The Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club (DDMC) is an

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle ...

that was founded in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It ...

in 1967. Such clubs are not sanctioned by the

American Motorcyclist Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its motto, mission statement is "t ...

(AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. The club originally had six members, there is a misconception that the word "disciples" was intentionally misspelled to distance themselves from any type of religion. However, in the early days of the club, some founding members went to Mexico to have their patches made, and the misspelling was unintentional, but stuck. Their insignia is a motorcycle wheel with two

trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

s crossing over it. In the United States, the club has chapters in Alabama, Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, and Ohio.

Controversies

The Devils Diciples are considered by law enforcement to be among the many second-tier, after the " Big Four", outlaw motorcycle clubs. Ronald Douglas Neal, the president of the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

Devils Diciples chapter, and Jacquelyn O'Dusky, a Diciples associate, were indicted on firearms and narcotics charges after the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF) and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department raided Neal's home as part of Operation One Percenter, a 12-month ATF investigation, and a 15-month investigation by local investigators. The pair handed themselves into authorities on March 19, 1986. On March 27, 1986, another Devils Diciples member, John E.Bondy, was arrested in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

on a five-count indictment accusing him of making false statements in acquiring firearms, and unlawfully receiving and possessing firearms as a convicted felon, also as part of Operation One Percenter. The ATF operation resulted in the arrests of 53 members and associates of 18 different biker gangs on various weapons and narcotics charges, during a series of raids in 18 U.S. states, and the seizure of 10 sawed-off shotguns, 10 machine guns, 63 rifles, 100 handguns, 4,500 rounds of ammunition, six silencers, a bomb, four hand grenades, five pounds of dynamite, 15 stolen vehicles, a stolen computer and a drug lab, as well as large quantities of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and PCP.U.S. cracks down on motorcyle gangs

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

(March 27, 1986) Agents Make 53 Motorcycle Gang Arrests
Mary Thornton, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' (March 27, 1986) 'Operation 1 Percenter' nets 53 bikers

(March 28, 1986) Simi Raid Part of 18-State Move Against Biker Gangs
Mark Henry, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' (March 28, 1986) In November 2006, the U.S. District Court in Detroit closed its first major

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

case with the sentencing of two Devils Diciples members and five associates in connection to manufacturing methamphetamine. In an investigation into the club begun in 2002, prosecutors in 2009 requested dropping the last remaining charges against the club's national president, Jeff "Fat Dog" Garvin Smith, "...to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation and because the interests of justice require it." Charges against 17 other club members or associates had been dropped in April. These charges included drug trafficking and other offenses, brought when 18 alleged members of the Devils Diciples were arrested on April 2, 2009 by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. During the raid, 42 firearms, 3,000 rounds of ammunition, three bullet-proof vests, $12,000, 15 casino-style slot machines, 1,000

Vicodin Hydrocodone/paracetamol (also known as hydrocodone/acetaminophen) is the combination of the pain medications hydrocodone and paracetamol (acetaminophen). It is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is taken by mouth. Recreational use is ...

and OxyContin pills, 1½ pounds of

and 55 pounds of

were seized. The remaining charges Smith was to be tried for were being "...a violent felon in possession of body armor..." as well as "...using a communications facility (a telephone) in furtherance of drug trafficking..."

New Baltimore, Michigan New Baltimore is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,117 at the 2020 census. New Baltimore is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is located along the northern shores of Lake St. Clair. History N ...

District Court Judge Paul Cassidy was investigated in April 2009 for allegedly giving Devils Diciples members preferential treatment. He is a boyhood friend of their National President Jeff Garvin Smith. Cassidy announced his retirement after his home and office were searched as part of the investigation of the Devils Diciples. In 2011, Stephen J. Kinzey, a

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

professor at

California State University, San Bernardino California State University, San Bernardino (Cal State San Bernardino or CSUSB) is a public research university in San Bernardino, California. Founded in 1965, it is part of the California State University system. The main campus sits on in th ...

, was accused of smuggling

while part of the club. Per San Bernardino Superior Court records, Kinzey's charges have been dismissed. Duane "Dog" Chapman, now an anti-crime celebrity bounty hunter, was associated with the club during his adolescence. July 2012, 31 Devils Diciples members in Michigan and Alabama were arrested by the FBI. More than 60 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition were seized during this investigation. In addition, eight methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories were dismantled. Smith and five other members were convicted in Federal court in 2015 of various offenses. As of July 2015, sentencing had been delayed until 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devils Diciples Outlaw motorcycle clubs 1967 establishments in California Organizations established in 1967 Gangs in California Gangs in Detroit Motorcycle clubs in the United States Fontana, California