The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club sent us an e-mail over the weekend saying that "if [we] have the balls," we should give them a call to discuss -- among other things -- a former member arrested for murder last week.
We were feelin' a little ballsy, so we did, and it seems the group wants to clear the air over the club's relationship with the former member.
As we reported last week, 54-year-old William Gary Potter was arrested after a missing persons investigation led detectives to his property near the 17300 block of South Sierrita Mountain Road near Tucson.
Detectives were looking for Randall Scott Pfeil -- who went missing on July 9. They found his body buried in Potter's yard.
Potter is the former president of the Tucson chapter of the Hells Angels, but Chuck Whiteman, a former attorney for the Angels, says "former" should be the operative word.
According to Whiteman, Potter was booted from the group about 10 years ago for -- among other things -- being a government informant.
Whiteman tells New Times that when Potter became president of the Tucson chapter, he was running from police who wanted him on an attempted-murder charge.
While on the run -- and leading the Tucson chapter of the HAMC -- Potter, who already had several felony convictions under his belt, was buying and selling guns until he was taken into custody by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Whiteman says.
A felon in possession of a firearm is a big no-no in the criminal world, but Potter seemed to get off scot free, Whiteman says.
It was at that time that the group became suspicious that Potter was working as an informant for the government.
The final straw for the group came only when his meth use became out of control, and he tried to "knife" a woman in front of her child, Whiteman says.
Potter was charged for the alleged "knifing," but that, like the gun charges, resulted in no conviction. Whiteman thinks it's because he was still working as a government informant.
"It's been 10 years since [Potter] was a member," Whiteman says. "He is not reflective of the attitudes of the Hells Angels. He's no longer wanted."
Potter's been charged with first-degree murder. His wife, 51-year-old Karen Ann Potter -- who was on the property when Potter was arrested -- has been charged with hindering prosecution.
