Irish mob allegedly tries to silence witnesses
Ringleaders of the Irish Mob prison gang didn’t want anybody talking after a 2016 shootout that left one rival gang associate dead at an Oklahoma City motel.
From behind prison walls, ringleaders allegedly directed retaliation against witnesses, court records show. One informant was shot in the chest in front of his house. An Irish Mob kingpin allegedly tried unsuccessfully to have another witness shot in the head in exchange for drugs.
According to court testimony, three gang members, their faces covered in green and white bandannas, were involved in a deadly shootout with members of the rival United Aryan Brotherhood at the Royal Inn, 2800 S Interstate 35. At least 29 shots were fired in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2016.
Justin “Chunky J” Lucas, 38, an alleged UAB associate, died after
being shot four times.
According to court transcripts, the Irish Mob was at war with the rival UAB at the time of the shootout. Irish Mob members had a standing order to “smash on sight” United Aryan Brotherhood members, Oklahoma County Assistant District Attorney Erika Gillock said at the preliminary hearing for suspects in the death of Lucas.
Irish Mob associates could be rewarded as much as a half pound of meth for taking violent action against a brotherhood member, Gillock said.
Three alleged Irish Mob members, Nicholas “Nick the Mick” Freeman, 32, Bryan “Guns” Cleary, 27, and Curtis “Jarhead” Rouse, 22, are charged with first-degree murder in Lucas’ death. All three have pleaded not guilty and a September trial is set in Oklahoma County District Court.
Richard “Lucky” Joseph Coker, 34, believed to be one of the kingpins of the Irish Mob gang, offered to get a man he described as “his goon” heroin in exchange for killing a woman who witnessed the Royal Inn shooting, according to FBI affidavits that contain information about intercepted phone calls.
Coker has not been charged with witness intimidation, but faces a host of other federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute drugs for allegedly directing Irish Mob heroin and methamphetamine sales from prison, records show.
“Blow her head off,” Coker allegedly said in a phone call with Niko “Lavish” Davis, 25, intercepted by police.
Coker was incarcerated at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester at the time of the call, but continued to direct drug deals and other gang actions using contraband cellphones smuggled into prison, prosecutors claim. The phone call was intercepted by law enforcement as part of a multiagency investigation into the Irish Mob drug ring.
Police arrested Davis after a high-speed chase on Interstate 40 and Interstate 44 in June 2016 and found two meth pipes and a loaded firearm in the car he was driving, court records show.
The witness, identified as Ashlee Jones, later gave court testimony identifying the three alleged Irish Mob associates charged in the Royal Inn shooting.
Another man was shot in the chest after he gave information to police about the Royal Inn shooting. The informant, Oklahoma City tattoo artist Tyler “Dreamer” Townes, went into hiding in Texas, but was believed to be flying into Oklahoma City for a court hearing, Coker said in an intercepted call.
Coker and another Irish Mob associate discussed in a wiretapped call how the gang needed to “handle” Townes in advance of the hearing, according to court documents.
Townes was shot in the chest outside his Southeast Oklahoma City home in June 2016, but survived. Two people were later arrested and charged in the shooting: Jesse Riddle, 28, and Jezreal Apple, 25. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Townes later received a text message from another Irish Mob associate that said he was shot “because he was snitching,” according to court documents.
Another witness in the Royal Inn shootout, identified in court transcripts as Dustin “Mac 33” Hall, testified he had a “green light” on his head, meaning he could be killed, after he denounced his membership in the Irish Mob and agreed to testify in the case.
“No one wants witnesses to say anything about something going on,” Hall said at a preliminary hearing.
The Irish Mob has a history of making threats against witnesses in criminal cases against its members and following through on them, FBI Special Agent Jamie Walker wrote in a court affidavit.
“It has become apparent that the Irish Mob engages in active efforts to intimidate and/or silence witnesses against its members,” Walker wrote.
Tulsa police arrested two Irish mob members in June 2016 after they allegedly kidnapped a woman and her two children. The woman allegedly cooperated in a police investigation against the gang.
The men, Josh Edward Krepps, 30, and Timothy James Ray Ignatovich, 34, are accused of threatening to knock the woman’s teeth out, then take her car and “finish her,” according to a federal indictment filed in the case.
Another Irish Mob member, John “Tears” Kyle Crandall, 28, was charged with intimidating a witness in December after he reportedly threatened to kill a fellow gang associate who was going to testify against him at a murder trial in Tulsa County District Court.
Jurors found Crandall guilty of first-degree murder in December in the shooting death of 25-year-old Cody Carl after the witness, Casey Caldwell, testified anyway.