SAN DIEGO — More than a dozen alleged members of the Hells Angels biker gang and their supporters appeared in court Friday, accused in what prosecutors say was a racially motivated attack on three black men in Ocean Beach.
Seventeen defendants were indicted in September. An eighteenth defendant was added to the case and also appeared in court on Friday.
Four of the 18 defendants in the case remained in jail Friday, including the main defendant, Troy Scholder, who is charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, a knife. The other defendants have bailed out of jail.
They all appeared in court Friday, one by one, for a hearing to set future court dates.
The defendants are charged in connection with an attack on three black men, ages 19, 20 and 21, outside an Ocean Beach bar on the evening of June 6. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced the grand jury indictments in September.
“It’s possible the attack was triggered because one of them dared to talk to one of the girlfriends of one of these members,” Stephan said at the time.
Scholder is accused of stabbing one of the victims in the chest. He faces 39 years to life if convicted on all counts.
Three of the defendants are charged with being an accessory after the fact by aiding Scholder
A second victim was knocked unconscious during the attack. The third man got away, according to prosecutors, who included hate crime allegations in the indictment.
All the defendants have been ordered not to have any contact with the other Hells Angels members charged in the case. Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hemming told the court she witnessed several of the men violating that order in the court hallway.
Hemming said two other defendants had tested positive for methamphetamine since their arrests. The judge set hearings to review those test results in November and told the defendants their bail could be revoked if they continue to use drugs.
All 18 defendants will be back in court on January 11, when the judge will set preliminary hearing and trial dates.
WATCH RELATED: More than a dozen Hells Angels members accused in a hate crime