RICO Charges Dismissed In Biker Case Part III – The Trial
On November 3, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Federal RICO charges were dismissed against William Davey, a member of the American Outlaw Association also known as the “Outlaws”. After eight days of trial and four days of deliberation, the jury acquitted Davey of all charges and sent a striking message to the government.
The trial of this case began with the testimony of the DEA agent who infiltrated the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. The agent testified that he began this investigation while still an undercover member of the Mongols. He testified regarding his two and a half year membership in the Outlaws and some of the criminal activity that he witnessed. The problem for the government was that they were not trying to prosecute the isolated instances of criminal conduct that may have taken place with individual members of the club; they were trying to label the entire organization a criminal enterprise.
After the DEA agent there were a number of witnesses, most of whom were members or former members of the Outlaws, whom testified regarding their own criminal conduct as well as the criminal conduct of others within the organization. Some of these witnesses attempted to paint a picture of an organization with a specific agenda to conspire to commit crimes. Again, the problem for the government was that these individuals testified to isolated instances of criminal conduct and it was clear from the testimony that the entire organization was not a criminal enterprise and everyone within the organization was not part of a conspiracy. Such was the case with William Davey.
William Davey, represented by Horace F. Hunter, was charged with conspiracy to violate RICO, conspiracy to commit an act of violence in aid of racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of crime of violence. All of theses charges against Mr. Davey arose out of an incident that took place at the Cockades Bar and Grill in Petersburg, Virginia in which a few members of the Outlaws were in a physical confrontation with members of the Desparados. The problem for the government with respect to Mr. Davey was that he never possessed a firearm, never hit anyone, never aided in the assault of anyone, and it appeared that the Desparados started the fight. The government attempted to convict Mr. Davey based on his membership in the Outlaws. They alleged that he conspired to commit several acts of violence but the evidence showed that he, in fact, had not conspired to commit any acts of violence and had not committed any acts of violence. Even the testimony of the DEA agent and other cooperating witnesses painted a picture of Davey as a quiet person who was not involved in the altercation. Armed with this information, the government still attempted to prosecute Davey on the theory that even without action, he was part of a conspiracy. And, the only evidence that he was part of any conspiracy was his membership in the Outlaws. The obvious problem with this theory by the government is that membership in the American Outlaw Association is not a crime. The government felt they could get a conviction based on guilt by association. The government felt that if they could make the Outlaws look like a bunch of bad guys, anyone in the club would get convicted of the charges. Fortunately for Mr. Davey, the jury saw through the government’s strategy and acquitted him of the charges.
This case demonstrates the government cannot simply go after organizations as a whole and think they can convict each and every member. If the government is going to charge individual members of an organization then they need to prove the individuals committed crimes. Hopefully, gone are the days when the government can just show up and charge conspiracy to violate RICO and expect to get a conviction based simply on membership in an organization. Even if it is an organization that may not be popular politically, criminal prosecution are based on individual criminal conduct and no citizen should ever be guilty by association.
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