminded attendees about the gangs. Authorities said two men affiliated with the Hells Angels shot and wounded five Outlaws Motorcycle Club members in Custer State Park earlier this week.
Suzanne Church, who has ministered to biker gang members at Sturgis since 1997, said she hopes there's no more violence.
"We hate to see people die and go to hell," she said.
The rally attracts bikers of all walks of life, who ride throughout the Black Hills, a patch of forest and valleys 100 miles long and 50 miles wide on South Dakota's western edge. Sturgis, a town of about 7,000, is on the northern edge of the Hills, while Custer State Park is in the south.
Some Hells Angels members own land near Sturgis, so the gang has a presence at every rally, said Jim Bush, Sturgis police chief. Law enforcement officers knew that hundreds of Outlaws members planned to gather at a rented southern Hills campground, Bush said.
The Outlaws are one of the nation's four largest motorcycle gangs, along with the Hells Angels, Pagans and Bandidos. The Outlaws have chapters in 20 states, Europe, Canada and Australia.
A posting on its Web site said law enforcement agencies were informed of the group's plans to attend Sturgis.
It said: "We are not going there to makes any type of statement, or display of power. We are simply going there to enjoy the Sturgis venue, see the historical sights and spend time with our Brothers."
Authorities have their own term for the gangs.
"We classify these organizations as crime syndicates," said Bernard Zapor, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in St. Paul, Minn.
The last major violence involving motorcycle gangs during the Sturgis rally was in 1990, when a Sons of Silence member shot an Outlaws gang member during a bar brawl in which two other Sons of Silence members were stabbed.
"They have not changed," Bush said of the major gangs. "They're as organized and involved in crime as they ever have been."
It was one of only a few major rally-related incidents of violence, Bush said. The only other gang arrests have been three or four members picked up for unrelated crime, he said.
"They usually get along pretty good," Bush said.
In Tuesday's shooting, Chad John Wilson, 30, of Lynnwood, Wash., and John James Midmore, 32, of Valparaiso, Ind., face five counts of attempted first-degree murder. A judge set bond Thursday at $5 million each.
One victim was still in critical condition at Rapid City Regional Hospital on Thursday. Another was in stable condition at a Sioux Falls hospital, said Sara Rabern of the South Dakota Attorney General's office.
On Main Street in Sturgis, a few people wearing Hells Angels vests and T-shirts were spotted at the 66th annual rally, which ends Sunday.
The gang runs a vendor table that sells club pins, T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items. None of three men staffing the table wanted to discuss the shooting. A worker at a tattoo shop down the street that the gang runs also refused comment.
Jim Vlahakis, state Division of Criminal Investigation director, said more than 300 Outlaws members representing 119 different chapters have been seen in the area, along with 80 to 100 Hells Angels members.
Vlahakis said authorities plan to meet with the two gangs to "try to head off any potential problems" but had not done so as of Thursday.
Officers were prepared to respond to gang violence, Bush said, adding that eventual retaliation is likely.
"It may not happen here," Bush said. "It could happen a month from now" somewhere else.
On the Net:
Outlaws: http://www.outlawsmc.com/
Hells Angels: http://www.hells-angels.com/
OK -- lets shoot for closer to home
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/137-07252006-688325.html
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special42/articles/0123hellsangels23.html
http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2006/04/feds-bust-hells-angels-leaders/
What's he gonna do? Throw his dentures at me? Fling the stuff in his Depends at me?
You and I both know that you wouldn't do this. So why get into the gameplaying?
Pure unadulterated Schadenfreude.
"How long a queue at the showers?"
Almost none, depending on the time of day.
There is a big concrete building with gang showers and coin laundry on one side and private, coin operated showers in the back. If you shower in the afternoon, there is seldom a line.
Additionally, Day's End has a giant barn with a bar and bands every night. If you have been to Sturgis, right where you exit from Rt. 90 and turn right into town, there is a traffic control person who stops traffic to let a side street exit. That side street is the Day's End campground. You pay for the full week when you pull in and you get a refund for any days not used when you leave.
At the same intersection, you can turn left and then left again after the gas station for another big campground. I forget the name, but it has lots of space and somewhat less desirable facilities. I seem to remember something like "White Ridge" for the name. I
f you are into loudness and naked women, Glencoe campground is your spot, just north of town. If you are disgusting scooter trash and don't care how sickening the showers and toilets might be, Buffalo Chip Campground is your place.
