CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against 17 alleged members and associates of the Homietos outlaw motorcycle gang, a criminal enterprise that allegedly controlled territory throughout the Houston area.
All 17 individuals are charged with racketeering conspiracy. Several also face allegations of racketeering murder, attempted murder, assault, and firearms offenses.
According to the charges, the Homietos organization engaged in crimes such as murder, robbery, narcotics distribution, and witness intimidation. The gang allegedly formed in 2015 in the Houston area as an extension of the Tango Blast prison gang before expanding beyond Houston and Texas.
The indictment alleges the group recruited members and associates, enforced rules, rewarded violence, and used intimidation, threats, and assaults to protect and enhance its power, territory, reputation, and profits. They also allegedly created a "Mexican Terror" patch to reward violence on behalf of the enterprise.
"The indictment alleges a pattern of violence, intimidation and murder to expand the reach of a criminal enterprise and settle scores on our streets and highways," Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck said.
"That kind of lawlessness has no place in the Southern District of Texas. Anyone who attempts to turn our roadways into battlegrounds should expect an aggressive federal response, and today we delivered on that commitment," Marck said.
The superseding indictment, returned under seal March 11, alleges overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, including directives to engage in violence against rivals. Allegations include a February 2020 shooting of a rival outlaw motorcycle gang member in Harris County, a September 2020 assault and robbery involving members of another motorcycle club at a Homietos anniversary party in Houston, and an April 2022 shooting at suspected rivals along Interstate 45 near Madisonville.
The indictment also details multiple shootings on April 14, 2023, that allegedly resulted in the deaths of three rival gang members. According to the charges, Homietos members traveling in a convoy on an interstate highway encountered members of the rival Bandidos motorcycle gang. Mark Anthony Magallan, 51, of Houston, allegedly shot and killed a Bandido member. The charges allege that shortly thereafter, Romeo Jose Ferrer, 36, of Kingsville, and Ralph Eugene Kellum, 42, of Vidor, shot and killed two other Bandidos and wounded a third.
Ferrer, Magallan, and Kellum are charged with racketeering murder. They, along with Joe Frank Barrera, 37, of Houston, and Bryce Clay Hazleton Cook, 28, of Angleton, are charged with engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity that included violent retaliation against members of rival gangs.
"It’s not every day you get to disrupt and dismantle a criminal motorcycle gang driven by violence and intimidation, but with this morning’s arrests of four more Homietos alleged members and associates and their superseding indictment, today is that day," Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson of the FBI Houston Field Office said.
"The charges are significant and are the long-awaited result of an extensive investigation fueled by the relentless pursuit for justice by our FBI Houston team and numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. The Homietos outlaw motorcycle gang is no more," Hudson said.
Other individuals charged in relation to the overall conspiracy with various offenses, including racketeering attempted murder, racketeering assault, and using a firearm during violent crimes, include Raymond William Burnett, 38, of Alvin; Morgan Shane Cooper, 51, of Houston; William Espinoza, 49, of Houston; Mario Humberto Gomez, 52, of Houston; Edgar Mauricio Hinojosa, 40, of Houston; Ricardo Quinones, 40, of Houston; Moises Soriano, 42, of Houston; Rudolph Christopher Lopez, 40, of Fort Worth; Jesse James Mulrein, 38, of Dallas; Joe Rios, 50, of Baytown; Mahir Alihodzic, 40, of Kansas City, Kansas; and Christopher Daniel Holt, 32, of Harrah, Oklahoma.
Kellum is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan at 10 a.m. March 19. Ferrer is expected to appear in Corpus Christi at 9:45 a.m. Magallan will have a detention hearing at 2 p.m. before Bryan on March 19. The remaining individuals have already made appearances in federal court in Houston or are expected to in the near future.
If convicted of the racketeering conspiracy, each defendant faces up to life imprisonment. The murder in aid of racketeering charges are punishable by a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of death. Those charged with assault in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to assault in aid of racketeering, and attempted murder in aid of racketeering could receive up to 20, three, and 10 years, respectively, upon conviction. The other related firearms and offenses carry penalties ranging from 10 years to life in federal prison. Each count also carries a potential fine of up to $250,000.
The FBI Houston Field Office led the investigation along with the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigative Division, Texas Rangers and Highway Patrol, and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice Office of Inspector General. Assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; sheriff’s offices in Montgomery, Harris, and Leon counties; police departments in Huntsville, Madisonville, Fort Worth, Houston, Shenandoah, and Oklahoma City; the U.S. Marshals Service; and district attorney’s offices in Walker, Madison, and Montgomery counties. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Keri L. Fuller and Byron H. Black are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Ben Tonkin of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.
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