VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – More than two dozen members of a motorcycle gang have been arrested as part of a major statewide investigation that kicked off with a shooting at a Volusia County gas station during Bike Week.
News 6’s Molly Reed rode with Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and Chief Brian Henderson as they arrested one man at his Edgewater home. Then, a SWAT team searched the Mongols’ clubhouse in Edgewater.
The FBI and the sheriff’s office have arrested 28 people so far as part of “Operation Mongolian Beef,” but they say they have warrants for 31 people.
[BELOW: Watch investigators search the Mongols’ clubhouse in Edgewater]
According to the sheriff’s office, all of them face a charge of “aggravated rioting,“ which is a situation where someone participates in a riot of at least 25 people. It’s a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“The concern is that the violence among these groups is starting to increase, and we’re not going to tolerate that,” Henderson said.
Back in March, there was a shooting between rival gangs at the RaceTrac gas station off State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach.
[WARNING: The video below of the shooting scene contains graphic language throughout]
Henderson said that’s when the investigation kicked off, and the sheriff’s office found dozens of members had been involved in the shooting and other major crimes throughout the state.
“They made an arrest on the shooting, but I think we counted like 70 people that were involved with that massive fight,” Henderson said. “Nine of them were shot with firearms. No one cooperated, so we sat down with the state attorney’s office, we looked at what are the charges we could use, because obviously we’re not going to tolerate that, and we came up with the aggravated rioting statute.”
Aside from the Edgewater clubhouse, deputies said they searched the following locations:
- Four homes in Volusia County
- Three homes in Brevard County
- Two homes in Miami-Dade County
- One home in Chesterfield County, Virginia
- One home in Palm Beach County
- Two homes in Polk County
Teams in other areas of Florida and even other states are reportedly working to arrest other members right now.
“I have no doubt that this morning will just be a trigger to other crimes and things that may have happened in the past,” Henderson said.
[VIDEO: Previous coverage of shooting investigation]
The 31 people facing charges in this case were identified as follows:
- Tyler Maxamillian Araya
- Max Martin Bastuardo
- Gary Robert Bedsaul (Arrest Pending)
- John Paul Bertrand
- Christopher Allen Boyd
- Peri John Butler
- Pablo Jorge Cardoza Baptista
- Jarrad Bryce Cawley
- Francis G. Gomez
- Daniel Hernandez
- Sean Jeffery Hoholik
- Trevor Frank Kopp (Arrest Pending)
- Kevin Koul
- Matthew David Limperatos
- Daniel William Macumber
- Robert Brandon Maness
- Shawn Anthony Marshall
- Steve Patino-Rangel
- Justin Ballard Perry
- Chadwick Lee Price
- Michael Angel Rodriguez
- Mario Silvestri (Arrest Pending)
- Spencer Ryan Skipworth
- Timothy Adam Stephens
- Joseph Harry James Summerhill
- Anthony Christopher Trimboli
- Jacob Rolando Velez
- Clinton Neal Walker
- Douglas Ray White
- Kash Williams
- Gaige Alexander Wilson