Category: Gangs in the news…

Five Alleged Members of Brooklyn Biker Gang Arraigned on Indictment
In Connection with Shooting in East Flatbush

Forty-four Rounds Fired in Dispute with Rival Bikers on Busy Street,
Three Individuals Shot and Wounded; Eight Firearms Recovered

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that five men who are alleged to be members of the Brooklyn-founded biker gang known as Street Knights Motorcycle Club have been arraigned on a 52-count indictment in which they are variously charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and related charges for a shooting in East Flatbush last spring.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “With this indictment, we allege these defendants turned a busy East Flatbush block into chaos, firing 44 rounds, wounding three people, and sending bystanders running for their lives. We will seek justice for the victims and the community. Brooklyn’s record-low gun violence is no accident; it is the result of outstanding work by the NYPD and our relentless pursuit of accountability when people pull the trigger.”

The District Attorney identified the defendants as Ricardo Johnson, 51, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, Akeem McDonald, 37, of Huntington Station, Long Island, Saanshuray Bobbitt, 43, of Jamaica, Queens, Raheem Watson, 41, of Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, Melsone Gasby, 47, of Deer Park, Long Island. Four of the defendants were arraigned yesterday before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Herbert Moses on a 52-count indictment in which they are variously charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and related charges. Johnson’s arraignment is pending extradition from New Jersey. Bobbitt, McDonald and Watson were ordered held without bail. Gasby’s bail was set at $200,000 cash or $400,000 bond. The defendants were ordered to return to court on December 17, 2025.
Eight firearms, including one assault rifle, were recovered yesterday morning during the execution of search warrants at the residences of McDonald, Bobbitt, Watson, and Gasby.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on April 19, 2025, the defendants and their motorcycle club were hosting an anniversary party in an event space in the vicinity of Utica Avenue and Foster Avenue, in East Flatbush. At approximately 10:13 p.m., a large group of motorcycles, believed to be primarily members of a rival biker gang, the Hood Ryderz Motorcycle Club, drove past the event space.
Following a brief dispute, it is alleged, defendant Raheem Watson fired 14 rounds towards unknown individuals in the vicinity of Utica Avenue and Avenue D, and then fled the location with other members of the Street Knights M.C. Some of the rounds allegedly fired by Watson damaged an occupied vehicle and caused innocent bystanders in the area to flee.

Immediately following, it is alleged, defendant Ricardo Johnson fired two rounds at a fleeing 35-year-old member of Hood Ryderz M.C. from behind, striking him in the leg. Another defendant, Akeem McDonald, allegedly fired at the 35-year-old victim as he attempted to flee, but instead struck a nearby vehicle, narrowly missing a female passenger seated inside. Defendants Johnson and McDonald were also joined by defendant Saanshuray Bobbitt, who also allegedly fired a gun at the 35-year-old victim.

The 35-year-old victim, unable to stand, attempted to flee and crawl to safety before allegedly exchanging gunfire with defendant Melsone Gasby, the president of Street Knights M.C., who also brandished a pistol.

Finally, it is alleged, a 29-year-old member of Hood Ryderz M.C. tried to flee the area immediately thereafter on his motorcycle when defendant Bobbitt allegedly fired at him at close range, striking him once in the leg. The victim drove several blocks to safety, then called 911. In total 44 rounds were fired and 36 shell casings with four different calibers were recovered.

Defendant McDonald took Johnson to Kings County Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot to the lower right abdomen and released.
The 35-year-old was taken Brookdale Hospital by ambulance and treated for a shattered tibia. He was hospitalized for two weeks and is still unable to walk on his own. The 29-year-old was treated at Kings County Hospital, where he stayed for seven days and suffered permanent nerve damage to his leg.

The District Attorney thanked New York City Police Department Detective Steven Lavin and Lieutenant Martin Costello of the 67th Precinct Detective Squad for their continuous work on this case.
The District Attorney also thanked the NYPD’s 67th Precinct Detective Squad, the Gun Violence Suppression Division, the Brooklyn South Video Team, the Technical Assistance Response Unit, Vehicle Identification Group, Auto Crimes Division, and the NYPD/U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force.
The District Attorney thanked Intelligence Analyst Timothy Brown of the KCDA Digital Evidence Lab, under the supervision of Alexandra Aber, Chief Analyst and Assistant District Attorney Jingu Chong, Chief of the Digital Evidence Lab, as well as the Bureau of Litigation Technology, Multimedia Services Unit, and the Detective Investigators Bureau for their assistance in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Robert Andrea and Adriana Morquecho, of the District Attorney’s Blue Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Doug Marquez, Deputy Bureau Chief and Assistant District Attorney Kin Ng, Bureau Chief.

