Hells Angels Deny Connection to Biker’s Killing

The Hells Angels on Thursday denied any involvement in the killing of one of the club’s senior members, Laurence “Large Larry” Lajeunesse, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in his Chatsworth bedroom earlier this week.

Police say they have interviewed several Hells Angels members and are investigating the possibility that others in the club may have killed Lajeunesse, a 10-year member of the motorcycle club.

“I’m not surprised the investigation is heading toward us,” said Hells Angels national spokesman George Christie Jr. “We have been visible, easy targets for 50 years.”

Christie, a longtime club member and president of the Ventura chapter, said Lajeunesse was well-liked by others in the club, and that he would be missed.

“He was a member in good standing at the time of his death and will remain a Hells Angel for eternity,” Christie said in a statement issued Thursday.

Two Hells Angels discovered Lajeunesse’s 6-foot-2, 450-pound body in his bed when they stopped by the Chatsworth industrial complex where Lajeunesse lived and ran an auto dismantling shop. His live-in girlfriend, Tammie Ann Brannigan, 35, was found in an adjacent room, also shot in the head.

Lajeunesse was convicted in 1995 of receiving stolen property and sentenced to three years’ probation. Detectives suspect that he may have been trading methamphetamine for stolen merchandise.

Law enforcement officials have described the Hells Angels as an organized crime enterprise involved in prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Christie does not deny that some members have criminal pasts.

“It is true that there are Hells Angels with criminal records,” Christie said. “But keep in mind, law enforcement personnel, clergymen, politicians and doctors have criminal records as well.”

Christie said a funeral is tentatively scheduled for Monday in Chatsworth. Lajeunesse will be buried in his leather vest, emblazoned with the club’s winged skull. Christie said that as many as 300 club members will pay tribute to the slain man, riding their motorcycles in his funeral procession.