| The brutal beating of a Hells Angel associate in Newark late last month is part of a broader attempt by the Pagans Motorcycle Club to expand its territory into northern New Jersey. A man left the Hells Angels clubhouse on Clinton Avenue in Newark was beaten with a baseball bat as he was getting gas at a nearby station. Days later, Robert DeRonde turned himself into authorities and was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses. DeRonde, 54, is accused of hopping out of a pickup truck and then using an aluminum baseball bat to beat a man so bad that he left him hospitalized with three broken ribs. |
 | A police memo says law enforcement should "remain vigilant" in areas where the Pagans and Hells Angels tend to congregate. It also noted that the Hells Angels could retaliate against the Pagans for an attack occurring so close to their clubhouse. In New Jersey, the Pagans have held a stronghold on the Jersey Shore and South Jersey. The turf war between the Pagans and the Hells Angels in New Jersey and New York has been ongoing since the 1970s. |  |
 | Pagans are said to be working with members of the Latin Kings to smuggle in methamphetamine from Mexican drug traffickers. The drug is being brought into the United States in liquid form and then is converted into meth with a chemical powder that can be purchased at any home improvement store. |  |
