Craig Newcomer has been known for years as a community leader dedicated to charity work in Franklin County -- but is he also a motorcycle gang member with a taste for violence?
The former Waynesboro Borough Council president's character was brought into question in May, when he was charged in connection with a Martinsburg, W.Va., bar fight. Police allege that he seriously injured a man while visiting the Dirty Dawg Saloon with at least one other member of the Avengers Motorcycle Club.
Since he waived his right to a preliminary hearing, it will be months before Newcomer has another opportunity to clear his name in court. According to representatives of the Berkeley County, W.Va., court system, the matter is now slated to go before a grand jury for consideration no sooner than October.
In the meantime, Newcomer, 46, maintains he is innocent and says his association with the Avengers for the past five years has been an effort to teach the bikers about God.
He has resigned as president but continues to serve on Waynesboro's council. He also remains involved with Chambersburg-based Maranatha Ministries and runs the Candleheart program, which provides food, counseling and transitional housing for the needy.
"I'm an innocent man and it's going to be proven in the end," he said. "Knowing that it's not the truth, it hurts me that the people I'm working with are seeing this."
Still, there are a number of people in West Virginia who remain unconvinced. Martinsburg City Police Department filed a criminal complaint containing a 13-page summary of the evidence against Newcomer, and a number of witnesses are prepared to testify against him in court.
"I've heard that he's a councilman and about all the good work he does up there, but it makes no difference," said Alexa O'Connell, co-owner of the Dirty Dawg. "To us he's a criminal."
Newcomer is accused of punching Ernest Eugene Cumbie, 44, in the face Feb. 13, causing him to fall and hit his head on the barroom's black-and-white checkerboard floor. Police responded about 2:25 a.m. and Cumbie was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. His injuries included multiple facial fractures and severe brain bruising.
Sitting by the hot tub outside their large country home about 15 minutes from Martinsburg, the O'Connells recalled the night a man almost died in their bar. Alexa said the place was decorated for Valentine's Day weekend, and she was passing out Hershey's Kisses in a gorilla costume. At one point, Cumbie came up and gave her a hug.
"He was a hell of a nice guy," O'Connell said. "He was just minding his own business."
She and her husband, George, opened the bar at 1017 S. Queen St., Martinsburg, about three years ago. They feature themed parties every weekend, barbecue, pool tables and "some of the hottest ladies you will ever see performing bar-top entertainment," according to their website.
The "Coyote Ugly themed saloon" is just shy of 40 miles from Waynesboro, not far from Interstate 81 and a short walk down the road from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department headquarters. It is among a handful of bars lining one side of the street opposite railroad tracks, with Berkeley Heights Elementary School visible from the parking lot.
Brassieres adorn some of the walls inside, hanging on hooks and from the long horns of a steer's skull centered above the bar counter. Other decorations, such as beer signs, a wagon wheel and saddles, provide a country western theme. One recent afternoon, a few employees were getting ready for the night's business, while a single patron sat drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Eric White of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., visits the Dirty Dawg frequently, and he's never seen a fight there. He said motorcycle club members are not the bar's typical customers.
"It's totally not a biker establishment at all," he said. "I come here to get chicks. This isn't a dive bar."
According to the criminal complaint, police determined that Newcomer, a woman and three men arrived at the Dirty Dawg that night after visiting the VIP Gentleman's Club about 10 minutes away. Witnesses reported that some members of the group were wearing sweat shirts or T-shirts "emblazoned with the Avengers Motorcycle Club logo or name."
The woman in the group was identified as Newcomer's fiancé, Jeanna Leeann Shockley. The other men were Jamie Lee Kayhoe, Charles Raymond Stockslager and Benjamin "4th Grade" Bean, the only other confirmed Avengers member. With the exception of Bean, who was from Hagerstown, Md., everyone was from the Waynesboro area.
Shockley told police that they had gone out to celebrate Valentine's Day and that she had a lot to drink, including "Jager bombs" and Captain Morgan with ginger ale. She explained that she was waiting outside for the men when the fight happened and that she didn't see anything or hear any talk later about it.
"She advised she passed out after she puked and they drove home," the complaint states. "She has been with Craig Newcomer for approximately seven months and described him as a great man and an awesome man."
George O'Connell said he remembers talking to Shockley, who was admiring the bar's seasonal decorations. She offered to pay $100 for a large centerpiece of balloons shaped like a bouquet of roses. He declined because the holiday was not over, but offered to mail it to her after the weekend.
Shockley wrote down her name, address and phone number, O'Connell said. This information would later help police track the group down.
