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Authorities Don't Expect Biker Gang Violence To Spill Into Oklahoma

Wace Police Department Facebook Page

The same outlaw motorcycle club that was at the center of a deadly shootout in Waco, Texas has a strong foothold in Oklahoma.

The Bandidos motorcycle club has members scattered through Oklahoma, with a presence in Oklahoma City, Lawton, Shawnee, Tulsa, Elk City, Poteau and Bartlesville. Other biker gangs in some of those communities include the Mongols, the Outlaws and the Rogues, as well as several small groups.

Mark Woodward with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said these gangs do not like each other but there’s no indication that violence will erupt soon in Oklahoma.

“It may be different in other states but for Oklahoma, it’s not uncommon for multiple biker gangs to have crossover territory in communities,” Woodward said.

So-called “one percenter” gangs like the Bandidos are active in gun and drug running, as well as human trafficking. Woodward said they often run drugs for the Juarez, Sinaloa and La Familia cartels, each of which has a presence in Oklahoma.

Woodward said it causes friction when there are multiple gangs within the same territory but they learn to control it because they don’t want to call attention to themselves.

“They’re going to do everything they can do to keep a lid on it because if it boiled over then you’re going to have law enforcement and that is going to just hamper their ability to move their products and ultimately make money through their criminal organization,” Woodward said.

Woodward does not have the exact number of motorcycle gang members in Oklahoma, but estimates there are “several hundred” in the larger groups like the Bandidos and Mongols.

He reminds people to distinguish between motorcycle clubs that consist of bike enthusiasts and hobbyists, and those that engage in illegal activity.

“There’s motorcycle clubs that do incredible work for everything from raising awareness for cancer to child abuse, and then there those whose entire operation is built around a criminal organization,” Woodward said.

Oklahoma has been the home to biker brawls in the past - fifteen people were arrested after a fight broke out between the Bandidos and the Mongols in Shawnee in 2009.

 

Jacob McCleland spent nine years as a reporter and host at public radio station KRCU in Cape Girardeau, Mo. His stories have appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, Here & Now, Harvest Public Media and PRI’s The World. Jacob has reported on floods, disappearing languages, crop duster pilots, anvil shooters, Manuel Noriega, mule jumps and more.
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