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More On The Mongols MC In Clarksville, Tennessee
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Greg Carr
Jan 31, 2018, 4:36:58 AM1/31/18
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Who are the Mongols?
The Mongols is a motorcycle club founded in California in 1969. It is
an international organization with chapters across the United States
and several foreign countries. They live by the motto, "Respect Few,
Fear None," according to the group's website.
The national club did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Based on a multi-year investigation, this month's federal indictment
lays out a history of the club and how it began in Clarksville,
according to prosecutors .
A group of men from Montgomery County started a Mongols Motorcycle
Club in Clarksville in 2015, and after a probationary period, they
became full-fledged members in 2017, working closely with a club in
California to sell huge quantities of meth in Tennessee and Kentucky,
the indictment states.
They identify themselves as an "outlaw" motorcycle gang through
patches, tattoos and insignia, according to the U.S. Attorney's
Office.
They wear leather vests with the image of a Mongol rider and the name
of the member's regional chapter. Many also wear a "1%" patch.
Associates hoping to become Mongols members are called "prospects" and
may wear "soft colors" of black and white shirts that read "Support
Your Local Mongols," the indictment states. All prospective members
and their wives or girlfriends must provide information for a
background check. The women are allowed to wear jackets that say
"Property of," and names their partner.
The latest indictments are not the first for the Mongols, which has
had members accused of crimes for years, but, "The club is staying
strong and will continue to fight for the biker community an every
patch holder's civil liberties," according to its website.
The club even has a constitution and bylaws, which includes rules, a
code of conduct and penalties. There is a governing body, including a
sergeant-at-arms who maintains firearms for the chapter.
While they may see themselves as a brotherhood who "ride iron horses"
and named their club after Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire,
authorities call them criminals, willing to beat and kill to defend
their enterprise.
Clarksville Police Chief Al Ansley speaks about the
Clarksville Police Chief Al Ansley speaks about the arrest of over a
dozen biker gang members on federal charges during a news conference
Thursday in Nashville. (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK)
How did they take hold in Clarksville?
The earliest Mongols members in Clarksville, according to the
indictment, included Wesley Frazier, aka "Slo-mo" or "Special"; Aelix
Santiago, aka "Goon" or "Big O"; James Hines, aka "Fester"; Michael
Forrester Jr., aka "Stix"; Stephen Cole, aka "Lurch"; Jamie Hern, aka
"J-ROC"; Robert Humiston, aka "Bric"; Michael Myers, aka "Yea Yea";
Michael Levi West, aka "Smurf" or "Blue"; and Jacob Ort, now deceased.
All were prospective and/or founding members of the Clarksville
chapter of the Mongols.
The indictment says each one agreed to commit at least two acts of
racketeering activity on behalf of the club.
"Members of the Clarksville Mongols commit, attempt to commit, and
threaten to commit acts of violence to protect and expand the
enterprises criminal operation, which includes murder, assaults,
intimidation, robbery, extortion, witness tampering, money laundering,
drug trafficking, and threats of violence directed against rival gang
members, law enforcement and potential witnesses to the crimes of the
enterprise," according to the indictment.
In March 2015, all but Forrester and Myers went to Palm Springs,
Calif., for a national motorcycle run, where they received
probationary patches from supervising "patch daddies" belonging to the
Mongols' Harbor chapter in California, the indictment states.
In July 2017, additional members went to Palm Springs for the national
run, where the "P" patches for probationary period were removed from
their vests and the Clarksville chapter was added to the Mongols'
website as an official chapter.
Many members attended weekly meetings known as "church" or "misa."
A "mother chapter" in California governs the other chapters and
collect fees, dues and taxes, which may be used to pay for the legal
defense of members prosecuted for a crime on the Mongols' behalf,
according to the indictment.
Meth and violence
The federal indictment says Mongols members are actively engaged in
large-scale drug trafficking — including methamphetamine and
oxymorphone — and money laundering.
