GREENBELT, Maryland - Thomas M. DiBiagio, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced that today U.S. District Court Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced John Anthony Beal, age 38, of Dunkirk Maryland, to 46 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release and non association with the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club during the first 2 years of supervised release, arising from his guilty plea on January 5, 2004 to distribution of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.On July 24, 2003 Beal, president of the North Beach chapter of Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, was arrested and taken into custody following a long-term, nationwide investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) into the Warlocks Outlaw MotorcycleOrganization. Two undercover ATF agents became “fully patched” members of the Warlocks motorcycle club and had contacts with members of the local Hells Angels chapter.

According to the statement of facts attached to the plea agreement, on May 3, 2003 the ATF undercover agents attended a party at the Hells Angels North Beach Clubhouse in Owings, Maryland (“Clubhouse”). At one point during the party, the undercover agents observed a semi-automatic pistol laying on top of the television set in the living room area of the clubhouse. Beal confirmed that the pistol and other firearms were strategically placed inside the clubhouse so that members would have immediate access to them in the event they should need them for protection. Beal was observed being given $180 for which Beal handed a clear plastic baggy containing cocaine to a Warlocks member. On the following day at the Clubhouse, Beal advised one of the undercover agents that he could provide the agent with cocaine.

A search warrant was executed on July 24, 2003 at the Clubhouse. Seized from the common area were, among other things, 2 loaded semiautomatic pistols and a 20 gauge shotgun. A search warrant was also executed that day at Beal’s residence in Dunkirk, Maryland during which ammunition and ammunition magazines were recovered.

The criminal charges result from an investigation by the Baltimore field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane M. Erisman and Barbara S. Skalla.