CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Last Rebel admits enforcing Pagan 'territory' in Boone

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Andrew Clevenger
Source: sundaygazettemail.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The president of the Charleston chapter of the Last Rebels Motorcycle Club said Monday in federal court that he would have faced violent reprisal from the Pagans Motorcycle Club if he hadn't helped strip jean jackets from members of a smaller club.
James Edward "Big Jim" Lyttle, 56, of Marmet, said that Floyd B. "Jesse" Moore, the national vice president of the Pagans, personally ordered the Last Rebels to take "cuts" from the members of Next of Kin because they had not asked for permission from the Pagans to ride within their territory.
Lyttle, who pleaded guilty to one count of threatening to commit a crime of violence in aid of racketeering, said that he and four other members of the Last Rebels were out for a ride in April 2008 when they spotted members of the Next of Kin in the parking lot of the IGA grocery store in Racine.
When they confronted the two men and two women, Lyttle said his son, Eric Wayne "Tree" Lyttle, did the talking. After a brief discussion, the two couples surrendered their cuts, which James Lyttle put into his motorcycle's saddlebag, he said.
At the time, he was wearing a gun in a holster on his hip, which would have been visible to the others, James Lyttle said. He had a valid concealed-weapons permit for the gun, which he carried regularly, he said.
In October, U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston rejected the plea deals of two Last Rebels involved in the incident, ruling that the agreed-to facts were sufficient to prove the crime that had been charged.
Rather than go to trial, federal prosecutors agreed to drop the charges against Jeffrey Wayne Jett, of Clarksburg, and Anthony Wayne "Big Daddy" Peters, 38, of Bloomingrose, if both men could stay out of trouble for a year.
Eric Lyttle and Donald Massey Jr., the other two Last Rebels involved in the incident, are set to be scheduled this week.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Miller Bushong said that for Massey and the two Lyttles, the government agreed not to appeal if Johnston gave them a sentence below the range recommended by the federal sentencing guidelines.
In October 2009, James Lyttle was among the first defendants to plead guilty as part of the sweeping, 44-count indictment against 55 members and associates of the Pagans. As part of that plea, he faced up to life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison.


In the wake of Johnston's ruling concerning Jett and Peters, prosecutors revisited James Lyttle's plea agreement, resulting in the new plea deal on Monday.






Lyttle said that he passed along Moore's orders to other members of the Last Rebels. As a support club of the Pagans, the Last Rebels were expected to follow orders issued from the larger group.





"If you didn't take the colors, did you believe there would be consequences from the Pagans?" the judge asked.





"Yes, sir," Lyttle said. "It kept me from getting a beating."





Johnston said that he had considered rejecting Lyttle's previous plea because it would have likely resulted in him getting the harshest prison sentence out of all the 55 defendants in the case, which would not have been fair.





Johnston scheduled Lyttle's sentencing for Wednesday. Lyttle now faces a maximum of five years in prison.





Massey's sentencing is set for Tuesday, and Eric Lyttle's is also scheduled for Wednesday.





While many of the 55 defendants in the Pagans case have been convicted of felonies, most 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, like Jett and Peters, entered into pretrial diversions where their charges will be dropped if they stay out of trouble for a year.
Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.