Clarksville Mongols would get drugs from the California chapter and
bring them back to distribute them in Tennessee and Kentucky,
according to the indictment. The Clarksville members paid proceeds to
the California group.
"Members of the Clarksville Mongols and their associates promote a
climate of fear through intimidation, violence and threats of violence
intended to promote the authority of the Clarksville Mongols
Enterprise and insulate its members from liability for
drug-trafficking and violent crimes committed on behalf of the
organization," it says.
The indictment says Frazier and Ort set fire to the Sin City
Motorcycle clubhouse in Clarksville on May 20, 2015, just two days
after a Sin City Motorcycle clubhouse in Nashville was destroyed by
fire.
On May 21, 2015, Mongols members are accused of kidnapping a woman and
questioning her at gunpoint about stolen narcotics, firearms and money
before stealing her Dodge Durango.
The next day, Frazier, gang member Joel Aldridge and Ort took the
woman and another person to a cemetery in Bumpus Mills, where she was
killed by being shot at least eight times, including once in the head
and multiple times in the arms, according to the indictment, which
lists victims only by initials.
'Baseball' sized meth
Club members may have flaunted their power and influence.
Santiago told a Clarksville Police Department officer the Mongols are
a multi-million-dollar corporation that "owns Tennessee," the
indictment states.
Frazier and Cole picked up 10 pounds of meth on one trip to the Harbor
chapter. Frazier and West picked up 15 pounds on another trip, the
indictment said. Members sometimes had "baseball" sized balls of meth.
On or about Jan. 16, 2016, Kyle Heade shot and wounded a person during
an attempt to buy pain pills, the indictment said. A month later,
members picked up 15 more pounds of meth and rented a storage facility
to keep it in. In March they got 25 pounds.
Meanwhile, Mongols here were boxing up large amounts of money to send
back to California, including $100,000 in March 2015 and $120,000 a
month later, the indictment states.
Mongols supporters
Before the recent indictment, the Clarksville Mongols chapter was
growing and planning for the future. Besides making money, they were
concerned about turf and rival gangs, the indictment said.
In April 2016, Hines and others attended a meeting to discuss starting
a local chapter of the Raiders Motorcycle Club in Clarksville.
In May, members of the Raiders were told not to wear clothing
associated with the club or themselves when they "smash on site," or
assault members of the Iron Order/Iron Rockets Motorcycle Club.
Mongols told them to take the vests from their rivals as souvenirs.
"The Raiders is the official support club of the Mongols Motorcycle
Gang," according to the federal indictment. "Members of a support club
generally carry out tasks at the request of its 1% club — such as
intimidating other motorcycle clubs and members, guarding motorcycles
and keeping watch while members of the 1% conduct business."
Over the next several months, there were numerous fights between the
Raiders and the Iron Order/Iron Rockets.
In one case, a man was shot multiple times on July 14, 2016, for
wearing a vest that identified him as a member of the Iron Order
Motorcycle Club, the indictment said. He was taken by LifeFlight to
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and survived.
Several Mongols members face numerous charges over threats made
against another witness in July 2016.
Last week, U.S. Attorney Don Cochran of Nashville said the arrests
would be significant in Montgomery County, where the gang “terrorized
numerous individuals” and pumped in “alarming quantities of illegal
drugs.”
Clarksville Police Department spokesman Jim Knoll said the number of
motorcycle clubs in the city is constantly in a state of flux.
"A conservative estimate would be approximately 30," he said. "The
vast majority are law abiding with very few considered outlaw gangs."
CPD Chief Al Ansley said it's too early to tell how the arrests may
impact crime locally.
"First of all, they are arrests, not convictions, so it is difficult
to project the long-term impact," Ansley said. "But, generally
speaking in the near term, if you remove players involved in criminal
activity, you would expect a reduction in the crimes they were
associated with.
Reach Reporter Stephanie Ingersoll at singe...@theleafchronicle.com
or 931-245-0267 and on Twitter @StephLeaf.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/30/how-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-took-root-clarksville/1045610001/
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The Mongols is a motorcycle club founded in California in 1969. It is
an international organization with chapters across the United States
and several foreign countries. They live by the motto, "Respect Few,
Fear None," according to the group's website.
The national club did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Based on a multi-year investigation, this month's federal indictment
lays out a history of the club and how it began in Clarksville,
according to prosecutors .
A group of men from Montgomery County started a Mongols Motorcycle
Club in Clarksville in 2015, and after a probationary period, they
became full-fledged members in 2017, working closely with a club in
California to sell huge quantities of meth in Tennessee and Kentucky,
the indictment states.
They identify themselves as an "outlaw" motorcycle gang through
patches, tattoos and insignia, according to the U.S. Attorney's
Office.
They wear leather vests with the image of a Mongol rider and the name
of the member's regional chapter. Many also wear a "1%" patch.
Associates hoping to become Mongols members are called "prospects" and
may wear "soft colors" of black and white shirts that read "Support
Your Local Mongols," the indictment states. All prospective members
and their wives or girlfriends must provide information for a
background check. The women are allowed to wear jackets that say
"Property of," and names their partner.
The latest indictments are not the first for the Mongols, which has
had members accused of crimes for years, but, "The club is staying
strong and will continue to fight for the biker community an every
patch holder's civil liberties," according to its website.
The club even has a constitution and bylaws, which includes rules, a
code of conduct and penalties. There is a governing body, including a
sergeant-at-arms who maintains firearms for the chapter.
While they may see themselves as a brotherhood who "ride iron horses"
and named their club after Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire,
authorities call them criminals, willing to beat and kill to defend
their enterprise.
Clarksville Police Chief Al Ansley speaks about the
Clarksville Police Chief Al Ansley speaks about the arrest of over a
dozen biker gang members on federal charges during a news conference
Thursday in Nashville. (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK)
How did they take hold in Clarksville?
The earliest Mongols members in Clarksville, according to the
indictment, included Wesley Frazier, aka "Slo-mo" or "Special"; Aelix
Santiago, aka "Goon" or "Big O"; James Hines, aka "Fester"; Michael
Forrester Jr., aka "Stix"; Stephen Cole, aka "Lurch"; Jamie Hern, aka
"J-ROC"; Robert Humiston, aka "Bric"; Michael Myers, aka "Yea Yea";
Michael Levi West, aka "Smurf" or "Blue"; and Jacob Ort, now deceased.
All were prospective and/or founding members of the Clarksville
chapter of the Mongols.
The indictment says each one agreed to commit at least two acts of
racketeering activity on behalf of the club.
"Members of the Clarksville Mongols commit, attempt to commit, and
threaten to commit acts of violence to protect and expand the
enterprises criminal operation, which includes murder, assaults,
intimidation, robbery, extortion, witness tampering, money laundering,
drug trafficking, and threats of violence directed against rival gang
members, law enforcement and potential witnesses to the crimes of the
enterprise," according to the indictment.
In March 2015, all but Forrester and Myers went to Palm Springs,
Calif., for a national motorcycle run, where they received
probationary patches from supervising "patch daddies" belonging to the
Mongols' Harbor chapter in California, the indictment states.
In July 2017, additional members went to Palm Springs for the national
run, where the "P" patches for probationary period were removed from
their vests and the Clarksville chapter was added to the Mongols'
website as an official chapter.
Many members attended weekly meetings known as "church" or "misa."
A "mother chapter" in California governs the other chapters and
collect fees, dues and taxes, which may be used to pay for the legal
defense of members prosecuted for a crime on the Mongols' behalf,
according to the indictment.
Meth and violence
The federal indictment says Mongols members are actively engaged in
large-scale drug trafficking — including methamphetamine and
oxymorphone — and money laundering.
Clarksville Mongols would get drugs from the California chapter and
bring them back to distribute them in Tennessee and Kentucky,
according to the indictment. The Clarksville members paid proceeds to
the California group.
