Prosecutors: Kingsmen members were 'vicious'

PROSECUTORS: Kingsmen trio tried to steer motorcycle club in bad direction.

Prosecutors described the trio of defendants as members of a larger network who took steps to turn a local motorcycle club into a “vicious gang” bent on “terrorizing” the Western New York area.

On Friday, they celebrated a victory in court against three members of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club who were found guilty by a federal court jury in Buffalo following a four-month trial.
“(Friday)’s verdict demonstrates that the rule of law, as enforced by the dedicated men and women of this office together with our partners in federal, state, and local law enforcement, is more powerful than even the murderous leaders of an outlaw biker gang,” said James P. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Western District whose office helped prosecute the case.

David Pirk, 67, a Lockport native who was the national president of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club, and Andre Jenkins, a 39-year-old club member also known as “Little Bear,” were convicted on a host of charges, including RICO conspiracy, possession of firearms in furtherance of crime of violence, murder in aid of racketeering, possession and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, using and maintaining premises for drug dealing and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jenkins was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In addition, 58-year-old Timothy Enix, known in the motorcycle gang’s circle as “Blaze,” who was the club’s Florida and Tennessee regional president, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, using and maintaining premises for drug dealing and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

At the center of the prosecution’s case was the Sept. 6, 2014 murders of Kingsmen motorcycle club members Paul Maue and Daniel “DJ” Szymanski who were shot behind the North Tonawanda KMC Chapter clubhouse.

Pirk was convicted of orchestrating the execution-style killing of Maue and Szymanski.
Jenkins was previously found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole for carrying out the murders.
“The ringleaders of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club have been exposed as the murderous, drug-dealing, gun-toting, misogynistic thugs that they are, and all of those responsible for the senseless murders of Paul Maue and Daniel ‘DJ’ Szymanski have been finally brought to justice,” Kennedy said following the announcement about the jury’s decision on Friday.

Pirk, Jenkins and Enix, along with 17 other regional officers and members of the motorcycle club were hit with a pair of grand jury indictments that charged them with numerous crimes.

In court documents and evidence presented at trial, prosecutors maintained that, beginning in 2013, certain motorcycle gang members, including Pirk, wanted to establish the Kingsmen as a “1 percent” club.

The 1 percent refers to a previous statement by a representative of the American Motorcycle Association that 99 percent of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens with the remaining 1 percent engaged in certain activities such as drug and firearm trafficking, and acts of violence. The defendants, and others, participated in, directly and indirectly, acts of murder, assault, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering, prosecutors argued during trial.

In addition to the murders in North Tonawanda, prosecutors outlined other acts of violence committed by Kingsmen members, including:

• On June 7, 2013, the Kingsmen forcibly shut down the Springville Chapter and strip members of their colors because they were non-compliant members. Brandishing firearms, KMC members struck a victim in the head with a blunt object and stole items from the Springville clubhouse. They then used bleach to clean areas where the victim bled and cut and removed portions of the rug, which contained blood and
• On Sept. 12, 2009, a female victim was punched repeatedly in the face by a KMC member and then held against her will for three days to conceal her facial injuries from police.
“The defendants and their associates transformed the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club into a vicious gang that terrorized the Buffalo area, engaging in senseless murders, brutal violence, robberies, and drug trafficking,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “But after today’s verdict, the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club’s reign of terror is coming to an end. The U.S. Department of Justice and our partners will aggressively pursue violent gangs wherever they are found and bring them to justice.”

Sentencing is set for Sept. 25 before U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford, who presided over the trial of the case.


USA - BN.