July 29, 2010 Retrial begins for former guard in Pagans case

By Andrew Clevenger
The Charleston Gazette
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The retrial of a former federal prison guard accused of plotting to retaliate against a jailed member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club began Thursday with prosecutors retracing familiar territory.

Michael Lloyd Stevens' previous trial, held last week in federal court, ended in a mistrial after jurors could not agree on a verdict.

Stevens, 38, of Huntington, is accused of conspiring with members of the Pagans and its Huntington-based support club, the Last Rebels, to have another inmate assault Vincent "Hot Rod" Morris.

Morris, a member of the Charleston chapter of the Pagans, was convicted of robbing a Big Chimney bank in February 2004 with fellow Pagan Paul "Paulie" Hysell.

The Pagans branded Morris as a snitch because he cooperated with the FBI as it investigated the bank heist, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew said during his opening statement. Morris' cooperation resulted in Hysell's capture and conviction, he said.

Stevens, whose brother was president of the Huntington chapter of the Last Rebels, wanted to join the club, but his job as a corrections officer kept him out, Loew said. The Pagans and their affiliated clubs didn't want any law enforcement officers near their organization, and even required members to report any contact with police, he said.

When Morris was transferred to the federal prison in Ashland where Stevens worked, Stevens saw an opportunity to prove that he was more loyal to bikers than police, Loew said.

The jury heard surreptitious recordings of Stevens talking with David "Kicker" Cremeans, then a member of the Last Rebels, and James Ronnie "Pagan Ronnie" Howerton, a member of the Pagans, about how to keep Morris quiet.

Cremeans testified that as a member of the smaller club, he could not authorize any action against a Pagan without permission, so he talked to Howerton, who was Pagans' national vice president Floyd "Jesse" Moore's right-hand man.