Jay Dobyns lived a double life for two years, and it nearly cost him his life.
Now retired, Dobyns worked for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which enforces the nation’s gun laws.
From 2001 to 2003, he infiltrated the Hells Angels in Arizona.
Now he’s sharing his story in a new A&E series, “Secrets of The Hells Angels,” which examines the history of the famous motorcycle club.
It features new interviews with past chapter presidents, as well as law enforcement officials, undercover agents and victims.
“This infiltration has never been done before by law enforcement,” Dobyns told Fox News Digital. “The police had never been put under Hells Angels surveillance in the past. Every other outlaw motorcycle gang had been infiltrated, but the Hells Angels prided themselves on being impenetrable.
“Their mantra was that a law enforcement officer would never be able to keep up with them,” Dobyns said. “A cop couldn’t run as long, as hard, and as fast as his world demanded before he could detect who this infiltrator might be and then get rid of them. So the fact that we went inside has stood the test of time.
The organization has a long history in California, dating back to its founding in 1948 by returning World War II veterans in the dusty town of Fontana.
It includes a notorious incident at a Rolling Stones show in Altamont in 1969, during which an audience member was stabbed by a Hells Angels security guard.
A jury later acquitted the killer, finding he had acted in self-defense.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice said the Hells Angels had up to 2,500 members in 230 chapters across 26 countries.
According to the FBI, the Hells Angels are still listed as an outlaw motorcycle gang involved in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking.
Federal, state and local police have pursued the club for decades, infiltrating it with undercover agents, pursuing suspects with harsh charges once reserved for the Mafia and indicting members on charges ranging from drug trafficking to mortgage fraud .
However, the club has prospered over the years. She then opened chapters around the world and aggressively asserted her brands in court. He also won high-profile acquittals and other legal battles with law enforcement.
Dobyns already had 15 years of undercover street experience when he was assigned to Operation Black Biscuit. In preparation for this mission, Dobyns shaved his head and “fully dressed” himself with tattoos from his shoulder to his wrist. He also got stronger.
The former star football player and family man had transformed into “Jaybird” Davis, a chain-smoking, Harley-riding renegade.
“I never tried to convince the Hells Angels that I was an experienced biker because I would have been spotted immediately,” Dobyns explained. “I presented myself as this gangster who was trying to be part of their world. This kept my story very close to the truth. I introduced myself as an arms dealer and debt collector, not a biker. »
Dobyns was convincing. And it didn’t take long for him to be welcomed with open arms.
“For a group that presents itself as fun-loving thugs… they had a lot of internal rules and laws about the policies of the organization,” he recalls. “They don’t want to live by the rules and laws of society, but they have more internal rules and laws than we have as ordinary citizens. »
The Angels have always maintained that they are a club of motorcycle enthusiasts unfairly viewed as an organized crime syndicate due to the crimes of a few members acting independently. The club participates in charity events, such as “Toys for Tots”, motorcycle races and blood drives.
“When we do well, no one remembers,” says the club’s website. “When we do wrong, no one forgets.”
Dobyns was only invited to join the group after he “killed” the leader of a rival gang, the Mongols. The shooting death was staged, with a Hollywood makeup artist and a dead cow used to splatter the victims’ clothes with blood and brain matter.
Dobyns admitted there were times when he feared for his life.
“You’re pretending to be someone you’re not,” he said. “And the Hells Angels are particularly paranoid. They are paranoid for a very valid reason. This paranoia keeps them from going to prison. This keeps them from going to prison. This prevents them from being infiltrated. Because of this paranoia, everything about you is scrutinized. How you walk, how you talk, the clothes you wear, the motorcycle you ride, how you ride it, the car you drive, where you live, the condition of the place you live. Is this real?
“You cannot make a mistake in this world because a mistake means life or death.”
As Dobyns progressed, his home life deteriorated. He remembers signing a personal check in the name of his alter ego. His wife began to no longer recognize her husband who was getting lost.
“I inflicted enormous battle damage on my wife and children,” Dobyns admitted. “My regret, my failure, the shame that I continue to carry today, is having placed my work in front of my family. At the time, I tried to justify myself, saying that anyone who does undercover work and treats it like a hobby, treats it like a gimmick, ends up getting hurt or dead. You have to be all in. You must allow this world to consume you because you are never down.
“I had lived in this role for so long that it had inherited my personal life,” he added. “Handing my undercover mission to my wife and children is probably now my biggest regret in life. I know I should try to flatter myself… but if I’m not transparent, if I’m not honest, then none of this has credibility.
Operation Black Biscuit ended in 2003. According to Dobyns, the affair had become “almost too dangerous to survive.” He filed 16 indictments, including murder and racketeering charges.
Dobyns said several Angels wasted no time seeking retaliation once his identity was discovered. “Threats poured in” to gang rape his wife, murder his family and give him HIV, he said.
His house was burned down in 2008, with Dobyns’ wife and children still sleeping inside. They escaped unscathed, but the arsonist was never caught.
“The Hells Angels will kill their own people when they feel they have been betrayed,” Dobyns said. “When you present yourself as a newcomer, as a new person in their world, the Hells Angels see you as two things. They initially view you as a threat because you are a foreigner. Then they see you as a victim, someone who can be manipulated or exploited. I had to prove to them that I was neither. I was neither a threat nor a victim. Ultimately, it was the challenge for two years.
“I may have signed up for this mission, but not my wife and children,” he reflects. “They were victims of these threats, but by then it was too late. …The Hells Angels have their Ph.D. in violence and intimidation. They are very good at this. …They do not forgive or forget.
“These threats, even though they are not necessarily as widespread today as they were a few years ago, I remain cautious,” he continued. “I don’t live my life in fear. I’m not trying to hide. … I tell the truth. I will also not run or hide from the truth.
With more than 500 undercover investigations under his belt spanning 20 years of work, Dobyns retired from the ATF in 2014. In 2009, he co-wrote a memoir, “No Angel.”
Looking back on his experience, Dobyns said there are good reasons why Americans continue to be fascinated by the Hells Angels.
“They’re all friendly,” he laughs. “Those guys, from my personal experience, were fun to be around. …They are dangerous and violent men, but they are also very charming.
“Secrets of the Hells Angels” will be presented Sunday at 10 p.m. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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