Biker convention causes no major disruptions

A few hundred Hells Angels motorcycle club members arrived in Brookdale for a weekend convention at the Brookdale Inn & Spa last weekend.
No major disruptions were reported as the group rented out the inn’s grounds on Friday, Sept. 11, and Saturday, Sept. 12, including the Brook Room restaurant, the lounge and dining room, Brookdale General Manager Andy Poon said.
“I talked to them and told them they could have a good time, and if anything happens, the sheriff will have to come and shut them down,” Poon said. “I didn’t have any problems.”
The club blocked the driveway with tables, turning away guests who were not part of the convention.
The group left the hotel in good working order, Poon said.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office fielded three calls from locals reporting the club’s presence at the lodge.
One person reported that the parking lot was blocked and that a number of people appeared to be drunk, and there was another complaint about someone beating on a car as it turned into the parking lot.
The sheriff’s office was aware of the convention but did not take any enforcement action, as the convention was on private property, and no significant reports were made.
“As I was driving, I saw a ton of them leaving the area,” Sgt. Sefan Fish said.
The inn has hosted the club in the past for conventions; however, the previous one was before Sanjiv Kakkar bought the hotel in 2007 from Bill Gilbert, Poon said.
Poon said he is looking to the response of the community to see if the inn should host the bikers in the future.
“Maybe it’s good here (in) that they boost business with the hotel, but maybe not if they have a problem with the local people,” he said.
Poon said he didn’t hear much from the locals in the days following the convention.
“I really had no guests or people in the area complain,” Poon said. “If people have concerns over it, then we’ll make a judgment call.”
The Hells Angels is a worldwide motorcycle club that started in Southern California and migrated to Oakland, according to its Web site.
The FBI has released reports tying Hells Angels members to various violent and drug-related crimes.
As of press time, the Santa Cruz Hells Angels had not returned e-mails seeking comment for this story.