Hells Angels President Killed Guardado Shot Near Clubhouse: Sept. 4, 2008

Police are trying to figure out who shot and killed a local Hells Angels leader.

Mark "Papa" Guardado, the president of the motorcycle club's San Francisco chapter, was shot about a mile from the group's clubhouse. Guardado lived at the clubhouse.

Guardado, 45, was found suffering from gunshot wounds near the intersection of 24th Street and Treat Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he died.

On the evening of Feb. 10, Guardado and the vice president of the Sonoma County chapter of the Hells Angels, 31-year-old Jonathon Nelson, got into a fight in Petaluma with a patron at McNear's Saloon & Dining House, Petaluma police Sgt. Jim Stephenson said.

The patron was knocked out in the fight, Stephenson said.

Guardado and Nelson were arrested at the scene on charges of assault with great bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon and gang enhancements, Stephenson said.

Both men were later released on bail, but Petaluma police seized Guardado's Hells Angels jacket with his president's patch sewn on, and still have possession of the jacket, Stephenson said.

Guardado was facing assault charges in Petaluma from a February bar fight, a Petaluma police sergeant said Wednesday.

Witnesses said they saw Guardado arguing with a man then the man shot him and drove off on a motorcycle, reported NBC Bay Area's Lisa Bernard.

Police are considering whether a member of a rival club may be responsible for the shooting.

Candles and a spray-painted message of "R.I.P. Papa Frisco" mark the spot where Guardado was shot.

The Hells Angels and rival gang the Mongols have a long-standing feud. A clash between the groups in 2002 left three bikers dead and a dozen hurt.

In July, police and FBI agents raided the San Francisco Hells Angels clubhouse and arrested Guardado on suspicion of possessing illegal mushrooms, according to the Chronicle.

Police have increased patrols in the Mission District neighborhood where the Hells Angels clubhouse is and will also step up patrols at Guardado's funeral.

Guardado's murder was the second in the Mission District in two days.

Around 5:15 a.m. Monday, officers responded to the first block of San Carlos Street where 24-year-old Marcelino Canul-Castro was found lying on the ground with gunshot wounds, police said.

The San Francisco resident was taken to a hospital where he died.

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