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Two bikers nabbed after shooting
Marissa Yaremich, Register Staff
04/05/2006
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In what the police chief on Tuesday called "a heck of a coincidence," Enfield police arrested two reputed Hells Angels members Sunday in a vehicle toting a cache of weapons and a list of rival Outlaws gang members, less than seven hours after a Hells Angels chapter president was gunned down on Interstate 95 in West Haven.
The 10 p.m. incident, which unfolded within 200 yards of the home of the president of the Outlaws’ Enfield chapter, was immediately reported to state police and federal agents investigating the shooting death of Hells Angels member Roger "Bear" Mariani, said Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza.
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"I can’t confirm this (arrest) has anything to do with what happened down there (in West Haven), but it’s a heck of a coincidence," Sferrazza said. "What (police) thought was strange was that the trunk of the vehicle was absolutely empty except for one 5-gallon container of gasoline."
Sferrazza said the incident captured his attention, considering that earlier Sunday, at about 3:30 p.m., Mariani, 61, a Stratford resident and president of the Hells Angels’ Bridgeport chapter, was riding south with a small contingent of bikers near Exit 42 when someone in a green sport utility vehicle shot at the motorcyclists.
Mariani died on the scene from a single gunshot wound, and fellow Hells Angels member Paul Carrol, 37, of Bridgeport, suffered minor injuries after being grazed by a bullet. Carrol allegedly told emergency medical responders that the car contained members of the rival Outlaws motorcycle club. A police bulletin also stated that the four occupants were suspected Outlaws members.
State police Sgt. J. Paul Vance confirmed that investigators are aware of Enfield’s arrests of Trevor Delaware, 35, and Jeffrey Richard, 38, both of 150 Long Hill Road, Andover, but that state police haven’t "finalized" any distinct connection between the two incidents. Both men, who were released after making bail, were charged with one count each of weapons in a motor vehicle and theft of a marker plate.
As for the "coincidence," Vance said everything is still on the table, including that police have not pinpointed gang rivalry as the motive for the I-95 shooting.
Enfield’s information, he added, was one of "a large number of observations" called in to state police about the incident. He declined to say whether other area police departments reported incidents with motorcycle clubs after the shooting. He would say, however, that most calls were witnesses to the crime.
Sferrazza said an officer on patrol spotted a vehicle suspiciously parked in the rear of a municipal parking lot in the Thompsonville section of Enfield. The vehicle "squealed" out of the lot as the officer’s cruiser entered it. The officer noticed the driver, later identified as Delaware, wasn’t wearing his seat belt, prompting the officer to follow the vehicle. A check of the marker plate revealed it had been reported stolen in East Haven. The officer stopped the vehicle shortly thereafter.
"Between them, (the officer) noticed a softball bat, a bent golf ball club and a homemade, makeshift-type club," Sferrazza said. The passenger, later identified as Richard, also had a loaded handgun, which the chief confirmed he has a legal permit to carry.
Sferrazza said police also discovered "four pages of a police gang intelligence training manual, which identified 10 Connecticut Outlaws gang members," six knives, gloves and "mask-type concealment garments."
The men allegedly gave police conflicting stories explaining why they were in Enfield, including that they’d stopped to urinate or were visiting friends, the chief said. Neither one was willing to identify the friend when police pressed them, Sferrazza noted.
During booking, police noticed that both men bore Hells Angels logo tattoos and personal property. Delaware was also charged with possession of marijuana for allegedly stashing the contraband in his boot.
Although an undetermined number of Outlaws members frequent Enfield, Sferrazza said, the municipality hasn’t experienced any gang violence. Further, the chapter’s Spring Street clubhouse closed three years ago because of the city’s zoning enforcement, he said.
Vicki Woods, spokeswoman for the FBI in New Haven, would not comment on either incident because the I-95 shooting case is still pending. Any other witnesses are asked to call state police in Bridgeport at (203) 696-2500.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marissa Yaremich can be reached at [email protected] .