San Diego Hells Angels members sentenced for hate crime against Black men

A San Diego court sentenced 14 Hells Angels linked individuals for a hate crime involving a stabbing and attack on three Black men in Ocean Beach.

Author: City News Service
Published: CBS 8 San Diego California November 6, 2025
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/san-diego-hells-angels-members-sentenced-hate-crime/509-9e67caa5-e634-4cc2-ad9b-e79fcd53cccb

SAN DIEGO — More than a dozen people connected to the San Diego County chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang have been sentenced for their roles in a hate-related stabbing and attack on three young Black men in Ocean Beach, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

The prosecution centered around the June 6, 2023, attack on three men – – ages 19, 20 and 21 — who were chased by the defendants on Newport Avenue after one of them apparently spoke to a Hells Angels member’s girlfriend.

One of the victims fled, but the other two were severely beaten by numerous defendants, who hurled racial slurs and told the victims they didn’t belong in that neighborhood.

While one of the beaten victims was on the ground, Troy Andrew Scholder — the lead defendant in the case who was described by prosecutors as a longtime Hells Angels leader — pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

During Scholder’s trial, Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hemming said the knife fractured the victim’s sternum, pierced his lung and severed an artery, nearly causing the man to bleed out.

After the stabbing, other co-defendants spirited Scholder from the crime scene to the gang’s clubhouse in El Cajon, prosecutors said. Scholder and his co-defendants were arrested nearly three months later

Scholder was convicted by a San Diego jury of attempted murder and other charges and was sentenced in June to 21 years to life in state prison. Thirteen other defendants pleaded guilty to various charges and have been sentenced to state prison, county jail or probation terms.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement, “The successful conclusion of this case demonstrates my office’s commitment to holding organized gangs accountable for a wide range of offenses, including violent hate crimes. This was an unprovoked, vicious attack that nearly ended in tragedy.”

High-ranking Bandidos member arrested, dozens of guns, $200K seized in Bexar County raid
by Christopher Hoffman
November 4, 2025
News4sanantonio.com/news/local/high-ranking-bandidos-member-arrested-dozens-of-guns-200k-seized-in-bexar-county-raid-san-antonio-texas-investigation-deputies-south-side-weapons-drugs-search-warrant

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said 60-year-old Anselmo Barrera was arrested during a raid on Oct. 30 at the clubhouse off Cantrell Drive near Logwood Avenue while executing a narcotics search warrant . (PHOTOS: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)

SAN ANTONIO – A high-ranking member of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang is behind bars following a recent raid on a South Side clubhouse

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said 60-year-old Anselmo Barrera was arrested during a raid on Oct. 30 at the clubhouse off Cantrell Drive near Logwood Avenue while executing a narcotics search warrant .

During the search, deputies recovered 33 firearms across the property, as well as two body armor vests and a large collection of Bandidos merchandise.

Inside the main house, deputies seized $206,031 in U.S. currency believed to be linked to drug trafficking. Authorities also recovered a stolen Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a stolen pistol.

Barrera, a documented member of the Bandidos who holds a high-ranking national position within the gang, was charged with possession of body armor by a convicted felon, a third-degree felony.

Two suspected members of Pagan motorcycle gang arrested in connection to crash that injured woman last month

Brian Blattner, 37, and George Cwienk III, 51, are accused of causing a crash that injured a female motorcyclist in Pennsbury Township on Sept. 13, State Police say.

Keith Schweigert (FOX43) October 30, 2025
https://www.fox43.com/article/news/regional/pennsylvania-state-police-arrest-pagans-motorcycle-gang-brian-blattner-george-cwienk-iii/521-e8fd1c9e-da76-4422-a642-3e7cd7882083

CHADDS FORD, Pa. — State Police on Thursday arrested two suspected members of the Pagan motorcycle gang in connection to a crash that injured another motorcyclist in Chester County last month.

Brian Blattner, 37, of Delaware County, and George Cwienk III, 51, of Montgomery County, were taken into custody early Thursday morning.

