Case 1:08-cr OWW Document 86 Filed 08/21/2008 Page 1 of 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA.

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1 Case :0-cr-00-OWW Document Filed 0//0 Page of 0 JAI M. GOHEL, CA SBN 0 Eddy Street San Francisco, California 0 Telephone: ( - Facsimile: ( - Attorneys for Defendant RAY MARTIN HEFFINGTON UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vs. Plaintiff, RAY MARTIN HEFFINGTON, et. al., Defendants. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA --oo0oo-- Case No.: 0:0-CR-00-OWW (00 DECLARATION OF JAI M. GOHEL IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO RECONSIDER DETENTION ORDER Date: August, 0 Time: :0 p.m. Courtroom: Hon. Magistrate Snyder I, JAI M. GOHEL, hereby state under penalty of perjury, as follows:. I am a member of the bar of the state of California and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, and I am counsel for defendant Ray Martin Heffington in the above-entitled matter. I filed my appearance for Mr. Heffington on August, 0.. The Indictment was ordered unsealed on July, 0, as arrests of many of the defendants were executed. Upon hearing media reports related to the Indictment, Defendant Ray Heffington contacted undersigned counsel. On July, 0, undersigned counsel, after confirming that Mr. Heffington had been indicted by reviewing PACER records, called Assistant United States OF DETENTION ORDER -

2 Case :0-cr-00-OWW Document Filed 0//0 Page of 0 Attorney Laurel Montoya at approximately : p.m. on July, 0 and informed her that Mr. Heffington wished to surrender to law enforcement. Later that day, on July, Mr. Heffington did, in fact, voluntarily turn himself in to the United States Marshals Office in Fresno, California.. On July, 0, Hon. Magistrate Judge Gary Austin ordered defendant to be detained pretrial, after a brief detention hearing at which he was represented by previous counsel David Torres.. At the time of the June, 0 detention hearing, no discovery had been provided to prior defense counsel, nor had the search warrant application, affidavit and return of service from any search warrant.. On August, 0, Compact Discs of discovery were made available by the government, which include over 00 Bates stamped pages of documents, including search warrant applications, affidavits and returns of service, Title III wiretap authorization and related applications and affidavits and subsequent extension applications. In addition, hundreds if not thousands of intercepted phone conversations have been recorded and provided. I have reviewed the Bates stamped documents, but have not listened to more than a handful of the recorded converstations. Nevertheless, I am in a position to provide the Court with significant information regarding defendant s alleged role in the conspiracies and crimes charged against him in the Indictment as referred to in B of the Detention Order, which were not availabel to prior counsel at the initial detention hearing.. There appears to be no evidence, based upon my review of discovery, that Mr. Heffington had possession of any stolen motorcycle parts, equipment, records or any other evidence of his participation in a stolen motorcycles ring as a result of the execution of the search warrant on his residence. OF DETENTION ORDER -

3 Case :0-cr-00-OWW Document Filed 0//0 Page of 0. I am informed and believe that Donald Jesse ( D.J. Foster, the owner of the allegedly stolen motorcycle which my client is alleged to have stripped and delivered/sold to Road Dog Cycle, is a principal of Mr. Heffington s employer, and D.J. Foster is the son of the owner of the company.. I represent Mr. Heffington in a pending criminal felony case in Fresno County, Case No. F 00. The First Amended Information alleges violations of Penal Code (a( gun charge with a. (b( gang enhancement; Penal Code (b( gun charge with a.(b( enhancement; and a substantive Penal Code.(a gang charge, all felonies. Defendants are all members or associates of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, and were riding their motorbikes on Highway on July, 0 when they were detained and arrested by law enforcement. Subsequent searches of defendants resulted in the discovery of four handguns, one found on four of the six individuals traveling together. The matter is set for trial on September, 0.. Undersigned counsel belives that, in his considered opinion, after discussions with the prosecutor and judges in pretrial negotiations, even if convicted of all charges in the pending state case, Mr. Heffington (as well as the other defendants in the case will likely receive a probationary sentence and county jail time. 0. During the course or representing Mr. Heffington in his criminal case in Fresno County, I received in discovery, a true and correct copy of Mr. Heffington s rap sheet. A close inspection of these CII Records, while showing numerous arrests, indicate the following actual dispositions: A grant of drug diversion in Madera County, Case No. -, on a charge of a California H&S charge. (No conviction. OF DETENTION ORDER -

