Bikers busted after crashing ’Fest
Woonsocket Police: Two members of Outlaws motorcycle gang arrested after incident at Autumnfest
WOONSOCKET – A sizable contingent of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club showed up at the Autumnfest beer tent Friday night, prompting a confrontation with police that resulted in the arrest of two members of the reputed gang, including one on firearms charges.
Police said John Petrarca and Anthony Gallagher were among two dozen Outlaws who were barred from the festival grounds for refusing to comply with police orders to remove their gang insignia before being allowed in.
Apparently miffed by the ultimatum, Petrarca and Gallagher alleged- ly drove away at high speed. Police stopped them a couple of blocks from the Autumnfest grounds, at which time officers found a loaded, two-shot Derringer pistol in a storage compartment of Petrarca’s motorcycle.
Petrarca, 46, of Woonsocket, and Gallagher, 50, of Smithfield, were both charged with reckless driving. Petrarca was also charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle.
“We knew there was a possibility of them showing up,” said Detective Capt. Michael A. Lemoine. “It was good work by the officers involved. We sent a message we’re not going to tolerate their activities, especially at a family event like Autumnfest.”
One of the largest motorcycle gangs in the country, the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, as it is officially known, has maintained a chapter house for more than two years at 19 Fabien St. That’s a residential property held in Petrarca’s name, according to Lemoine.
Because the Outlaws are known rivals of the Hells Angels, state and local police have been keeping a close watch on the two gangs amid concerns that heightened tensions between them could erupt into a violent turf war. The Hells Angels have maintained a chapter in the state for a number of years.
Lemoine said that was precisely what concerned police when the Outlaws members showed up Friday at World War II Park. He said the police believe the gang’s strong presence in such a public forum was a show of strength and a deliberate provocation to its rivals.
“Basically we wanted them to take off their colors to prevent any violence involving any other motorcycle group,” said Lemoine.
Lemoine said just two detail officers were involved in the initial confrontation at the festival grounds in a parking area off East School Street. When Gallagher and Petrarca took off at a high rate of speed, the officers called for backup to pull them over.
Even though they were the only two motorcyclists pulled over, the others who’d arrived with them at Autumnfest stopped and stood by while police took them into custody. At that point, Lemoine said it’s unclear how many officers were on the scene, but he said there were substantially fewer police than Outlaws members.
“It takes a lot of courage to walk up on a group like that,” Lemoine said.
The police have had few problems locally with the Outlaws, but members of the gang have been arrested elsewhere in the state in the recent past.
In early July, West Warwick police said a member of the Outlaws was involved in a fistfight with a member of the Hells Angels outside a Dunkin’ Donuts. Both men were charged with disorderly conduct and taken to the police station.
The men were arraigned at the police station in West Warwick as members of both gangs waited outside for the release of their members.
In September, the Rhode Island State Police organized a meeting of 13 local police departments to discuss strategy for dealing with motorcycle gangs, citing an atmosphere of growing tensions between the Hells Angels and the Outlaws. Representatives from Massachusetts and Connecticut also participated.
The Outlaws describes itself as a non-violent organization that professes to be about “biking and brotherhood.” The official website of the organization, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association, says the group was founded in 1935 in McCook, Illinois and now has scores of chapters around the nation.
The Fabien Street chapter – the club’s only Rhode Island unit – is a fully recognized branch of the national group, the website says.
Lemoine says the arrival of a group of the Outlaws at Autumnfest did not come as a total surprise to the detail officers assigned to keep security at the event, partly because members tried to get into the beer tent last year.
Also, the captain said police had developed information that the Outlaws were planning some kind of a weekend bash at the clubhouse to celebrate the Columbus Day weekend.