Kirkland man arrested in roundup of Hells Angels

A Kirkland motorcycle-shop owner indicted in a massive regional roundup of Hells Angels biker-gang members has been tied to a deadly brawl at a Nevada casino last year during an annual motorcycle convention, prosecutors said.

Federal agents arrested Jeffrey D. Carney, 42, at his Juanita home at 6 a.m. yesterday, as hundreds of other agents converged on homes and Hells Angels clubhouses from Arizona to Alaska. In all, 40 members or associates were arrested on federal drug, weapons and racketeering charges.

Four other people in Washington — in Tacoma, Silverdale, Spokane and Wenatchee — were arrested. And agents searched what they described as a biker "clubhouse" in Spokane.

The early-morning raids were the culmination of a two-year undercover investigation that began in Los Angeles and spread to Nevada, Arizona, Washington and Alaska, said agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The headquarters of the Hells Angels, in San Francisco, also was raided.

At a news conference in Los Angeles, ATF agents displayed motorcycle jackets and firearms that were seized along with stolen military-grade explosives, 50 guns and a quarter-pound of methamphetamine.

Others arrested in Washington included Ronald Arnone and Steven Pearce, who appeared in federal court in Tacoma yesterday, according to federal prosecutors. Their specific alleged involvement in the Hells Angels wasn't made public.

Specifics of the indictments remained sealed yesterday, and the special agent in charge of the Seattle ATF office, Kelvin Crenshaw, declined to provide any specifics yesterday.

Federal agents and Kirkland police in SWAT gear had surrounded Carney's home in the 13000 block of 105th Place Northeast in case of trouble, but there wasn't any, said Kirkland police Lt. Bill Hamilton. An agent phoned Carney's number, and he agreed to give up peacefully.

Carney, with graying hair and a bushy goatee, quietly appeared before a federal magistrate in Seattle yesterday afternoon. A bail hearing was set for today, and Carney's attorney said he was eager to post bail in time for a motorcycle show in Seattle this weekend.

But prosecutors said they will ask to keep Carney in detention pending extradition to Nevada.

There he is charged with 10 counts of committing violence in aid of racketeering and one count of using a firearm in a crime of violence. He could face at least 10 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the charges all stem from Carney's alleged participation in a battle in a Harrah's casino in Laughlin, Nev., in April 2002. That night, with the city packed for an annual weekend motorcycle show, members of the Hells Angels and a rival biker gang, the Mongols, began a fistfight on the casino floor. Within minutes, the brawl escalated to more than 70 people, and some fired guns. Two Hells Angels and one Mongol died. More than a dozen people were wounded.

Agents at the time said the Hells Angels, primarily older and white, and Mongols, mostly young and Hispanic, had been escalating their turf wars throughout the West recently.

The specifics of Carney's alleged participation in the brawl were not provided yesterday.

Carney is a longtime Kirkland resident who owns Cyclpath Motorcycle and Machine, a Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycle shop on Northeast 124th Street in Kirkland. He also has operated motorcycle-related businesses over the years called Triple Threat Racing, Jeff Carney Racing and Kirkland Choppers.

Carney struck none of his neighbors as the Hells Angels type. Instead they said he is quiet and polite, and it surprised them that he would be arrested.

Except for the noisy Harley-Davidson motorcycles that he and his wife rode — and the flame design on his mailbox — his neighbors on the residential street near Juanita High School said they saw no signs he could be associated with the Hells Angels.

Carney's record locally is limited to a 1988 drug conviction, which was dismissed after he completed a deferment program, and tickets for speeding and illegally setting off fireworks, according to court records.

Staff reporter Leslie Fulbright and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ian Ith: 206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com