Gus and Rose Hoffman were looking forward to the July 4 holiday. In addition to the usual festivities celebrating America’s independence, they would soon be free of their nearly year-long nuisance. Their twenty-year-old son, Gus Jr., had spent most of the past year restoring a 1966 Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle, popular with both mainstream and outlaw bikers. Gus was a whiz mechanic; although not a biker, he enjoyed restoring vintage motorcycles. When finished, he planned to sell the bike. His parents were all too glad, believing the project was occupying too much of his time.

After putting the finishing touches on the motorcycle and proudly showing it off to his parents and brother, Bill, Gus said he was going to take it on a short test run.  The last image the Hoffman’s have of their “little Gussie” is his waving to them as he rode the motorcycle out the driveway of their Los Gatos, California, home, just southwest of San Jose. He rounded the corner and seemingly fell of the face of the Earth.

On Independence Day, 1978, Gus Hoffman is believed to have had his freedom taken from him. His remains have not been found, but he was likely murdered in a horrific manner.

Gus Hoffman

When Gus did not return home that evening, Rose called the police and reported him as missing. The department’s policy at the time, however, dictated that they could not take action until forty-eight hours had passed.

Rose investigated on her own.

Rose Hoffman

Gus’s Mother

The following day, Bob Loar, a friend of Gus who worked at a nearby gas station, told Rose he had seen Gus on the motorcycle the previous day. As Gus pulled to a stop light at an intersection, Bob saw two men on motorcycles pull up behind him. Following them was a blue Monte Carlo. Bob recognized the two men on the motorcycles because several days earlier they had been in the gas station and were rude to him.

A motorist later said the men had drawn their bikes on each side of Gus essentially boxing him in at the stoplight. The bikers then taunted Gus by swinging chains above their heads.

Gus Is Seen

Being Bullied By Bikers

The two witnesses identified the men on the motorcycles as Michael Stevenson and Michael Hodges, both members of the “Forgotten Few” motorcycle gang who were described by police as “Hells Angels rejects.” Both bikers were questioned by the police, but each refused to talk.

The police then questioned other members of the Forgotten Few, but they too kept mum. It appeared the bikers’ refusal to rat on their fellow riders did not stem from loyalty; it was clear they were afraid of them, Stevenson especially. Acquaintances say he fancied himself as the biker version of Charles Manson, and a San Jose detective said Stevenson was the most violent person he had ever encountered.

In 1976, Stevenson was arrested for the kidnapping of a teenage girl. The following year, he was charged with forcing a twenty-year-old woman to take drugs her while she was chained and handcuffed in a closet for a month. He was not convicted in either instance, however, because his alleged victims were too afraid to testify against him.

A 1988 Associated Press article says Stevenson was convicted in 1981 of sexually assaulting and killing a Modesto man who owed him money. I could not find out how long he was imprisoned or why or when he was released.

Michael Stevenson  Michael Hodges

Gus’s parents hired a private investigator with connections to motorcycle gangs to investigate their son’s disappearance. He found a woman who said that after being forced through intimidation to Stevenson’s home, Gus was sodomized and tortured for three-to-five days before he was kicked and beaten to death. The woman, in fear for her own life, refused to go to the police, as did all of the people believed to have information on Gus’s disappearance.

With no body and nobody willing to talk, the investigation into Gus Hoffman’s disappearance and presumed murder stalled for nearly eight years.

A Horrible Death

On June 19, 1986, Michael Stevenson was shot to death after attempting to extort money from an elderly couple.  Police then re-questioned his acquaintances and other Forgotten Few members. This time, people were willing to talk.

Multiple gang members corroborated what the woman had told the private investigator eight years earlier, saying Stevenson, Hodges, and several other bikers had essentially trapped Gus at the intersection and “escorted” him to Stevenson’s San Jose home where he was ultimately murdered.

Stevenson Killed

Although Gus’s remains had not been found, Michael Hodges was convicted of first degree murder in 1990. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He died while serving his sentence.

Hodges Dies Behind Bars

The two men in the Monte Carlo who also participated in Gus’s murder were identified as Forgotten Few members Richard Dollar and John Stelle. Both were also convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Stelle also died behind bars; Dollar is serving his sentence at San Quentin Prison.

The Forgotten Few motorcycle gang is now defunct.

                                       Richard Dollar        John Stelle 

Based on witness testimony, chiefly that of Richard Dollar’s ex-wife, Cathi, investigators believe that after Gus Hoffman was forced to drive to Michael Stevenson’s San Jose residence, the bikers were initially nice to him and offered him a beer. Soon, though, they beat him and forced him to orally copulate them before killing him for his motorcycle.

After being beaten to death, investigators believe Gus’s body was dismembered and placed in trash bags which were discarded at different locations. None of his remains have been found, nor has his motorcycle, a red 1966 Harley Davidson Sportster model with a hard-tail frame, a springer front end, chrome trim and yellow flames on the gas tank. Authorities believe the bike was either sold to a chop shop or broken down and sold for parts.

Gus’s Remains Have Not Been Found

Although investigators are certain Gus Hoffman was murdered, his case is still listed as that of an endangered missing person.

At the time of his disappearance, Gus Henry Hoffman was twenty-years-old, five-feet-eight-inches tall, and weighed approximately one-hundred-twenty pounds.  He had brown eyes and hair. He would today be sixty-six-years-old.

If you have any information relating to the disappearance of Gus Hoffman, please contact the San Jose, California, Police Department at 408-227-4141.

No Closure

SOURCES:

• Associated Press
• Charley Project
• Doe Network
• Los Angeles Times
• San Bernardino County Sun
• Santa Cruz Sentinel
• Unsolved Mysteries