Hell's Lovers Motorcycle Club
| Abbreviation |
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967[1] |
| Founder | Frank "Claim-Jumper" Rios[1] |
| Founded at | Chicago, Illinois, United States[1] |
| Type | Outlaw motorcycle club |
Region | United States[1] |
| Membership | 1,500[1] |
The Hell's Lovers Motorcycle Club (HLMC), is a multi-ethnic outlaw motorcycle club founded in Chicago in 1967. The Hell's Lovers are active in various U.S. states. The club's motto is, "Death is my sidekick and the highway is my home." A "0%" diamond is worn in place of the traditional "1%" which all outlaw organizations use to separate themselves from the other 99% of law abiding motorcycle riders.
History
[edit]One of the first integrated biker clubs in Chicago, the Hell's Lovers were founded in 1967 by Frank "Claim-Jumper" Rios, a Mexican-American from the city's West Side, after he was denied membership in another motorcycle club.[1]
Rios died at the age of 62 from cardiac arrest attributed to complications from diabetes on December 28, 2009 in Milwaukee, where he moved from Chicago in 1997.[1]
Insignia
[edit]Members of the Hell's Lovers wear jackets with patches and rocker panels.[2]
Membership and organization
[edit]The Hell's Lovers claim a membership of over 1,500, with chapters located in various U.S. states, including Illinois, Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, Georgia and Maryland.[1] The Wisconsin Department of Justice describes the Hell's Lovers as a structured group with a "military style organization".[2]
Criminal allegations and incidents
[edit]The Wisconsin Department of Justice describes criminal activity by the Hell's Lovers as "decreasing," but says the club has been associated with drug trafficking and motorcycle theft.[2]
Police raided the Hell's Lovers clubhouse in the Austin district on the West Side of Chicago on June 15, 1980, arresting nine men and seizing a hand grenade and three shotguns, after a 28-year-old woman was allegedly beaten and raped on the premises. Three members—Derrick Hargrett, Jessie Jones, and James Windham—were charged with rape, one—William Schaffer—was charged with unlawful use of weapons, and five others with disorderly conduct.[3]
Hell's Lovers national president James Burrell was one of 31 people arrested on various charges on May 7, 1984 in relation to an undercover sting operation which recovered 488 items of stolen property. The investigation was carried out by the Evanston, Illinois police, the Cook County state's attorney's office gang crimes unit and the Illinois Department of Law Enforcement, which operated Kelly's Resale Shop, a second-hand store in Evanston, as a front for the sting.[4]
Luther Vaughn Jr., a member of the St. Louis chapter of the Hell's Lovers, was shot and killed at the Jets Clubhouse Lounge, a nightclub in East St. Louis, on March 31, 1985, apparently by a member of the rival Marauders motorcycle club. A suspect was later arrested in St. Louis County, Missouri.[5]
In June 2008, the Ironhorse Roundup Bike Show, a swap meet at the Lake County Fairgrounds, was canceled by Grayslake, Illinois mayor Timothy Perry after state and Federal law enforcement authorities had warned the Grayslake police chief of threats of violence between the Hell's Lovers and a rival outlaw gang, the Outlaws.[6]
On August 2, 2010, a member of the Wheels of Soul fired upon the Hell's Lovers' clubhouse in Denver with a shotgun from a sports utility vehicle.[7] Three Hell's Lovers bikers who were inside the clubhouse returned fire.[8]
Gunshots were fired and a bystander suffered critical injuries after a man was involved in a dispute with "a group of people associated with the Hell's Lovers" in the parking lot of Victoria's Bar in Topeka, Kansas on May 14, 2023. Seven people were arrested by the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office in connection with the shooting.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Bowean, Lolly (11 January 2010). "Frank 'Claim-Jumper' Rios: 1947–2009; Revved up city club for bikers; Formed in 1967, Hell's Lovers helped break race barriers". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 20.
- ^ a b c Northeast Wisconsin Gang Assessment (PDF), Wisconsin Department of Justice, retrieved 17 August 2010 Archived August 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 3 gang members held in rape Monica Langley, Chicago Tribune (June 16, 1980)
- ^ Evanston sting nets 31 indictments, 114 charges Michael Arndt and John O'Brien, Chicago Tribune (May 8, 1984)
- ^ Motorcycle gang member killed in East St. Louis bar The Belleville News-Democrat (April 1, 1985)
- ^ Black, Lisa (17 May 2008), "Promoter scrubs swap meet over fears of violence", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, p. 20
- ^ U.S. marshals capture member of notorious biker gang in Aurora The Denver Post (August 3, 2011) Archived February 13, 2025, at archive.today
- ^ Fugitive biker gang member arrested in Colorado (August 4, 2011) Archived February 13, 2025, at archive.today
- ^ Hell’s Lovers Motorcycle Club involved with wild Topeka bar shooting Matthew Self, KSNT (May 19, 2023) Archived May 19, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
References
[edit]- Kurtz, Holly (7 March 1998), "Blacks go to street festival for reunion "everyone just comes out and just chills" during Bike Week festivities, one participant said", Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, p. D.1
- Long, Jeff; Achenbaum, Emily S.; Zahorik, Ralph, "Fear of rival gangs detours motorcycle festival", Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on 1 June 2010, retrieved 17 August 2010