Hell’s Angels
San Jose Mercury News Excerpts
HELLS ANGEL SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON
June 15, 1999
by SANDRA GONZALES, Mercury News Staff Writer
With the former president of the San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels sentenced Monday to three years in prison, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office appeared close to winding down its prosecution against members of the notorious motorcycle gang.
James Elrite, 49, of San Jose had pleaded no contest in March to a felony count of manufacturing methamphetamine and a misdemeanor charge of possessing explosives in a case linked to a 1997 homicide investigation at the Pink Poodle strip club.
Monday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Cain sentenced him to three years in prison. But because Elrite had spent 1 1/2 years in county jail while his case was pending, he probably will be out of prison in less than six months after he is given credit for time served.
Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen said that while his office still believes the Hells Angels is a criminal street gang, he dropped the charges because he did not think he could prove that Elrite manufactured the drug on behalf of the gang.
''Given the strength of the case, we took what we could get,'' Rosen said. ''It was a fair and just resolution that upheld the law and protected the community.''