the essential
On September 18, 2021, during the American Saloon in Tarbes, a Rebels Nomads biker was killed in a brawl with the Hells Angels, against a backdrop of rivalries between gangs. Although investigators have reconstructed the suspects’ movements, they remain silent, complicating the investigation. The tensions seem linked to a turf war between clubs.
Eight minutes. This is the time elapsed between the first blows carried out by the Hells Angels (and affiliates) on the Rebels Nomads, on September 18, 2021 in Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées), and the moment they left the city’s exhibition center where the American Saloon stood. This is where Joseph Pontroué, 52, a biker from the Rebels Nomads group, was killed with 5 stab wounds against a backdrop of rivalries between biker gangs.
According to our information, the investigations carried out by the police made it possible to determine that the Hells Angels took the direction of Serres-Castets (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the premises of the Grim Reaper (support of the Hells) where some spent a good part of the night before heading to Toulouse, Paris or the hideout that sheltered them for months.
The day before the murder, some of the suspects had already gathered in this room to participate in what investigators presume was a preparatory meeting. The Toulouse residents (Occitaners) picked up the top brass of the Parisian Hells at Matabiau station in Toulouse on the morning of September 18 before hitting the road in a Chevrolet towards Tarbes.
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A week earlier, the same Occitaners and certain Grim Reapers were invited to the Hells premises in the Paris region for “a barbecue”. They would have been notified of a change of program. If the Parisian and South-West bikers had planned to meet in Rodez on September 18, the Parisian top brass decided otherwise: all would go to the American Saloon in Tarbes.
Mute in adversity
Although the investigators managed to retrace each person’s journey before and after the events, the rest of the investigation proved much more complex. During the hearing, the majority of the arrested suspects remained silent, claiming their intention not to betray “their brothers.” Distributing a few crumbs here and there to the police, everyone on the other hand assured that they did not know that Kévin D., the alleged author of the stabbings, was carrying a blade with him. And during their meetings in Paris and Serres-Castets before the American Saloon, no one would have mentioned the possible presence of the Rebels in Tarbes.
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To make matters worse, the Tarbes Rebels were not more talkative. Those most seriously injured during the brawl initially refused to answer the police’s questions. During subsequent hearings, the Rebels indicated that they did not understand why the Hells attacked them in this way since there was no conflict between them.
The investigation nevertheless made it possible to demonstrate that everyone knew each other from near or far. And for good reason: the Rebels club in Tarbes was founded in 2019 by one or more ex Grimp Reaper from Serres-Castets, or former close friends of the Hells Angels.
Enough to convince magistrates and police officers that they were dealing with a turf war between rival biker clans, and an attack carefully prepared in advance by the Hells and their affiliates. On the other hand, it could not be proven that everyone involved in the brawl knew that blood would be shed that day.
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