Kinfolk biker accused of killing Bandidos leader: ‘I feared for my life’

The Kinfolk biker accused of killing a Bandidos biker gang leader in 2017 testified in his own defense Tuesday.

Javier Gonzalez, Vice President of Kinfolk, is accused of shooting and killing Bandidos member Juan Martinez during a brawl inside a bar named Mulligans Chopped Hog in 2017.

During the trial, Gonzalez took the stand and told the jury he has been in prison the last two years under protective custody because, “my life was threatened. There was a green light on me.”

Gonzalez said a green light translated to a hit and “they” meant the Bandidos.

Gonzalez was asked about his past history with biker clubs. According to Gonzalez, he started riding in 2009 and then joined a small club.

He later joined the Black Widows, which Gonzalez said were “pee-ons” for the Bandidos. They were asked to watch the Bandido’s bikes and get them beer. Gonzalez said he left the Black Widows and told the jury the Bandidos, “carried knives, guns and jumped people.”

In 2017, Gonzalez said he joined the Kinfolk.

During Gonzalez’s testimony, surveillance video and cell phone video was shown of the brawl and the moment the gun was fired.

Gonzales told the jury he was at Jack’s Beach House, down the street from Mulligans, when he got a phone call from a friend, “they are about to attack us.”

That’s when Gonzalez and a few other members of Kinfolk left Jack’s and drove to Mulligans.

The video shows what appears to be Gonzalez arriving to the bar, at the same time the fight inside the bar started.

The prosecutors argued that a Kinfolk member saw Gonzalez arriving through the window and started the fight.

The video also shows Gonzales firing the gun.

“I feared for my life and I feared for the life of my friends,” Gonzalez said when asked why he fired the gun.

The defense argued Gonzalez fired in self defense. Gonzalez said members of the Bandidos were approaching him.

Gonzalez was asked how it felt to kill someone, to which he replied, “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever gone through in my life. I felt like I was fighting for my life that night, now I feel like I’m fighting for my freedom.”

There was added security outside and inside the courtroom. Security checked everyone’s bags with an X-ray machine and wanded everybody who went inside.