MICHIGAN - Recordings of Outlaws offer look into group

OFF THE WIRE
Recordings of phone calls between members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club capture threats of violence and fears that a "snitch" had entered the gxxg.
The calls, which were played in U.S. District Court on Friday during detention hearings for some of the alleged gxxg members, cast the group as violent and quick to seek retaliation against people who allegedly wronged them or their families.
Members of the Outlaws threatened to beat up members of another motorcycle club, and the club's treasurer called around to his peers, asking if they had any "cameras," a code word for guns.
The calls "absolutely" show the gxxg was a threat to the community, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Blackington, who is prosecuting the case.
The FBI raided the gxxg's Near-Eastside clubhouse July 11 and arrested 42 people, some of whom weren't gxxg members but allegedly were associated with the gxxg. They face 37 counts of federal charges ranging from running an illegal gambling operation to drug trafficking and extortion.
This week, a federal magistrate judge ordered two of the group's leaders -- "enforcer" Joshua Bowser and treasurer Kent Whitinger -- and four others to stay in prison until trial. She released Outlaws president Michael Knoll on home detention Friday.
Six of the recorded phone calls were played during Whitinger's detention hearing.
They focused on an alleged attack against his niece by a member of another motorcycle club. On one of the calls, Whitinger and Bowser threatened a member of the other club. Bowser said he would make that club member's family "go missing" and that the Outlaws would beat up the club's members whenever they saw them.
Whitinger also called around to other Outlaws members to ask for "cameras." He said he wanted one small enough to "stick in my pocket." Based on his criminal history, Whitinger wasn't allowed to have guns, federal prosecutors said.
Another call captured Stephen Whitinger, Kent Whitinger's brother, talking to a member of the Outlaws about "snitches" infiltrating the gxxg. He said he would try to flee if the gxxg faced charges and said he would get rid of the snitches, even if it meant killing them. He was a probationary member of the gxxg at the time but dropped out of the membership process.
Federal Magistrate Judge Denise LaRue released Stephen Whitinger on home detention Friday, but prosecutors appealed, so he will remain in custody until another judge can hear the appeal.
Prosecutors also are appealing the release of James W. Bain and Vance Canner, calling them a danger to the community and flight risks.
Blackington, the prosecutor, said that so far, he's mostly pleased with the results of the detention hearings, which continue into next week.
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