Funeral for Hells Angels leader Sonny Barger set to happen Saturday in Stockton
STOCKTON – Thousands of mourners are expected to be in attendance for the funeral of Sonny Barger, one of the figureheads of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, this weekend in Stockton.
Barger died back in June after a short battle with cancer. He was 83.
He was a founding member of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels. Barger was also present at the club's most infamous moment – the 1969 free concert at the Altamont Speedway during which bikers hired as security staff fatally stabbed a concertgoer who pulled a gun on one of their members.
Born in Modesto, Barger became a sort of unofficial spokesperson for the Hells Angels. He often tried to downplay the club's outlaw reputation.
"They say we're organized crime, but if you took every Hells Angel on the face of the Earth and got rid of them you wouldn't drop the crime rate in the world one-tenth of one percent," he said in a 2000 interview for Heads magazine. "We're a little drop in the bucket. There's more cops committing crimes than Hells Angels."
Barger's own arrest record included charges ranging from drunken driving to attempted murder. He served 13 years in various prisons, according to news reports.
He claimed that one of his most satisfying experiences was his acquittal in 1980 on a count of racketeering, and the declaration of a mistrial on a charge of conspiracy to violate the racketeering law.
But in 1988, a jury found Barger guilty of conspiracy to violate federal firearms and explosives laws in plots to kill members of a rival gang. He was sentenced to a six-year term at the Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution and was released in 1992.
Barger capitalized on his notoriety. He wrote three books about his life and philosophy, including a best-selling autobiography, "Hell's Angel." A chapter title in one of his books was "Nothing states your position more clearly than a punch in the face." He also wrote two novels.
In a Facebook post ahead of his funeral, Barger's family advertised an official Oakland licensed memorial shirt available on his website.
Funeral organizers have been urging people to RSVP for the service, which is scheduled to start Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Stockton 99 Speedway. The service will also be live streamed.
