Outlaw motorcycle gang members and their associates charged with racketeering

23 members of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle gang and their associates were charged with crimes such as murder, racketeering, robbery, and assault.

Most of the members were arrested in Hawaii, southern California, Nevada, the Las Vegas metro area, and Reno. The gang (also known as The Brotherhood and The Green Nation) was believed to be conducting illegal activities in Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii, Arizona, and California. The oldest member arrested was 69, while the youngest was 34.

The Vagos Motorcycle Club

The club was formed in 1965 in San Bernardino California.

Members of the club mostly wear green attire as their symbol while their Motto is 'We give what We get'. The club has a membership of about 4,000 people. Most of their members are Hispanic and Caucasian men. The gang has a membership in 7 countries on four continents. The group's membership recently expanded into Sweden and Australia in 2013.

Past crimes of the gang's members

In June 2009, three group members of the club were charged with beating and sexually assaulting a woman in San Jose, California. According to investigators, the woman met the three men in a night club where they offered to drive the woman home. Instead of being taken home, the woman was taken to a clubhouse where she was beaten and sexually assaulted.

In February 2010, gang members set up booby traps with the aims of killing California police detectives investigating their activities. 30 members were later arrested in multiple raids in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. 400 officers and 60 law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigations and the arrests of the 30 members.

Investigators also seized drugs and weapons during the raid.

In August 2011, the Vagos Motorcycle Club members were involved in a shootout with the Galloping Goose Motorcycle Club members in Waynesville, Missouri. During the shooting, the local area 9-1-1 center received 20 calls with reports of about 20 men involved in firearm fights.

In September 2011, members of the club were involved in a shooting in Sparks, Nevada. The president of San Jose, California chapter of Hells Angels was killed in the shooting while a Vagos group member was wounded. Police arrested the killers of the Hells Angels president of San Jose chapter. The shooting that led to the killing of the president was instigated by a man known as Gary who was the vice president of Vagos Los Angeles chapter. Gary later pleaded guilty to the charge.