Both men were charged after an investigation of the alleged incident by members of the State Police Troop J Barracks in Lancaster.

The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on Sept. 13 on U.S. Route 1 North between Independence Way and Ponds Edge Drive in Pennsbury Township, Chester County, State Police said.

According to police, the investigation determined that, prior to the incident, a group of motorcyclists wearing Pagans Motorcycle Club jackets passed traffic stopped in the left lane at a red light by committing numerous traffic violations.

Once they got ahead of the traffic line, police said, the motorcyclists blocked other motorists traveling north by slowing down and swerving into the left lane to prevent the other drivers from passing them.
According to police, a male motorcyclist tried to pass the group by moving into the left lane, but Cwienk swerved his motorcycle at him, forcing him to brake suddenly to avoid crashing into a concrete barrier or Cwienk’s motorcycle.

The near-collision caused the left lane to open up, and a female motorcyclist then tried to pass the group in the left lane, police said. As she accelerated, Blattner allegedly swerved his motorcycle at hers from the right lane, causing her to crash into the concrete barrier.

The woman was knocked unconscious and sustained serious injuries as a result of the crash, police said.

Cwienk is charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and several other lesser offenses, according to police.

Blattner is charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person and related offenses.

State Police are still looking for anyone who may have witnessed the incident. If you have information that would help the investigation, contact State Police at (610) 268-2022.
d in connection to crash that injured woman

9 Pagans motorcycle gang members charged for shooting that injured innocent bystanders outside Wawa

By6abc Digital Staff Friday, October 31, 2025

Nine members of the Pagans outlaw motorcycle gang have been charged for a shooting earlier this month outside a Wawa that left six people injured, including two innocent bystanders

Nine members of the Pagans outlaw motorcycle gang have been charged for a shooting earlier this month outside a Wawa that left six people injured, including two innocent bystanders

WEST NORRITON TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Nine members of the Pagans outlaw motorcycle gang have been charged for a shooting earlier this month outside a Wawa that left six people injured, including two innocent bystanders.

The shooting happened on Oct. 17 at the store on Main Street in West Norriton.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office on Friday identified the suspects as:

Justin Noll, 34, of Reading, Pa.
Erik Rosenberger, 46, of East Greenville, Pa.
Luke Higgins, 29, of Dauberville, Pa.
Joel Hernandez-Martinez, 36, of Bridgeport, Pa.
Jason Lawless, 45, of Bridgeport, Pa.
Manuel Baez-Santos, 34, of Norristown, Pa.
George Cwienk III, 51, of Bridgeport, Pa.
Erik Dixon, 33, of King of Prussia, Pa.
George Hripto Jr., 50, of Bridgeport, Pa.

According to investigators, members of the Unknown Bikers motorcycle gang stopped at the Wawa to gas up their bikes at about 9:08 p.m. that night.
Two minutes later, members of the Pagans were seen on surveillance video riding by, then pulling into the Wawa.

Some of the Pagans surrounded the Unknown Bikers, while other Pagans blocked any escape route, detectives said.

There was a physical altercation, in which the Pagans were allegedly seen trying to remove their rivals’ “cuts,” or gang colors.

Video shows Pagan gang members taking a “shooting platform stance,” the D.A.’s office said.

Just one minute after the Pagans arrived, detectives said gunfire erupted.

Shooting involving rival motorcycle gangs injures 6 outside Wawa

The innocent bystanders shot include a man who was shot in the face while putting air in his vehicle’s tires, and a woman who was shot in her torso as she was standing by the doors to the Wawa.

One member of the Unknown Bikers gang was shot in the left forearm and thigh.

The other three people shot were Pagans members Hernandez-Martinez, who was shot in the chest; Cwienk, who was shot in the ankle; and Noll, who was shot in the foot.

All nine suspects are charged with 12 felony counts of Aggravated Assault, two felony counts of Riot, 14 counts of Simple Assault and 46 counts of Recklessly Endangering Another Person.

They were arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy, who set bail at $500,000 cash for Baez-Santos, Cwienk, Dixon, Higgins, Hernandez-Martinez, Hripto, Lawless and Rosenberger. Bail for Noll was set at $50,000 unsecured, due to ongoing medical treatment.

