More than a dozen members of a Georgia motorcycle club chapter are in custody amid the largest indictment handed down against a single club in state history, Attorney General Chris Carr announced Monday.
The 16 people arrested and indicted were allegedly members of the Savannah chapter of the Outcast Motorcycle Club, which was classified as a gang by the AG’s office. Officials said the chapter conducted criminal activity in eight Georgia counties, including Douglas County, and two other states.
“This historic indictment is a testament to the results we are able to achieve when all levels of law enforcement work together to do one thing — keep the people of our state safe,” Carr said in a news release. “By leveraging our resources, we can more effectively dismantle the growing gang networks that are terrorizing our communities and endangering the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.”
The members allegedly took part in a June 2022 attempted armed robbery and shot six rival motorcycle club members at a Mexican restaurant and Red Roof Inn in Richmond Hill, a city near Savannah. Officials said several bystanders were caught up in the gunfire.
Following the shooting, investigators determined there was a conspiracy to “violently assault members” of the rival club and forcibly take their motorcycle vests. The alleged conspiracy took place from August 2021 to July 2022, according to the release.
The AG’s office said the Outcast Club was considered an “outlaw motorcycle gang,” a designation that also includes the Hell’s Angles. Outcast has 67 chapters across the United States, including three others in Georgia located in Atlanta, Hawkinsville and Augusta, where a shooting last month left two dead and four injured.
Deputies said that shooting began at their clubhouse and stemmed from a prior incident between Outcast and Thug Riders MC, whose members went to Augusta in an act of retaliation. Upwards of 150 shell casings were found scattered across an entire block near a residential neighborhood.
On Monday, officials said Outcast was known to engage in “murder, assault, and drug and weapons trafficking.” The indictment was announced following a multi-agency investigation into gangs and guns in Georgia and elsewhere. The operation recovered about $180,000 in cash and included the seizure of 71 guns, two motorcycles and two cars, authorities said.
Those indicted include: Melaun Arturi Aiken, 46; Lee Alan Mole, 58; Taurus Marquis Simmons, 42; Terrance Donita Potter, 44; Eddie Latson, 43; Joseph Leeks, 44; Marquis Jones, 34; Michael Randolph, 43; Donovan Scott, 35; Shron Gilbert, 51; Demon Thompson, 45; Paul Gosden, 52; Theron Singleton, 57; Labarron Pollock, 48; Jemar Mack, 34; and Whitney Lenore Hooks, 36.
Aiken is facing 21 counts of violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act, 11 counts of aggravated assault, seven counts of attempted armed robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery by intimidation and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Mole, Simmons, Potter, Latson, and Gilbert are facing the same charges, but seven less counts of violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act.
Leeks, Jones, Randolph and Scott are each facing eight counts of violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery by intimidation.
Thompson, Gosden, Singleton, Pollock, Mack and Hooks are facing the same charges but half as many counts for each.
“This operation has dismantled a serious criminal enterprise which funneled guns and drugs into our communities,” said Beau Kolodka, an assistant special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “ATF and its law enforcement partners acted quickly and judiciously on information developed during this eight-month-long investigation.”
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