Bill Morlin

Richard Bontius, with wife, Kay, put out the fire at Community Evangelical Free Church with a garden hose. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The president of the Spokane chapter of the Hells Angels says his members are victims of harassment and retaliation because of a murder trial acquittal. Richard "Smilin' Rick" Fabel made the comment Friday after being released from jail on a charge of intimidating a prosecutor who handled the recent murder case against Hells Angel Timothy Myers. Fabel and Myers were among six Hells Angels and their friends arrested Tuesday by a task force of 80 state and local police.

The peaceful end of a historic standoff in Montana gives the FBI more than the surrender of 16 defiant anti-government freemen. The federal agency is rebuilding public confidence in its ability to enforce the law against extremists.

Maze

A Spokane County judge Wednesday reduced the bail for three Hells Angels and two of their associates accused of intimidating a prosecutor and witnesses in a recent murder trial. One day after an 80-officer task force made the arrests, Superior Court Judge Robert Austin set bail in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $35,000. Bail for each of the defendants was initially set at $100,000.

1. A SWAT team prepares for a raid on a Hells Angels building Tuesday. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Richard Allen Fabel. Age: 39. Occupation: President of the Spokane chapter of the Hells Angels. Owner of American Motorcycle. Charges: Intimidation of a public servant. Location of arrest: N. 6524 Royal Dr. 3. Michael L. Cultis. Age: 49. Occupation: Member of the Hells Angels. Charges: Intimidation of a public servant. Location of arrest: N.6524 Royal Dr. Notes: 5 loaded firearms were seized as well as a small amount of amphetamine. 4. Joe Edward Dye. Age: 35. Occupation: Associate member of the Hells Angels. Charges: Intimidation of a public servant. Location of arrest: N.6524 Royal Dr. Notes: A small amount of amphetamine was seized. 5. Michael Lynn Wooster. Age: 39. Occupation: Mechanic at American motorcycle and an associate member of the Hells Angels. Charges: Intimidation of a public servant. Location of arrest: W.429 33rd. Notes: 5 loaded firearms seized; small amount of amphetamine. 6. Timothy Gail Myers. Age: 42. Occupation: Apprentice electrician and secretary of the Spokane chapter of the Hells Angels. Charges: Intimidation of a witness. Location of arrest: In vehicle at Mission and Greene.

1. Paul Cavanaugh's cabin in Lincoln County. ATF photo 2. Cavanaugh

Paulsen

Jerry Boot

A Missouri woman facing a federal kidnapping charge in Spokane is scheduled to take a psychiatric test, her attorney said in court on Thursday. Susan Schultz, 53, is accused of traveling from St. Peters, Mo., to Spokane on Feb. 17 to kidnap her brother's 9-year-old son.

A federal judge is taking the unusual step of ordering a background report before accepting an expected guilty plea from a former geology professor. Russell C. Boggs, 43, of Cheney, was scheduled to plead guilty Thursday to two federal counts of receipt and possession of child pornography. The entry of those pleas by Boggs was postponed until June 13, while a U.S. Probation Office investigator completes a pre-sentence report.

A Spokane Gypsy leader, wearing a T-shirt depicting headlines from his 10-year legal battle, was arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court. James "Senator" Marks and his wife, Jane, appeared before Judge Fred Van Sickle on charges of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Jane Marks also faces a perjury count. After a lengthy hearing, featuring frequent soliloquies by James Marks, the judge entered not-guilty pleas for both defendants.

State taxpayers will pay the defense costs and lost wages of a Spokane Hells Angel acquitted last week of murder and assault. Reimbursement could approach $100,000. The payback comes under a provision of a state law providing reimbursement to criminal defendants who prevail in self-defense cases.

Timothy Myers is greeted by fellow Hells Angels outside the Spokane County Courthouse on Friday. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Marks family accused of threatening witnesses. Grover Marks airs his grievances as he is helped to the U.S. Court House on Thursday. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Myers leaves court with his grandchild. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Accused murderer Timothy Myers says he was severely beaten and feared he was going to be killed before shooting two men outside a Hillyard tavern. The 42-year-old founding member of the Spokane chapter of the Hells Angels is charged with seconddegree murder and first-degree assault for the Dec. 9 shootings.

A Ghost Riders motorcycle gang member stole the patch from a rival Hells Angels leader during a Hillyard bar brawl, a Spokane woman testified Monday. Yolanda Fisette's testimony contradicts a statement she gave police four days after Ghost Rider Sean Kilgallen was fatally shot outside the Comet tavern. The 30-year-old woman, whose husband has been president of the Ghost Riders, told police in December she grabbed the Hells Angels "colors" from Timothy G. Myers.

A Hells Angel, attacked by rival Ghost Riders motorcycle gang members and left in a "bloody heap" outside a Spokane tavern, fired a gun in self-defense, a jury was told Thursday. Timothy G. Myers, secretary of the Spokane chapter of the Hells Angels, is accused of second-degree murder and first-degree assault for shooting two men outside the Comet tavern in Hillyard on Dec. 9. Myers, 42, was assaulted and stripped of his Hells Angels colors as a reprisal by Ghost Riders and their friends, defense attorney Bevan Maxey said in his opening statement to the jury.

Copyright 1996, The Spokesman-Review The FBI issued a nationwide alert last week that warns law enforcement agencies of potential domestic terrorism if the standoff with the Montana freemen turns sour. In an April 23 bulletin to police agencies, the FBI's National Security Division included the text of a militia "war warning."

A Spokane-area militia group is being kicked out of a publicly-owned building where it has held weekly meetings for almost two years. The contract with Concerned Citizens of Washington was terminated after a security guard saw a member of the group with a gun in the county-owned Valley Senior Citizens Center on April 18. "It was a visible gun and he was wearing it," said Milt Olson, president of the senior center, who revoked the contract.

Timothy Myers is charged with fatally wounding a member of the rival Ghost Riders gang. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

The bomb that exploded outside Spokane City Hall was significantly different from two pipe bombs detonated exactly four weeks earlier in the Valley, authorities say. A timer and electronic ignition apparently detonated Monday's bomb, suggesting a more sophisticated device, sources said.

An anonymous jury will be picked today to hear the murder and assault case against a leader of the Spokane Hells Angels. The selection process approved Monday by Superior Court Judge Kenneth Kato apparently is the first time in state court history that the names of jurors will be kept secret. The judge made the decision after hearing daylong testimony from expert witnesses who detailed how Hells Angels intimidate and threaten jurors.