Federal judge sentences 15th Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club member
EVANSVILLE — A federal judge sentenced a member of the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club to serve eight years in prison Tuesday for his alleged role in a large-scale methamphetamine-trafficking ring the club operated in Evansville and Owensboro, Kentucky.
Jesse Wilson, 37, of Evansville, is the 15th member of the club to be sentenced in federal court after a lengthy investigation by federal law enforcement agencies and local police culminated in a 2019 raid on the Grim Reapers' Diamond Avenue clubhouse.
According to federal court records, Wilson pleaded guilty to one charge: conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. In addition to the eight-year sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young ordered Wilson to remain under supervision for three years upon his release from federal prison.
A grand jury indicted Wilson in 2020 alongside 14 other members of the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club, including the club's former leader, Gary Forston. In October, Young sentenced Forston to serve 16-and-a-half years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to methamphetamine dealing and firearms charges.
More:Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club's former Evansville leader sentenced to federal prison
Zach Meyers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club members distributed more than 80 pounds of methamphetamine between 2018 and 2019, generating tens-of-thousands of dollars in proceeds.
During the Nov. 2019 raid on the Grim Reapers' Evansville clubhouse, investigators seized ten pounds of methamphetamine, 23 guns and $35,000 in cash, according to then-U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler. The drugs reportedly had an estimated street value of more than $250,000.
Central Holman IV, of Owensboro Kentucky, is alleged in federal court documents to have been the club's main supplier of methamphetamine. In September, Holman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve 18 years in federal prison.
Holman appealed his conviction, according to court records.
More:17 indicted in alleged drug ring affiliated with Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club
Meyers' office described Wilson as a "mid-level distributor" of methamphetamine who would sell the drug on behalf club leaders.
"Methamphetamine use devastates so many families and kills hundreds of Hoosiers every year," Meyers stated in a news release announcing Wilson's sentencing. "That’s why we will work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to dismantle armed organizations trafficking in deadly drugs. The sentences imposed in this case demonstrate our commitment to protecting the public from these dangerous criminals.”
The Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club was founded in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1965, as an "outlaw" group, since it was not affiliated with the American Motorcyclist Association.
In the 1970s, a chapter opened in Warrick County and invited "white men" who owned a Harley Davidson motorcycle to join, according to the club's president, quoted in an April 11, 1981, Evansville Press profile.
History:The Grim Reapers Motorcycle Clubhouses
By 1981, the Warrick County Sheriff's Office had raided the Grim Reapers' Newburgh clubhouse, where they reportedly found a small amount of marijuana and a lot of alcohol. Fifteen members were charged, but the cases were ultimately dismissed.
The Grim Reapers would go on to purchase the former Exotic She Lounge off Diamond Avenue, which the group converted into a clubhouse. The location garnered headlines in April 2019, prior to the federal indictments, when a man opened fire on patrons, leading members to fight him off with pool cues.
The 15 Grim Reapers members charged in federal court as part of the drug trafficking operation have been sentenced to serve a combined 155 years in prison, according to Meyers.
Houston Harwood can be contacted with questions and story ideas at houston.harwood@courierpress.com
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Federal judge sentences 15th Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club member
