Seventeen accused members of the Hells Angels were indicted in a racially charged attack in San Diego. (San Diego County District Attorney’s Office)
An accused Hells Angels gang leader appeared in court in California this week to face charges in a racially charged attack in which he allegedly stabbed a Black man in the chest, cracking his sternum, before casually folding up his knife and walking away.
Troy Scholder was among 17 suspected bikers indicted in the attack this summer on three men that left one unconscious on a sidewalk, and another curled up on the ground. A third managed to run away. Scholder faces attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon charges. The defendants appeared in court on Friday.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said the attack happened possibly because one of them possibly spoke to a biker’s girlfriend. The victims, ages 19, 20 and 21, survived.
“In San Diego County, we cannot, and will not tolerate, violence and racism of any nature, much less crimes like this hateful, vicious, and unprovoked attack,” Stephan said. “It is a testament to the cooperation and coordination of our law enforcement partners, working closely with our Gangs Division, that these defendants were identified and are being brought to face justice.”
The June 6 crime prompted a large-scale investigation by the San Diego Police Department and the District Attorney’s Gang Unit. After hearing six days of testimony, a grand jury returned indictments on Sept. 13 against 14 defendants for assault likely to cause great bodily injury — with a gang allegation and 11 of them with a hate crime allegation. The grand jury added three additional defendants because the trio helped drive the accused stabber from the scene and back to the Hells Angels Clubhouse in El Cajon, prosecutors said.
“These disgusting hate-driven attacks have no place in our community. There is no stronger way to condemn this violence than to hold the perpetrators accountable to the fullest force of the law,” said San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit. “We committed every necessary resource to track down and arrest each person who was involved in these wanton acts of violence.”
They were arrested on Sept. 21. Authorities seized 42 illegal firearms and drugs.
If convicted of all charges, the defendants face a range of possible sentences from three years to life in prison. The trial is set for Nov. 14.
Stephan told FOX 5’s KSWB-TV that the defendants shouted racial epithets before the attack. The stabbing was so bad she said a doctor could see the man’s lungs.
She said many witnessed it, but no one intervened.
“They were afraid, understandably,” she said. “When you have gang violence, and you have hate crimes, they multiply. They Send a message, and they make the whole community, including, in this case, African-Americans, unsafe.”
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