JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Days after the State Attorney's Office announced it was not charging the biker who shot and killed a member of another motorcycle group outside Nippers Beach Grille in June, News4Jax is looking into biker organizations.
Jacksonville Beach police said one of the groups has links to what they call a criminal motorcycle group called the Outlaws.
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The State Attorney's Office said Kristopher Stone, who it said acted in self-defense, belonged to a law-abiding motorcycle group and was being harassed by another group that law enforcement is well aware of.
Investigators said Stone belonged to a motorcycle club called the Iron Order, and he was attacked by Zach Tipton, whom he shot and killed. Tipton belonged to a group called the Black Pistons, which police say is a feeder group into a group called the Outlaws.
Nippers surveillance video
Investigators believe Tipton's attack was over the Iron Order, which is described as a law-abiding motorcycle club not paying dues to the Outlaws.
"The Black Pistons, based on conversations with some gang detectives, is the muscle for the Outlaws," said Assistant State Attorney Brian Brady. "It's a feeder club. If you want to be an Outlaw, you need to rise up through the ranks of the Black Pistons to go and be an Outlaw. So they do these acts by going out and enforcing, intimidating clubs who don't pay dues so they will pay dues."
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Pat Dooley did not have nice things to say about the Outlaws.
"There are different types of motorcycle clubs, and make no mistake about it, the Outlaws don't gather their name the Outlaws because they want to be known as something other than they are criminal organization," Dooley said. "They are organized and they can be violent."
The Outlaws have made headlines locally and in Florida. In 2007, the FBI raided a home in the Regency area as part of a national crackdown on the Outlaws. There was also a raid closer to Orlando that same year.
The group's own website shows the Black Pistons as a feeder group into it.
News4Jax crime analyst Gil Smith said police agencies have gang units that monitor biker gangs, but he said most are not involved in crime.
"There are some motorcycle clubs that do charity work," Smith said. "This weekend the sheriff was involved in a motorcycle club; they do a ride for a fundraiser. I know there are some African-American motorcycle clubs that assist each year with a sickle cell anemia foundation."
Investigators said Stone, who had been beaten severely before shooting Tipton, waited for police to arrive and told them what he had done. He was not charged because the State Attorney's Office said the shooting was justified.
Investigators said Tipton's friends left the shooting scene immediately and answered few questions.