HENRICO -
Cathy Hicks tear-filled eyes were red from crying as more than 200 of her husband's friends and fellow riders gathered for Friday evening's visitation at Nelsen Funeral Home on Laburnum Avenue in eastern Henrico.
Hicks said she was standing right beside her husband, James M "Jimbo" Hicks Jr., when he was fatally shot Tuesday morning by a member of a Virginia State Police tactical team that had stormed their Dinwiddie County home along with ATF agents to execute a federal search warrant.
She was so close, she said, she could "feel the wind" from the two slugs that hit her husband during the 6 a.m. raid in the 10000 block of Halifax Road.
No one disputes that Hicks, a member of the Pagans motorcycle club, picked up a shotgun when officers entered his home. A statement from the Virginia State Police said a trooper shot Hicks when he refused to drop the gun after being told to do so. That unnamed trooper is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the fatal use of force.
But Cathy Hicks said the officers didn't give her husband time to drop the weapon. It happened too fast, she said.
More than 100 motorcycles, riding two abreast, thundered down Williamsburg Road and Laburnum Avenue in a long line on the way to the funeral home. Even though riders came from numerous bike clubs from near and far including the Untamed, the Devil's Grip, Iron Order and the Boozefighters - the line of roaring motorcycles was tight, precise and unbroken.
"That's the way we ride," said one of the Pagans in the procession.
"Pagans first," someone called out as the riders filled the parking lot at Nelsen's and starting walking into the building to pay their respects. A video playing inside showed images from the life of James Marcus Hicks Jr., a father, grandfather, husband, son, welder, mechanic, hunter and motorcyclist.
Hicks was much-admired, said longtime friend Tigger. "If you met him, you'd understand," Tigger said. "If you asked him to do a poker run (fundraising ride) for a child with cancer or an adult or someone else who needed help, he and his wife were always there."
Fellow Pagans member Dave Morrow said people mischaracterize and stereotype bikers like Jimbo Hicks. "They don't understand what we're about," Morrow said. "We're about riding motorcycles and brotherhood."
Cathy Hicks cried that news stories about her husband haven't captured the man she knew.
"I loved him," she said as her family gathered around her. "He was a good man."
Tuesday morning, the state police were assisting federal ATF agents in the execution of the search warrant, a sealed document that's part of an investigation that authorities won't talk about.
Hicks' attorney, John Rockecharlie, said it's his understanding that the raid was part of a multistate investigation into illegal motorcycle gang activity. Rockecharlie said nothing illegal turned up during the search of the house.
State police confirmed Friday that another search warrant was executed at the same time Tuesday morning at a residence in the 11200 block of Genito Road in Amelia County.
That's the home of Chuck Love, leader of the local chapter of the Pagans. No one was injured in that raid.
Many of Hicks' friends wonder why the police needed to storm his home.
"It hurts to see him go any way, but to go like that . . . ," Tigger said. "That was just wrong."
The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday at 2 a.m.at Nelsen's Funeral Home, 4650 S. Laburnum Avenue.
Hicks said she was standing right beside her husband, James M "Jimbo" Hicks Jr., when he was fatally shot Tuesday morning by a member of a Virginia State Police tactical team that had stormed their Dinwiddie County home along with ATF agents to execute a federal search warrant.
She was so close, she said, she could "feel the wind" from the two slugs that hit her husband during the 6 a.m. raid in the 10000 block of Halifax Road.
No one disputes that Hicks, a member of the Pagans motorcycle club, picked up a shotgun when officers entered his home. A statement from the Virginia State Police said a trooper shot Hicks when he refused to drop the gun after being told to do so. That unnamed trooper is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the fatal use of force.
But Cathy Hicks said the officers didn't give her husband time to drop the weapon. It happened too fast, she said.
More than 100 motorcycles, riding two abreast, thundered down Williamsburg Road and Laburnum Avenue in a long line on the way to the funeral home. Even though riders came from numerous bike clubs from near and far including the Untamed, the Devil's Grip, Iron Order and the Boozefighters - the line of roaring motorcycles was tight, precise and unbroken.
"That's the way we ride," said one of the Pagans in the procession.
"Pagans first," someone called out as the riders filled the parking lot at Nelsen's and starting walking into the building to pay their respects. A video playing inside showed images from the life of James Marcus Hicks Jr., a father, grandfather, husband, son, welder, mechanic, hunter and motorcyclist.
Hicks was much-admired, said longtime friend Tigger. "If you met him, you'd understand," Tigger said. "If you asked him to do a poker run (fundraising ride) for a child with cancer or an adult or someone else who needed help, he and his wife were always there."
Fellow Pagans member Dave Morrow said people mischaracterize and stereotype bikers like Jimbo Hicks. "They don't understand what we're about," Morrow said. "We're about riding motorcycles and brotherhood."
Cathy Hicks cried that news stories about her husband haven't captured the man she knew.
"I loved him," she said as her family gathered around her. "He was a good man."
Tuesday morning, the state police were assisting federal ATF agents in the execution of the search warrant, a sealed document that's part of an investigation that authorities won't talk about.
Hicks' attorney, John Rockecharlie, said it's his understanding that the raid was part of a multistate investigation into illegal motorcycle gang activity. Rockecharlie said nothing illegal turned up during the search of the house.
State police confirmed Friday that another search warrant was executed at the same time Tuesday morning at a residence in the 11200 block of Genito Road in Amelia County.
That's the home of Chuck Love, leader of the local chapter of the Pagans. No one was injured in that raid.
Many of Hicks' friends wonder why the police needed to storm his home.
"It hurts to see him go any way, but to go like that . . . ," Tigger said. "That was just wrong."
The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday at 2 a.m.at Nelsen's Funeral Home, 4650 S. Laburnum Avenue.
