The Charles County Sheriff’s Office announced that 21 members of the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club were recently indicted in an October 2020 shooting that left a prospective member dead.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office announced that 21 members of the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club were recently indicted in an October 2020 shooting that left a prospective member dead.
Nearly two-dozen members of a nationwide motorcycle club were indicted in relation to a quadruple shooting two years ago that left an Upper Marlboro man dead after a brawl with another motorcycle club at a local lounge.
The 21 men charged were identified as being members of area chapters of the Virginia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Southern Maryland chapters of the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club, according to a release sent last week from the sheriff’s office.
According to the release, all 21 were located and charged between June 29 and July 13 with counts of felony first-degree assault, misdemeanor conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and misdemeanor firearm use in a violent crime.
Shawn Everett Fleming, 32, of Centerville, Va., is being held without bond in the Charles County Detention Center.
Another man, Darryl Scott McKeithan, 32, of Accokeek, is being held without bond outside of Charles County.
According to the release, 19 others were released from jail pending trial.
A total of 13 law enforcement agencies including U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Maryland State Police, Charles sheriff’s officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals Task Force and sheriff’s offices in St. Mary’s and Calvert counties assisted in the investigation.
“The collaboration between all agencies from across the region and within our own agency and the state’s attorney’s office was crucial in bringing this case before a grand jury,” Charles Sheriff Troy D. Berry (D) said in a statement.
When contacted by Southern Maryland News this week for additional comments, including whether any others would be charged in the incident, a spokesperson referred questions to the Charles County state’s attorney’s office. A spokesperson for the state’s attorney’s office declined to comment.
Officers were called to Smoking Room 301 cigar/hookah lounge off Crain Highway in Waldorf around 9 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2020, for reports of a shooting.
A preliminary investigation revealed that members of the motorcycle club Chosen Few were at a birthday party at the lounge when members of the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club arrived and allegedly started an altercation.
During the altercation gunfire was allegedly exchanged, which ended in two people from each club being shot.
Dontrell Lowell Watson, 34, of Upper Marlboro, a prospective member of Wheels of Soul, died of his injuries.
Neither the Charles sheriff’s office or the state’s attorney’s office would comment on whether any members of the Chosen Few club could face charges from the incident.
According to the release, Wheels of Soul and Chosen Few are both nationwide clubs, with Wheels of Soul forming in 1967 in Philadelphia while Chosen Few was founded in Los Angeles in 1960.
“Both clubs have members who identify as 1% or outlaw meaning, overall, they do not follow the laws of everyday society,” the release stated.
Over 40 firearms and three stolen handguns were allegedly found in various searches conducted by detectives from the Charles sheriff’s office with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, Prince George’s County Police and Maryland State Police.
Officers from the Fairfax County Police Department and Prince William County Police Department gang units in Virginia also collaborated with the searches.
“The investigation and associated arrests is a premier example of the outstanding work and ongoing partnerships with the Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s county sheriff’s offices and our municipal, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies working together and bringing to justice those responsible for violence in our communities,” Johnny L. Hughes, U.S Marshal for the District of Maryland, said.
Agencies from Baltimore city and county police departments and Stafford County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia also assisted in the investigation.
