The Bandidos Lima Charges: Turf War, Shootings, and 14 Defendants

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas returned a 22-count indictment in February 2025 charging 14 current and former members of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and its Mascareros support club with racketeering, murder, attempted murder, assault, arson, drug distribution, and firearms offenses. The Bandidos RICO indictment in Houston centers on a years-long turf war with a rival Houston-area club called B*EAST, or Brothers East, that left at least two people dead and several others wounded between 2020 and 2024. Trial is scheduled for May 2026 before U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison.¹²

U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said when the indictment was unsealed on February 19, 2025, that it was the first RICO prosecution in the Southern District of Texas in more than 12 years.³

What Prosecutors Say Started the War

According to the indictment, national Bandidos leadership issued a “smash on site” order around 2019 directing members to assault or kill anyone affiliated with Brothers East. Prosecutors allege the Bandidos then formed a chapter based in Katy called “Welcome to Hell” specifically to carry out that order and consolidate control over Houston-area motorcycle club territory.⁴⁵

Federal authorities describe the Bandidos as a transnational organization with an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 members in the United States and 1,000 to 1,500 more overseas, including chapters in Mexico. The Mascareros operate as a support club and pipeline for prospective Bandidos members.¹

The Violence Charged in the Indictment

Hawg Stop Bar Shooting, September 2020

Adam Burns, a Brothers East member, was fatally shot outside the Hawg Stop Bar & Grill in northeast Harris County on September 26, 2020. A state complaint said Burns was shot six times, five of them in the back. Authorities believe Roy Gomez fired the fatal shots, though he is not charged with murder in the federal case. John Pfeffer, the alleged Welcome to Hell chapter president, is accused of starting the fight by punching Burns and was himself shot in the arm. Bradley Rickenbacker, Marky Baker, Ronnie McCabe, Marcel Lett, and Jeremy Cox are charged with assault in connection with the brawl.⁶ Harris County prosecutors had originally charged Gomez with murder in state court, but that charge was dismissed in early March 2025 after the federal case was brought. Pfeffer now faces a federal charge of using a firearm to commit a crime resulting in death, along with racketeering conspiracy.²

Interstate 10 Shooting, November 2021

On November 2, 2021, 26-year-old Michael Zimbrich, a Brothers East member, was killed while riding his motorcycle on an Interstate 10 service road near Jacinto City. Two other B*EAST members, Demarius Moore and Kevin Cicero, were wounded. Witnesses described a black SUV pulling alongside the riders and opening fire.⁷ Bandidos member David Vargas, known as “Brake Check” and “First Time,” was arrested weeks later and charged with murder in state court. The state case was dismissed in May 2025 after Cicero could not be located as a witness. Vargas now faces federal charges of murder in aid of racketeering and attempted murder in aid of racketeering.⁸

Pasadena Shooting, June 2023

A Brothers East member was shot seven times in Pasadena on June 3, 2023, after leaving Winter’s Bar. Prosecutors allege John Sblendorio drove a Ford F-150 alongside the victim while Stephen Alms fired the shots, with Darvi Hinojosa coordinating the attack. The victim survived. Hinojosa and Sblendorio are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder in aid of racketeering. A search of Alms’s home in Texas City in October 2023 turned up a handwritten notebook with entries including “joined a gang,” “shot someone,” and “robbed a lot of people,” which led to separate racketeering and firearms charges.⁸

County Line Ice House Arson, December 2023

Brandon Hantz, known as “Loco” and “Gun Drop,” is charged with arson for allegedly setting fire to the County Line Ice House in Montgomery County in December 2023. Prosecutors say the bar was targeted because it hosted “fight night” events for Brothers East. Hantz appeared on two seasons of the reality show Survivor, in 2011 and 2013, and is the nephew of contestant Russell Hantz. A family member told reporters he left the Bandidos in 2024.⁶⁹

The 14 Defendants

The indictment was returned on February 11, 2025, and unsealed eight days later. Six defendants face racketeering conspiracy charges. David Vargas faces the most severe potential punishment: a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty on the murder count, though the Justice Department announced in August 2025 that it would not seek death for any defendant in the case.¹²

