none of the men can associate with one another, or wear clothing or patches identifying them as gang members.

◼ Mongols members sentenced for shooting
Four men arrested in connection to the non-fatal shooting of a suspected Hells Angels member in November were sentenced in Humboldt County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon to terms ranging from three years in prison to 180 days in jail.

All four men, three of whom were found to be card carrying members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement offered during their preliminary hearing, after evidence surfaced that the victim -- Robert Thompson -- may have fired first.

Deputy District Attorney Ben McLaughlin said although there are no current plans to charge Thompson as a felon in possession of a firearm, the matter is still under investigation.

The accused gunman in the case, 28-year-old Mongols gang member Eric Gunner Lundin, was sentenced by Judge Dale Reinholtsen to three years in prison for felony charges of assault with a firearm and participating in a criminal street gang.

Lundin's attorney, Glenn Brown, said his client will likely serve “a little over two years.”

Dustin Liebes, a 36-year-old who the prosecution named as the president of the area Mongols chapter, was sentenced to one year in jail with five years probation. Shasta County resident Eric Garcia, 28, was also given a one year jail sentence with five years probation. Both men had pleaded guilty to participation in a criminal street gang, and both were granted 110 days time served.

Brad Miller, 26, was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 110 days credit.

The prosecution alleged Miller -- who was not part of the gang -- was a prospective member. Miller pleaded guilty to being an accessory to a felony after the fact, but denied attempting to gain entry to the gang.

In addition to various fines, Reinholtsen stipulated that none of the men can associate with one another, or wear clothing or patches identifying them as gang members....

UPDATE:
☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
☛ Modesto Bee Detectives kept an eye on Thompson because of his Hells Angels membership
☛ The AgingRebel.com Biker Motive Alleged In Shooting
☛ TS Hells Angel shot Friday was cleared of murdering girls in Merced
☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
☛ TS Prelim begins for alleged Mongols shooters
☛ TS Expert links shooting suspects to Mongols motorcycle gang
☛ TS Suspected Mongols accept plea agreement

12/18/2008 - Members of the Mongols biker gang implicated in the shooting of a suspected Hells Angel in early November have all accepted plea agreements offered by the Humboldt County district attorney.

I'm sure this makes sense on somebody's planet

I'm just not sure where that planet is...

A local Dad was put on trial for letting his toddler walk a few steps ahead of him on a street in Ferndale. He was facing TWO YEARS in jail.

Yet these guys, these members of the Mongols street gang, which the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has labeled the most “violent and dangerous” in the nation get MAYBE a year in jail, and more likely PROBATION in a PLEA DEAL?

For shooting a guy. For attempted MURDER.

Why? Because they admitted to belonging to the gang?

The DA's Office will request the sentencing judge prohibit the men from associating with other gang members, which would legally bar the men from each other's company.

Yeah. We know you guys just tried to kill someone, shot him actually. So, we just don't want you hangin' out together anymore, ok?

Well, That's harsh.

update: (Looks like the comments thread at the Times-Standard got pulled again.)
update: ◼ Mongols members sentenced for shooting 1/21/09 A.O.

Mongols prelim - PLEA DEAL

☛ TS Prelim begins for alleged Mongols shooters
☛ TS Expert links shooting suspects to Mongols motorcycle gang
☛ TS Suspected Mongols accept plea agreement
Members of the Mongols biker gang implicated in the shooting of a suspected Hells Angel in early November have all accepted plea agreements offered by the Humboldt County district attorney.

In the agreement offered on the third day of the preliminary hearing, three of four men admitted to participating in a criminal street gang -- an outcome that sets new precedent for prosecutors in Humboldt County, potentially easing legal efforts against gang members in the future.

Eric Gunner Lundin, the 28-year-old who shot Robert Thompson outside The Shanty in Old Town Eureka, pleaded no contest to felony charges of assault with a firearm and participating in a criminal street gang.

Lundin now faces between two and three years in prison at his sentencing Jan. 15.

Dustin Liebes, 36, and Eric Garcia, 28, both pleaded no contest to the felony charge of participation in a criminal street gang, and 26-year-old Brad Miller -- whom investigators believe was attempting to become a member of the gang -- pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact.

