Security Tight as Suspect in SF Hells Angels Murder Appears in Court


Posted: Nov 14, 2008 10:17 AM

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- Amid high security, a former fugitive accused of murdering the leader of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels in September made his first appearance this morning in San Francisco Superior Court since his extradition from Oklahoma.

Christopher Ablett, a reputed member of the rival Mongols motorcycle gang, was delivered to San Francisco County Jail on Thursday, where he is being held on $5 million bail in a high-security unit, authorities said.

The 35-year-old Modesto resident is suspected by San Francisco police of fatally shooting 46-year-old Mark "Papa" Guardado outside a bar in San Francisco's Mission District on Sept. 2.

He faces charges of murder, the use of a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the district attorney's office.

The entrance to the courtroom today was guarded by several sheriff's deputies and a metal detector, but no members of the public attended.

Ablett, standing behind protective glass in a red jail uniform, was appointed an attorney from the public defender's office and listened as the charges were read to him, but he postponed entering a plea. He is due back in court Tuesday.

Police have feared retaliation by Hells Angels members and an escalation in violence between the two groups since Guardado's death.

Security was tight at Guardado's Sept. 15 funeral in Daly City, attended by about a thousand bikers.

No incidents were reported at the funeral, but days later, explosives detonated outside the San Jose home of a Mongols member, damaging two parked cars.

Ablett was declared a fugitive and a $5 million warrant was issued for his arrest in early September, after police searched his Modesto home and seized a motorcycle and other items.

On Oct. 5, Ablett turned himself to police in Bartlesville, Okla. After initially challenging his extradition from Oklahoma in court, Ablett later agreed to be returned and was picked up by U.S. marshals on Oct. 23, according to the Washington County, Okla., court clerk's office.

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