A member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Phoenix stole a car from a guy he believed owed him money, then turned around and tried to sell it to an undercover cop, police say.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, James Day, a 47-year-old Hells Angels biker with a lengthy rap sheet, threatened a Phoenix property manager into giving him his car, claiming that the property manager "owed" him money for having his ex-girlfriend's Corvette -- which she abandoned there -- towed from the property.
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Earlier this month, Day told the victim he had to give him the key and title to his Chevy Blazer as payment for the towed Corvette, and the victim did just that, out of fear that "James was going to use the hammer on him of that 'the club' (Hells Angels criminal street gang) would cause him bodily harm if he tried to fight back against James Day," the court documents state.
Last week, a detective found the man's Blazer on Craigslist, and called the number listed, which was Day's cell phone.
He told the cop the title was open, and he needed to sell the Blazer, for $4,000, to pay his bail bondsmen. The latter part is likely true, as he has two criminal cases pending against him, the documents state.
Day, not exactly the most suave stolen-car salesman, apparently never got the key to the Blazer from the victim, and started up the vehicle with a screwdriver when the undercover cop showed up to his Glendale home.
The two agreed on the sale price, and went to a bank at 43rd Avenue and Bell Road to complete the transaction, where, to Day's surprise, he was arrested.
According to the court documents, Day still insisted that the victim "owed him" for having his ex-girlfriend's Corvette towed.
The documents list Day's arrest history, including DUI, DUI for drugs, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to obey a police order, driving on a suspended license, sexual assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, and domestic violence. He's previously served three years in prison in Cook County, Illinois.
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