John M. Pfeffer (“Big John”), alleged chapter president: racketeering conspiracy, assault in aid of racketeering, firearms offenses tied to the death of Adam Burns.
Darvi Hinojosa (“10 Round”), sergeant at arms: racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder, assault, conspiracy to commit murder, cocaine distribution conspiracy, firearms offenses.
Bradley Rickenbacker (“Dolla Bill”): racketeering conspiracy, assault, firearms offenses.
Michael H. Dunphy (“Money Mike”), former national sergeant at arms: racketeering conspiracy, assault.
Christopher Sanchez (“Monster”), former chapter vice president: racketeering conspiracy, assault, felon in possession, firearms offenses.
Brandon K. Hantz (“Loco”/”Gun Drop”): racketeering conspiracy, arson.
David Vargas (“Brake Check”/”First Time”): murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder, firearms offenses.
Marky Baker (“Pinche Guero”/”Guero”), former Baytown chapter president: assault, firearms offenses.
Ronnie McCabe (“Meathead”), former Cloverleaf sergeant at arms: assault, firearms offenses.
Jeremy Cox (“JD”): assault, firearms offenses.
Roy Gomez (“Repo”), former Central Houston sergeant at arms: assault, firearms offenses.
Marcel Lett, Mascareros member: assault, firearms offenses.
John Sblendorio (“Tech9”): attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault, firearms offenses.
Sean G. Christison (“Skinman”): possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Who Is in Custody and Who Is Out

Ten of the 14 defendants had been arrested by the time the indictment was unsealed. Detention hearings before federal magistrates produced a split.⁶

Eight defendants were denied bail and ordered held pending trial: Pfeffer, Hinojosa, Rickenbacker, Vargas, Gomez, Sanchez, Baker, and McCabe. Vargas, an Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan and received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was ordered detained despite his attorney’s argument that he was honorably discharged after an IED explosion and later lost part of his right leg in a hit-and-run. Sanchez was held based on his status as a felon in possession, Baker on criminal history and methamphetamine use, and McCabe after the court cited an ongoing threat to the community and his attempt to evade arrest.

Six defendants were released on bail or bond. Dunphy was released on $50,000 bail after the court found insufficient evidence that he had directly ordered violence. Hantz was released on an unsecured $50,000 bond, citing community support and no prior record. Christison was released on an unsecured $50,000 bond with GPS monitoring and home confinement. Lett, a retired Marine with a 23-year career and 10 overseas deployments who worked as an ROTC instructor at Ridge Point High School, was released on an unsecured $75,000 bond with GPS monitoring; Lett had served as Mascareros president but reportedly tried to resign because the Bandidos’ bylaws excluded Black members. Cox was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond. Sblendorio was initially denied bail in November 2024, though court records later indicated he retained private counsel in December.¹⁰

How the Case Was Built

The prosecution grew out of roughly six years of joint investigation by the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies working under the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program. The case is also being pursued under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at violent crime. The discovery file reportedly runs to more than 162,000 pages, along with video, audio, and phone evidence.⁴²

How This Case Compares to Earlier Federal Bandidos Prosecutions

The last comparable federal action against the Bandidos was Operation Texas Rocker, a 23-month investigation that led to the January 2016 arrests of national president Jeffrey Fay Pike and national vice president John Xavier Portillo. Both were charged with RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and other offenses. After a nearly three-month trial in 2018, a jury convicted both on all 13 counts. Prosecutors proved that Pike and Portillo ordered the 2006 killing of Anthony Benesh, who had tried to start a Hells Angels chapter in Austin, and that Portillo was responsible for the 2002 murder of Robert Lara. Portillo received two consecutive life sentences plus 20 years; Pike received life plus 10 years.¹¹¹²

Where the Case Stands

All 14 defendants are presumed innocent. Trial is set for May 2026 before Judge Keith Ellison, prosecutors have confirmed they will not seek the death penalty, and the scope of the charges makes this the most significant Bandidos prosecution since the Pike and Portillo convictions in 2018.²

1
U.S. Department of Justice. 14 Members of Bandidos Motorcycle Gang Indicted for Offenses Including Racketeering and Assault
2
Houston Chronicle. No Death Penalty for Bandidos Leader in Gang War Case
3
Houston Public Media. Houston-Area Bandidos Gang Members Charged With Murder, Racketeering in Years-Long Turf War
4
U.S. Department of Justice. Fourteen Members and Associates of Violent Transnational Motorcycle Gang Indicted on RICO and Murder Charges
5
Houston Chronicle. Bandidos War Federal Indictment
6
Houston Landing. Behind the Bandidos: Detention Hearings Unveil Military Ties, Criminal Records, and Varied Lives
7
City of Houston Police Department. Update on Fatal Shooting at 12008 East Freeway
8
Houston Landing. Bandidos Motorcycle Gang Members Charged With Racketeering, Murder Over Turf War in Houston
9
Los Angeles Times. Brandon Hantz, Survivor Contestant, Named in Bandidos Indictment
10
Houston Landing. U.S. Magistrate Grants Bail to High School ROTC Instructor Accused in Bandidos Racketeering Case
11
U.S. Department of Justice. Former Bandidos National Vice President Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison
12
FindLaw. United States v. Pike, No. 18-50793