Danish biker gang ordered to disband in landmark case

Michael Barrett – michael@thelocal.dk : 29 Oct, 2025

https://www.thelocal.dk/20251029/danish-biker-gang-ordered-to-disband-in-landmark-case

Danish biker group Bandidos has been ordered to disband following a ruling at Helsingør District Court on Wednesday.
The group has appealed the ruling and will seek acquittal, its lawyer told news
wire Ritzau.

In a brief statement explaining the ruling, the presiding judge said the court had found that Bandidos, alongside a legal purpose, also pursues an illegal one.

This conclusion is partly based on crimes committed by the club’s members.

The court also found that Bandidos constitutes a single, unified association. This was a key question in the case, along with whether the organisation has a legal purpose.

Section 78 of the Danish constitution protects the right to form associations, but they can be banned if they are proved to have illegal purposes.

During the trial, the prosecution presented court rulings, internal documents and communication records in an effort to prove the group is a formal association with illegal purposes.

The court also agreed to the prosecution’s request for the confiscation of a large number of Bandidos-related items.

“This ruling makes it clear that serious, organised crime can no longer be carried out under the guise of being a motorcycle club,” special prosecutor Halit Sert said after the verdict, according to Ritzau.

The last time an association was dissolved by court order was in 2021, when the Supreme Court disbanded the street gang Loyal to Familia (LTF).

Wednesday’s case, originally launched in 2023, sees Bandidos follow LTF by being legally disbanded under a law that makes it punishable to wear the gang’s symbols, for instance.

Unlike LTF, Bandidos is a traditional biker gang which, alongside, Hells Angels, has dominated organised crime in Denmark over the decades, although these biker gangs are now seeing themselves challenged by other types of gang including “hybrid” groups, according to experts.

In May last year, police imposed a temporary ban on Bandidos, allowing them to close all Bandidos clubhouses and making it illegal to wear patches or other clothes and items featuring the Bandidos insignia.

At the same time, authorities, including the Debt Agency, launched special investigations against Bandidos members
“We are chasing the money,” prosecutor Lasse Boje said at a press conference at the time.

Over 30 court sessions have now resulted in the Helsingør court ruling that the ban can be made permanent.

The decision by Bandidos to appeal the ruling means the case will be heard by the Østre Landsret high court at a later date.

Judge drops murder charges in double fatal shooting involving Columbus motorcycle club

Bethany Bruner Columbus Dispatch October 22, 2025
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2025/10/22/ohio-judge-dismisses-murder-charges-avengers-motorcycle-club-killings/86831598007/

• Franklin County prosecutors dismissed murder charges against Brody Sieber for a 2022 bar shooting.

• Sieber claimed he acted in self-defense during the incident, which left two men dead and two others wounded.

• Prosecutors determined they could not disprove the self-defense claim, which is required under Ohio law.

Franklin County prosecutors will not pursue murder charges against a man who said he fired a gun in self-defense during an August 2022 shooting at a Far South Side bar involving a motorcycle club that ended with two people dead.

Brody Sieber, 41, of Columbus, was charged with murder and felonious assault in the Aug. 1, 2022, shooting at the Old Landmark Tavern, located at 176 Rumsey Road. The shooting left Nicholas Dowler, 34, and Glen Clark III, 50, dead and two other men wounded.

More on motorcycle club shooting: Man hurt in motorcycle club shooting now charged with murder

Sieber said during the first day of a bench trial on Oct. 21 before Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeff Brown that he shot the men in self-defense.

On Oct. 22, Assistant Franklin County Prosecutors Jason Manning and Natalie Kahler agreed to a plea deal in which Sieber admitted to having a weapon under disability, along with an unrelated felony charge connected to non-payment of child support.

Sieber was not allowed to possess a weapon because of a 2012 drug possession conviction, according to court records.

Brown sentenced Sieber to three years of probation. As part of the plea, the judge dismissed two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault and lifted the house arrest and GPS monitoring restrictions Sieber had been under while the case was pending.

Manning told Brown the decision came after prosecutors determined they would no longer be able to prove that the shooting wasn’t self-defense. In self-defense cases, Ohio law requires prosecutors to prove a shooting was not self-defense rather than defendants having to prove they were justified.

Video from the bar showed Sieber and Dowler getting into a fight in a fenced-in back area outside the bar’s patio. Sieber pulled a gun and fired at Dowler and two other men nearby, who were both wounded. Sieber ran to the front parking lot of the bar.

