Via: Beth Bagby, New Hampshire Public Radio : More: Bill Owens: Altamont 1969 ;Joel Selvin : Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels And The Inside Story Of Rocks Darkest Day. All Rights reserved. (Shit, he said, when they picked me up on this weed they made a deal: I cop out and they give me six months in the country jail. Alan David Passaro, 24, one of Barger's soldiers and an ex-convict, was charged with Hunter's . Live Death Statistics Worldwide and The United States. Try again later. Alan Passaro was not guilty. Verify and try again. Im a violent cat when I got to be. Right, film people, lets do something! Jagger proclaims. Oops, something didn't work. There was an error deleting this problem. A number of prospective black jurors were excused by Judge Hayes because they admitted they could be prejudiced in favor of the gas chamber. They helped us with money for the lawyer. Walker brought out not only inconsistency but evasiveness when he interrogated Cox about the semantics of the marijuana subculture. Burks Burke Burks Burke Burks Burke. The Hells Angels biker gang had been hired by the Rolling Stones to work security at the concert. The D.A. Lt. Darold Thomas, head of the sheriff's detective unit, said Tuesday, 'The death is kind of suspicious, but it is only a drowning at this point.'. Paul Cox, 18, nervously told the court that he had seen Passaro stab Hunter twice (the autopsy revealed that Hunter had been stabbed five times). But they might have done. Hells Angels, far left held back surging crowd. The story goes that the Angles were hired by headline act The Grateful Dead for security. On December 6, 1969, he killed audience member Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Speedway in California, during a concert by the Rolling Stones. Barger had more to say on KSAN, San Franciscos underground FM station: We were told if we showed up, we could sit on the stage and drink some beer that the Stones managers had brought us, you know. His black hair was too neat and too thick. But to be fair, out of the whole 300 Angels working as stewards, the vast majority did what they were supposed to do, which was to regulate the crowds as much as possible without causing any trouble. Ruby Design Company. Alan Passaro was born on August 23, 1948 and died on March 29, 1985. His was a very dramatic and active part of the picture., (Passaro expressed surprise that Belli had teamed up with him. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. I aint never going to ever pretend to be a cop. The trial began 370 days after the killing. I probably was a little excited talking to him.), The contrasts in Coxs testimony with what he reported over the phone to Burks pretty much decimated him as a witness. The established authorities consider an affair like Altamont to be different from an affair like the one in 1961, when Father Patrick Peyton, on behalf of a private organization, commanded lovely cooperation for his Family Rosary Crusade rally in Golden Gate Park. You ought to see it, its wild.. And they knew him from his movie role. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. He, himself, went out with the D.A.s investigator, Lieutenant McDonough, in the manhunt. Walker asked him what happened to Hunter when he was knocked off his position on the speaker box a few feet away. Did the breathing presence of Hunters white girlfriend Patty Bredahoffantagonise the Angels? Was it a racist crime? But here was a case where the victim was black and the accused was a Hells Angel: the devil and the deep blue sea. Officials of the California Highway Patrol said they werent required to make a big effort in the Altamont area because the whole affair was set up at the last minute. Passaro, who had a history of crime, was found dead in 1985 with $10,000 in his pockets. At Altamont, Sheriff Madigan explained, Mel Belli and the promoter said they were hiring 300 private patrol. Translation: Let them take care of their own. Mostly I just read philosophy and psychology and wait for my wife to come down. Nobody asked him if the siren on his patrol car was busted. But the brotherhood and its mystique sprawling between all of the establishments and the mediaeval rigidity of the old German duelling fraternities pulled more strongly. Is it a coincidence that Alan Passaro, as he heard the verdict read and yelled YEOWWWW! The Angels survived, but the plot to kill the Jagger was scrapped. They tried me as a person. I know some of them hit people. Carter said that eight helmeted sheriffs deputies got through to the murder scene that evening, took one look around, looked at Hunter and saw he was indeed dead, and hightailed it out of that agglutinated mass of longhairs, naked freak-outs, beaten-up kids, Angels, and bum-tripped people in all kinds of costumes that clean-cut kids wouldnt be caught dead in. He let it out over the phone to John Burks. Meredith Hunter succumbed to deadly knife wounds, inflicted on him by Alan Passaro, a member of the Hells Angels biker gang. Meredith was killed as the Stones played, the horror recorded onGimme Shelter, David and Albert Maysless documentary. Violence had already marred the event. One audience member intent on joining The Rolling Stones was 18-year-old Meredith Hunter, who was jacked up on methamphetamine. And any juror, watching Alan Passaro, could see, just by the way he walked in and sat down, and the way he flicked his arm away from the bailiff, that his body was away ahead of most of the ideas he might have. These portrait photographs of Russia's ruling Romanovs were taken in 1903 at the Winter Palace in majestic. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. And that made it personalYou know what? Edit your search or learn more. Alan Passaro died in 1985 after drowning in the Anderson Reservoir in Santa Clara County His death was labeled suspicious, but has gone unprosecuted In 2008, . Meredith Hunter was not the only fan to lose his life at the show. