A suspected member of the infamous Hell's Angels motorcycle gang attempted to hide from police just blocks from a hate crime assault he allegedly committed. Perhaps he should have picked a better hiding place than the bed of his own truck?
It all began when 38-year-old John Smith allegedly used a racial slur as he punched a man in the 100 block of Santa Cruz's Walnut Drive. Santa Cruz police say that Smith took off in his truck following the attack, then pulled over, parked, and lay down in the truck's bed just a few blocks away.
That's where Santa Cruz police found him, along with "clothing and apparel indicating membership in the Hell’s Angels," a loaded 9mm pistol and a knife.
Smith was arrested and booked for battery, possession of a firearm and hate crime.
According to CBC news, the Hell's Angels are the "largest outlaw motorcycle gang in the world, with over 5,000 members in over 400 chapters in more than 40 countries." They have recently been officially declared a criminal organization in Manitoba, the first North American government to tag the group with this designation.
