A fourth member of the Vallejo chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition during a Tuesday morning hearing in a Sacramento federal courtroom.
Kenneth Caspers Jr., 57, of Vacaville, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing ammunition after being convicted of a felony crime, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a press statement.
According to court documents, in October 2021, two different victims — both members of a different motorcycle club that is considered a “puppet” (or subordinate) club of the Hells Angels — were beaten by Caspers, Michael Mahoney, Jaime Alvarez, Dennis Killough, and other club members. The assaults were based on perceived infractions of the Hells Angels’ rules, said Talbert, who leads the Department of Justice’s Eastern District of California.
Court records indicate that on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Caspers’ Vacaville home and found several firearms and ammunition, including 18 rounds of .22‑caliber, .25‑caliber, and/or .38-caliber ammunition in Caspers’ master bedroom and bathroom.
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Caspers, who remains out of custody, has previously been convicted of several felony crimes — including a previous felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm — that prevent him from possessing guns or ammunition.
The case stemmed from an investigation by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the Vacaville, Vallejo, and Fairfield police departments, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt, Alsytn Bennet, and Adrian T. Kinsella lead the prosecution.
U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez scheduled Caspers’ sentencing hearing on Feb. 11, when he faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined by the court and federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables, Talbert noted in the prepared statement.
The three other defendants have previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows: Alvarez was sentenced to 21 months in prison on March 21, 2023; Killough was sentenced to 46 months in prison on June 26, 2023; and Mahoney was sentenced to 37 months in prison on May 2, 2023.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone, said Talbert.