Penny Lyn Light, manager of the VIP, told investigators that Newcomer, who she knew as "Guido," and Bean were in the gentleman's club earlier that night. They left with plans to return later and pick up Bean's girlfriend, one of the exotic dancers. She said they came back after about an hour and told her they had been in a fight, according to the criminal complaint.
She reported that Bean told her, "Guido had hit the guy with his new ring. He wanted to try out his new ring." Light told police that Newcomer was wearing a large "gold nugget ring" on his middle finger.
When Public Opinion visited the Martinsburg area for the purposes of this story, the gentleman's club was apparently closed for renovations.
The O'Connells said Newcomer had been in their bar "two or three times" prior to the night of the incident, and had talked to them before about organizing a motorcycle poker run. He never caused problems in the past and his group "seemed fine" the night Cumbie was injured, they said. None of the witness statements indicate that Newcomer was seen drinking or acting intoxicated that night.
Both owners left the bar before the incident happened. George, who was about five minutes away, got a call on his cell phone and returned. Employees reported seeing Newcomer walk toward the rest room shortly before members of his group near the front door began fighting with several other customers for no apparent reason.
A bartender said a bouncer and several other patrons began trying to intervene in the scuffle, then she saw Newcomer charge across the room and punch Cumbie once in the face. She and a number of other saloon workers have been subpoenaed to appear in court when the time comes.
"Our bouncers and bartenders had no reason to lie. They didn't know either of those guys," Alexa said. "There are at least eight or 10 people who are going to testify to what they saw, and nobody's going to lie for anybody."
While he agreed to an interview for this story, Newcomer declined to discuss the specific allegations against him.
Newcomer's attorney, Daniel James of Keyser, W.Va., did not return several phone calls.
According to the criminal complaint, Newcomer declined to speak with Martinsburg investigators, but went to Waynesboro Police Chief Mark King on March 1 to talk about the matter. Newcomer told King that he had been at a bar in West Virginia with members of the Avengers when a fight broke out.
"Councilman Newcomer stated he was trying to separate an Avenger member from the fight. While doing this he was struck in the face by an individual," the complaint states. "Councilman Newcomer advised he turned around and the individual charged at him. He advised when the individual charged he punched the individual in self defense."
King told investigators that Newcomer also talked about his ministry work with the motorcycle club, and recalled discussing the Book of John with one biker at the Avengers clubhouse. He also spoke about socializing with members of other clubs who he met at Pappy's Pub in Waynesboro.
Newcomer told Public Opinion that he became involved with the Avengers about five years ago. A Harley-Davidson owner and motorcycle lover, he was visiting a friend in West Virginia when he met an ordained minister who associated with the group and went by the nickname "Preacher."
"He brought me into the club," Newcomer said of the man, who has since died. "I learned a lot from him."
He said that while the Avengers club has a criminal past, the national group has not operated as an outlaw motorcycle gang since the early 1980s. Members wear a "back patch" on their vests with symbols that stand for honor, loyalty, integrity and love, he said.
Newcomer confirmed that his nickname among the Avengers is "Guido," explaining that it was derived from Father Guido Sarducci, a priest character featured on "Saturday Night Live" and other television programs in the 1970s.
As a sort of "chaplain" for the club, he has gone along on outings and uses the opportunity to reach out to the other members about his faith, Newcomer said. He added that he rarely drinks, and that he often acts as designated driver when he and a group of bikers go out to bars in an automobile.
"There's some people who can't reach out to the kind of people that I do," he said. "When you're working with people like that, you have to be strong because you're going to be in places that are undesirable to most."
He said that while his brand of ministry may not be the same as "a pastor on the pulpit preaching," it has still been effective.
'I lead by example. I walk the walk and people tend to follow out of respect and understanding," he said. "The people in the motorcycle club know I'm a godly man and they accept me being around them."
On the other hand, the O'Connells have their doubts about Newcomer's good intentions. The not quite middle-aged business owners are pleased that he has been charged in the crime, but unhappy about the negative publicity this incident has brought to their establishment.
"They do whatever they want to do and we pay for it," Alexa said. "People want to go out and have a good time. They don't want to go where there's fights and stuff. Our regulars know that's not the kind of bar we are."
Newcomer said he's had difficulty sleeping and that he didn't eat for several days after the charges were filed against him. He said he worries most about how the publicity surrounding the incident may affect his ministry and charity work.
"Unfortunately, people tend to judge and it's God's job to judge," he said.
While he remains committed to ministry, Newcomer said this experience has changed his viewpoint "a little." In the future, he will likely continue witnessing to motorcycle clubs like the Avengers without going to places like bars and strip clubs with them.
"Yeah, I will still work with all motorcycle clubs. In what way, I'm not sure," he said. I'll re-evaluate and figure out the best way through prayer."