There are scores of decent campgrounds up in the hills in the Keystone area. Unless you show up with a truck and a trailer, you should never have a problem finding a place to camp with clean showers and reasonably quiet evenings.
Where do I sign up? :-)
Tat's everywhere.
Terrible, could you imagine, a person with a tattoo. Better throw him in jail.
The guy only had a bullet in him. Could you imagine him having some pain, neither can I. I am sure that you never had any other patients scream in pain. My wife is a nurse and also works with kidney patients. She tells stories about patients screaming about kidney stones, but this guy only had a bullet in his.
Here is a report from as recently as 2001 that lists your buddies as domestic terrorists: http://ag.ca.gov/publications/org_crime2004.pdf
I did not find where it said the Hells Angels were domestic terrorists.
I am a small guy, but not a coward. I do not need to protect guys who have a good time riding. I have never seen them be bullies. Now they are not cowards and will stand up for themselves, but they are not bullies.
Hey watch it! My dog is named Sturgis, because she's, well, from Sturgis, SD.
Now that you mention it, she is a little bit fat. I don't think she could handle a bike, though. Also, she does listen to a lot of talk radio, thanks to me!
It does if you are a reporter desperate to make a story connection that will appear above the fold.
But not in the real world.
Pure unadulterated Schadenfreude.
schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun:
A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.
LOL! You obviously do not understand the definition of the word. Call a 1%er a "puff" and you most likely will witness Schadenfreude practiced upon you by his pals after he is done.
Kirk out.
Yeah -- they might throw their geritol bottles at me. Lets face it, time has provided the ultimate revenge for those of who suffered at their hands.
But for a while I used to hire guys that I could tell were bullies, just for the pleasure of firing them as soon as possible.
Schadenfreude --- the enjoyment of ironic justice.
A co-worker and his wife rode their bikes up to trailer week at Sturgis, SD!
Mark
Thank you for your positive report about our Rally. I've lived in the Black Hills for nearly forty years. The shooting at Legion Lake near Custer is the first serious violent event that I can remember in all those years of Rally watching. I think we do a rather remarkable job accomodating over half a million bikers for the week/10 days. Years ago, it was smaller and seemed to have a wilder crowd. In recent years, it has turned into a more "family friendly" event. Now the Rally covers the whole Black Hills, not just Sturgis. Each small town in the Hills tries to have events to draw the bikers (and their dollars). We own a sizable amount of forested acres in the Hills and each year our group of biker friends and family grows. Some of them don't even ride.....they just enjoy the reunion. They all bring their tents and just camp out on our property. I offer a buffet breakfast each morning and clean bathrooms. We have never had a problem and, in fact, look forward to it each year.
We are all upset over the incident last week and hate to see that one tragedy with some really bad dudes, ruin a great event.
My biggest complaint is what I consider price gouging by the gas stations and motels. I guess that is just capitalism at work, but I don't like it.
I guess I count myself lucky not to know that kind of biker!
LLS
Tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm telling you straight up that the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Pagans and the Outlaws are drug-peddling crime syndicates, nothing more.
Not to worry. I believe the U.N. is working on a resolution as we speak.
And what makes you so smart? The movies?
How do you know all that? Who do you know?
Out of respect for Musica, I'm going to bite my tongue, but let me say that this statement makes me question the prayers I've offered up towards your comfort while Musica was ill...
While I don't consider myself a "biker," I do ride, and I've only met a few "One Percenters" over the years. The vast majority of the "bikers" I've met have been at charity rallies, and all seemed like decent, working men and women, who simply have a love of riding, like myself.
I've only found myself in a "biker bar" twice - it was with some co-workers many years ago, two of whom WERE "One Percenters," the first time was terrific, we just had a good time and a few beers and left. The second time a fight broke out, and all I did was turn around, then woke up on the sidewalk out back behind the bar about 20 minutes later. That was the last time I went drinking with those guys after work.
And I happen to like seeing guys older than me on bikes. And I know quite a few who could ride me into the ground on track days... One in particular, riding a Ducati Elephant (a 900cc dual sport bike) was putting guys on track-prepped Suzukis to shame! And he's in his early 70s. He's a great guy, and a terrific teacher, both on the track and off.
Mark
I'm a 2nd Generation biker. My father rode bikes in WWII, and it's something he passed on. I grew up with bikers, I became a biker, and I'm a biker still. Today, my kids are growing up with bikers in and out of the house, and with any luck, they'll be bikers themselves.
Does that answer your question?
Have no fear, age will take its toll on you as well. This habit you have of poking cruelly at the aged is the antithesis of conservatism.
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