Steven Wong and Solomon Rodriguez, Motorcycle Club Armed Robbery, Pennsylvania 2024
SCRANTON, PA - A pair of high-ranking members of the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club were convicted of conspiracy and firearms offenses in connection with a string of brutal home-invasion armed robberies in Schuylkill and Berks County in the summer and fall of 2020.
Steven Wong, 43, also known as 'Chino,' and Solomon Rodriguez, 34, also known as 'Solo,' were found guilty of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, firearms conspiracy, attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act Robbery, and two counts of use of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence following a two-week trial.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Wong, the president of the Schuylkill County chapter of the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club, used his position to recruit members of the motorcycle club to participate in the robberies. The victims were local street-level drug dealers who were targeted by Wong and his crew.
The crimes were committed over a period of several months in 2020, with Wong and his accomplices using machine guns and knives to intimidate and rob their victims. The defendants were also accused of using a fully automatic homemade AR-15 style assault rifle during one of the robberies.
The investigation into the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club was a collaborative effort involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Pennsylvania State Police, the Mahanoy City Police Department, the Schuylkill Haven Police Department, the Pottsville Police Department, the Shillington Police Department, the Reading Police Department, and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys James Buchanan, Jenny Roberts, and Sarah Lloyd prosecuted the case, which is part of the Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative.
The maximum penalty for the defendants is life imprisonment. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The case is a significant blow to the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club, which has been linked to a number of violent crimes in the region.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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