Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club's former Evansville leader sentenced to federal prison
EVANSVILLE — A federal judge handed down a lengthy prison sentence this week to the former leader of Evansville's notorious Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club.
On Wednesday, U.S. Southern District of Indiana Judge Richard Young sentenced Gary Forston to serve 16-and-a-half years in federal prison for his role in an alleged drug trafficking scheme.
The former Evansville club leader pleaded guilty to four out of the 12 counts originally listed in his indictment back in July.
According to the agreement, Forston admitted he conspired to distribute more than 550 grams of methamphetamine and used a firearm to further a drug trafficking operation.
Original Story:Man indicted on weapons charges after raid at Evansville's Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club
Forston was arrested in November 2019 after local and federal law enforcement officers swarmed the Grim Reapers' club house in the former SheLounge strip club off Diamond Avenue.
At the time of the raid, Forston, a convicted felon, allegedly had in his possession a 0.40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, leading a grand jury to indict him on weapons charges.
Ten pounds of meth, 23 guns and $35,000 in cash were seized during the raid, according to then U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler. The drugs reportedly had an estimated street value of more than $250,000.
In February 2020, a federal grand jury indicted 17 people from Indiana and Kentucky, including Forston, for allegedly operating the methamphetamine trafficking ring affiliated with the motorcycle club.
Of the 17 people indicted, 13 were from Evansville. When those indictments were announced, Minkler called the Grim Reapers Motorcycle club a "criminal organization."
More:17 indicted in alleged drug ring affiliated with Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club
Central Holman IV, of Owensboro Kentucky, is alleged in federal court documents to have been the club's main supplier of methamphetamine. Besides Holman and Forston, the other 15 people indicted were believed by law enforcement to be "mid-level distributors," records show.
Some of their cases are still ongoing.
In September, Holman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve 18 years in federal prison. He has since appealed his conviction, according to court records.
Club was no stranger to police
The Grim Reapers' club house made headlines earlier in 2019, when a man opened fire on patrons in April of that year, leading members to fight him off with pool cues.
Cale Winternheimer, 47, allegedly drove a truck into the club’s building and came out with a gun, according to police.
In September 2020, Winternheimer was found guilty but mentally ill, and sentenced to serve nine years in state prison.
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.
History Lesson:The Grim Reapers Motorcycle Clubhouses
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.
Even back then, the club clashed with locals and police. In 1981, the Warrick County sheriff’s office organized a raid of the club's riverside clubhouse.
That search reportedly uncovered a small amount of marijuana, a lot of beer, and several weapons. But charges against 15 of the members were ultimately dropped.
The club eventually moved to Evansville and came to own the former Exotic She Lounge off Diamond Avenue, converting it into the clubhouse that would be raided in 2019.
When prosecutors unveiled the superseding indictment in February 2020, local and federal law enforcement officials claimed to have "dismantled" the Grim Reapers' drug trafficking organization.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions. Twitter: @houston_whh.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club leader sentenced to federal prison
