Police sweep yields little

A morning raid at a biker gang’s vast compound in Riverside County produced virtually no evidence prosecutors could use, Newport Beach police said Tuesday.

“This is a common problem that we in law enforcement experience,” Sgt. Evan Sailor said. “Once people know and understand enforcement officers may be looking for them and/or their property, it gives them time to remove or destroy those items.”

More than 50 SWAT officers raided a Set Free Soldiers biker gang compound in Mira Loma Monday morning, a site large enough that it took officers several days to coordinate the search, Sailor said.

Investigators were hoping to find items similar to what they said they found in four simultaneous Anaheim raids last week — guns, knives, clothes and pictures with Set Free Soldiers logos emblazoned on them.

The Anaheim raids last week were only half of the picture — Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Orange County Sheriff’s SWAT teams raided homes in Costa Mesa and Rancho Santa Margarita looking for Hells Angels members and items.

Monday’s raid was authorities’ latest move to take down members of the Hells Angels biker gang and the Set Free Soldiers, a rival biker group that claims to be a Christian ministry but police say is just another group of thugs. Members of the Hells Angels and Set Free Soldiers were caught on security cameras launching into a large brawl inside Blackie’s By The Sea, a bar near the Newport Pier, police said. Two Hells Angels members were stabbed and one member of the Set Free Soldiers was injured when a billiard ball was smashed into his head, police said.

Six people, five of them police say are Set Free Soldiers members, have been charged in connection with the fight. One Hells Angels member, John Lloyd of Costa Mesa, was also charged in connection with the July 27 melee.

Set Free Soldiers members set up four men from the Hells Angels to be attacked, police said.

Security video shows at least 10 Set Free Soldiers surrounding Lloyd and others near the back of the bar just before the fight began, Newport Beach Capt. John Desmond said.

Some patrons at Blackie’s By The Sea said Tuesday they don’t know why the bikers chose their bar to throw down.

“This isn’t a biker bar. We’re just a bunch of old guys,” said one bar patron who asked not to be identified for his safety.

“They were just in town and must have picked this place because it’s near the tattoo parlor.”

Lloyd, 41, is also an artist who works at The Joint Tattoo parlor not far from Blackie’s, according to the business’ website.

Employees at The Joint Tattoo declined to comment.

One regular at Blackie’s bar said two of the men fighting with the Set Free Soldiers are not even members of the Hells Angels, and the two other men who are apologized to the owner of the bar Monday.

Everyone charged in connection with the fight is scheduled to be arraigned later this month or in September. Jose Quinones, 42, is the only one charged with attempted murder.

Police say Quinones is a member of the Set Free Soldiers.

Quinones was charged with murder in 2004, but prosecutors said they dropped the charges after witnesses corroborated that it was in self-defense against two men attacking him.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.