The angles of the videos played during the trial prevented viewing of the entire interaction.

Sieber and Clark had a shootout in the parking lot in front of the bar where both men were hurt, prosecutors said. A bullet struck Sieber in the neck, and Clark died from his injuries.

Clark, Dowler and the other two men who were injured were members of the Avengers Motorcycle Club, prosecutors said.

Kahler said the deadly fight stemmed from a shooting several nights before, where several motorcycles sustained damage while parked outside the bar. Sieber was not involved in that incident, Kahler said.

Trial begins for Arizona biker accused in 2014 Phoenix killings
Miguel Torres Arizona Republic October 21, 2025
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2025/10/21/franklin-clifton-murder-trial/86803994007/

• An Arizona biker is on trial facing the death penalty for a 2014 attack that killed one woman and left another raped and wounded.

• Franklin Clifton, 39, is charged with the first-degree murder of Olivia Hernandez and the attempted murder and rape of another woman.

• The defense argues the events were tragic and reckless but not premeditated, which would distinguish first-degree from second-degree murder.

An Arizona biker facing the death penalty went on trial this week, charged with killing one woman and raping another who was left bleeding on a deserted Phoenix street in 2014.

Franklin Clifton, 39, sat in court on Oct. 20 and watched a prosecutor lay out her case against him, built on firsthand accounts from the victim, DNA, forensics and a motorcycle vest.

He was charged with the first-degree murder of Olivia Hernandez, 23, and attempted murder of Tiana Robinson, who was 31 on Oct. 17, 2014.
“This case is about power,” said Maricopa County Deputy County Attorney Kristin Larish. “Eleven years ago this past Friday, Franklin Clifton had all the power.”

Clifton, who belonged to a motorcycle club called the Wheels of Soul, drove his motorcycle to an area near the intersection of Interstate 17 and Camelback Road, Larish said.Hernandez and Robinson were working as sex workers near 26th Street and Campbell Avenue when a man held them up at gunpoint.

Larish said that Clifton was the man holding a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, threatening the women.
She described what happened next as a depraved chain of crimes: Hernandez was shot and killed, and Robinson was shot and raped as she was bleeding out.

“The defendant brought death and destruction to those streets,” she said.

Robinson survived her attack and described to police a man wearing a leather vest with patches and symbols that fit a motorcycle vest belonging to Clifton, Larish said.

Police stopped Clifton near the crime scene. He told police he had recently been in a fight at a nearby 7-Eleven. Later he told them that he had been robbed of his vest.

“He is absolutely fine — no cuts, no scratches, no bruising. … The defendant was never assaulted, never attacked, and never had anything stolen from him by anyone,” Larish told the jury.

Larish said that 7-Eleven surveillance video never showed him in a fight, instead showing him riding his motorcycle away, still wearing his vest, which was later found on the ground near the crime scene.

“He was the only one armed to the teeth. He brought the violence,” she said.

Victoria Washington, Clifton’s attorney, described the violence that Larish outlined as “chaos” that “spiraled into tragedy.”

She told the jury the evidence will show that what happened that night was violent, tragic, and reckless, but not planned.

“The law draws a line between the killing that happens in cold blood and one that happens in the heat of the moment. That distinction matters. It’s the difference between first-degree murder and second-degree murder,” she explained.

The prosecution has charged Clifton with first-degree murder and felony murder, which is a killing committed in the process of another felony crime. Clifton was also charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault.

Washington argued that the evidence does not support the charges.

“There was no kidnapping, there was no robbery, there was no sexual assault connected to Ms. Hernandez’s death,” she said.

High-ranking Sin City operative gets over 24 years for ordering witness killed in Gary

Meredith Colias-Pete, Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.) October 16, 2025
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/high-ranking-sin-city-operative-190400426.html

Nearly 15 years after Jocelyn “Pie Face” Blair was brazenly gunned down inside a busy Gary diner, the man federal prosecutors said ordered her death was sentenced.

Ronnie “Black” Major, 55, of Gary, was sentenced Thursday to 292 months in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana – just over 24 years in prison. Afterwards, he would serve three years on supervised release.
He faced 30 years to life in prison.

