"Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis was released from jail less than a week before police say he fatally attacked his 81-year-old landlord, despite two convictions in August that earned sentences of significant jail time.
Lewis, 28, pleaded no contest Aug. 8 to one count of assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 365 days in Los Angeles County jail with three years of probation, a district attorney's office spokeswoman said. Nine days later, he pleaded no contest to a burglary charge in separate case and received 291 days in jail.
He was released from custody Friday afternoon, online jail records show. It was not immediately clear why he was released.
Investigators have identified Lewis as the sole suspect in the death of Catherine Davis, 81, after a bizarre altercation Wednesday at her Los Feliz home, where Davis had rented a room to the actor. Lewis was later found dead in the driveway.
Los Angeles police were called to the 3600 block of Lowry Road about 10:40 a.m. after receiving several calls reporting a "screaming woman" and three men fighting in the usually quiet neighborhood near Griffith Park.
When police arrived, Lewis was dead in Davis' driveway about six feet from a wall. They later found Davis' body in her home.
Investigators said they believe Lewis died after falling from a nearby roof or balcony and Davis died from blunt force trauma. Coroner's officials said no official causes of death had been determined.
Best known for his two-season role as Kip "Half-Sack" Epps on "Sons of Anarchy," Lewis' list of credits include appearances on "Boston Public," "The O.C.," "Criminal Minds" and "The Guardian." The Los Angeles native also had several film roles, including a part in "The Runaways" and "Raise Your Voice," starring Hilary Duff.
He most recently played a prisoner in "186 Dollars to Freedom," released this month.
Demon's Cycle Inc., a custom Harley motorcycle builder and custom motorcycle parts supplier, is pleased to announce that it has started to manufacture its new “El Diablo” ape hangers handlebars. These handlebars, rise far above the mounting point making the riders reach up to use them, are designed and manufactured to fit a huge number of Harley- DavidsonTouring motorcycles.
Made specifically to fit various Harley-Davidson Touring Bagger and Dresser models, the new “El Diablo” ape hangers handlebars fit Harley-Davidson Dressers, Baggers, FLHT and FLHTC models from 1982 onwards.
After a confrontation between rival motorcycle gangs during Reno’s Street Vibrations resulted in a brawl at John Ascuaga’s Nuggetand the shooting of a Hells Angels chapter president, a “no colors” policy will be enforced this year to avoid a repeat of last year’s violence. The Nugget, which is actually located in Sparks, Nevada, has led the charge on the ban and some downtown Reno hotel casinos are following suit. Legally, the wearing of colors can’t be banned outright in downtown Reno, but you can bet anybody that does will attract the attention of local law enforcement.
Cleveland CycleWerks, an Ohio-based manufacturer of small bobber and café racer style motorcycles powered by 229cc single-cylinder engines, is partnering with Darkside Scientificto offer the first motorcycles with electroluminescent paint. Darkside Scientific has a patent-pending coating process that will illuminate when energized by an electrical current. The company’s patent-pending coating technology, Lumilor Electroluminescent Paint, is applicable to almost any surface and is claimed to light up with the ease of flicking a switch. Cleveland CycleWerks will be offering the electroluminescent paint as a custom option on their motorcycles in the near future.
Motorcycle News has released their road test of the 2013 Harley CO Road Glide Custom.
About 70 motorcycles are being ridden in the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball – a 16-day endurance test of pre-1930s motorcycles that started Friday in New York state and will end in San Francisco Sept. 23 .
The tour includes about 200 participants, including riders from 11 different countries including Australia, Italy, and South Africa.
Cannonball Express media director Felicia Morgan said despite a difficult start to the journey – in the first three days two riders crashed, escaping with minor injuries, and several bikes succumbed to mechanical problems – the tour has been going well.
"It's been a really hard route -- we knew it would it be," Morgan said. "But this is what these rides are all about. Motorcycle people are different kinds of people, we're just happy to get out and ride. After today things will get much easier – prettier and more relaxed ... (The first days) definitely weeds out the sound machines from the infirm."
"Nobody's had enough sleep. First thing in the morning I wouldn't tell you they're having a great time. But by the end of the day everybody's happy to get to the hotel and hang out – enjoy the camaraderie," she said. "We're still in the honeymoon phase."
Destinations along the way will include Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park and the Golden Gate Bridge. Morgan said riding along back roads are important to the trip, especially for the international riders, as visits to landmarks.