©New Haven Register 2006
Marissa Yaremich, Register Staff
04/05/2006
Email to a friendPrinter-friendly
In what the police chief on Tuesday called "a heck of a coincidence," Enfield police arrested two reputed Hells Angels members Sunday in a vehicle toting a cache of weapons and a list of rival Outlaws gang members, less than seven hours after a Hells Angels chapter president was gunned down on Interstate 95 in West Haven.
The 10 p.m. incident, which unfolded within 200 yards of the home of the president of the Outlaws’ Enfield chapter, was immediately reported to state police and federal agents investigating the shooting death of Hells Angels member Roger "Bear" Mariani, said Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza.
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"I can’t confirm this (arrest) has anything to do with what happened down there (in West Haven), but it’s a heck of a coincidence," Sferrazza said. "What (police) thought was strange was that the trunk of the vehicle was absolutely empty except for one 5-gallon container of gasoline."
Sferrazza said the incident captured his attention, considering that earlier Sunday, at about 3:30 p.m., Mariani, 61, a Stratford resident and president of the Hells Angels’ Bridgeport chapter, was riding south with a small contingent of bikers near Exit 42 when someone in a green sport utility vehicle shot at the motorcyclists.
Mariani died on the scene from a single gunshot wound, and fellow Hells Angels member Paul Carrol, 37, of Bridgeport, suffered minor injuries after being grazed by a bullet. Carrol allegedly told emergency medical responders that the car contained members of the rival Outlaws motorcycle club. A police bulletin also stated that the four occupants were suspected Outlaws members.
State police Sgt. J. Paul Vance confirmed that investigators are aware of Enfield’s arrests of Trevor Delaware, 35, and Jeffrey Richard, 38, both of 150 Long Hill Road, Andover, but that state police haven’t "finalized" any distinct connection between the two incidents. Both men, who were released after making bail, were charged with one count each of weapons in a motor vehicle and theft of a marker plate.
As for the "coincidence," Vance said everything is still on the table, including that police have not pinpointed gang rivalry as the motive for the I-95 shooting.
Enfield’s information, he added, was one of "a large number of observations" called in to state police about the incident. He declined to say whether other area police departments reported incidents with motorcycle clubs after the shooting. He would say, however, that most calls were witnesses to the crime.
Sferrazza said an officer on patrol spotted a vehicle suspiciously parked in the rear of a municipal parking lot in the Thompsonville section of Enfield. The vehicle "squealed" out of the lot as the officer’s cruiser entered it. The officer noticed the driver, later identified as Delaware, wasn’t wearing his seat belt, prompting the officer to follow the vehicle. A check of the marker plate revealed it had been reported stolen in East Haven. The officer stopped the vehicle shortly thereafter.
"Between them, (the officer) noticed a softball bat, a bent golf ball club and a homemade, makeshift-type club," Sferrazza said. The passenger, later identified as Richard, also had a loaded handgun, which the chief confirmed he has a legal permit to carry.
Sferrazza said police also discovered "four pages of a police gang intelligence training manual, which identified 10 Connecticut Outlaws gang members," six knives, gloves and "mask-type concealment garments."
The men allegedly gave police conflicting stories explaining why they were in Enfield, including that they’d stopped to urinate or were visiting friends, the chief said. Neither one was willing to identify the friend when police pressed them, Sferrazza noted.
During booking, police noticed that both men bore Hells Angels logo tattoos and personal property. Delaware was also charged with possession of marijuana for allegedly stashing the contraband in his boot.
Although an undetermined number of Outlaws members frequent Enfield, Sferrazza said, the municipality hasn’t experienced any gang violence. Further, the chapter’s Spring Street clubhouse closed three years ago because of the city’s zoning enforcement, he said.
Vicki Woods, spokeswoman for the FBI in New Haven, would not comment on either incident because the I-95 shooting case is still pending. Any other witnesses are asked to call state police in Bridgeport at (203) 696-2500.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marissa Yaremich can be reached at [email protected] .
©New Haven Register 2006
