Member of Modesto Hells Angels has been sentenced to weapon charges and drug charges

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A man who belonged to the Modesto chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club has been sentenced to prison on drugs and weapons charges, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

Ricky Blackwell, 30, of Modesto was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to six and a half years for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

On wiretapped phone calls Blackwell was heard discussing drug dealing, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott’s office. A search of his home uncovered a safe containing a firearm, cocaine, drug packaging materials and Hells Angels memorabilia.

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The case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Department, the Modesto, Turlock and Los Banos police departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies.

In related cases, charges are pending for the Modesto club’s president, Randy Picchi, his wife, Tina Picchi, Michael Mize and Michael Pack. A status conference is set April 14, said Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California. The four are accused of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Their arrests and others began June 25, 2019, after investigators served search warrants at seven locations in Stanislaus County believed to be tied to methamphetamine sales. They included the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club headquarters on Seventh Street.