ARVADA, Colo. — The last of nine members of a dangerous motorcycle gang pleaded guilty last week in connection with a 2020 shootout in Arvada that killed one person and injured many others.
The Arvada Police Department said in a release that a "significant disturbance" happened between the Mongols and Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gangs in July 2020. Arvada Police called them two of the largest and most violent outlaw motorcycle gangs in the world.
The video above is our previous reporting on this case.
The incident near North Lamar Street and West 60th Avenue involved a blocks-long shootout that resulted in at least three people suffering gunshot wounds and several others physically assaulted, police said.
Hells Angel member and Arvada resident William Kelly Henderson was shot and killed. An Arvada resident who came out to help the injured was beaten and suffered permanent injuries, according to police.
"This was a case of pure evil, and our community will not tolerate it," said Arvada Police Chief Ed Brady in a statement. "I am incredibly proud of our entire department’s efforts and perseverance to seek justice, and the assistance from several professional law enforcement agencies.”
Searches of the gang members' homes resulted in the seizure of valuable evidence, a "multitude" of firearms, and cell phones, according to police.
"The culmination of this 4-year investigation that involved three innocent community members caught up in rival biker gang violence would not go unsolved despite all the challenges this case presented," said Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Schaefer. "We might not have been able to prove who fired the fatal bullet, but in going after the Mongols as a criminal enterprise, we were able to hold nine criminals accountable for engaging in a senseless murder and group violence that put the community at risk.”
The release said in January 2021, nine defendants were arrested simultaneously in four states through a coordinated effort between state and federal agencies. They were all extradited back to Jefferson County to face charges including first-degree felony murder and violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA).
The final defendant, Gregory Moore, pleaded guilty on April 5.
The release said all nine defendants pleaded guilty to some felony crime, which caused "significant disruption" to the Mongols' organization. They have since left their clubhouse in Arvada and relocated it to Denver.
These are the defendants who pleaded guilty:
- Gregory Lawrence Moore: pleaded guilty to COCCA and was sentenced to 27 years in the Department of Corrections (DOC).
- Leon Matthew Dennis: Pleaded guilty to COCCA and was sentenced to 24 years in DOC.
- Jared Chadwick: Pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. He was also charged federally for being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced in Utah Federal Court to 28 months in federal prison. His Colorado sentence is running concurrently.
- Saint George Michael Gonzales: Pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Sentenced to two years' probation.
- Kenneth Wayne Tischler: Pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Sentenced to two years' probation.
- Vincent James Dominguez: Pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Sentenced to five years in DOC.
- Phillip Raymond Garcia: Pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Sentenced to 3.5 years' probation.
- Daniel Ruben Goint: Pleaded guilty to second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury and crime of violence. Sentenced to eight years in DOC.
- Rafael Vargas Lozano: Pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Sentenced to three years' probation.
Arvada Police said the defendants who pleaded guilty to COCCA charges had to admit on a factual basis that the Mongols OMG (outlaw motorcycle gang) is a criminal enterprises and engages in a pattern of organized criminal racketeering activity that they were a part of.
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