"We're sort of stitching together a quilt of little bits of Americana," she said. "These are very cool things they never have been able to see. It's the very best of America, and that includes the people here."
Tour participant Josh Wilson headed to the starting point in New York state from his home in Norfolk, Va., with a 1929 Indian 101 Scout that was still in pieces. Wilson said he appreciated the turnout and had enjoyed the ride so far, though he wasn't exactly sure where they had stopped.
"You can't really see bikes like this anywhere and it's a thrill for us to have all this support, just like I'm sure it's great for everyone to see the bikes."
Wilson is making the trip without dedicated support staff, and, following his exhaust pipe caught his saddlebag on fire atop "some hill in New York," without extra clothes. Still, despite being down to his one pair of pants until the tour takes a full day for rest and repairs Sept. 14 in Sturgis, S.D.
"She's running great. I've had a lot of help from people on the ride – there's a lot of expertise here – and from a lot of strangers," he said.
The tour was first run in 2010 along a different coast to coast route using pre-1916 bikes. Morgan said herself and co-organizers Lonnie Isam Jr. and John Classen are unsure if the ride will be held again after this year.
"We don't know if we'll ever do it again," she said. "Like most bikers we live every day like it might be our last."
According to a study by bike insurer Bennetts, the desire to ride motorcycles is in your DNA.
With input from a psychologist, the study has theorised that motorcyclists have a genetic predisposition in the form a of a 'novelty-seeking' (NS) gene, which brings out a tendency for impulsive, exploratory and risk-taking behaviour.
The research from Bennetts found that the majority of bikers, 85%, were introduced to two wheels by a family member, with 11% saying a friend and 4% responding that it was a non-relative, including a partner or colleague.
The findings also discovered that bikers had the matching personality traits associated with the NS gene, with risk-taking (72%), low boredom threshold (71%) and spontaneity (69%) amongst the responses.
It was also found that 68% of bikers were introduced by an immediate family member, 9% by an aunt, uncle or cousin and 8% by a grandparent.
Motorcycling often defines a person, and this was shown by nearly three-quarters (73%) admitting that their bike defines who they are. As many as 62% said they couldn’t live without their bike and others even revealed that they consider their bike a family member (61%) or an extension of their personality (70%).
Psychologist Donna Dawson said of the findings: “Psychologists know from studies on twins that up to 60% of personality traits are inherited; however, environment, in the form of upbringing and opportunity, also has a role to play.
"Our research tells us that most bikers were introduced to biking through a family member and that all questions related to the ‘NS’ gene personality traits (such as being a risk-taker) and the biker’s emotional attachment to his or her bike resulted in very high scores.
So all these years..when I've told people "riding is in my blood" I was right. Even more to the point when I've said "it's part of my DNA"......I was even more on target. What about that.
We would love to ear your comments, feedback, suggestions etc.
The annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Motorcycle Ride will be Saturday, Sept. 15, beginning at 8 a.m., rain or shine. The official TOT Kickoff Party is Friday, Sept. 14.
In downtown Chattanooga, motorcyclists should travel West on Martin Luther King Boulevard to Riverfront Parkway where traffic directors will be present to line everyone up.
"The 2012 Trail of Tears Remembrance Ride will start in Chattanooga, and follow scenic highway 41/72 around Lookout Mountain to Jasper. In Jasper, the ride will leave the Drane Hood route and follow Highway 41 to Monteagle, Tn. This route is one of the most scenic and historic routes in the state. As the ride comes off Monteagle Mountain, it will pass thru Cowan, Tn., and on to Winchester, Tn. We will take highway 64 at Winchester, which is the Bell Removal route. This route went from Calhoun, Tn., to Memphis. We will remain on the Bell route to Fayetteville, Tn., where we will stop for lunch, gas, and restrooms. Official Trail of Tears Remembrance merchandise will be available during our stop at Fayetteville. We will depart at 11:30 a.m. or noon, CST. (Note: Westbound off bypass from Lincoln County Junior High School to US 64 will be “motorcycles only).
"Upon departure, we will follow Highway 64 to Pulaski, Tn., the only point at which two land removal routes cross; the Benge and Bell routes. This is a historical point on the Trail of Tears. We will continue on highway 64 to Lawrenceburg, where the Trail of Tears was routed through downtown. Lawrenceburg holds a Trail of Tears reenactment each year in November. From Lawrenceburg we will head south on highway 43 to Florence, Ala., and the end of the main ride at McFarland Park.
