By Kale Williams and Henry Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco police raided the headquarters of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood early Wednesday and arrested one person, authorities said.
The Police Department’s gang task force served a search warrant at the three-story brown building on the 1100 block of Tennessee Street about 5 a.m.
San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr said the raid was linked to an ongoing aggravated assault investigation. But details of the case were not immediately available, nor was information about the arrest.
A large skull and wing insignia hung outside the building, along with signs reading “Parking for Hells Angels only.” Two men who entered the building Wednesday morning declined to comment.
A neighbor who would only give his name as L. Perry said he had seen at least 10 similar raids of the building in the 16 years he’s lived in the neighborhood.
“To me, it seems like a lot of police manpower wasted,” Perry said. “We see these raids, but we never hear about any results.”
He added, “I don’t really see anything wrong with what they’re doing down there. They shifted their entrance so they don’t have to come down the residential part of the street, and I appreciate that. They really haven’t been a problem.”
Stacia Wymen, 47, a research scientist who walks her dog past the clubhouse several times a day, said, “I hear their bikes, but I’ve never seen anybody even hanging out in front. There’s an urban legend in the neighborhood that they keep it clean there. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I’ve never heard any wild parties or even seen anyone coming or going.”
Copyright 2014 the San Francisco Chronicle