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. someone intercepted him . He testified he might even be as tall as 5 10, but at Soledad he was measured as 5 6. He had had some experience with British Angels at a Stones concert in Hyde Park. Scientists believe they've found untapped helium reserves, Extra food support ends for millions of low-income U.S. taxpayers, Man arrested after explosive device found in his luggage at Pennsylvania airport. He was close to the stage when we stopped him. SAN FRANCISCO, October 7, 1961 The Rev. During his testimony, Passaro said he had acted in what he believed to be self-defense. Wonderful. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Trivia (2) Passaro was caught on film stabbing Meredith Hunter and put on trial for murder. I could see the man coming back toward the stage with a gun in his hand . March 1 (UPI) -- A North Carolina woman found out she had won a $1 million Powerball prize just hours before celebrating her 58th birthday. Sergeant Donovan told the jury: When I received a copy of the Stones newspaper I read it over and over again.. He said he left the Altamont stage because somebody threw a gallon wine bottle at a motorcycle and knocked it over tantamount to knocking over the altar during a Catholic Mass. He faced the jury wearing a powder-blue sports shirt, plain white beads and medium-long hair. And the Stones blew it. Dont ask me to police nothing. And they might think because theyre in a crowd of 300,000 people that they can do it and get away with it. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Since the guy he shot was a fugitive at the time, we couldnt take him to a doctor or an emergency ward. Trivia (2) Passaro was caught on film stabbing Meredith Hunter and put on trial for murder. Jagger comes sweeping in, surveys the unruly scene. Thats the way it looked from the D.A.s table. We want to hear it. Please try again later. That would be like some freak getting up in front of a Surrender for Christ crusade meeting and saying hes going to shoot Billy Graham. When he waived his constitutional rights not to testify against himself and sat down in the witness chair some of the jurors leaned forward. Burke: Why did you strike at Hunter with a knife?. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sheriff's deputies today sought clues in the drowning of a former Hells Angel once tried for the 1969 stabbing death of a teenager at a Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Raceway. Alan and Celeste met when he was 17 and she was 18, seniors at a high school in Santa Clara. The Rolling Stones at The Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California on December 6, 1969. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). This tentative young man in his light-opera costume was very embarrassed by the contradictions. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. After 17 days of testimony, 22-year-old Alan Passaro found not guilty in the stabbing death of 18-year-old Meredith Hunter. Weve updated the security on the site. Alan David Passaro (August 23, 1948 - March 29, 1985) was a Hells Angels member known for the 1969 stabbing of Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Free Concert during The Rolling Stones' set, as seen in the 1970 documentary film Gimme Shelter. SAN FRANCISCO, FEBRUARY 12, 1971 Attorney Mel Belli announced he had filed suit in Superior Court against "the guys who released Gimme Shelter," a movie that achieved notoriety by showing a. Cheerfulness kept creeping in." He allowed himself to lean half an inch forward and his eyes looked somewhat out of focus, as though this fidgety snitcher was not quite worth the dislike of a member of the mystic Angel brotherhood. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Pictures. But Angels big shot Sonny Barger says this is untrue. A group of bikers attempted to land a boat outside the singers Hamptons, Long Island holiday estate, where they planned to enter from the rear to bypass the security at the entrance of the mansion. Passaro was arrested and charged but he claimed self-defense and he was later accquitted. Chopped. Name: Alan David Passaro. March 1 (UPI) -- A person dressed as the "Ghostface" killer from the "Scream" franchise prompted multiple 911 calls in California, but police said the person was hired to promote the latest installment in the franchise. I'm thinking of you" - Pablo Iglesias Maurer, At the end of October 1959 in the basement of 39 Gerrard Street - an unexceptional and damp space that was once a sort of rest room for taxi drivers and an occasional tea bar - Ronnie Scott opened his first jazz club. The incident was caught on camera and became a central scene in the Maysles Brothers documentary Gimme Shelter. But they moved them people back out of the way of the bike. John Burke, as prosecutor, felt up against the wall. 1948 Alan Passaro was born on August 23, 1948 in Farrell, Pennsylvania, USA as Alan David Passaro. The vibe is sweet and playful. And, if youre honest, youll just drag up from the depths all the times youve hated or felt passionately about something and play it. His conversation did not sound disoriented. What did Cox mean by agreeing with everything he said? I do care for a lot of the people because they are down to earth. During a performance by The Rolling Stones, Meredith Hunter, 18, was stabbed and beaten to death in front of the stage by Alan David Passaro, a member of the Hells Angels (the motorcycle club was . On that occasion, the Angels behaved like Botticelli angels. Passaro, who had been a member of the Angels for four months at the time of the concert, was arrested and charged with murder after being identified as a suspect from film footage shot by Albert and David Maysles at the concert. And Im going to ride and ride. (At Altamont, he said, People were loaded and fell out. Donald B. Ayer, Asst. Charged with murder, Passar. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Hunter had a loud green suit on and really stuck out from the crowd. The plunder of the dead festival has not ceased. Burke asked him if he knew who the man was whom he saw stab Hunter twice. Let them take care of their own. