United States v. Fiel

35 F.3d 997
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 30, 1994
DocketNos. 93-5032, 93-5033, 93-5034 and 93-5035
StatusPublished
Cited by124 cases

This text of 35 F.3d 997 (United States v. Fiel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Fiel, 35 F.3d 997 (4th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

Affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part by published opinion. Chief Judge ERVIN wrote the opinion, in which Judge MURNAGHAN and Senior Judge ALEXANDER HARVEY, II joined.

OPINION

ERVIN, Chief Judge:

This case arises out of a series of events involving the Fates Assembly Motorcycle Club, headquartered in Baltimore. The Fates became involved in attempts to avenge the death of one of their members, Richard Capote, at the hands of Kirby Gallaghan, a member of the rival Pagan’s Motorcycle Club. The Fates’ various attempts, however, caused only the death of one of their own, George Hughes.

Twelve Fates members were indicted in connection with the attempted murder, and [1001]*1001eight pled guilty. Beginning August 3, 1992, the four remaining defendants, Ronald Fiel, John Lea, Michael O’Bier and Todd Saulnier, stood trial on a Second Superseding Indictment alleging violations as follows:

Count 1 — all defendants: 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1), Conspiracy to commit violent crimes to maintain or increase position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity;
Count 2 — Fiel, Saulnier: 18 U.S.C. § 1959, Conspiracy to murder a government witness to maintain or increase position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity;
Count 3 — Lea: 18 U.S.C. § 1959, Aiding and abetting or attempting to murder with a firearm to maintain or increase position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity on July 26, 1991; and
Count 5 — O’Bier, Saulnier: 18 U.S.C. § 1959, Aiding and abetting or attempting to murder with an M-l rifle and pipe bombs to maintain or increase position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity in August, 1991.

The jury acquitted all defendants on Counts 2 and 3, and Saulnier on Count 5. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Count 1 and on Count 5 with respect to O’Bier. Accordingly, on August 6,1992, the court sua sponte declared a mistrial with respect to those counts without objection. That trial thus resulted in no convictions.

On August 19, 1992, the Grand Jury returned a Third Superseding Indictment, real-leging Count 1 against all the defendants (new Count 1) and Count 5 with respect to O’Bier (new Count 2). The indictment also brought two new counts against defendants Fiel and Lea, alleging that they violated 26 U.S.C. § 5861 by manufacturing a destructive device (new Count 3) and that they violated 18 U.S.C. § 1959 by attempting to commit murder with a destructive device on October 4, 1991 to maintain or increase their position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity (new Count 4). Defendants moved for dismissal of the Third Superseding Indictment on the ground of prosecutorial vindictiveness. Their motion was denied.

This final indictment came to trial on September 30, 1992. Defendants were found guilty on all counts on October 9, 1992. Defendants were sentenced on December 11, 1992 as follows: Fiel — 96 months on each of Counts 1, 3 and 4 to run concurrently; Lea— 84 months on each of Counts 1, 3 and 4 to run concurrently; Saulnier — 63 months on Count 1; and O’Bier — 60 months on each of Counts 1 and 2 to run concurrently. Defendants appeal their convictions, making numerous assignments of error. For the reasons set out below, we affirm the convictions of Fiel, Lea and O’Bier, and reverse Saulnier’s conviction and remand his case for a new trial.

I.

The Fates were a motorcycle club headquartered in Baltimore with local chapters in Woodbridge, Virginia (Northern Chapter); Fredericksburg, Virginia (Southern Chapter); and South Carolina. Fiel was national president of the club, although he retired in June, 1991. Saulnier was a member with no official position. Lea was Southern Chapter President and O’Bier was Southern Chapter Vice-President. Total membership in the club was approximately 60 members. The Pagans were a rival club with chapters all over the East Coast and a total membership between 600 and 900. The Fates and the Pagans had a tense relationship, made worse after a fight in the spring of 1991 between Capote and a Pagan member. Shortly thereafter, Fiel arranged for the club to obtain explosives in case the club needed them for use against the Pagans.

On July 26, 1991, the Northern Virginia chapter of the Fates congregated at the Woodbridge Inn in Woodbridge, Virginia to attend a field party where Pagan members were to have been located. Pagan Kirby Gallaghan pulled his truck into the parking lot of the inn and was noticed by the Fates. Capote approached Lea, Chapter President, and expressed his desire to “get” Gallaghan. Lea allegedly responded, “Go get him,” permitting Capote to act. Capote and Melvin Payne got into a van driven by Payne and followed Gallaghan, who left the parking lot. [1002]*1002As the van pulled adjacent to the vehicle driven by Gallaghan, Capote fired a weapon at Gallaghan. The shot blew out the driver’s side window, but did not injure Gallaghan. Gallaghan returned fire, fatally striking Capote in the head.

Following Capote’s funeral service on July 27, 1991, the Fates had a meeting at Fiel’s house with all defendants in attendance. Mark Fiel (defendant Ronald Fiel’s brother) told club members that the war against the Pagans would be stepped up and that if anyone got a chance to kill a Pagan and get away with it, they should go ahead and do it. Members were told that if anyone wanted to get out of the club, now was the time. Another meeting with défendants present took place in the first week of August, at which it was decided to do surveillance work to prepare ambushes on the Pagans. Some time after this meeting, the members determined that a committee headed by Robert Paris would be in charge of the war.

In mid-August, two Fates threw a hand grenade at Gallaghan’s house, but it failed to explode. At a meeting with all defendants in attendance in late August following that failed murder attempt, Mark Fiel informed those present that every club member would participate in the war against the Pagans. The club discussed surveillance work and how to prepare ambush attempts.

In late August, several Fates attempted to ambush Gallaghan and other Pagans with pipe bombs and rifles. Saulnier conducted surveillance of Pagan residences to determine patterns of Pagan movement. O’Bier drove the vehicle that was supposed to serve as the get-away car. The ambush attempt was unsuccessful on that occasion, but O’Bier agreed to serve as driver on another attempt. Several other unsuccessful ambush attempts were made in August by Fates members, but no defendant was directly involved.

In early September, the Fates decided to build a remote-control bomb for use against the Pagans. On or about September 12, 1991, George Hughes and Lee Clifton constructed a bomb that was placed upon a vehicle driven by Pagan members.

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Bluebook (online)
35 F.3d 997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-fiel-ca4-1994.