U.S. District Judge Philip Simon sealed the nearly 45-minute hearing, meaning reporters were barred from the courtroom. Records show Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Nozick, with co-counsel Michael Toth filing sealed motions and documents Monday, which presumably were discussed in court.

Blair, 31, was an eyewitness to a 2008 shooting in Gary for which Ronnie Major was later convicted of battery in Lake County court. She was shot to death early on Dec. 19, 2010, at Coney Island Restaurant in Gary.
Major was charged in December 2016 in county court in connection with Blair’s death. He was released initially in July 2019 after Lake County prosecutors took too long to bring him to trial.

Federal prosecutors indicted him in October 2021 in U.S. District Court in Hammond as part of a 15-man racketeering and drug conspiracy for Sin City Deciples, a reputed Gary motorcycle gang.

The 57-page superseding indictment read like a television drama, weaving a tale of influence, obedience, intimidation, an internal power struggle, drugs, guns and murder spanning multiple states and including local, regional and national chapters of the Sin City Deciples.
The club’s leadership ran the group with an iron fist, enforcing a strict code of respect and obedience, where offenders could be disciplined with beatings and death, according to court documents. The documents outline how the Sin City Deciples would intimidate other motorcycle clubs into become their support clubs, extorting dues and support.

Major pleaded guilty in May 2024 in Blair’s death to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity and murder. Court documents indicate he served as the group’s vice president at one point.

His lawyer Donald Schmid declined comment by email after the hearing.

In court filings, Schmid wrote Major stopped “actively participating” in Sin City by 2011. The lawyer asked for a low-end sentence — 292 months — citing his client’s plea deal, rehabilitation efforts in prison, age, “lack of recent criminal activity,” health and “reduced recidivism risk.”

Federal judges can sentence defendants under the minimum guidelines. Schmid added that Nozick and Toth asked for a “low-end” sentence for Major, who would be nearly 80 when released.

Court records state that after Major reportedly put out a hit on Blair, the trio had planned to get Blair at the Sin City Disciples Club at Eighth Avenue and Virginia Street and take her to a hotel where his brother-in-law Antoine Gates wanted Major’s nephew Jamell Brooks Jr. to kill her.

But after leaving the Sin City Disciples Club, Michael Rivera went in a car with Blair, while Gates and Brooks rode in another car, to Coney Island on Broadway, court records show. Gates went inside, and Brooks said he heard seven or eight shots, according to court documents.

Gates returned to the car and said he shot Blair in the head and had “accidentally” shot Rivera in the thigh, court records state.
According to court documents, Major reportedly gave Gates “10 stacks,” or $10,000, for Blair’s homicide, a jail informant testified at Major’s bail hearing. Major also reportedly told the informant that “they can’t charge me with murder, but they can charge me with conspiracy to commit murder,” documents said.

Gates was sentenced to 25 years in Blair’s death in July — after he spent 13 years in Lake County Jail awaiting trial. Brooks, the alleged getaway driver, got seven years in June.

Three Sin City defendants still need to choose if they will go to trial or sign a plea deal. A handful of others, including Rivera, are awaiting sentencing.

Major’s wife Sheaurice Major had her murder case dismissed in November.

The case stemmed from the killing of a 72-year-old man outside his Portage home. Major was initially charged on the same counts in 2012 in the slaying of Carl Griffith Sr., but after a key witness in the case was murdered, the state dismissed the charges against her in March 2017 without prejudice.

His son, Laron Major, is also facing an unrelated murder case in Lake County for allegedly robbing and killing a drug dealer.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.

Shooting involving rival motorcycle gangs injures 6 outside Wawa in West Norriton Township

By6abc Digital Staff
Friday, October 17, 20

WEST NORRITON TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Police in Montgomery County are investigating a shooting that left six people injured outside a Wawa on Friday night in what authorities say involved rival motorcycle gangs.

The incident occurred around 9:12 p.m. at the Wawa located along West Main Street near Trooper Road in West Norriton Township.
Chopper 6 footage showed a heavy police presence at the scene, with officers cordoning off an area near the gas pumps.

At least 1 injured in shooting outside Wawa in West Norriton Twp.

According to police, six individuals were hospitalized following the shooting. Their conditions have not yet been released.

In a statement, West Norriton Township Police said, “At this time, the incident appears to be isolated and there is no ongoing threat to the public.”
Residents were asked to avoid the area.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police.