A Vacaville man who is a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club’s Vallejo chapter pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces as much as 10 years in prison when sentenced.

Dennis Killough Jr., 51, entered his plea for possessing two firearms in a Sacramento courtroom of the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a press statement.

According to court documents, on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement officers, using a search warrant, entered Killough’s home as part of an investigation into a brutal beating at the Vallejo chapter’s clubhouse.

In October 2021, two different victims — both of whom were members of a different motorcycle club that is considered a “puppet” (or subordinate) club of the Hells Angels —were beaten by Killough and two other club members for perceived infractions of the Hells Angels’ rules.

During the search of Killough’s home, officers found two firearms, including a Taurus G2C 9 mm compact pistol and a Taurus model PT 745 Pro handgun. Killough has prior felony convictions, including previous firearm convictions, which prohibit him from possessing firearms.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the Vacaville Police Department, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Killough is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27 by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

As previously reported, Killough was among three members indicted last year on firearms charges.

Jaime Alvarez, 52, of Vallejo, pleaded guilty in December to unlawfully possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony crime.

According to court documents, on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement officers served a search warrant at Alvarez’s home as part of an investigation into the brutal clubhouse beating.

During the search of Alvarez’s Vallejo home, officers found several firearms, including a Glock 27 .40 SW caliber handgun. Alvarez has prior felony convictions, which prohibit him from possessing firearms.

Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7 by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd and also faces as much as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the Vallejo Police Department, and, as in the Killough case, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The third Vallejo Hells Angels member, Michael Mahoney of Fairfield, who is in his late 20s or early 30s, has pleaded not guilty to two felony firearms charges. Mahoney faces a status conference on Tuesday.

If convicted of possessing a firearm with an obliterated or altered serial number, Mahoney faces a maximum term of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. And if convicted of possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, Mahoney faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron D. Pennekamp and Jason Hitt are prosecuting the cases, part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, the centerpiece of the U.S. Department of Justice’s violent crime-reduction efforts.

Founded in 1948 in Fontana by Otto Friedli, the Hells Angels is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club.

The Vallejo chapter, at one time, considered the enforcer for the Oakland chapter — founded by the late Ralph “Sonny” Barger, who later became the club’s de facto leader — was notorious for two members’ involvement in an Oct. 5, 1986, mass murder of a family of four, including two children, ages 5 and 17, in Fort Bragg. It was a crime that made national headlines on Oct. 7, one day after two members of the Sonoma County chapter traveled to Fort Bragg and, at night, burned down a house near Highway 20 with the four bodies inside.