Bay Area man, a member of the Hells Angels, pleads to a gun charge
A Vacaville man who is a member of the Vallejo chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced.
Dennis Killough Jr., 51, entered a plea to possession of two firearms in a Sacramento courtroom of the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a news release.
According to court documents, on December 8, 2021, law enforcement officers, using a search warrant, entered Killough’s home as part of an investigation into a brutal beating at the Vallejo chapter club.
In October 2021, two different victims—both members of a different motorcycle club considered a “puppet” (or affiliate) club of the Hells Angels—were beaten by Killough and two other club members for perceived violations of Hell. The rules of angels.
During the search of Killough’s home, officers found two firearms, including a Taurus G2C 9mm compact pistol and a Taurus model PT 745 Pro pistol. Killough has prior felony convictions, including prior firearms convictions, which prohibit him from possessing firearms.
The case stems from an investigation by the Vacaville Police Department, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Killough is scheduled to be sentenced March 27 by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
As previously reported, Killough was among three members indicted last year on firearms charges.
Jaime Alvarez, 52, of Vallejo, pleaded guilty in December to unlawful possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
According to court documents, on December 8, 2021, law enforcement officers served a search warrant at Alvarez’s home as part of an investigation into the brutal clubbing.
During a search of Alvarez’s home in Vallejo, officers found several firearms, including a Glock 27 .40 SW handgun. Alvarez has prior felony convictions that prohibit him from possessing firearms.
Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced March 7 by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd and also faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case stems from an investigation by the Vallejo Police Department and, as in the Killough case, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
A third member of the Vallejo Hells Angels, Michael Mahoney of Fairfield, who is in his late 20s or early 30s, has pleaded not guilty to two firearms charges. Mahoney faces a status conference Tuesday.
If convicted of possessing a firearm with an obliterated or altered serial number, Mahoney faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. And if convicted of possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, Mahoney faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron D. Pennekamp and Jason Hitt are prosecuting the cases, part of the joint federal, state and local Safe Neighborhoods Project program, the centerpiece of the U.S. Department of Justice’s aggressive crime reduction efforts .
Founded in 1948 in Fontana by Otto Friedli, the Hells Angels is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club.
The Vallejo chapter, at one time considered the enforcer of the Oakland chapter — founded by the late Ralph “Sonny” Barger, who later became the club’s de facto leader — was known for involving two members in an Oct. 5, 1986 .The mass killing of a family of four, including two children, ages 5 and 17, at Fort Bragg. It was a crime that made national headlines on Oct. 7, a day after two members of the Sonoma County chapter traveled to Fort Bragg and, at night, burned down a house near Highway 20 with the four bodies inside.
