Three men charged in Valle Vista killing

California - Riverside County
BY: JOHN ASBURY
Source: pe.com
Riverside County sheriff's homicide detectives are searching for a second gunman in connection with the ambush killing of a former rival motorcycle club member.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Cody Young, 26, who is charged along with Jason Schlig, 31, and Shaun Spicher, 26, in the Aug. 29 shooting of Todd Brown, 43, of Hemet.

Schlig and Young, both of Hemet, are charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after detectives said they shot at Brown while his pickup was at a stop sign in Valle Vista, near Hemet. Spicher, a Marine at Twentynine Palms, is charged with murder for allegedly aiding and abetting the two men.
The three defendants are members of the Brotherhood Motorcycle Club, according to an affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrant. Brown, who was described as a former member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, had been involved in a fight with Spicher and 20 other Brotherhood members several months earlier at a San Jacinto biker bar called Tap Daddy's.

After a confrontation with Schlig on the day of the killing, Brown went with his son and friends to pick up a pizza. While Brown's black Toyota pickup was stopped at Lincoln and Palm avenues, Schlig and Spicher rode up on motorcycles on each side of the pickup, the affidavit said. Both men were dressed in black and yellow riding outfits and wore bulletproof vests.

Brown's son said Spicher pulled him from the pickup and began fighting with him. The driver of a blue Chevrolet Suburban, believed to be Young, pulled up behind the pickup and began shooting, the affidavit said. Brown was speeding away when someone in front of him fired, witnesses said. The truck stopped in a field. Brown was shot in the hand and in the back of the head.

Investigators later learned that Schlig had bragged about the shooting.

"He was looking for the surviving victims so he could kill them also," the affidavit states, referring to Schlig. "He was not going back to prison and was going to shoot it out with law enforcement if they tried to arrest him."

In a police interview Saturday, Schlig said Brown confronted him at the intersection and he thought Brown was reaching for a weapon. Schlig said Young fired first and then he fired three magazines of bullets. Police recovered 15 9mm shell casings at the scene.

Bail for Spicher and Schlig was set at $3 million. Young is described as 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, with the words white and pride tattooed on his arms.

A funeral for Brown on Saturday is expected to draw a large number of Vagos members.

Reach John Asbury at 951-763-3451 or jasbury@PE.com