Trial set for suspect in Grand Island motorcycle club case

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (KSNB) – A Grand Island man will go on trial in November on charges he forced a teenager to join a motorcycle club.

33-year-old Jay Friedricksen is now accused of aiding and abetting theft, unauthorized recruitment of members and conspiracy to commit theft by unauthorized taking.

According to court records, Friedricksen entered a written not guilty plea in court on Tuesday. A jury trial is scheduled for November 4.

An affidavit states that trailers were broken into at three construction companies in Grand Island. The break-ins occurred between Jan. 22 and Feb. 19, and dozens of tools were stolen. Police estimate the damage at $11,480.

On February 21, Grand Island police stopped a vehicle speeding down South Locust Street. According to court records, police identified the driver as 18-year-old Jeronimo Gutierrez.

Officers discovered “a large quantity of construction tools” in his vehicle. The tools were marked and police concluded they had been stolen.

Gutierrez was questioned the next day and officers wrote that Gutierrez stole the tools as an initiation ritual for joining a local motorcycle club.

Police believe he stole the tools on the instructions of Friedricksen, who was later identified as the club’s president. They also found out the address of Friedricksen’s clubhouse.

On February 23, a search warrant was executed for the clubhouse. Inside, officers found club items and other stolen tools, according to the affidavit.

If convicted on all three counts, Friedricksen faces up to 42 years in prison.

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