Kidnapping, assault charges dropped against four men with ties to Iron Range Hells Angels

The prosecution has dropped all charges against four men accused of crimes tied to an alleged kidnapping and assault involving men with ties to the Hells Angels, canceling an Eveleth man’s jury trial that was scheduled to start earlier this week.

Paul Anthony Debelak, 39, was accused of raping a woman at a home in Eveleth more than a year ago. The criminal complaint alleges that several men stopped by the home and two assaulted a woman while the others beat up a man they told to stay away from her.

Debelak was facing three felonies and a misdemeanor until the charges were dropped.

Assistant St. Louis County attorney Christopher Florey wrote in court documents that victims were either unwilling or unable to testify at the trial.

“And the state cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt without testimony from the victims,” he said.

The other men whose charges were dropped include Jerand Paul French, 40, described in court documents as the president of the Iron Range charter of the motorcycle gang; Eric Anthony Newman, 50; and Jake Douglas Novaczyk, 47.

French’s attorney, Brian Karalus, said his client was relieved to have this conclusion after more than a year within the court system. He described it as a weak case and the victim-witnesses as unreliable. French’s trial had not yet been scheduled.

The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled later.

The attorneys for the four accused men were working together and sharing information, according to court filings.

According to the criminal complaint, men with ties to Hells Angels showed up at a home on the morning of Nov. 27, 2023. A man at the home was reportedly dragged down stairs from a hiding spot, then punched and kicked. A woman on site was taken into a bathroom, where two men allegedly raped her.

The male victim told investigators at the time that he was then taken to the Hells Angels’ clubhouse, where he was beaten. The man, helped along by crutches, escaped the next day and went to police.

Witnesses at the residence confirmed that the man had been beaten and then left with the accused men, but one witness cried when he denied that the woman had been raped, according to court documents.

Karalus said the Iron Range chapter of the motorcycle club is among the few sober chapters in the country. He said the accused had shown up at the home to remove the man from a setting where he had access to drugs.

In April, Judge Robert Friday denied a move to dismiss the cases of Debelak and Newman, who claimed government interference in communications with attorneys and governmental witness tampering. According to court documents, the judge said that the men had failed to prove either during a contested omnibus hearing.