OFF THE WIRE
Chris Paschenko
galvestondailynews.com
A man in a ski mask walks by a La Marque police car in the Painted Meadows subdivision of La Marque on April 24. The neighborhood was the scene of a federal raid. More information has surfaced about the raid.
LA MARQUE — More information has surfaced about a commando-style raid by masked federal drug enforcement agents who arrested a man accused of leading the Galveston chapter of the Bandidos motorcycle club.
On April 24, agents stormed a La Marque home to arrest Jerry Gilbert Wylie, 52, breaking windows and doors and causing a stir among neighbors in the usually quiet Painted Meadows subdivision.
Wylie is among at least six people charged by a federal grand jury indictment of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from April 1, 2010, through March 7, according to court documents unsealed earlier last week.
Others listed on the indictment include Lisa Dawn Martinez, John Louis Ellett, Eleuterio Flores Galvan, Wendy Mae Kressley and Efren Raul Villarreal.
An indictment isn’t a guilty verdict. It means a grand jury heard enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Prosecutors with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’ Beaumont Division seek the forfeiture of $2.1 million in connection with the methamphetamine distribution allegations. Prosecutors also seek the forfeiture of $91,892, a gun seized during a Feb. 28 traffic stop in Shelby County and eight automobiles, including one registered to Wylie.
Names of about a half dozen other defendants have been redacted in court documents, possibly because they are not in custody.
A spokeswomen for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District, where Wylie made initial court appearances in Galveston’s federal court, declined to comment. A message left for a spokeswoman for the Eastern District wasn’t returned.
Damage ‘Unnecessary’
Neighbors who witnessed part of the raid told The Daily News about four sport utility vehicles loaded with people in plain clothes descended on the neighborhood, blocking the cul-de-sac where Wylie lives. Before the raid, one neighbor photographed a masked man walking Wylie’s street in front of a La Marque police patrol car.
A spokeswoman from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told The Daily News six people initially were arrested in connection with methamphetamine charges. It was unclear where the arrests, other than Wylie’s, took place.
When federal agents arrested Wylie, they damaged his mother’s house, Kent Schafer, Wylie’s attorney, said. He said the damage was unnecessary. Contractors were at the house shortly thereafter, repairing the damage.
“They went into his mother’s house, blowing windows out, knocking the door off, armed agents with machine guns, hoods, protective vests, the whole deal,” Schaffer said. “It was just child’s play. It was agents trying to have some fun.”
On April 24, agents stormed a La Marque home to arrest Jerry Gilbert Wylie, 52, breaking windows and doors and causing a stir among neighbors in the usually quiet Painted Meadows subdivision.
Wylie is among at least six people charged by a federal grand jury indictment of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from April 1, 2010, through March 7, according to court documents unsealed earlier last week.
Others listed on the indictment include Lisa Dawn Martinez, John Louis Ellett, Eleuterio Flores Galvan, Wendy Mae Kressley and Efren Raul Villarreal.
An indictment isn’t a guilty verdict. It means a grand jury heard enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Prosecutors with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’ Beaumont Division seek the forfeiture of $2.1 million in connection with the methamphetamine distribution allegations. Prosecutors also seek the forfeiture of $91,892, a gun seized during a Feb. 28 traffic stop in Shelby County and eight automobiles, including one registered to Wylie.
Names of about a half dozen other defendants have been redacted in court documents, possibly because they are not in custody.
A spokeswomen for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District, where Wylie made initial court appearances in Galveston’s federal court, declined to comment. A message left for a spokeswoman for the Eastern District wasn’t returned.
Damage ‘Unnecessary’
Neighbors who witnessed part of the raid told The Daily News about four sport utility vehicles loaded with people in plain clothes descended on the neighborhood, blocking the cul-de-sac where Wylie lives. Before the raid, one neighbor photographed a masked man walking Wylie’s street in front of a La Marque police patrol car.
A spokeswoman from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told The Daily News six people initially were arrested in connection with methamphetamine charges. It was unclear where the arrests, other than Wylie’s, took place.
When federal agents arrested Wylie, they damaged his mother’s house, Kent Schafer, Wylie’s attorney, said. He said the damage was unnecessary. Contractors were at the house shortly thereafter, repairing the damage.
“They went into his mother’s house, blowing windows out, knocking the door off, armed agents with machine guns, hoods, protective vests, the whole deal,” Schaffer said. “It was just child’s play. It was agents trying to have some fun.”
Motorcycle Explosion
Wylie was asleep at the time. He was recently released from a hospital and was nursing stitches and had a chest drainage tube from injuries in a superbike explosion in Tennessee. A fuel-injected, turbocharged, drag-racing motorcycle exploded near where Wylie was standing. Shrapnel from the explosion injured his liver and kidneys, Schaffer said.
Wylie is a member of the Bandidos motorcycle club’s Galveston chapter but he isn’t the president as alleged by the government, Schaffer said. The Galveston chapter has about nine members, he said.
The FBI claims the Bandidos is an outlaw motorcycle gang of more than 2,000 members and associates with more than 90 chapters in the United States, Canada and Europe.
“The overwhelming majority of Bandidos has no criminal record,” Schaffer said. “It’s just gossip perpetrated by the FBI for self-serving reasons.”
The federal government does not allege the Bandidos motorcycle club has anything to do with the methamphetamine case, Schaffer said.
After Wylie’s arrest, he was detained at the Galveston County Jail without bond, pending the completion of identity and detention hearings.
No Contact With Bandidos
Wylie appeared April 27 before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Froeschner and waived the right to an identity hearing. He appeared in court with the chest tube, Schaffer said. Froeschner ordered Wylie released from jail on a $100,000 bond with a $5,000 deposit, court records state.
Wylie must adhere to a dozen court-ordered conditions to remain free on bond, including having no contact with the Bandidos.
“The judge didn’t want to order that, but the government insisted, and they would only agree to a bond if Mr. Wylie agreed to stay away from any Bandidos, ” Schaffer said. “Rather than waiting another week and taking changes in a bond hearing, he just agreed to it so he could get out.”
Wylie also must follow home confinement requirements, including an electronic monitoring system.
When arraigned, Wylie will plead not guilty, Schaffer said.
COMMENT,
Club Stuff Aside......... The cops had to have known this man's physical condition since they went to his mother's home to find him. so they use commando style tactics to aresst him? a major bit of over-kill don't you think? Fucking cops are abusing thier athuority again. not only is this harrassment it is police brutality with this much overkill. 500 grams sounds like a lot more than 17- 18 oz. or a pound and an oz. or 2... this is if 28 grams = 1 oz. like it does in tire weights. Wonder WHY I Hate cops ? Here is
THE PERFECT FUCKING EXAMPLE...........
"Prosecutors with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas' Beaumont Division seek the forfeiture of $2.1 million in connection with the methamphetamine distribution allegations. Prosecutors also seek the forfeiture of $91,892, a gun seized during a Feb. 28 traffic stop in Shelby County and eight automobiles, including one registered to Wylie."
The Feds make the MOB look like CHOIR BOYS.............