"The last stop for Saturday’s official ride is McFarland Park in Florence, Ala., we will arrive at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST. Ride safe."
There is no registration fee. The ride will be police escorted and riders will be required to obey all law enforcement orders. Riders need to remember that helmets are required; they need to keep up with the pack and always stay in the right lane.
The Official TOT Kickoff Party will be held on Friday, Sept. 14, at Thunder Creek Harley Davidson on Lee Highway. The party will feature live entertainment, vendors, lots of great food and cold beverages. Visit www.thundercreekharley.com or call 423 892-4888 for more information.
At the finish in Florence, Ala., there will be plenty of fun to welcome all riders. The two-day festivities (Sept. 14 and 15) - Native American & Motorcycle vendors, a Pow Wow, storytellers, beadwork activities, exhibition dancing and great food will be open from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. All area schools are invited on Friday afternoon for a day of education in Native American Culture.
On Sunday, Sept. 16, the “Extended Ride” will continue on to Wewoka, Ok. This will complete visits to the nations of the five civilized tribes. Please visit the website for information and details.
For more information visit www.trailoftears-remembrance.org or call toll free 877 TOT-TRIP (868-8747)
There has been and will continue to be a "debate" as to the terms used regarding those of us who ride motorcycles. Within that debate is a wide range of myths, misconceptions , and stereotypes .David Tatlock lives in Dartmouth and wrote an article that led to a number of very good points.
Terms used to describe people on motorcycles are simplistically: a) biker; b) motorcyclist. A biker conjures up the template image associated with Harley-Davidson, loud pipes, and the standard black T-shirt.
A motorcyclist is everyone else, from the quietly efficient BMW rider to the racy red scientific Ducati rider, to, the immature but expert riders out on I-385, T-shirts flying in the wind, and doing wheelies. They also tend to ride in packs. If they endanger or frighten cars by their speed and antics, one error they do not commit is riding in tightly bunched groups, in which reaction time is next to zero in case a rider gets into trouble. Both types are especially common in the U.S . Why? Decide for yourself.
Motorcycling, in general, like other pursuits, has been cranked up in excess of its reality. Bikers love to be seen, hence the skimpy riding gear, the tiny, useless helmets, etc. For others, a motorcycle is a canoe, a discovery machine, a device for exploring and discovering, rather than merely enhancing who you already are.
It is no surprise that once off the bike, bikers or motorcyclists turn out to be regular people. On the bike, riders tend to act frisky; it goes with the territory. Idiotic behavior adds another level for those who sense falsely that being seen out in the open translates to a lasting element of prestige. Stupidly, this is the impressionability of advertising. On many bikes, you can break the speed limit in first gear. There is a tremendous amount of technology packed between two wheels.
I say: If riding in a group, don't try to crawl up the muffler of the guy in front of you. Find your niche, be extra polite, and help campaign for "two-wheels only" parking spots in your town. David Tatlock lives in Dartmouth.
Thanks to the internet we can access more info regarding motorcycles, clubs, products, brands, events, than all the printed magazines from the past. In fact, when the weather is lousy or your ride is on the lift, the world wide web is almost the next best thing to going to a loop around town. I said "almost".
I stumbled arcoss "Chopperetown" while doing some research for another article and got hooked on their approach to bikes AND the pople. These guys have a fablous product and if you have a few bucks in your jeans, you should do something shopping with them. Afterall, winter is just around the corner....and we both know the bike will be on the lift, so......
Here some video about one of their films.
Here is yet another clip. This is the first 10 minutes of one of their films. You can rent a number of their movies and i think you will be pleased.
Part of our mission statement here at "Riders Update" is to expose you, the reader, to as wide a motorcycling universe as possible. That scope spans as many brands, applications, people, and purposes as we can achieve.
This edition looks at one of the leading American made brands, Victory. 21st century engineering coupled with classic styling, Victory continues to refine is place in the market with cruisers that defy categorizing.
Victory Motorcycles is based in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and began production of its vehicles in 1998.
Its parent company, Polaris Industries, created the firm following the modern success of Harley-Davidson. Victory's motorcycles are designed to compete directly with Harley-Davidson and similar American-style motorcycle brands, with V-twin engines and touring, sport-touring, and cruiser configurations.
The first Victory, the V92C, was announced in 1997 and began selling in 1998. Victory has been modestly profitable since 2002.
As always, we encourage your comments and suggestions.
