Ohio motorcycle club arrested in nationwide investigation

Aaliyah Seabrook and Channing King

13 mins ago

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Authorities have released details of arrest warrants executed Thursday as part of a nationwide, multi-agency raid on an alleged outlaw motorcycle club.

Kenneth Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, alleged that the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club “operated a criminal organization whose members and associates committed violent acts, including murder, arson, and assault.” He also alleged that club members and associates engaged in extortion and identity fraud.

“The Thug Riders Motorcycle Club was originally founded in 2003 and remains a violent gang today with a presence throughout the United States,” Parker said, before listing other countries around the world where the gang is allegedly active.

The charges against the 14 members are spread across three different counts:

Count 1: Conspiracy to commit criminal activity, a charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Count 2: Assault with a dangerous weapon and assault causing serious injury in support of organized crime are also punishable by a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Count 3: Violent crimes in support of organized crime, conspiracy to attack with a dangerous weapon, punishable by three years in prison.

Count 4: Attempted attack with a dangerous weapon in support of organized crime is again punishable by three years in prison.

The indictment states that the organized crime conspiracy began in January 2019.

Parker alleged that members of the TRMC chapter in Dayton, Ohio, had “committed a number of blatant acts in support of the company,” including:

• In May 2021, a former member’s vehicle was blown up in Huber Heights because he refused to pay $1,000 and surrender his motorcycle.
• Killing a man in a September 2021 shooting in Harrison Township by firing more than 40 shots into the vehicle the man was in with three others.
• In April 2023, more than 190 shots were fired at the clubhouse of a rival motorcycle club in Lexington, Kentucky.
• Caused an incident at a Dayton bar in June 2023 after they were refused service because of their jacket patches. TRMC members reportedly broke a patron’s leg.
• In July 2023, he attacked and shot a member of a rival gang at another bar in Dayton.
• He traveled to the clubhouse of a rival gang in Springfield and took part in a shootout in which one of the TRMC members was shot twice in the face.

“This indictment is intended to send the message that we will continue to work diligently together to take action against any person or organization that seeks to harm our community,” Parker said. “And that is true whether the offender is on foot, on a bicycle, driving a car or, as in this case, on a motorcycle on our streets and highways.”

The following people were arrested during the raids on Thursday:

• Juan A. Robles, 45
• Joey A. Marshall, 44
• Jared T. Peters, 37
• Brandon W. Fisher, 26
• John A. Smith, 37
• Norman D. Beach, 49
• Michael S. Henry, 40
• Daniel B. Hutton, 39
• Michael L. Reese, 44
• Matthew J. Hawkins, 32
• Joseph M. Rader, 32
• Justin J. Baker, 29
• Cody D. Hughes, 28
• Brent A. Egleston, 36

According to court documents, Robles played a key role in establishing the Dayton office in 2019 and currently serves as the “head” of the Midwest region.

Others are also said to have held leadership positions in the club. Marshall is said to have served as the regional “Sergeant at Arms,” ​​while Peters was allegedly the president of the Dayton branch, while Fisher was the branch’s “Sergeant at Arms” and Smith was its “enforcer.”

“By confronting these individuals and their leadership positions in the motorcycle club, we have dealt a serious blow to this violent organization that operates in the Dayton area, surrounding communities, throughout the state of Ohio and in other states,” Parker said.

John Nokes, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF’s field division in Columbus, said about 300 law enforcement officers were simultaneously executing arrest and search warrants across the United States on Thursday.

Evidence seized during the raid included 100 firearms, 15,000 rounds of ammunition and digital data that will be used to further the investigation, Nokes said.

The Dayton branch maintained clubhouses in Dayton and Harrison Township.

The coalition includes:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation
• The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
• Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
• Dayton Police Department
• Huber Heights Police Department
• with assistance from the police departments of Springfield, Columbus, Riverside, Fairborn, Xenia, Lexington and Richmond; the sheriff’s offices of Greene, Miami and Clark counties; the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol