16 indicted in biker group with clubhouse that was attacked here

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Authorities in Bryan County indicted 16 members of a Georgia motorcycle group that has a local clubhouse where two people were killed and several others were injured in a mass shooting last month.

The members of the Outcast club were indicted on charges stemming from a shooting that injured two people last year in a hotel parking lot outside Savannah, authorities said.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said his office’s gang prosecution unit will take the lead in prosecuting the case.

AUGUSTA CONNECTION:

• A May 13 shooting in Augusta killed Keith Coates, 30, of Valdosta, and Germayne Farrell, 51, of Daytona Beach, Fla. Twelve people have been arrested in connection with the shooting that authorities say took place after members of a rival group traveled here after a dispute in Florida. The gunfire erupted at the Outcast clubhouse at Sand Bar Ferry Road and East Boundary.

The indictment in Bryan County Superior Court charges 16 people with multiple violations of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. Some were charged with aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery, while others were charged with conspiring to commit those crimes.

All of the defendants are members of the southeast Georgia chapter of the Outcast group, Carr’s office said in a news release. The indictment, handed down by a grand jury Wednesday, says Outcast members plotted to rob members of a rival gang of their motorcycle vests.

Outcast members held rival gang members at gunpoint outside a hotel in Richmond Hill on June 17 and ordered the men to hand over their vests, according to the indictment. Shots were fired in the parking lot along a highway dotted with hotels, gas stations and fast-food restaurants. No one was killed, but police said two people were injured.

Carr’s office said authorities executed more than 40 search warrants across southeast Georgia as part of their investigation and seized $180,000 in cash as well as 71 guns.

More about the case

The defendants are alleged to have engaged in an armed robbery attempt and shooting that occurred June 17, 2022, at Flacos House Bar & Grill and the Red Roof Inn on Highway 17 in Richmond Hill.

The victims were revealed to be six people associated with a rival motorcycle club, according to Carr’s office.

During the course of the investigation of the shooting incident, evidence was obtained indicating the existence of a conspiracy to violently assault members of the rival motorcycle club and to forcibly rob them of their motorcycle vests, according to Carr. This conspiracy is believed to have lasted for more than a year, from Aug. 24, 2021, through July 16, 2022.

Over the course of 13 months, local, state, and federal law enforcement obtained and executed more than 40 total search warrants, including 17 residential search warrants in Bryan County, Bulloch County, Chatham County, Effingham County, Liberty County, Fort Stewart, and Wakulla County, Fla.

As a result, law enforcement recovered approximately $180,000 in cash and seized 71 weapons, two motorcycles, and two cars.

Here’s who was indicted:

• Melaun Arturi Aiken (aka “Do Wurk”), 46 – President
• Lee Alan Mole (aka “Trench”), 58 – Secretary
• Taurus Marquis Simmons (aka “Repeat”), 42 – Member
• Terrance Donita Potter (aka “Chatter Box”), 44 – Member
• Eddie Latson (aka “Stash”), 43 – Vice President
• Joseph Leeks (aka “Axel”), 44 – Road Captain
• Marquis Jones (aka “Grudge”), 34 – Member
• Michael Randolph (aka “Chop”), 43 – Business Manager
• Donovan Scott (aka “Sockit”), 35 – Sergeant at Arms
• Shron Gilbert (aka “Hard Left”), 51 – Member
• Demon Thompson (aka “9 Ball”), 45 – Associate
• Paul Gosden (aka “White Collar”), 52 – Associate
• Theron Singleton (aka “DMB” and “Do My Best”), 57 – Member
• Labarron Pollock (aka “Bootleg”), 48 – former Vice President
• Jemar Mack (aka “Ghost” and “Ghost Ryder”), 34 – Member
• Whitney Lenore Hooks (aka “Secrets”), 36 – Associate

The charges

The charges brought against each of the defendants are listed below.

Melaun Arturi Aiken (aka “Do Wurk”):

• 21 counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act – O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(a), O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(b), and O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(d)
• 11 counts of aggravated assault – O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21
• Seven counts of attempted armed robbery – O.C.G.A. § 16-8-4
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery by intimidation – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-8-40
• Two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony – O.C.G.A. § 16-11-106

Lee Alan Mole (aka “Trench”), Taurus Marquis Simmons (aka “Repeat”), Terrance Donita Potter (aka “Chatter Box”), Eddie Latson (aka “Stash”), and Shron Gilbert (aka “Hard Left”):

• 14 counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act – O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(a) and O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(b)
• 11 counts of aggravated assault – O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21
• Seven counts of attempted armed robbery – O.C.G.A. § 16-8-41
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery by intimidation – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-8-40
• Two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony – O.C.G.A. § 16-11-106

Joseph Leeks (aka “Axel”), Marquis Jones (aka “Grudge”), Michael Randolph (aka “Chop”), and Donovan Scott (aka “Sockit”):

• Eight counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act – O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(a) and O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(b)
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery by intimidation – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-8-40

Demon Thompson (aka “9 Ball”), Paul Gosden (aka “White Collar”), Theron Singleton (aka “DMB” and “Do My Best”), Labarron Pollock (aka “Bootleg”), Jemar Mack (aka “Ghost” and “Ghost Ryder”), and Whitney Lenore Hooks (aka “Secrets”):

• Four counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act – O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(a) and O.C.G.A. § 16-15-4(b)
• One count of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21
• One count of conspiracy to commit robbery by intimidation – O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8 and O.C.G.A. § 16-8-40

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