Western Washington tame when it comes to outlaw motorcycle gangs

We now know the names of the nine bikers killed in the shootout in Waco and as investigators try to piece together information from this gruesome scene, the question surfaces: are outlaw motorcycle gangs a problem in the Northwest?

When you’re talking about those burly guys on motorcycles riding around in groups, there’s one important factor to understand: ninety-nine percent of them aren’t part of a gang, they’re just bikers.

That’s according to national motorcycle gang expert Charles Falco, who infiltrated three different outlaw motorcycle gangs and wrote a book about them. His name is actually a pseudonym because he was once an informant.

“The biker lifestyle is great, in my view,” Falco said. “There’s a big difference between the two. Bikers are about free living. They’re patriotic, they just want to have a good time. They just want to ride their motorcycles. Motorcycle gangs are highly structured. They have by-laws; they are more about conducting war and fighting over territory they don’t even own.”

The Hells Angels are a good example. They’re a tiny group in Western Washington, but have traditionally been the reigning gang in the state. But now the Mongols are moving in.

In fact, Falco said that might be why there was a shooting at a Hells Angel club in Spokane last month.

He said any member of an outlaw motorcycle gang like a Hells Angel, Mongol, or Bandido, takes orders from the top. If a chapter leader sends out instructions for violence, the members must follow.

He doesn’t know why motorcycle gangs aren’t thriving in Western Washington, but it really could be the weather. In places like California and Florida, bikers can ride all year long.

Still, there are bikers here and plenty of biker bars all over the state. You might find a couple of guys at the Time Out in Kirkland. On Thursday nights, bikers hang out at the Central Saloon in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. Erin Martin has tended bar there for the last nine years.

“The ones who come here are my friends,” Martin said. “They’re really nice. There are a couple people in the gangs &#8212 they don’t allow [them] in here. They know why.”

She describes most of her biker customers and buddies as sweethearts &#8212 and she’s talking about some who are part of the Hells Angels and some who are Bandidos.

“There’s always a bad apple,” Martin said. “Bikers are just no different.”

“A lot of people I know in biker gangs, too, don’t have a lot of their own family. They’ve gone through a lot of loss, a lot of pain in their life and that brings them a sense of camaraderie they don’t always get,” she said. “It’s important. It’s just a clique. It’s a cheer-leading squad of men in middle age.”

Martin is tough. She’s covered in tattoos. She won’t take any slack from any customer, no matter how big. Still, she forms a heart with her hands as she describes her friends.

“I love my friendly biker gangs,” she said. “They’re awesome.”

Falco is going to Spokane next week to teach law enforcement about outlaw motorcycle gangs.

He said we’ll have to wait and see what happens in Spokane. If that was a rivalry shooting in April, it is very likely there will be retaliation against a member of the Mongols. But we won’t know when it’s coming.