Grand jury indicts 14 members of Thug Riders Motorcycle Club Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio Dateline: Dayton, Ohio Date: 14 June 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime, Motorcycles Topic: Thug Riders

Racketeering conspiracy allegations include murder, arson, assault, extortion

DAYTON, Ohio – A federal grand jury here has indicted the Midwest Regional “boss” and 13 other members of the “outlaw motorcycle gang” known as the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club (TRMC). The indictment alleges that the TRMC operated a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in acts of violence like murder, arson and assault. Members also allegedly participated in extortion and identity fraud.

The indictment was returned on June 11. Federal and local law enforcement officials arrested all 14 defendants yesterday.

According to the indictment, members of the TRMC Dayton chapter engaged in overt acts in support of their enterprise, including:

• blowing up a former member’s vehicle in Huber Heights in May 2021;
• killing a man during a September 2021 shootout in Harrison Township;
• shooting more than 190 live gunfire rounds into a rival motorcycle gang’s clubhouse in Lexington, Kentucky, in April 2023;
• threatening and extorting former gang members;
• breaking the leg of a patron at Toby’s Tavern in Dayton in June 2023;
• attacking a rival gang member at Chris’s Band Box in Dayton in July 2023;
• engaging in a shootout at a Springfield, Ohio, motorcycle gang’s clubhouse in March 2024; and
• physically assaulting members of another motorcycle gang in London, Ohio, in May 2024.

Individuals charged in the indictment are:

Court documents detail that the TRMC established a Dayton chapter in late 2019. Robles was allegedly instrumental in the creation of the local chapter and is currently the Midwest Regional “boss.” The Dayton chapter maintained clubhouses on Stanley Avenue in Dayton and on Lodge Avenue in Harrison Township.

Robles, Marshall, Peters, Fisher and Smith have each allegedly held leadership roles in the TRMC. Specifically, Marshall served as the Midwest Regional “sergeant at arms”; Peters served as the president of the Dayton chapter; Fisher served as the “sergeant at arms” of the Dayton chapter; and Smith served as “enforcer” of the Dayton chapter.

The Dayton chapter and Midwest Region are both part of the domestic and international outlaw TRMC motorcycle gang that was originally founded in 2003, and remains a violent gang today located throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Morocco, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Germany and the United Kingdom.

According to the indictment, the Midwest Region is made up of chapters in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Midwest Regional chapter meetings are held regularly and are referred to as “church.” Only full or “patched” TRMC members are allowed to attend “church.” Members pay regular dues and fines to the motorcycle gang.

Chapters and Regions fall under the ultimate authority of the national president who sits at the so-called “mother chapter” in Newark, New Jersey.

Count one of the indictment charges Robles, Marshall, Peters, Fisher, Smith, Beach and Henry with racketeering (RICO) conspiracy. The indictment’s remaining three counts charge defendants with assaults, attempted assaults and conspiracy to commit assaults. The racketeering conspiracy as charged in this case is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; John K. Nokes, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division; Shawn Morrow, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Louisville Field Division; Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck; Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal; and Huber Heights Police Chief Mark Lightner announced the indictment today.

The Springfield, Columbus, Riverside, Fairborn, Xenia, Lexington and Richmond police departments; Greene, Miami and Clark county sheriff’s offices; Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol contributed to the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Dwight Keller and Elizabeth L. McCormick are representing the United States in this case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and gangs that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Updated June 14, 2024