ORMOND BEACH, FLORIDA – Now that Biketoberfest is over and the bikers have left town, Ormond Beach officials hope one group never returns.
For about a year, the American Outlaws Association, also known as the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, has been operating out of a small building at 1148 U.S. 1, just outside the city limits. Ormond officials don’t want them anywhere close.
City Attorney Randy Hayes took Volusia County officials to task in an email outlining violations by the group and the county’s seeming unwillingness to act.
Club members declined to comment, while the owner of the building says the Outlaws have been model tenants. But Hayes said the club’s presence is like a ticking bomb.
“They don’t allow Johnny B. Goode to be a part of their club,” he said Monday. “These are outlaws. They’re bad people.”
At issue is what the club does inside the facility, which is adorned with several club symbols, including a skull and pistons on the mailbox. Hayes said the club moved into the facility as a “leather shop.”
Police Chief Andy Osterkamp told him and City Manager Joyce Shanahan in the email that members outside the building told him recently that they had given up on producing Outlaws merchandise because of overhead costs.
Hayes said the fact that the facility is no longer used to sell leather goods and merely a clubhouse violates the county’s zoning code.
“It’s clearly not a leather shop,” Hayes said.
Volusia County Deputy Attorney Jamie Seaman replied in an email to Hayes that the county can’t act on “hearsay” and that someone must formally testify against the group before action can be taken.
“The county is not trying to be obstructionists,” she wrote. “But, just like a court, the proof must be firsthand not hearsay.”
County spokesman Dave Byron added that the county is aware of Ormond Beach’s concerns but so far county staff has not seen any violations.
“We are pursuing this, but at this point we don’t have sufficient documentation to support the city’s concerns,” he said.
According to the Volusia County Property Appraiser’s Office, BJL Properties Inc. owns the land and Barney’s Leather Inc. operates out of the building. William and Lisa McCarthy are listed as the principal managers of BJL while William McCarthy is listed as the principal owner of Barney’s.
Lisa McCarthy, a fellow biker, said Monday the motorcycle club has “gotten along with everyone.”
“It’s surprising,” she said of Ormond Beach’s concerns. “I haven’t had any problem with (the club).”
Volusia County sheriff’s spokesman Gary Davidson said no criminal complaints have been lodged regarding the location in the last year.
The Outlaws, though, have some history with local law enforcement.
In 2007, the FBI and Daytona Beach police raided the club’s headquarters at 615 N. Beach St. as part of a national investigation.
In 2011, Daytona Beach police parked its mobile headquarters during biker events outside an Outlaws clubhouse on Tanglewood Street, eventually forcing them to leave town. Prior to that, local and federal authorities seized the Outlaws’ then-Daytona Beach clubhouse at 9 N. Peninsula Drive and a vacant business owned by the club on Main Street.
“All of the motorcycle gangs … they are domestic terrorist groups,” Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said.
As late as 2011, the Outlaws Motorcycle Club was identified as a gang by the National Gang Intelligence Center.
Hayes requested the county seek a cease-and-desist order against the biker club, saying the county’s position undermined any meaningful enforcement of regulations. “Now pick a side,” he wrote, “the safety of our residents or non-existent rights of criminals?”
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