Kriti Mehrotra
With A&E’s ‘Secrets of the Hells Angels’ delving into the world’s most notorious biker club through the eyes of former members, officials, and victims alike, we get a docuseries unlike any other. After all, each of its 8 episodes gradually unravels their baffling decades-long history of criminal activities as well as violent acts for the first time to show the world what they really stand for. So among those to thus feature in this original is Jenna Maguire, the ATF undercover special agent to have helped Jay Dobyns infiltrate this international outlaw club between 2001 and 2003.
Who is Jenna Maguire?
Although not much regarding Jenna’s early years or upbringing is publicly known at the moment, we do know she was relatively fresh out of the academy when given a chance to help Jay. In fact, per ‘Angels of Death’ by Julian Sher plus William Marsden, she was just a “pretty, 29-year-old” with “long hair and a quick smile” when asked to meet the already undercover operative. However, for the latter, she was arguably one of the only officials to have the skills needed to be his fake girlfriend so that he could focus on investigating rather than simply swerving biker girls.
Jenna actually had two years of experience as a Special Agent at the US Department of Homeland Security in Baltimore, Maryland, before she was brought on board ATF in California in 2001. Yet little did she know she’d soon find herself achieving her goal of being a “street agent,” working collaboratively with local as well as state police in both Los Angeles and Seattle, Washington. But before this was her stint as Jay’s “old lady,” meaning her first undercover work ever was a part of the extremely dangerous Operation Black Biscuit involving none other than the Hells Angels.
“I wanted to try out undercover, and this was a chance to… [do so with an] agent we all knew was one of the best at it,” Jenna candidly said in this production. “So I was excited for this opportunity.” On the flip side, Jay elucidated his decision to pick her despite her inexperience: “She was highly intelligent. She had street smarts. But probably the biggest asset was that she was absolutely fearless.” He hence slowly introduced her into the group as his girlfriend before essentially letting all the fellow “old ladies” train her in their ways, all the while protecting her from unwanted sexual advances.
Jenna was reportedly well aware of the risks she was taking despite not wholly understanding the world of motorcycle clubs initially, so she was glad she always had Jay attentive by her side. “If you come to a Hells Angels clubhouse, you know certain things are possibly going to happen,” she expressed. “[If you’re a woman], your body is going to be treated like an amusement park by several members possibly. Sex can be consensual, or it can be rape.” Therefore, of course, she was always careful, especially once the case of Cynthia Yvonne Garcia also came to light — this mother of six was heinously murdered by members in 2001 just for talking back/bad about them.
Where is Jenna Maguire Now?
Once Operation Black Biscuit came to an end on July 8, 2003, with several Hells Angels members being arrested on various counts, Jenna’s career began thriving in more ways than one. She earned her desired title, served as the primary undercover agent in three investigations involving the Mexican Mafia as well as Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, and even got opportunities to participate in various task forces. Then, in 2016, she was promoted to Program Manager of Field Management Staff and Special Operations Division in Idaho, where she proudly not only spearheaded comprehensive training programs but also supplied essential resources for undercover operations.
Yet today, in her 50s, Jenna is based in Glynn County, Georgia, where she’s the Acting Deputy Chief of the ATF National Academy and a Senior Instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. We again unfortunately don’t know much regarding her personal experiences, but we do know she reached her following years of experience, including as a Supervisory Special Agent of the Chicago Field Division, Program Manager of the Firearms Operations Division, plus Supervisory Special Agent for the Nashville Field Division. She has thus unsurprisingly developed expertise in building as well as leading top-performing teams, criminal intelligence, crisis management, curriculum development, law enforcement, negotiation, risk mitigation, staff training, strategic planning, and much more.
Read More: Jay Dobyns: Where is the ATF Agent Now?
