On August 12 in Badlands National Park, a park ranger stopped a pickup truck towing a motorcycle trailer for a tail light violation. The vehicle and five occupants had just left the southern Black Hills where the Outlaw Motorcycle Club had gathered as part of the 2006 Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Approaching the driver’s side of the vehicle, the ranger noticed one person sitting in the bed of the truck. A computer check on the driver returned an advisory warning, stating that the driver was a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang and considered armed and dangerous.

Six days earlier the shooting of five Outlaws and one nonaffiliated gang member near Legion Lake in Custer State Park in the southern Black Hills confirmed law enforcement fears of conflict between the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and rival Outlaws. Authorities arrested two alleged members of the Hells Angles for that shooting.

Two plain-clothes officers (one National Park Service Ranger and one Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer) assisted the ranger in a search of the vehicle. The search quickly uncovered one concealed firearm and evidence of illegal drug use, including methamphetamines. A concealed and loaded 9 mm semiautomatic pistol was found on the person seated in the bed of the truck.

The occupants of the vehicle were placed in custody with assistance from the South Dakota Highway Patrol and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Eight firearms, including one pistol grip shotgun, and numerous blunt, edged, and electrical weapons (stun guns) were found during a further search of the vehicle.

The recovery of numerous ledgers and business files during the search led to tremendous interest by state and federal authorities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and the South Dakota State Attorney’s Office participated in the investigation following the traffic stop.
All suspects arrested were identified as members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club from Ocala, Fla. They made an initial appearance in federal court on Aug. 14, and efforts were made to seize the pickup truck, trailer and two Harley Davidson Motorcycles. The South Dakota State Attorneys Office may file additional charges against the suspects.

Capture of Armed Robbery Suspects

After midnight on August 21, off-duty Hoover Dam Police Officer Peter Gardner stopped at a grocery store on his way home from work. Officer Gardner, who was in his personal vehicle, saw three suspicious men enter the store. He repositioned his vehicle to where he could see into the store and he immediately recognized that the men were committing an armed robbery.

This was not an ordinary robbery. The men first robbed an elderly change clerk near the slot machines. They knocked her to the ground, kicked her, and stepped on her back pinning her down while they took the keys to the cash register. Next they went to the store cashier and held a gun to his head telling him that they would kill him if he did not give up the contents of his cash register. Then men then turned their guns on the customers waiting in line. They robbed several of them of their wallets, purses, identification, personal property, and cash.

While this was happening, Officer Gardner called 911 and reported the incident. He gave police dispatchers clear and accurate details about the crime in progress. He then followed when the three suspects fled the store in a stolen vehicle driven by a fourth man. Officer Gardner followed the suspects while he continued to provide police dispatchers with suspect and vehicle descriptions and their location. The suspects shot at Officer Gardner when they realized that he was following them.

When marked patrol units from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrived on scene, the suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Officer Gardner assisted Las Vegas police with apprehending and arresting one of the suspects — a juvenile already on parole for robbery — who confessed to this crime and to shooting at Officer Gardner.

He also confessed to the shooting of another victim in a recent armed robbery of a convenience store, and he may be responsible for as many as six other armed robberies. He is helping the Las Vegas police to identify his co-conspirators in this incident.

The Hoover Dam Police Department received a letter from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, commending Officer Gardner for his outstanding conduct in this incident. “Officer Gardner’s actions were above and beyond the call of duty and LVMPD is deeply indebted to him. Although this suspect was a juvenile, he was as dangerous a felon as they come and Officer Gardner’s courageous effort helped get him off of the street. The LVMPD commends Officer Gardner. He is an asset to your Department.”

Felony Arrests of Armed Robber, Sexual Assault Suspects

In May and July, a series of brutal armed robberies and sexual assaults occurred at night on the National Mall. On May 25 in two separate incidents, couples walking on the Mall were robbed at gunpoint and a forceful sexual touching was committed against a female victim in each incident. One of them was kicked in the head when she resisted the assault.

On May 27 another couple walking on the Mall was robbed, and the juvenile female victim was raped at gunpoint. The last two incidents occurred on July 11. Two females were approached and robbed at gunpoint, and a forceful sexual touching was again committed against one of the victims. A short time later a family of four including two children was robbed at gunpoint.

As stated by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein, “In May and July of this year, twelve of our fellow citizens strolled down to the National Mall, expecting to experience the beauty and majesty of the monuments. Instead, they fell victim to a group of young predators who were stalking, robbing, and brutalizing unsuspecting tourists at gunpoint.”

Working methodically and following up leads arising from an analysis of records from the stolen credit cards and a cell phone, interviews with witnesses, and the execution of more than a dozen search warrants, the investigators identified and arrested five suspects for these armed robberies and sexual assaults. Three other individuals were arrested in connection with the use of credit cards stolen during the robberies.

In announcing the arrests of these persons, Wainstein and U.S. Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford commended the outstanding work of all members of law enforcement who worked tirelessly to close the investigation. This included personnel from the U.S. Park Police, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Criminal Investigations Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

“The U.S. Park Police takes great pride in our protection of the National Mall,” Chief Pettiford said. “I would like to take this opportunity to recognize our detectives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office who worked relentlessly to bring closure to the violent crimes that occurred on the Nation’s Mall.”

“Thanks to the strong efforts of the U.S. Park Police and our law enforcement partners, those criminals are now behind bars where they can no longer violate the sanctity of the National Mall or the rights and well-being of those who visit,” Wainstein said.