Feds raid Outlaws in Indianapolis
Posted by Ben Baker on Sep 15th 2016
| A federal raid on the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Indiana saw no arrests and vacant property in the targeted compound. |
| The raid was not a surprise. The Outlaws were under court order to be out of the property Sept. 9. The raid took place Sept. 11. Nearby neighbors reported seeing club members taking stuff out the compound days before the raid. |
| US Marshal Kerry Forestal told media at the scene, “The Outlaws were ordered to move out by Wednesday of this week. They took the doors off and some of the things when they left. It might've been the final goodbye from them to the government." |
| A club member’s house was also raided. |
| The clubhouse property, connected buildings in the city, was linked to a series of arrests and civil forfeitures that’s been going on since 2009. Forty-two club members were charged with various offenses prior to the raid. |
| U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett said, “This indictment describes a dangerous criminal operation that was as well-layered and sophisticated as most businesses in this city. Today's announcement serves as a warning that we as a city will not accept this kind of behavior on our streets -- not now, not ever." |
| All but one of those 42 members were in jail in Indianapolis when the clubhouse was raided. Trials are pending for them. The remaining member, Terrell Lamont Adams, was listed at large and a search was underway. |
| Several member of the Outlaws were also charged with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO in 2012. Charges levied at the time were violent loansharking, fraud and illegal gambling. |
| A 49-count indictment was filed in 2013 accusing members of crimes across the state. |
| “The action of placing them in jail was important. They've done years of extortion and other types of crimes. Now, if they're going to do it, they're going to start back out when they get out of prison from some other location other than their home place,” Forestal said. |
| Forestal said he does not expect the club members to return to that location. "I've been in law enforcement over here 30 years, and whatever happened to the Outlaws, they still came back home. Now they don't have a home to come back to. If they raise their head again, law enforcement will step back up and do their job." |
| The property was locked by the federal agents after being swept for explosives and illegal items. |
| It wasn’t the first time the clubhouse had been raided. A 1996 raid saw the Outlaws take action against the city, receiving $112,000 in what one Marion County judge called a “fiasco.” That raise saw two chained dogs shot and killed and three club members injured. No drugs, the point of the 1996 search, were found. |
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http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/09/11/biker-raid-seen-long-time-coming/72073790/ |
| More than 50 U.S. Marshals hit the compound with dogs and some team members in SWAT gear. Authorities did not release a detailed list of what they seized. A report in the Indy Star newspaper said the Sept. 11 sweep and some before had authorities take, “5 guns, including some assault rifles; $14,000; various drugs, including a kilogram of cocaine; and cars and motorcycles throughout the investigation.” |
| Community opinion of the Outlaws varied with some saying they keep the neighborhood safe and others calling the One Percenters “bullies.” |