Although a member of a North Bergen motorcycle gang was shot and killed last Sunday in an altercation with a Bayonne-based motorcycle club, township police officials believe that it was an isolated incident and there will not be repercussions following the shooting.
According to North Bergen Police Chief Angelo Busacco, the regular patrol and detectives are aware of the fatal shooting of Peter Gallucci, a member of the North Bergen-based “Satan Soldiers” motorcyle club, in Bayonne last weekend.
“We’ll check the place as part of our normal patrol, like any other establishment,” Busacco said. “Because the motorcycle clubs have a propensity for violence, we’re always on the lookout. But we’re hopeful that this incident doesn’t spill over and affect anyone here in North Bergen.”
According to Hudson County Prosecutor’s homicide reports, Gallucci, 40, died of a single gunshot to the chest following a fight with the Eastsiders Motorcycle Club of Bayonne. Although Gallucci was a member of the North Bergen club, he resided in Belleville.
The reports stated that the fight broke out at 2:15 a.m. last Sunday when six members of the Satan Soldiers club entered the Eastsiders club on East 22nd Street in Bayonne, allegedly over a previous altercation in a Bayonne bar involving a baseball cap. Apparently, the cap, which said, “Support Satan Soldiers,” was confiscated by a member of the Eastsiders.
Apparently, members of both clubs had earlier been at a party Saturday night at the Jersey City-Hoboken border, which broke up at 1 a.m., and there were no incidents.
Byrona Arturo Berrocal, a Dumont resident, was arrested and charged with the murder of Gallucci. He is being held in Hudson County Jail in Kearny in lieu of a $500,000 cash-only bail.
Investigators found the gun believed to be the murder weapon in a garbage pile near the Eastsiders club location. However, the investigation is ongoing about the details of the murder and how Berrocal obtained the weapon. Busacco said that the North Bergen police will follow the actions of the club, which has been virtually incident-free for years.
“We never receive any calls or complaints regarding the motorcycle club,” Busacco said. “They’re in a remote area and never cause any problems. I think the last incident was about six years ago, but there has been nothing recently. There haven’t been any calls. But after an incident like this, you always have to look at the possibility of retaliation.”
Busacco said that most motorcycle organizations operate peacefully.
“You can’t paint all of them with a broad brush,” Busacco said. “Some are prone to violence, but not all of them. This could be an isolated incident, but we have to wait and see. We just have to keep an eye out for things.”