CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Avengers president sentenced to prison in Pagans case

OFF THE WIRE
Andrew Clevenger
 sundaygazettemail.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The former president of the Avengers Motorcycle Club was sentenced Friday in federal court to more than two years in prison for conspiring to kidnap a biker who had run afoul of a leader of the Pagans Motorcycle Club.
Thomas J. "Grumpy" Morris, 68, of Dunbar, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping in aid of racketeering in February 2010. Although the Avengers were not a support club of the Pagans, Morris knew Pagans national vice president Floyd B. "Diamond Jesse" Moore personally.
In June 2007, an assailant identified only as "Badger" broke into Moore's home and beat Moore and his girlfriend with a baseball bat, according to court records.
"Badger" fled the area after the assault, and Moore made it known to Pagans and members of affiliated clubs that he wanted "Badger" found.
After consulting with Moore, Morris sent e-mails to members of the Avengers, instructing them to be on the lookout for "Badger" and to hold him if they found him, court filings state.
In December 2009, just two months after being named in a 44-count indictment against 55 members and associates of the Pagans, Morris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, admitting that he reached out to Moore to have a woman killed for personal reasons.
Although Moore put Morris in touch with a member of the Pagans who is a convicted murderer, and Morris gave him photographs of the intended victim and directions to her house, the woman was not killed. Unbeknownst to Morris and Moore, the other Pagan, James "Pagan Ronnie" Howerton, was an undercover informant working with the FBI.
U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston voided that plea agreement, finding that it did not constitute a violation of federal law.
On Friday, Johnston said he could not ignore the potential for violence -- even death -- that Morris' actions created.
"If this conspiracy had succeeded, it appears to me very likely that 'Badger' would have been killed," he said. "['Badger's' assault] was a serious affront not only to Floyd Moore but to the Pagans."


Defense attorney John McGhee said Morris has a strong work history, military service and no previous criminal record.






"He has expressed remorse for his actions," he said.





Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew noted that, like many of his co-defendants, Morris' crimes stem from his involvement in the outlaw biker world. He asked Johnston to impose a sentence that would deter others, since Morris was unlikely to remain active in the biker world because he had cooperated with the government.





Loew detailed that cooperation in a meeting that was not open to the public.





That cooperation led the government to ask for a reduced sentence. Even after that reduction, the federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of 37 to 46 months. Johnston sentenced Morris to 28 months in prison.





Johnston noted that he had given several defendants lenient sentences because of what he perceived as weaknesses in the case against them, but that the conspiracy charge against Morris was strong. He ordered Morris to self-report to prison at a date determine by the U.S. Marshal's Service.





Overall, most of the 55 defendants pleaded guilty to vastly reduced charges. Some pleaded guilty to a gambling misdemeanor in state court, paid a $5 fine and had their federal charges dismissed.





Others had their charges dropped after they agreed to stay out of trouble for a year.





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