Those three men face up to one year in jail or one year probation at the Jan. 15 sentencing.

Deputy District Attorney Ben McLaughlin, who prosecuted the case, said he intends to request the sentencing judge prohibit the men from associating with other gang members, which would legally bar the men from each other's company.

McLaughlin called the outcome “appropriate,” after facts in the Nov. 7 shooting incident surfaced late in the investigation showing 43-year-old Thompson may have fired the first shot....

Chris Cervantes, a Montebello police detective and ATF investigator working the outlaw biker gang unit, said no matter who fired first, the shooting was a gang-related act, and it was appropriate for the men to be prosecuted.

”A gun is a tool of a gang. It's a sign of power -- it's a sign of respect,” Cervantes said. “There's no self-defense there.”

Cervantes was flown to Humboldt County to provide expert testimony about the Mongols street gang, which the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has labeled the most “violent and dangerous” in the nation. The gang has between 500 and 600 members in chapters throughout the United States, as well as Canada and Italy.

Cervantes said following a Tuesday night intelligence briefing that he believes there are Mongols chapters in Eureka and elsewhere in Humboldt County....

Ultimately, Cervantes said the men's admission has bolstered law enforcement's battle against the outlaw biker gang.

Leaders of the organization call the group the Mongols Motorcycle Club. The group organizes rides that distribute toys to children, operates in accordance to a constitution and requires new prospective members fill out an application. The seemingly legitimate exterior made it difficult in the past for authorities to legally establish the Mongols are, in fact, a gang, Cervantes said.

With Wednesday's conviction, authorities will have greater power prosecuting members of biker gangs in Humboldt County, Cervantes said.

”We went into some uncharted grounds here in Eureka,” he said. “It's far more successful that the gang allegations were sustained rather than these guys getting more time.”

Related:
☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar

11/09/2008 - A Merced man was seriously wounded after he was shot outside The Shanty in Eureka late Friday night, and four men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder shortly afterward....

☛ TS Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
☛ Modesto Bee Detectives kept an eye on Thompson because of his Hells Angels membership
☛ The AgingRebel.com Biker Motive Alleged In Shooting
☛ TS Hells Angel shot Friday was cleared of murdering girls in Merced

11/11/2008 - A man who was gunned down in the street outside an Old Town bar Friday night had recently been acquitted of a 1986 murder of two young girls in Atwater.

☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
One arrested, two hospitalized after fight outside Eureka bar
11/16/2008 - A brutal fight outside a Eureka bar, The Shanty, early Saturday morning left one man in jail and two others recovering from serious injuries in the hospital.
☛ TS Prelim begins for alleged Mongols shooters
☛ TS Expert links shooting suspects to Mongols motorcycle gang
☛ TS Suspected Mongols accept plea agreement

12/18/2008 B.O. - Members of the Mongols biker gang implicated in the shooting of a suspected Hells Angel in early November have all accepted plea agreements offered by the Humboldt County district attorney.

◼ Mongols members sentenced for shooting 1/21/09 A.O.

Hell's Angels and Mongols?

☛ TS Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime
Four men accused of gunning down a Hells Angels member outside an Old Town bar last week were arraigned in court Thursday afternoon on charges of attempted murder, assault with a firearm and participating in a criminal street gang.

At their Thursday arraignment, the suspects -- Eric Gunner Lundin, 28, Dustin Christopher Liebes, 36, Brad Lee Miller, 26, and Redding resident Eric Dean Garcia, 28 -- all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and were appointed public defenders.

Investigators in the case have speculated the shooting may have resulted from a rivalry between two biker gangs: The Hells Angels and the Mongols.

Eureka Police Detective Patrick O'Neill could neither confirm nor deny the four suspects are members of the Mongols, but Thursday's charges indicate authorities do believe the shooting was gang-related.

What is Fort Humboldt Krew? (in TS comments)

Related:
☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar

11/09/2008 - A Merced man was seriously wounded after he was shot outside The Shanty in Eureka late Friday night, and four men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder shortly afterward....

