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Saturday, November 6, 2010

CHARLESTON, W.Va. 2 Last Rebels avoid prosecution in Pagans case

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Andrew Clevenger
Source: sundaygazettemail.com

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two members of the Last Rebels Motorcycle Club who had pleaded guilty to helping strip jean jackets from members of a smaller club will avoid prosecution if they stay out of trouble for a year.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston rejected the plea deal of Jeffrey Wayne Jett, 49, of Clarksburg, saying that the agreed-to facts were sufficient to prove the crime that had been charged.
Instead of taking Jett's case to trial, federal prosecutors agreed to drop the charge against him if he avoided any additional run-ins with the law for a year.
Anthony Wayne "Big Daddy" Peters, 38, of Bloomingrose, had pleaded guilty to the same charge as Jett, so prosecutors gave him the same deal.
The charges against Jett, Peters and three other members of the Last Rebels stem from an April 2008 incident with members of the Next of Kin, a family-oriented riding club formed by two married couples.
The Last Rebels were a support club for the Pagans Motorcycle Club, meaning they were aligned with, and subordinate to, the bigger, national club.
At a previous hearing, Eric Wayne "Tree" Lyttle, another Last Rebel who was involved in the encounter in Racine, said the Last Rebels were ordered to take Next of Kin's jean jackets by Floyd B. "Jesse" Moore, the Pagans' national vice president.

Lyttle said he was afraid that his wife and family might be harmed if he didn't follow Moore's orders, which were discussed at Last Rebels meetings.
April Smith, one of the members of Next of Kin who was present during the confrontation, testified previously that she initially was angry that they were being forced to give up their jackets, but she quickly became anxious, with several of the Last Rebels, including Jett, standing menacingly near the two couples.


Smith's husband saw that James Edward "Big Jim" Lyttle, Eric's father, was carrying a gun during the encounter, she said.


"I was scared," she said. "I just wanted to give them what they wanted."


While many of the 55 defendants named in a sweeping racketeering indictment against members and associates of the Pagans unsealed in October 2009 have been convicted of felonies, many have pleaded guilty to vastly reduced charges.


Seventeen pleaded guilty to a gambling misdemeanor in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, paid a $5 fine and had their federal charges dismissed. Others entered into pre-trial diversions identical to Peters and Jett's, where their charges will be dropped if they stay out of trouble for a year.


Earlier Friday, Johnston questioned the factual basis underlying the guilty plea of Richard Lee "Stump" Stevens, the president of the Huntington chapter of the Last Rebels. Stevens had admitted that he transported a stolen 2004 Honda VTX 1300 motorcycle, but Johnston questioned prosecutors' proof that Stevens knew the bike was stolen.


Stevens' pre-sentence report indicated that a man voluntarily gave Stevens the bike, telling him that he was going through a divorce, needed to "get out from under" the bike and asking him to get rid of it. That man later filed an insurance claim, saying the motorcycle had been stolen, the report said.


Johnston postponed Stevens' sentencing until after both sides had submitted more information regarding how Stevens obtained the motorcycle.


Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.


CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two members of the Last Rebels Motorcycle Club who had pleaded guilty to helping strip jean jackets from members of a smaller club will avoid prosecution if they stay out of trouble for a year.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston rejected the plea deal of Jeffrey Wayne Jett, 49, of Clarksburg, saying that the agreed-to facts were sufficient to prove the crime that had been charged.

Instead of taking Jett's case to trial, federal prosecutors agreed to drop the charge against him if he avoided any additional run-ins with the law for a year.

Anthony Wayne "Big Daddy" Peters, 38, of Bloomingrose, had pleaded guilty to the same charge as Jett, so prosecutors gave him the same deal.

The charges against Jett, Peters and three other members of the Last Rebels stem from an April 2008 incident with members of the Next of Kin, a family-oriented riding club formed by two married couples.

The Last Rebels were a support club for the Pagans Motorcycle Club, meaning they were aligned with, and subordinate to, the bigger, national club.

At a previous hearing, Eric Wayne "Tree" Lyttle, another Last Rebel who was involved in the encounter in Racine, said the Last Rebels were ordered to take Next of Kin's jean jackets by Floyd B. "Jesse" Moore, the Pagans' national vice president.

Lyttle said he was afraid that his wife and family might be harmed if he didn't follow Moore's orders, which were discussed at Last Rebels meetings.

April Smith, one of the members of Next of Kin who was present during the confrontation, testified previously that she initially was angry that they were being forced to give up their jackets, but she quickly became anxious, with several of the Last Rebels, including Jett, standing menacingly near the two couples.

Smith's husband saw that James Edward "Big Jim" Lyttle, Eric's father, was carrying a gun during the encounter, she said.

"I was scared," she said. "I just wanted to give them what they wanted."

While many of the 55 defendants named in a sweeping racketeering indictment against members and associates of the Pagans unsealed in October 2009 have been convicted of felonies, many have pleaded guilty to vastly reduced charges.

Seventeen pleaded guilty to a gambling misdemeanor in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, paid a $5 fine and had their federal charges dismissed. Others entered into pre-trial diversions identical to Peters and Jett's, where their charges will be dropped if they stay out of trouble for a year.

Earlier Friday, Johnston questioned the factual basis underlying the guilty plea of Richard Lee "Stump" Stevens, the president of the Huntington chapter of the Last Rebels. Stevens had admitted that he transported a stolen 2004 Honda VTX 1300 motorcycle, but Johnston questioned prosecutors' proof that Stevens knew the bike was stolen.

Stevens' pre-sentence report indicated that a man voluntarily gave Stevens the bike, telling him that he was going through a divorce, needed to "get out from under" the bike and asking him to get rid of it. That man later filed an insurance claim, saying the motorcycle had been stolen, the report said.

Johnston postponed Stevens' sentencing until after both sides had submitted more information regarding how Stevens obtained the motorcycle.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.

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