Trial of Chad Wilson, 32, of Lynnwood, Wash., and John Midmore, 34, of Valparaiso, Ind. will kick off this fall in a Minnehaha County courtroom.The two Hells Angels bikers are charged with shooting at and injuring six members of a rival gang, the Outlaws, at the 2006 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.To accommodate witnesses, the trial won't start until November. That's the latest in a series of complicated procedural delays that have stalled the trial. But here's a timeline of the events so far.
Two men pull up outside Legion Lake Resort in Custer State Park in the afternoon and open fire on a small group of people, according to witnesses at a campground across the street. Six are injured - five by gunfire - and the men speed away.
The same night, Wilson and Midmore are arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder. The South Dakota Attorney General's Office identifies the victims as members or associates of the Outlaws and Wilson as a member of the Hells Angels. Midmore was described as a prospect for the Hells Angels. Experts and law enforcement officials say the two gangs have been at war.In the first court action, Custer County States Attorney Tracey Kelley argues successfully that the Hells Angels are capable of coming up with massive amounts of bail money. Bail for Wilson and Midmore is set at $5 million each. Court documents say authorities found a .40 caliber magazine on the floorboard of a truck leased to Wilson, and that investigators collected 16 spent cartridges from the scene.The rally ends without retaliation, as the Outlaws pack up their campground and leave the Black Hills.
Both suspects are arraigned in Rapid City. Wilson is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. Midmore is charged with five counts of aiding, abetting or advising attempted first-degree murder and a count of conspiracy. Both plead not guilty in what the judge calls a "free-for-all shooting."The trial of Wilson and Midmore is scheduled for June.
The trial is postponed until Sept. 24 because of an argument over defense requests to have evidence - a gun clip - tested by their own expert.After the trial is again delayed, prosecutors protest Circuit Judge John Delaney's decision, at the request of the defense, to seal documents from an independent test on a vehicle allegedly used in the crime. Prosecutors also object to closed meetings between the judge and defense attorneys. The South Dakota Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal, further delaying the trial.Arguing before the state Supreme Court, special prosecutor and Beadle County State's Attorney Michael Moore says prosecutors should have been present for the meetings about evidence.The high court agrees with the prosecutor. Delaney's ruling regarding testing of the truck is overturned. A hearing should have been held to allow arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers before Delaney dealt with the defense request to examine a pickup that is evidence in the case, the high court said.Retired Judge Gene Paul Kean hears the case as Midmore and Wilson plead not guilty to new, superceding counts: one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of commission of a felony while armed. Kean rejected prosecutors' requests to include information about previous convictions.The judge rules in favor of a motion to bring the case to Sioux Falls. The trial is scheduled for Nov. 3.

Two Hells Angels bikers accused of starting a gunfight that injured six rivals in South Dakota.Thirty-two-year-old Chad Wilson of Lynnwood, Wash., and 34-year-old John Midmore of Valparaiso, Ind., face numerous charges. The case stems from a shootout between Hells Angels and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club members in 2006 at a resort in Custer State Park.Their trial has been delayed several times, most recently because of an appeal to the South Dakota Supreme Court.
Retired Circuit Judge Gene Paul Kean of Sioux Falls has since been appointed to hear the case. A hearing is scheduled for April 8 in Rapid City.Two Hells Angels bikerscharged with starting a gunfight acted in self defense because rival Outlaws Motorcycle Club members targeted them, lawyers for the men say. Chad Wilson, 32, of Lynnwood, Wash., and John Midmore, 34, of Valparaiso, Ind., are accused of shooting at Outlaws bikers Aug. 8, 2006, at Legion Lake Resort in Custer State Park, where the Outlaws gathered for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 70 miles away.
According to a federal court document, an Outlaws member who was not wounded said he returned fire at the man who shot at his group. Wilson is a member of the Dago Chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in San Diego and Midmore is a prospect of the Haney Chapter of the Hells Angels in British Columbia, Canada, according to court documents. Both men are charged with multiple counts, including conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and commission of a felony while armed. Wilson also is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder. The five Outlaws who were shot are Thomas Hass, Al Mathews, Danny Neace, Claudia Wables and Susan Evans-Martin. Another woman, Crystal Schuster, suffered injuries unrelated to a gunshot. Their addresses were not included in court documents. Wilson and Midmore are being held without bond at the county jail in Rapid City. Their trial in Custer has been delayed several times, most recently because of an appeal to the state Supreme Court. The men's federal court filing in Rapid City for an injunction and declaratory judgment is against 19 defendants, including various federal agencies, officials and the federal government. Lawyers want a judge to prevent the defendants from withholding information that could help their case. State prosecutors plan to argue that an ongoing feud between the two clubs was the motive for Wilson and Midmore to fire on the Outlaws, they wrote. "Defendants believe that the converse is true. In fact, the acrimonious relationship led to the ambush of defendants and that these actions were in self defense," Hells Angels lawyers wrote in the court document.As Wilson and Midmore tried to leave the resort, several Outlaws members attacked them, so they fled to save their lives, the document states.
They felt they were in danger because of information law officers told them before they came to the state stemming from past conflicts and the fact that all Outlaws members were required to attend the 2006 Sturgis rally, according to the court document. Government surveillance and information from informants inside both organizations predicted the Outlaws planned attacks on Hells Angels at Cody, Wyo., in July 2006 and Sturgis in August 2006, but the government agencies and officials have repeatedly refused to turn over videos, photos and other such evidence, the Hells Angels lawyers wrote. "The Outlaws surveillance information gathered with respect to Outlaws members and affiliates planned attacks against Hells Angels is relevant and necessary to show the motivation behind the Outlaws ambush of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Midmore and to prove that the Outlaws, not Mr. Wilson and Mr. Midmore, were the aggressors in the Legion Lake incident," the document states.
Hells Angels attorneys also argue that the indictments of several other Outlaws, including some who were shot at Custer, prove the organization was carrying out attacks on Hells Angels members and that information was gathered before the Custer shooting.