Was a local biker gang destroying evidence of murders by utilizing the services of a Fresno funeral home? It certainly appears so.
Federal prosecutors say at least four missing Hells Angels were illegally cremated in a funeral home in downtown Fresno.
According to documents filed in court, 54-year-old Fresno Hells Angel Merl Hefferman was involved in the secret cremation of fellow member Joel Silva in 2014.
Federal prosecutors say Silva’s body was never found after he was murdered for allegedly “creating problems” for other Hells Angels.
Arthur Carasis was a member of the motorcycle club who was last seen in Madera County in 2016. Prosecutors believe that he was cremated illegally too at Yost & Webb Funeral Home in downtown Fresno.
They suspect two other members of the group were also illegally cremated.
Hefferman, who’s made a name for himself giving bikes to children during the holidays, has pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in Silva’s case and prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least seven years.
Federal authorities believe they know the identities of all four bodies, all former Hells Angels who are either listed as missing persons or murder victims, according to court records.
Are there more missing bodies out there?
According a report by the Mercury News, “court records show that informants have been telling the FBI for years that there were other dead bodies that met the same fate as Silva. They allegedly referred to it as the “pizza oven,” a coded phrase that has shown up time and time again in court filings, unsealed FBI paperwork, and testimony in two trials that resulted in convictions against four people for involvement in Silva’s murder.”
