NORRISTOWN — Prosecutors want to call an expert in the subculture of outlaw motorcycle gangs to educate jurors about such groups when nine members of the Pagans biker club head to trial later this year on charges they conspired during a confrontation and shooting with the rival Unknown Bikers Motorcycle Gang outside a Wawa in West Norriton.
“The mindset, actions and structure of this subculture is not widely known in the general public. Having a gang expert explain the mentality and connection between both the Pagans and the Unknown Bikers will help the jury understand one of the main elements of each offense charged: intent to cause serious bodily injury,” Montgomery County prosecutors Bradley Walter Deckel and Libby Ann Hemler wrote in court papers.
Deckel and Hemler argued “the only connection between the members of the Pagans involved in this incident and the Unknown Bikers was through this subculture.” Evidence of the outlaw motorcycle gangs’ relationships is relevant and would assist a jury in understanding the sequence of events leading to the alleged confrontation and “every piece of the puzzle related to this act of violence,” prosecutors contend…