☛ TS Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
☛ Modesto Bee Detectives kept an eye on Thompson because of his Hells Angels membership
☛ The AgingRebel.com Biker Motive Alleged In Shooting
☛ TS Hells Angel shot Friday was cleared of murdering girls in Merced

11/11/2008 - A man who was gunned down in the street outside an Old Town bar Friday night had recently been acquitted of a 1986 murder of two young girls in Atwater.

☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar

One arrested, two hospitalized after fight outside Eureka bar
11/16/2008 - A brutal fight outside a Eureka bar, The Shanty, early Saturday morning left one man in jail and two others recovering from serious injuries in the hospital.

☛ TS Prelim begins for alleged Mongols shooters

☛ TS Expert links shooting suspects to Mongols motorcycle gang

☛ TS Suspected Mongols accept plea agreement

12/18/2008 - Members of the Mongols biker gang implicated in the shooting of a suspected Hells Angel in early November have all accepted plea agreements offered by the Humboldt County district attorney.

◼ Mongols members sentenced for shooting 1.21.09

Looks like a big one.

TS Hells Angel shot Friday was cleared of murdering girls in Merced
The man shot outside an Old Town bar in Eureka Friday night had recently been acquitted of murdering two girls in Atwater in 1986.

Robert Daniel Thompson, 43, was most recently found not guilty by a Merced County jury in July. It was the second trial that found him not guilty of killing 12-year-old Jodi Ragsdale and 15-year-old Sheila Carter.

The two girls were brutally killed in December of 1986, and their bodies dumped along a road in a rural area, their heads smashed. Their murders have yet to be solved.

Thompson, a Hells Angel member who served seven years in prison and had to register as a sex offender for kidnapping a woman in 1987, was shot several times at 3rd and C streets Friday night. He was taken to U.C. Davis Medical Center Saturday, and is listed in fair condition. Police continue to look for witnesses to the crime.

Four men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Eric Gunner Lundin, 28, Dustin Christopher Liebes, 36, Brad Lee Miller, 26, and Redding resident Eric Dean Garcia, 28, were booked into Humboldt County jail.

TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar

A Merced man was seriously wounded after he was shot outside The Shanty in Eureka late Friday night, and four men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder shortly afterward.

Robert Daniel Thompson, 43, of Merced was found lying in the intersection of Third and C streets, bleeding from several gunshot wounds, when police arrived at about 11:10 p.m. About five minutes later, officers stopped a vehicle at Watson and D streets and arrested four men believed to be involved in the shooting.

Eric Gunner Lundin, 28, Dustin Christopher Liebes, 36, and Brad Lee Miller, 26, all of Eureka, and Eric Dean Garcia, 28, of Redding, were booked into Humboldt County jail on charges of attempted murder.

Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar

Modesto Bee Detectives kept an eye on Thompson because of his Hells Angels membership

The AgingRebel.com Biker Motive Alleged In Shooting

UPDATE:
☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar

11/09/2008 - A Merced man was seriously wounded after he was shot outside The Shanty in Eureka late Friday night, and four men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder shortly afterward....

☛ TS Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
☛ Modesto Bee Detectives kept an eye on Thompson because of his Hells Angels membership
☛ The AgingRebel.com Biker Motive Alleged In Shooting
☛ TS Hells Angel shot Friday was cleared of murdering girls in Merced

11/11/2008 - A man who was gunned down in the street outside an Old Town bar Friday night had recently been acquitted of a 1986 murder of two young girls in Atwater.

☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar

One arrested, two hospitalized after fight outside Eureka bar
11/16/2008 - A brutal fight outside a Eureka bar, The Shanty, early Saturday morning left one man in jail and two others recovering from serious injuries in the hospital.

☛ TS Prelim begins for alleged Mongols shooters

☛ TS Expert links shooting suspects to Mongols motorcycle gang

☛ TS Suspected Mongols accept plea agreement

12/18/2008 - Members of the Mongols biker gang implicated in the shooting of a suspected Hells Angel in early November have all accepted plea agreements offered by the Humboldt County district attorney.

◼ Mongols members sentenced for shooting