4 Case :0-cr-00-OWW Document Filed 0//0 Page of 0 A guilty plea in Madera County Case No. to a misdemeanor Penal Code (a violation for resisting or obstructing a peace officer, with a grant of months probation and days jail. (Misdemeanor conviction. A guilty plea in Madera County Case No. - to a misdemeanor charge of Penal Code (a for vandalism, with a day county jail sentence and fine, no probation. (Misdemeanor conviction. A guilty plea in Madera County Case No. to a felony charge of H&S (a for possession of concentrated cannabis, with a grant of 0 months probation and days of jail. This felony charge was subsequently reduced for all purposes, pursuant to Penal Code (b to a misdemeanor, and the guilty plea was withdrawn and a new plea of not guilty entered pursuant to Penal Code. by Order of the Madera County Superior Cort on January 0, 0. (No conviction.. I represented a defendant who is (and was a member of the Hells Angels in the matter of United States v. Acosta, et. al., Case No. 0-, before the Honorable James Mahan in the United States District Court for the district of Nevada. My client was one of defendants charged with Conspiracy, Violence in Aid of Racketeering (including an allegation that they did so to maintain or enhance their standing in the HAMC, and related firearm charges.. The case arose from a shootout on the floor of Harrah s Casino in Laughlin, Nevada on April, 0, in which people were killed and others were wounded. All defendants were HAMC members, or closely affiliated with HAMC members, and 0 resided outside of Las Vegas, Reno, Seattle, Washington, Alaska, and various California cities ranging from Sonoma (in the north to San Diego (south.. Notwithstanding the charges of Violent Crimes in aid of Racketeering (in which the HAMC was the alleged enterprise, and the prosecution s initial requests that they be detained, Judge Mahan ordered the release of all but one of the defendants on signature bonds, with travel limited only to the entirety of their respective states of residence, but permitting travel to Nevada as well. Judge Mahan also refused the government s request that they be prohibited from associating with co-defendants and with other HAMC members. OF DETENTION ORDER -

5 Case :0-cr-00-OWW Document Filed 0//0 Page of 0. The first of the defendants began September 0, and after approximately weeks of jury trial, the case ended with defendants pleading guilty to an enterprise conspiracy not the HAMC. Sentences for the five of six ranged from - years, one was sentenced to years, concurrent with a previously imposed sentence. The cases against the remaining defendants, including my client, were all dismissed with prejudice.. Of note is the fact that during the almost years that the case was pending, not one of the defendants, all of whom were affiliated in some way with the HAMC, had his pretrial release revoked due to any act of violence. Likewise, after several years of experience in handling HAMC-related cases, not one of my clients who have been granted pretrial release in state or federal court had his bond revoked for any reason whatsoever.. I have obtained and reviewed documents which I have attached as the following exhibits in support of this motion, and these are true and correct copies: a. Exhibit A: Reporter s Transcript of the July, 0 Detention Hearing for Ray Heffington. b. Exhibit B: July, 0 Detention Order for Ray Heffington. c. Exhibit C: Excerpts of Application for Search Warrants in this case, including affidavit. d. Exhibit D: Letters of Support e. Exhibit E: Proof of Employment and Local Operating Engineer Documents f. Exhibit F: Deeds of Trust for properties owned by Rass Stark and Linda Heffington. g. Exhibit G: Order Expunging Conviction in Madera County Case No. OF DETENTION ORDER -

6 Case :0-cr-00-OWW Document Filed 0//0 Page of h. Exhibit H: Preliminary Hearing Trancript Exerpts, People v. Heffington, Fresno County Case No. F00. I DECLARE under penalty of perjury, that the aforementioned is true and correct, except where it is based upon information and belief, whereupon I believe it to be true. Dated: August, 0. 0 JAI M. GOHEL OF DETENTION ORDER -