9 biker gang members convicted and sentenced in 2020 shootout
The last of nine motorcycle gang members arrested in connection with a 2020 shootout pleaded guilty last week, marking the end of a four-year investigation.
In July 2020, members of the Mongols and Hells Angels “outlaw motorcycle gangs” started a blockslong shootout that killed one person and wounded three others, according to a Thursday news release from the Arvada Police Department.
William Kelly Henderson, a ranking Hells Angel member and Arvada resident, was shot and killed at the scene, police said. Three others were wounded, including an Arvada resident who came out to help those hurt in the shootout and was beaten.
“This was a case of pure evil, and our community will not tolerate it,” Arvada Police Chief Ed Brady stated in the news release. “I am incredibly proud of our entire department’s efforts and perseverance to seek justice, and the assistance from several professional law enforcement agencies.”
Working with local and federal partners, Arvada officers executed search warrants at Colorado gang member’s residences and the Mongols Club Houses in Arvada, Florida, California and Utah, the release said.
“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,” CBI Director Chris Schaefer said.
Nine defendants were arrested in four states in January 2021 and extradited to Jefferson County to face a variety of felony charges — from first-degree murder to violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, Arvada police said.
Gregory Moore pleaded guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act on April 5.
Each of the nine defendants was convicted of a felony crime, which caused “significant disruption” to the Mongols’ organization, according to the news release. The group has since relocated its Arvada clubhouse to Denver.
“This incident highlights the extreme level of violence and reckless disregard for human life that members of outlaw motorcycle gangs … pose to our communities,” said Brent Beavers, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The defendants who pleaded guilty include:
• Moore, 32, pleaded guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act and was sentenced to 27 years in the Department of Corrections.
• Leon Matthew Dennis pleaded guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act and was sentenced to 24 years in the Department of Corrections.
• Jared Chadwick, 39, pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and was charged federally for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced in Utah Federal Court to 28 months in federal prison.
• Saint George Michael
Gonzales, 32, pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and was sentenced to two years of probation.
• Kenneth Wayne Tischler, 41, pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and was sentenced to two years of probation.
• Vincent James Dominguez, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to five years in the Department of Corrections.
• Phillip Raymond Garcia, 34, pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and was sentenced to 31/2 years of probation.
• Daniel Ruben Goint, 31, pleaded guilty to seconddegree assault causing serious injury and crime of violence. He was sentenced to eight years in the Department of Corrections.
• Rafael Vargas Lozano, 41, pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Chadwick Gene Swopes, 42, was initially named as a suspect in the incident but was not charged.