Jay Dobyns
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Jay Anthony Dobyns (born 1961), alias Jaybird, is an ATF undercover agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle club from 2001 to 2003. He was offered membership after faking the murder of a Mongols Motorcycle Club member and providing 'evidence' of the staged murder to Hells Angels leaders [1]. Dobyns' undercover work culminated with the indictment of numerous Hells Angels and associates including 16 Hells Angels members under the Federal RICO statute.
[edit] Early Life
Dobyns was born in Indiana and was raised in Tucson, Arizona. He attended the University of Arizona graduating in 1985. He was an All-Pacific 10 conference wide receiver (football) and named to the Arizona All-Century football team.
Dobyns became an ATF Agent in 1987. After only tens days on duty he was taken hostage and shot through the chest. His trauma surgeon was Richard Carmona who later became the U.S. Surgeon General. Dobyns spent the majority of his ATF career working in varied undercover assignments throughout the U.S.
[edit] As 'Jaybird'
After 16 years of developing undercover expertise in gang infiltrations, home invasion robbery cases and murder-for hire investigations, Dobyns was selected in 2001 as the lead undercover agent in an ATF investigation of the Arizona Hells Angels code named Operation Black Biscuit. Dobyns and his partners worked undercover for 21 months leading to Federal arrests and search warrants on July 8, 2003. Operation Black Biscuit is memorialized in the novel Angels of Death written by authors Julian Sher and William Marsden.
Dobyns later received death threats from Hells Angels members. Dobyns claims that ATF did not sufficiently protect him or his family from the threats [2].
Dobyns joins other former undercover Federal agents such as Donnie Brasco in becoming mainstream news stories following their time as undercover agents.
