2nd Kinfolk biker arrested in deadly Bandidos case

A second man allegedly affiliated with the Kinfolk biker gang has been arrested in connection with a brawl resulting in the death of a Bandidos leader, police said.

Bandidos Motorcycle Club chapter president Juan Martinez Jr. died Aug. 3 after he and three other bikers were shot during a July 30 bar fight (link is external) at Mulligan's Chopped Hog.

Manuel Gallegos, 58, was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshal's Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, according to an El Paso police news release Friday night. Gallegos, of far East El Paso, was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity-assault for his alleged role in the bar fight, police said. His bond was set at $70,000.

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Also Friday, the suspected shooter, Javier Gonzalez, 34, was re-booked on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity-murder. His bond was set at $1 million bond. Gonzalez, of the Kinfolk Motorcycle Club, was already at the El Paso County Jail. Gonzalez was arrested Aug. 2 on four counts of engaging in organized criminal activity-aggravated assault with a deadly weapon before Martinez died at a hospital.

Manuel Gallegos (Photo: Courtesy El Paso Police Department)

In March, Gallegos was one of two Kinfolk MC members arrested by El Paso police gang investigators for allegedly assaulting a bar patron on Feb. 4 at Maria's Cantina, 1360 Lee Treviño Drive, court documents show.

A criminal complaint stated that a 45-year-old man was at the bar with family when one of the bikers pushed him, began cursing and hit him with a glass bottle, cutting his face. The confrontation continued outside where Gallegos allegedly threw a beer bottle at the man, the complaint stated.

In that case, Gallegos was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity-aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was released from jail on a $20,000 bond. The case is pending in court. A funeral vigil for Martinez took place Friday evening at St. Francis Xavier Mother Cabrini Catholic Church on Vista Del Sol Drive.

A funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mark Catholic Church, 11700 Pebble Hills Blvd.



El Paso police investigate a July 30 shooting at Mulligan's Chopped Hog bar, 1810 George Dieter Drive. (Photo: Daniel Borunda/El Paso Times)

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