An altercation between members of two motorcycle clubs Sunday left a man injured after state police said the suspect forced a motorcycle off Route 30 in Hempfield and fled the scene.
Richard Lee Graham Jr., 27, of Hempfield is being held on $250,000 bail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and related offenses.
Two men who told troopers they are associated with the Sutars Soldiers Motorcycle Club reported riding about 5 p.m. Sunday on Brown Avenue in Hempfield while wearing vests bearing the club’s patches. At the intersection with Thomas Road, five men leaned out of a white Dodge Ram and yelled obscenities at them, according to court papers.
While the two motorcyclists were at a red light on Lewis Road, the pickup’s occupants got out with baseball bats and wooden sticks, threatening them, police said. One of the motorcyclists recognized Graham, who is reportedly a member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club.
The incident continued on Route 30 west as the pickup swerved in front of the motorcycles several times, until it collided with one of the bikes, forcing it to crash near Edna Road, according to court papers. One motorcyclist had several face and leg injuries, police said.
Graham was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A June 22 preliminary hearing is set.
Sutars Soldiers was founded in 2018 by Dennis “Rooster” Katona, the former leader of the Pagan’s, according to the club’s website. Katona, 57, is on state parole. He is serving a 40- to 80-month prison sentence after police raided his Hempfield home in 2011 and found cocaine, methamphetamine and $4,000.
There are chapters of Sutars Soldiers elsewhere in the country, including Minnesota, Florida and New York.
