Members of Outlaws MC arrested

Outlaws MC members arrested in fatal shooting during Bikefest 

LEESBURG, FLA  (May 17, 2017) - A multi-agency operation this morning resulted in the apprehension of two Outlaws Motorcycle Club members for their suspected involvement in a shooting that left one man dead last month three miles west of where Leesburg Bikefest was being held, police said.

Marc Edward Knotts, 48, was arrested during a calm “face-to-face” meeting with a Leesburg detective at the fences of the Outlaws motorcycle clubhouse in Ocala, Leesburg Lt. Joe Iozzi said.

RELATED | Man in Leesburg MC shooting dies from injuries

“It is a fortified location with walls around it and surveillance cameras and all they did was pull up and all Knotts did was walk up,” Iozzi said.

Knotts was shot three times in April during a confrontation with Kingsmen Motorcycle Club members at a Circle K gas station three miles west of the annual biker bash, Iozzi said. He was wearing a leather vest embedded with bullet-proof panels at the time, Iozzi said.

At the clubhouse, Knotts asked the detective for “10 minutes to put boots on and make a phone call,” which the detective allowed, Iozzi said. Knotts then “came back out and surrendered himself,” he said.

Mark Edward Knotts

He and three others were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping in the April 29 shooting of David Donovan, 41, at a Circle K gas station at 3300 W. Main St. Donovan died over the weekend from his injuries at a Sanford hospital, where he had been transferred from Leesburg Regional Medical Center for what Iozzi believes were security reasons.

Jesus Alberto Marrero, 35, was also arrested during today’s operation at an undisclosed location assisted by Lee, Volusia and Brevard county sheriff’s offices, the FBI and the Ocala Police Department.
Gregory Alan Umphress, 32, and Miquel Angel Torres, 37, who face the same charges, are still at large. Police are still trying to determine who shot Donovan, Iozzi said.

“These are nationwide Outlaws motorcycle gang members,” he said.

Outlaws MC  vest showing the Florida rocker

Pictures of Donovan’s Facebook show him wearing Kingsmen Motorcycle Club gear. Last year, 16 Kingsmen members were indicted for what the U.S. Attorney’s Office said was a “major racketeering operation.”

SOURCE:  Orlando Sentinel 

Man in Leesburg MC shooting dies from injuries

LEESBURG, FLA  (May 15, 2017) - A man involved in a shooting between two motorcycle clubs at a gas station during Leesburg Bikefest last month died over the weekend, police said Monday.

David Donovan, 41, whose Facebook pictures show him wearing Kingsmen Motorcycle Club gear, died from three gunshot wounds he incurred during a shooting about 8 p.m. April 29 at a Circle K gas station at 3300 W. Main St., Leesburg police Lt. Joe Iozzi said. He said he learned of Donovan’s death Sunday morning at a Sanford hospital.

Police said the shooting started from an argument between members of the two motorcycle clubs. The Circle K is about three miles from downtown Leesburg, where the annual biker extravaganza was being held.

RELATED | Shooting after fight between rival Motorcycle Clubs

Marc Knotts, 48, who was identified in a Marion County arrest report as a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club also was shot in the back, arm and leg during the shooting and recovered from his wounds, Iozzi said.

Knotts was wearing a leather vest embedded with ballistic-proof panels, Iozzi said.

Two handguns, several ammunition magazines and weapons, such as clubs, were found at the scene, he said.

The Outlaws have 1,700 members and about 180 chapters worldwide, including in Orlando and Osceola County, according to the FBI.

In New York, 16 Kingsmen members were indicted by the U.S. attorney for its “major racketeering operation” in 2016.

SOURCE:  Orlando Sentinel 

Hells Angels MC members arrested during traffic stop

Shooting after fight between rival Motorcycle Clubs

Outlaws MC and the Kingsman MC involved in shooting 

LEESBURG, FLA. (April 30, 2017) -- A dispute between members of the Outlaws and Kingsmen Motorcycle clubs led to a shootout Saturday that left two men injured in Leesburg, according to records.

The shooting happened as members from both clubs started arguing about 8 p.m. at a Circle K gas station at 3300 W. Main Street. Guns were drawn and two men were shot, both three times each, police said.

About three miles east of the shooting, Leesburg was hosting its largest event — Leesburg Bikefest — in its downtown area. The event was expected to bring more than 200,000 bikers to the Lake County city.

The injured men have been identified as David Donovan, 41, and Marc Knotts, 48. Police say one of the men was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting.

Various clubs roll through Leesburg annually for the event, and officials said they typically don’t have issues with them.

Scene outside the Circle K in Leesburg, Florida

Leesburg Police Lt. Joe Iozzi said there was a sizable police presence around the city Sunday.

“I would like to reiterate that this was an isolated incident which occurred far outside the downtown venue area,” Iozzi said Sunday. “ … There will remain an enhanced law enforcement presence in and around the greater Leesburg area throughout the event.”

No arrests have been made, but Iozzi said they are looking for one primary suspect who fled after the shooting. The man is not from this area.

Leesburg police say both Donovan and Knotts are in stable condition at area hospitals.

Donovan’s Facebook page is filled with photos of him wearing Kingsmen gear. He doesn’t have a criminal history in Florida besides a drug arrest in 1998 in Naples where the charges were dropped.

Federal authorities last year arrested 16 members of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club, including one member in Tavares, in an effort to dismantle the group after an execution-styled killing in New York.

Those arrested were active in club chapters in Leesburg, DeLand and Daytona Beach.

Knotts was a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, according to an arrest report in Marion County.

He faced charges in 2013 after he was accused of threatening a driver who cut both him and another Outlaws member off, according to a report in the Ocala Star-Banner.

Both motorcyclists were armed with guns and charged with aggravated assault, deputies said. Authorities noted both were members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, the newspaper reported. It’s unclear what the results of the charges were.

The Outlaws were also connected to a bar fight in April in Daytona Beach that led to one of its members being fatally stabbed, several weeks after Daytona Bike Week, authorities said. The fight was between the Outlaws and Pagans, according to a report by The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Motorcycle clubs have been linked to violence across Central Florida over the years.

Last year, two motorcycle club members were shot and killed (link is external) outside an Orange County strip club several months apart.

In 2012, three people died after a shootout with members of the Warlocks motorcycle gang in a Winter Springs VFW parking lot.

SOURCE: WFTA9