Jury Convicts Two Former Pagan’s Motorcycle Club Members for Assaults Against Rivals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two former members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club were found guilty by a federal jury on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, for their roles in violent assaults targeting rival motorcycle club members.

Charles E. Smith, Jr., also known as "Crash," 40, of Kansas City, was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, as well as discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

John Travis Fisher, also known as "T-Bone," 52, of Mannford, Okla., was convicted of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.

Evidence presented during the trial established that on Sept. 3, 2022, Fisher and other members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club and its support club traveled to Topeka, Kan., to carry out a planned retaliation attack against a rival motorcycle gang. Members discussed using an axe handle or a firearm to attack a rival gang member. When a rival was spotted in a hotel parking lot, the group prepared to assault him, but an internal dispute caused the group to abandon the plan and return to the Kansas City area.

The jury also heard evidence that on Sept. 17, 2022, Smith and other members of the Pagan's and their support club chased and forced a lone rival gang member off the road in Blue Springs, Mo. Multiple members were armed with firearms and at least one axe handle. After confronting the victim on the roadside, the group assaulted him, and the victim was shot seven times, sustaining gunshot wounds to his knee, thigh, forearm, biceps, buttocks, and the back of his leg.

Under federal statutes, Smith faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison without parole. Fisher faces up to three years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided for informational purposes only. The court will determine sentencing based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors following the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Chlarson. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Independence, Missouri Police Department, and the Blue Springs, Missouri Police Department.

Homeland Security Task Force

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Kansas City comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.