Authorities have charged 21 suspects from a nationwide motorcycle club involved in an Oct. 19, 2020 shooting in Charles County, Maryland, that killed one and injured three others.
In a statement, the Charles County Sheriff’s office said the shooting happened at Room 301 Lounge in Waldorf when members of the Wheels of Souls Motorcycle Club discovered members of another club, the Chosen Few, were attending a birthday party at the location.
The department’s preliminary investigation revealed that two people from Chosen Few and two from Wheels of Soul were struck by bullets. Police said 34-year-old Dontrell Lowell Watson, a prospective member of the Wheels of Soul, was killed in the gunfire.
During the investigation, which engaged law enforcement partners across the D.C. area, officers issued search warrants and recovered 40 firearms and three stolen handguns.
All 21 suspects were charged between June 29 and July 13 and were members or affiliates of Wheels of Soul.
Charges included first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first degree assault and use of a firearm during a violent crime.
The club members charged were all from the D.C. area.
- Virginia chapter members:
- Kentrel Jerome Dorsey, 33, of Front Royal;
- Shawn Everett Fleming, 32, of Centerville;
- Craig Anthony Freeland, 32, of Woodbridge;
- Charles Wilbur Hines, III, 39, of Stafford;
- Michael Anthony Johnson, 49;
- Irvin Sydney Laurendine, 25, of Spotsylvania;
- Roger William Long, 37, of Woodbridge;
- Dionte Dewayne Rodgers, 32, of Manassas;
- Washington D.C. chapter members:
- Jason Morse Smith, 45, of Temple Hills (Chapter President)
- Nathaniel Francis Leigh, 35, of Port Tobacco (Chapter Vice President)
- Delonte Brandon Weir, 35, of Waldorf (Chapter Business Manager)
- David Anthony Pharr, 50, of Waldorf (Chapter Sgt. at Arms)
- Darryl Scott McKeithan, 32, of Accokeek
- Brantley Jerard Myers, 44, of Stafford
- Aurelio Salvador, 37, of Beltsville
- Albert Douglas Venson, Jr., 60, of Upper Marlboro
- Southern Maryland chapter members:
- Gregory Thomas Pomelear, 46, of Severn (Chapter Vice President)
- Norman Ray Nelson, 58, of Parkville (Chapter Secretary)
- Courney Dawaun Scott, 37, of Lusby
- Baltimore chapter member Aaron Donald Jerrell Wilson, 36, of Middle River (Chapter Sgt. at Arms)
- Unseen Kingz member Eric Gerard Davis, 32, of Fort Washington.
The department said 19 of the suspects have been released. McKeithan is currently held outside of Charles County and Flemming is being held without bond inside the county’s detention center.
The effort included Maryland State Troopers, U.S. Marshals, officers in Charles, Prince George’s, Calvert, Saint Mary’s, Baltimore, Prince William, Fairfax and Stafford counties, police in Baltimore city, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Johnny Hughes with the District of Maryland’s U.S. Marshals highlighted the partnerships with county, state and federal agencies as critical to the investigation. Charles County Sheriff Troy D. Berry agreed, noting the difficulty of this 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,” Berry said. “This was a complex investigation from the beginning; however, detectives and support staff worked methodically through all of the evidence.”
