Normally, I'd just blow this kinda shit off, but
this story re the killer of the HA leader made me hesitate. HA and Mongols shooting at each other? I don't wanna be anywhere near that craziness.
Rival sought in slaying of Hells Angels leaderThursday, September 11, 2008
(09-11) 18:24 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Just days before Hells Angels bikers from around the West are expected to converge in the Bay Area for the funeral of the club's slain San Francisco leader, police said Thursday they are seeking a member of a rival club in his killing.
Christopher Ablett, 37, of Modesto, a member of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, has been identified by several witnesses as the man who shot Mark "Papa" Guardado to death last week in the Mission District, authorities said.
Guardado, 46, was shot late Sept. 2 outside a bar at 24th Street and Treat Avenue after what police described as a "wrestling match" with the gunman. The man rode away on a motorcycle, witnesses told investigators.
Authorities appealed to bikers coming to town for Guardado's funeral to behave peacefully and not to launch a retaliatory round of violence against the Mongols, who engaged in a deadly battle with Hells Angels members in a Nevada casino six years ago.
Guardado was killed about a mile from the Hells Angels clubhouse on Tennessee Street, where he lived as head of what the group calls the Frisco chapter.
Police say murder charges were filed against Ablett in San Francisco earlier this week. He is considered armed and dangerous, and is being sought on a $5 million arrest warrant.
Homicide Inspector Karen Lynch declined to elaborate on a possible motive for the killing, other than to say Guardado and Ablett apparently argued on the street before the shooting.
Ablett is a freelance electrician who lives with his parents in a suburban neighborhood of Modesto, Lynch said. Police searched the home Thursday morning and seized his 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Ablett's two children also live in the home.
His father, Dave Ablett, said by phone, "There's no story here because nobody knows anything. That's the best I can tell you."
Christopher Ablett is described as white, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 210 pounds, with long brown hair, blue eyes and a long mustache. Police say they have no leads on his whereabouts.
Ablett was arrested on suspicion of assault in 2003 in Modesto, but the charges were dismissed, Stanislaus County authorities said. He has a 1995 misdemeanor conviction on a weapons-related charge, details of which were not immediately available.
The Mongols and the Hells Angels have long feuded. The bloodiest run-in between the two groups happened in April 2002, when a fight involving dozens of members in a Laughlin, Nev., casino resulted in the deaths of three bikers and caused 13 injuries.
At least several hundred Hells Angels are expected to come to the Bay Area for Guardado's services Sunday and Monday in Daly City. They may also ride through San Francisco, Lynch said.
"We're hoping to avoid any further violence by encouraging Mr. Ablett to surrender to us," Lynch said.
She said she hopes the memorial gatherings will be free of conflict. "We hope all the parties will let us pursue justice and respect Guardado's memory by acting peaceably," she said.
A person who answered the door Thursday at the Hells Angels clubhouse declined to comment.
The Mongols are based in Southern California and have a clubhouse in Modesto.
"Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are going to show up - they all cared for him," said Patrick Ciocca, attorney for Guardado in a battery case out of Petaluma that was unresolved at the time of his death.
"It's going to be a celebration of Papa's life," Ciocca said. "I don't think that is going to change because they are looking for somebody. We're going to all try to remember the good things he stood for."
