Witness Challenged At Hells Angel Trial Isn’t Sure Defendant Is Man Who Stalked Her

Yolanda Fisette said she saw a man standing outside her home last spring, staring at her window.

But now she can’t be sure if that man was Hells Angel Richard Fabel, who’s accused of trying to scare her from testifying at the murder trial of one of his biker friends.

Her uncertainty on the witness stand Monday damaged the prosecution’s case against Fabel, 40-year-old president of the Spokane chapter of the motorcyle gang, and chapter secretary Timothy Myers, 42.

Defense attorney Bevan Maxey challenged the witness’ credibility, pointing out she lied to him earlier this summer in a statement made in his office.

“So when do you decide to tell the truth?” Maxey asked.

“In front of a judge,” Fisette answered.

Myers and Fabel are on trial in Spokane County Superior Court, charged with intimidating Fisette, who testified against Myers at his murder trial last April.

The day of the alleged intimidation by Fabel, prosecutors say he stood outside her home with his arms crossed, staring at her window for 15 to 30 minutes.

That allegedly occurred the day Fisette was supposed to testify against Myers, charged with second-degree murder for killing Sean Kilgallen, a member of the rival Ghost Riders gang. A jury acquitted Myers of the murder charge, ruling he acted in self-defense.

Kenneth Fisette, Yolanda’s husband, was president of the Ghost Riders at the time of the killing.

Prosecutors also contend Myers intimidated Fisette one night months before his trial while both were inside a north Spokane restaurant.

Yolanda Fisette had no trouble with that part of her story, identifying Myers as the person who stuck his arm in front of her as she tried to leave the Flame Restaurant in January.

He was wearing a shirt with “Hells Angels” on a sleeve in white letters, she said.

Maxey said Fabel was not the person outside her house, and Myers didn’t intimidate anybody.

The trial continues this week, with jurors trying to sort through two sets of charges: those involving Fisette as one victim; and charges against four Hells Angels for intimidating a public official.

Charged with that crime, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, are Fabel, Michael Cultis, 49, Michael Wooster, 39, and Joe Dye, 35.

They’re accused of standing inside the Mars Hotel downtown, staring and silently threatening Deputy Prosecutor David Hearrean. Hearrean prosecuted Myers’ murder trial.

After Fisette’s testimony, Special Deputy Prosecutor Rocco Treppiedi said he can still salvage the case against Fabel.

“We’ll have testimony Wednesday by a detective who will say (Fisette) was much clearer in her identification” when she first told police she saw Fabel outside her home, Treppiedi said.

Fisette said she lied to Maxey because she feared the Angels would get even with her.

“I wanted to walk the streets of Spokane safely,” she testified.

Maxey asked if she changed her story so prosecutors will dismiss burglary charges pending against her.

Not so, Fisette shot back. “My attorney got that case continued.”

The trial is halted today so defendant Cultis can attend his mother’s funeral in California.

, DataTimes