Hells Angel Acquitted Jury Finds Timothy Myers Not Guilty Of All Charges In Tavern Shootings
The secretary of the Spokane chapter of the Hells Angels was acquitted Friday of killing a rival biker gang member and wounding a second man during a Hillyard bar fight.
Timothy G. Myers, a 42-year-old apprentice electrician, also was found not guilty of lesser charges of manslaughter and assault by an anonymous Superior Court jury.
Myers smiled and hugged defense attorney Bevan Maxey before walking out of the courthouse and being greeted by several fellow Hells Angels.
“I have no comment,” Myers said before he was whisked away in a red Chevy Blazer with Nazi “SS” lightning bolts painted on its sides.
Maxey said the jury believed the defense claim that Myers feared for his life after being severely beaten by a group of Ghost Riders inside and outside the Comet tavern.
One of those attackers, Ghost Rider Sean Kilgallen, 31, died Dec. 9 from a single hollowpoint bullet fired by Myers. Gary Fisette Jr., 23, was wounded by a second bullet.
Deputy Prosecutor David Hearrean said he was disappointed that the jury wasn’t convinced that the twin shootings were intentional. He argued that the victims were shot because they stole Myers’ Hells Angels colors during a bar fight.
During the trial, the defense attorney said Myers’ attackers were a “drunken, uncontrollable swarm of thugs.” An autopsy showed Kilgallen’s blood alcohol level was 0.20, twice the point of legal intoxication.
“Everybody has a right to preserve their life against unlawful attackers,” Maxey said after the acquittal.
The defense attorney also said he believes the acquittal came because the prosecution witnesses offered inconsistent testimony.
Prosecution witness Kenneth “Maggot” Fisette, who’s been a member of the Ghost Riders for 25 years and chapter president, testified that he had lied to police investigating the shooting.
He told the jury that he didn’t know he had to tell the truth to police.
The prosecutor said he doesn’t have any misgivings about taking the case to trial.
“I truly believe the public is behind what we did here,” Hearrean said. “It’s a jury question whether a murder was committed.”
“In a case like this, the state does not pick its witnesses,” but had an obligation to bring murder charges because a life was taken, Hearrean said.
The gang prosecutor and his wife both claim they were targets of threats and intimidation they believe were orchestrated by the Hells Angels.
Angels president Richard “Smilin’ Rick” Fabel denied those charges and offered to take a lie detector if the prosecutor would do the same.
Hells Angels members and their associates claim they were followed around the clock this week by police, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers.
Police say the surveillance was necessary to prevent intimidation and to protect Hells Angels from false accusations.
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