18 Motorcycle Club Members Indicted for Armed Assaults Against Rivals, incl. 2 members from Joplin

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ( US ATTY OFFICE WESTERN DIST OF MO ) – Eighteen members and associates of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club have been indicted by a federal grand jury for a series of armed assaults against members of rival motorcycle clubs.

Two of those indicted are from the Joplin, Mo.

A law enforcement operation conducted  resulted in 15 arrests along with the execution of seven search warrants; two of the defendants were already in custody.

More than a dozen law enforcement agencies were involved in the operation that also resulted in the seizure of more than 40 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, body armor and a marijuana grow operation.

The Pagan’s are considered by most law enforcement as one of the big four m.c.’s. According to the indictment, Pagan’s is a violent criminal organization that engaged in racketeering, an enterprise that involved illegal drug trafficking. Pagan’s maintains chapters in numerous states, including multiple active chapters in Missouri and Kansas.

All were charged in a five-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 7, 2024.

• Christopher W. McGowen, also known as “Mac,” 40, of Platte City, Mo.
• Arthur L. Reynolds III, also known as “Straight Edge,” 48, of Independence, Mo.
• Jarrid A. Hammer, also known as “Hammer,” 45, of Independence, Mo.
• Jeremiah Z. Hahn, also known as “Pass Out,” 41, Cameron, Mo.
• John J. Hahn, also known as “Krazy Legs,” 46, Cameron, Mo.
• Charles E. Smith, Jr., also known as “Crash,” 38, of Blue Springs, Mo.
• James W. Prettyman, also known as “Rugby,” 42, of Blue Springs, Mo.
• Mark A. Cottman, also known as “One Shot,” 49, of Kansas City, Mo.
• Bryan S. Fletcher, also known as “Fletch,” 48, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.
• Mark A. Crump, also known as “Navajo,” 54, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.
• Jeffrey S. Hannah, also known as “Got-It,” 42, of Grain Valley, Mo.
• Eric M. Forsyth, Jr., also known as “EZ,” 34, of Oak Grove, Mo.
• Robert W. Miller, also known as “Flipper,” 46, of Joplin, Mo.
• Brandon S. Hodge, also known as “Youngblood,” 25, of Joplin, Mo.
• Monty L. Mitchell, also known as “Smoke,” 58, of Windsor, Mo.
• Alan M. Thornton, also known as “Bones,” 40, of Holden, Mo.
• John Travis Fisher, also known as “T-Bone,” 51, of Sapulpa, Okla.
• Graham S. Gattis, also known as “Dro,” 40, of Panama City, Fla.

The federal indictment was unsealed and made public Thursday following the arrests of the defendants.

The indictment alleges that Pagan’s is territorial and protects its territory from rival motorcycle clubs through violence and intimidation.

The primary rivals to Pagan’s in Missouri include the Hells Angels, Outlaws, El Forastero, Galloping Goose, Sons of Silence, and the Bandidos.

When members of rival motorcycle clubs were in areas Pagan’s believed to be under its control, says the indictment, Pagan’s threatened and intimidated them with violence. Pagan’s tried to eliminate other motorcycle gangs completely from their territory by assaulting, robbing, extorting and sometimes attempting to murder them, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges a series of assaults were committed as part of Pagan’s racketeering enterprise.

1. McGowen and Jeremiah Hahn are charged together in one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.  The indictment alleges they assaulted a rival motorcycle gang member with a dangerous weapon on May 30, 2022 .
2. McGowen, Reynolds, Smith, Miller, Prettyman, Mitchell, Cottman, John Hahn, Gattis, Forsyth, Fletcher, Hannah, and Hodge are charged together in one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. The indictment alleges they assaulted a rival motorcycle gang member with a dangerous weapon on Sept. 17, 2022 .
3. McGowen, Jeremiah Hahn, Smith, Fisher, Miller, Prettyman, Mitchell, and Thornton are charged together in one count of attempting to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. The indictment alleges they attempted to assault a rival motorcycle gang member with a dangerous weapon on Sept. 3, 2022 .
4. McGowen, Reynolds, Smith, Miller, Prettyman, Mitchell, Cottman, John Hahn, Gattis, Forsyth, Fletcher, Hannah and Hodge are charged together in one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The indictment alleges they discharged a firearm during an assault on Sept. 17, 2022 .
5. Cottman, Hammer, and Crump are charged together in one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering. The indictment alleges they seriously injured a rival motorcycle gang member during an assault on July 20, 2023 .

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the FBI, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department. The law enforcement operation included the FBI, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department, the Oak Grove, Mo., Police Department, the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and FBI national assets and field offices in St. Louis, Mo., Las Vegas, Nev., and Knoxville, Tenn. ( source: US Attorneys Office Western District of Missouri ).

This is a breaking news story we will continue to follow, watch for updates here on KOAM News Now.