Federal prosecutors in Texas have unsealed a 22-count indictment charging more than a dozen members of the violent Bandidos motorcycle gang with murder, conspiracy and racketeering.
Reputed gangbangers with sinister nicknames like “Monster,” “Loco,” “Gun Drop” and “10 Round” were named in the far-reaching indictment made public this week following a six-year investigation into the gang’s operations in the Houston area, prosecutors announced.
“The Bandidos declare war on rivals—and they wage that war on our streets,” Antoinette Bacon, supervisory official with the justice department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement.
“Criminal behavior like this has no place in America, and the Department of Justice is fully committed to bringing peace back to our communities,” Bacon said.
According to the indictment unsealed Wednesday, the “self-defined outlaw” gang resorted to murder, robbery, arson and assault under a “smash on site” order issued by gang leaders during a violent turf war with the rival B*EAST biker gang.
Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said their crimes were “committed openly and wantonly.”
In all, 14 members of the Bandidos Houston-area chapter were named.
“Make no mistake, members of this chapter are not the glamorized characters you have seen in TV shows and in the movies,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams told reporters, according to Fox affiliate KTXH-TV in Houston. “These are vicious, violent men who regularly put innocent people in life-threatening situations to further a senseless turf war.”
The feud between the two gangs began in 2019, with a federal grand jury voting to indict the defendants on Feb. 11, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, six of the reputed Bandidos — John “Big John” Pfeffer, 32; Darvi “10 Round” Hinojosa, 35; Bradley “Dolla Bill” Rickenbacker, 37; Michael “Money Mike” Dunphy, 57; Christopher “Monster” Sanchez, 40; and Brandon “Loco” or “Gun Drop” Hantz, 33 — face charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, with most also facing assault or gun charges.
Two gang members, David “Brake Check” Vargas, 33, and John “Tech9” Sblendorio, 54, are charged with murder in aid of racketeering and gun charges.
Bandidos Marky “Pinche Guero” Baker, 40, Ronnie “Meathead” McCabe, 56, Jeremy “JD” Cox, 37, Roy “Repo” Gomez, 50, and Marcel Lett, 56, are charged with assault and racketeering.
One other biker, 30-year-old Sean “Skinman” Christison, is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and related gun charges, federal prosecutors said.
The Bandidos are an international gang that has as many as 2,000 active members in the US, with another 1,000 to 1,500 in Mexico and other countries, the feds said.