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. It was one of their people that got killed, right? But it seems more likely that they concluded that Passaro stabbed the victim but in doing so was committing justifiable homicide. In this case, the district attorney, Lowell Jensen, made a strategical error by not ruling out the death penalty at the outset. hes got his big red tongue out and is licking his lips. But as the months went by, the fright built up in him. Because it had blood on it, on the collar and on the front.. Now I aint saying anything about no Angel hit anybody. Are you familiar with the jargon Im using? Walker worked on this theme with Paul Cox and other prosecution witnesses. His father likes him and, Celeste said, promised to deed to him a hotel he owns in Italy if the jury got him off the murder rap. The event is best known for . Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents. They jury agreed with the defence that hed acted in self-defence. (Afterward, Alan Passaro said of Cox: That dude was no pro. (When I get out Im going to get another chop. They couldnt find right ways to earn their living; she a graduate of a beauty college, he a graduate of a barber college. soon began to think of something more than himself? The first witness was a cameraman, Baird Bryant of Los Angeles, who shot the cemetery scene in Easy Rider. (In the antiseptic reception room at Soledad, Alan David Passaro, wearing his faded blue denim prison uniform, rendered for Sam Cutler and other naive Britishers just what it is to be a Frisco Angel. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Altamont itself was heroic an epic as Wagnerian in stature as the Nuremberg rally had been: closing out an era with a bang, not a whimper. The problem in the Altamont case is that the state of California had accused only one of many who should be defendants. Here was George Walker zero-ing in on Cox with questions about what he had told John Burks of Rolling Stone. They told me if I could sit on the edge of the stage so nobody would climb over me, I could drink beer until the show was over. Passaro, 22, threw back his head and let out a whoop as the verdict was read. When violence broke out, Keith Richards was unprepared: The violence just in front of the stage was incredible. The story was the focus of the 1970 film, "Gimme Shelter," and is also the focus of an urban legend that states that the song, 'Sympathy For The Devil,' was playing . But the patrol has no hesitation about moving in on last-minute situations caused by anti-war demonstrators. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. It looked as though he was wearing one of the wigs that long-haired guys wear to get across the border into Mexico. Following 17 days of testimony, an eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated for 12 and a half hours before Passaro was acquitted on grounds of self-defense . . Hunter might not have died, according to medical testimony at the trial, if there had been an emergency hospital on the premises. Alan Passaro, 21, was the Angel arrested and charged with murder. Cox pointed to the table where Passaro was sitting with his lawyer. But had he been drinking? If you cant be quick, be through. They were unarmed innocents. He said he and another inspector couldnt get out to Altamont that evening because they couldnt penetrate the disorderly human anthill that surrounded the event. I didnt see the stabbing of Meredith Hunter but I remember him. (Rehabilitation for what? Carter, testifying, said it was Sam Cutler, the Stones road manager, who hired the Angels to guard his artists. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? And, he testified, I attempted to get his gun hand . Share this memorial using social media sites or email. The scavengers pawed over the ground as once thieves had ransacked the bodies of the soldiers on the field of Waterloo. Others say the Stones hired the Angels to protect them, and maybe also some of the other acts, like Santana, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. based on information from your browser. Last of three loose bison rounded up in Maine. In a book that became to be known as 'The People of the Abyss' London described the time when he lived in the Whitechapel district sleeping in workhouses, so-called doss-houses and even on the streets. Message in a bottle travels more than 185 miles in Australia. She said he used to go around at Christmastime and make spare change by painting nativity scenes on gas station windows. His wife, Celeste, had recalled: Alan, when we first met, hated to have me take his arm. Trivia (2) Passaro was caught on film stabbing Meredith Hunter and put on trial for murder. Question by Walker: Would you know what I meant if I said Mr. Over the years, though, Ive learned how to get up and do it again., Hells Angels are on stage with the Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, wearing red, and guitarist Mick Taylor, with back to camera. They saw the Angel hard on that quarry on his like a naked African hunter moving out of hunger on a giraffe, moving with just as sharp a reflex as the wanted animal had and having only one advantage, the knife. The people moved back in again.. In the process, you know what, some people got hit. If you dont have them to work for you as stewards, they come anyway and cause trouble. Gone was his longish hair, gone was the Fu Manchu mustache, gone was the Angel uniform, gone were his colors. His black hair had been shorn to regulation length at Soledad. Passaro was arrested and charged but he claimed self-defense and he was later accquitted. Navy SEAL who saved 3 kids from drowning receives medal for his heroism "I was reminded of the seven-mile swim we do in BUD/S, and I thought to myself, if I have to I can do this all day" It looked like he was pulled off of position., It was someone out of the crowd. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. didnt know the defendant would testify until an hour before he took the stand). In this Dec. 8, 1969 file photo, the Rolling Stones perform at the Gimme Shelter rock concert at the Altamont Race Track in California (AP Photo, file). Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. 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