Jay Anthony Dobyns (born 1961), alias Jaybird, was a United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) undercover agent who gained international notoriety after he infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle club from 2001 to 2003. Dobyns was offered membership to the Hells Angels after faking the murder of a rival gang member and providing the fabricated 'evidence' of the murder to Hells Angels leaders, convincing them of Dobyns's credibility. Dobyns was the only law enforcement officer to ever infiltrate the Hells Angels to the position of member.[1]
Dobyns became an ATF Agent in 1987. After only four days on duty he was taken hostage and shot through the chest. His trauma surgeon was Dr. Richard Carmona, who later became the 17th United States Surgeon General.[2]
Dobyns spent the majority of his ATF career working in varied assignments developing undercover expertise in violent crime investigation, narcotics, firearms, gang infiltrations, home invasion robbery cases, and murder-for-hire investigations.[3]
In 2001 Dobyns was selected as the lead undercover agent during an investigation of the Hells Angels in Arizona and tasked with infiltrating the gang. Although the investigation was deemed successful leading to the indictment of numerous persons for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations and other crimes, the prosecution was considered failed after internal government squabbling ultimately led to some defendants receiving reduced sentences and some with charges dismissed.[4]
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Born in 1961 in Indiana, Dobyns was raised in Tucson, Arizona. He graduated from Sahuaro High School in 1980 and the University of Arizona in 1985. He was an All-Pacific 10 conference wide receiver and was named to Arizona's All-Century football team.[3]
In 2004 following the exposure of his true name and identity during court hearings Dobyns became the subject of extreme violence and death threats from the Hells Angels, Aryan Brotherhood and Mara Salvatrucha gang members and associates.[5]
In 2008 Dobyns's home was subjected to an arson attack. Dobyns's family was present at the time of the fire which caused a total loss of the structure and belongings.[6]
The threat situations against Dobyns were ignored by the federal government leading to Dobyns becoming a government whistleblower when he exposed the United States Department of Justice's mismanagement and failure to protect undercover agents. The United States Office of the Inspector General and the United States Office of Special Counsel concluded that, "ATF needlessly and inappropriately delayed its response to and investigation of threats against its own agent". These findings were reported to the President of the United States.[7][8]
Dobyns has appeared on prime time television programs Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN), and The FOX Report with Sheppard Smith (FOX) discussing the death threats he has received, the federal governments failures related to those situations and his plight as a whistleblower. These situations were also reported on by Newsweek Magazine, the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal newspapers, and on National Public Radio by host Diane Rehm.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
In February 2009, Dobyns became a New York Times bestselling author following the release of his book No Angel - My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels. Dobyns's book chronicles how his investigation of the Hells Angels changed his life (Random House ISBN 978-0-307-40585-2 (0-307-40585-0).[15][16]
Dobyns owns and operates the Jay Dobyns Group, LLC, a private company offering public speaking presentations and law enforcement training.[17]
Dobyns's exploits as an undercover agent are memorialized in the novels Angels of Death, written by authors Julian Sher and William Marsden, and Running With The Devil written by author Kerrie Droban.[4][18]
Dobyns portrays himself in television documentaries produced by The History Channel (Gangland: Behind Enemy Lines) and the National Geographic Channel (Inside: Outlaw Bikers - Hells Angels). Fox Television's America's Most Wanted also produced a segment entitled Operation Black Biscuit that details the work of Dobyns and his partners during the Hells Angels investigation.[19][20][21]
In 2006, Dobyns was inducted into the Sahuaro High School (Tucson, Arizona) Hall of Fame.[22]
In 2010, Dobyns was inducted into the Pima County (Arizona) Sports Hall of Fame.[23]
Dobyns joins other former undercover agents such as Frank Serpico, Joe Pistone (a.k.a. Donnie Brasco), Bob Delaney (a.k.a. Bobby Covert), William Queen (a.k.a. Billy St. John), and Joaquín Garcia (a.k.a. Jackie Falcone) in becoming mainstream news stories following their undercover assignments.[24][25][26][27][28]