Oregon - The president of the Oregon chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club was sentenced Monday to one year in jail and banned for five years from wearing club paraphernalia or associating with club members - including, apparently, his twin brother - for attempting to run two investigators off Interstate 5 in Eugene in April.
A Lane County jury last week convicted Justin James "Mooch" DeLoretto on five misdemeanor charges, but acquitted him on eight felonies.
Evidence in the trial showed DeLoretto, 27, followed the two officers for 90 miles while summoning two associates who joined him to box-in the unmarked sport utility vehicle driven by federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent James Packard and Eugene police Detective Dave Burroughs.
The April 23 incident began after DeLoretto encountered the pair as he was driving out of his rural driveway near Turner as they were driving in. The officers were investigating an assault at a bar allegedly involving Mongols club members, according to trial testimony.
In court Monday, Deputy Lane County District Attorney Stephen Morgan described the incident as a "gang crime" in which anyone could have been the victim had they mistakenly turned into DeLoretto's driveway.
Evidence in the trial indicated DeLoretto thought the men were members of a rival motorcycle gang that reportedly is unhappy about DeLoretto starting a Mongols club chapter in Oregon. Morgan said DeLoretto put numerous motorists at risk because of his attitudes about gang membership.
"Gang behavior is not tolerated by this community or by the District Attorney's office," Morgan said. "This office will always take an aggressive stance (against gang crime)."
The jury had convicted DeLoretto on two counts each of menacing and reckless endangering and one count of reckless driving, all misdemeanors.
Morgan said DeLoretto has been affiliated with various gangs - including anti-racist skinheads and outlaw motorcycle gangs - since age 18. DeLoretto has been convicted for assault in two previous gang-related attacks, Morgan noted in a sentencing memorandum that included police reports an inch thick on the incidents.
Morgan said DeLoretto's attack on the officers has generated notoriety for the Mongols among prison inmates and is the subject of a Web page. In a phone call recorded at the Lane County Jail, DeLoretto said the incident will be a "good recruitment tool," Morgan said.
Defense lawyer Kelly Beckley urged Lane County Circuit Judge Debra Vogt to consider the incident in light of the jury's verdict acquitting DeLoretto of eight felony charges.
He said DeLoretto had been "outrageously overcharged" and his case used by the government to fan fears of gang activity in the community. He said Packard and Burroughs could have ended the incident at any time by activating their vehicle's emergency lights and siren to show they were police.
After Monday's hearing, in which at least seven uniformed officers and sheriff's deputies provided security, Burroughs disputed Beckley's assessment.
"Mr. DeLoretto knew who we were," Burroughs said. "He wanted to send a message. He wanted everybody to know the Mongols are the baddest boys in the state and won't take heat from anybody."
However, Burroughs added that investigators have learned that the California-based Mongols club, which holds a tight rein on chapters, is "very unhappy" with DeLoretto.
"They think he made a real bad decision. There is no reason to go to war with the police," Burroughs said. He added that the judge's decision to ban DeLoretto from associating with any motorcycle club or gang "is a huge victory."
In court, Vogt told DeLoretto that his crimes are serious and dangerous, yet she added that DeLoretto seems to feel justified in what he did.
"This (sentence) is not about a message to the community. It is about a message to you," she told DeLoretto. "Your actions were motivated by your association with that club. By my count, these officers were, potentially, your seventh and eighth victims. It tells me you have a problem."
Vogt ordered DeLoretto to have no contact with any motorcycle club or gang, and not to wear any paraphernalia suggesting membership or support for any. She said the sentence is designed to help DeLoretto break with his criminal patterns. Vogt ordered him to undergo polygraph testing to assure his compliance.
DeLoretto declined to comment in court before sentencing. His relatives and supporters also declined to be interviewed afterward.
Chief Deputy Lane County District Attorney Alex Gardner described the sentence as "appropriate." While gang membership is not a crime in itself, it often is a piece of evidence when prosecutors look at possible conspiracy charges, or when they consider how to handle a case, he said.
"When a person identifies with an outlaw motorcycle gang, they're making a statement about what is important to them in their life. They assume the baggage that comes with that," Gardner said.
Organized crime should always be a focus of law enforcement, particularly when budgets are shrinking, he added.
"The last thing this community needs is a stronger organized crime presence," Gardner said. "We need to do what we can to eliminate it in this community."
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