Sonoma County Hell's Angels members found guilty of racketeering, murder charges
SAN FRANCISCO - For a second time, a federal jury has found members of the Sonoma County charter of the Hells Angels guilty of guilty of racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy and related crimes.
The verdicts came following a two-month trial late last week when a federal jury found Raymond Foakes, a/k/a Ray Ray, and Christopher Ranieri, a/k/a Rainman guilty of a laundry list of charges, according to U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey.
A third defendant, Brian Burke, was acquitted of a single count of witness intimidation.
"Foakes and Ranieri followed a malicious code of conduct that permitted-and sometimes encouraged-the beating, maiming, and even killing of anyone who dared to cross their criminal enterprise," Ramsey said in a prepared statement. "The defendants now will be sentenced for their conduct and face the consequences of their violent racketeering activities."
"The prosecution of a dozen members and associates of the Sonoma County Hells Angels brings an end to that fear and keeps our community safe," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp. "I commend the witnesses who did not succumb to this group's intimidation tactics and came forward to law enforcement."
The trial was the second following the October 10, 2017, indictment from a federal grand jury. The indictment charged 11 members and associates of the HASC with being part of the criminal conspiracy that engaged in a broad swath of criminal activity including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, narcotics distribution, assault, robbery, extortion, illegal firearms possession, obstruction of justice,and witness intimidation.
With Thursday's jury verdict, nine of the eleven defendants, one of whom became deceased, have been convicted of crimes related to HASC activities, five by jury verdicts. The convicted defendants include five former presidents of three Hells Angels charters: Sonoma County, Fresno, and Salem (Boston).
The first trial in 2022 centered on the murder of former HASC members, Joel Silva, a/k/a Doughboy. The jury convicted Jonathan Nelson, a/k/a Jon Jon, 46, of Santa Rosa; Brian Wayne Wendt, 45, of Tulare; and Russell Taylor Ott, a/k/a Rusty, 69, of Santa Rosa, each of whom played a role in carrying out the July 15, 2014, murder of Silva.
In the second trial, Ranieri -- the president of the Salem charter of the Hells Angels -- was convicted for his role in hatching the plan to murder Silva, along with Wendt, president of Fresno charter of the Hells Angels, and Nelson, president of the Sonoma charter of the Hells Angels.
In 2014, at a motorcycle event in Laconia, New Hampshire, Silva threatened a member of the Salem charter close to Ranieri, which was perceived to be disrespectful to Ranieri, Wendt, and Nelson. The three agreed that Silva had to be killed.
On July 15, 2014, Silva was lured to the Fresno Hells Angels clubhouse and shot in the back of the head by Wendt. The next morning, Silva's body was incinerated at a local crematory and his truck set on fire.
Foakes, the former president of the Sonoma charter of the Hells Angels, was convicted of assault with a firearm in aid of racketeering, in connection with the multi-hour beating of a former HASC member by Foakes and other HASC members to expel the former member from the enterprise.
The former member had an affair with Foakes' then common law wife, which was a violation of HASC rules. During the expulsion, among other acts of violence, Foakes beat the victim with a baseball bat, forcibly tattooed the victim's forehead, and induced Nelson to pistol-whip the victim in the face.
Ranieri faces a statutory maximum prison term of life. Foakes faces a statutory maximum prison term of 60 years.
