PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A man authorities have said is the leader of the Rhode Island chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club will remain behind bars after failing to “keep the peace” while out on bail.
Superior Court Magistrate Richard Raspallo ordered Joseph Lancia, 28, of Smithfield, to be locked up after being arrested over the weekend for a scuffle at a strip club, WPRI reported Wednesday.
He was charged with disorderly conduct and simple assault in connection with a fight late Saturday night outside the Cadillac Lounge after a Providence police officer said he witnessed Lancia punch someone, knocking him unconscious.
At the time, he was out on a $100,000 bail in a separate case after he was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly firing a gun at a truck as the driver was passing by the Hells Angels headquarters.
Prosecutors at Tuesday’s hearing said that the Saturday night brawl broke the terms of his bail and asked that he remain in custody.
His attorney, Joseph Voccola, said security video shows his client was coming to the defense of his fellow club members when he punched the off-duty member of the strip club’s security team.
The judge ordered Lancia to be held without bail. He is due back in court Tuesday.
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