The Hells Angels chapters based in Sonoma County and Fresno, California as well as Salem, Massachusetts, have been particularly visible in the news in recent years on account of a host of criminal activities that have left several members behind bars and one former member dead.
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In 2017, 11 members from across the three chapters of the motorcycle club were indicted on charges including “murder, conspiracy to commit murder, narcotics distribution, assault, robbery, extortion, illegal firearms possession, obstruction of justice, and witness intimidation,” per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California. The federal indictment was the culmination of a three-year investigation into the chapter’s activities in the area and came after the murder of Joel “Doughboy” Silva, A Sonoma County chapter member who had reportedly threatened a friend of biker Christopher Ranieri, the former president of the Salem chapter. That threat was deemed disrespectful, and on July 15, 2014, Silva was lured to a clubhouse in Fresno, where he was shot to death.