"Members of the Clarksville Mongols and their associates promote a
climate of fear through intimidation, violence and threats of violence
intended to promote the authority of the Clarksville Mongols
Enterprise and insulate its members from liability for
drug-trafficking and violent crimes committed on behalf of the
organization," it says.
The indictment says Frazier and Ort set fire to the Sin City
Motorcycle clubhouse in Clarksville on May 20, 2015, just two days
after a Sin City Motorcycle clubhouse in Nashville was destroyed by
fire.
On May 21, 2015, Mongols members are accused of kidnapping a woman and
questioning her at gunpoint about stolen narcotics, firearms and money
before stealing her Dodge Durango.
The next day, Frazier, gang member Joel Aldridge and Ort took the
woman and another person to a cemetery in Bumpus Mills, where she was
killed by being shot at least eight times, including once in the head
and multiple times in the arms, according to the indictment, which
lists victims only by initials.
'Baseball' sized meth
Club members may have flaunted their power and influence.
Santiago told a Clarksville Police Department officer the Mongols are
a multi-million-dollar corporation that "owns Tennessee," the
indictment states.
Frazier and Cole picked up 10 pounds of meth on one trip to the Harbor
chapter. Frazier and West picked up 15 pounds on another trip, the
indictment said. Members sometimes had "baseball" sized balls of meth.
On or about Jan. 16, 2016, Kyle Heade shot and wounded a person during
an attempt to buy pain pills, the indictment said. A month later,
members picked up 15 more pounds of meth and rented a storage facility
to keep it in. In March they got 25 pounds.
Meanwhile, Mongols here were boxing up large amounts of money to send
back to California, including $100,000 in March 2015 and $120,000 a
month later, the indictment states.
Mongols supporters
Before the recent indictment, the Clarksville Mongols chapter was
growing and planning for the future. Besides making money, they were
concerned about turf and rival gangs, the indictment said.
In April 2016, Hines and others attended a meeting to discuss starting
a local chapter of the Raiders Motorcycle Club in Clarksville.
In May, members of the Raiders were told not to wear clothing
associated with the club or themselves when they "smash on site," or
assault members of the Iron Order/Iron Rockets Motorcycle Club.
Mongols told them to take the vests from their rivals as souvenirs.
"The Raiders is the official support club of the Mongols Motorcycle
Gang," according to the federal indictment. "Members of a support club
generally carry out tasks at the request of its 1% club — such as
intimidating other motorcycle clubs and members, guarding motorcycles
and keeping watch while members of the 1% conduct business."
Over the next several months, there were numerous fights between the
Raiders and the Iron Order/Iron Rockets.
In one case, a man was shot multiple times on July 14, 2016, for
wearing a vest that identified him as a member of the Iron Order
Motorcycle Club, the indictment said. He was taken by LifeFlight to
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and survived.
Several Mongols members face numerous charges over threats made
against another witness in July 2016.
Last week, U.S. Attorney Don Cochran of Nashville said the arrests
would be significant in Montgomery County, where the gang “terrorized
numerous individuals” and pumped in “alarming quantities of illegal
drugs.”
Clarksville Police Department spokesman Jim Knoll said the number of
motorcycle clubs in the city is constantly in a state of flux.
"A conservative estimate would be approximately 30," he said. "The
vast majority are law abiding with very few considered outlaw gangs."
CPD Chief Al Ansley said it's too early to tell how the arrests may
impact crime locally.
"First of all, they are arrests, not convictions, so it is difficult
to project the long-term impact," Ansley said. "But, generally
speaking in the near term, if you remove players involved in criminal
activity, you would expect a reduction in the crimes they were
associated with.
Reach Reporter Stephanie Ingersoll at singe...@theleafchronicle.com
or 931-245-0267 and on Twitter @StephLeaf.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/30/how-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-took-root-clarksville/1045610001/
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