Crime

Detroit Biker Gets 35 Years; Accused of Mass Murder Plot Targeting Rival Club

September 08, 2015, 2:03 PM by  Allan Lengel

Antonio Johnson, aka Big Bro,  who authorities say was the National President of the Phantom Outlaw Motorcycle Club in Detroit and was involved in a plot to kill a large number of rival gang members, was sentenced Tuesday in Detroit to 35 years in prison.

Johnson, who also was known as "Mister Tony" and  "MT". was convicted in March  in federal court in Detroit on a number of charges including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman of Detroit sentenced him.

At the time of the conviction in March, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, stated:

“The Phantom Motorcycle Club used violence and plotted murder in an effort to prevail in a gang war against rival motorcycle clubs in Michigan and throughout the country, and its leaders and members attempted to kill anyone who stood in their way.”

Authorities say Johnson was also a “Three-Star General” of the Vice Lords street gang in Michigan, a gang that originated out of Chicago. 

Authorities said that Johnson and 12 other defendants, to date, have been convicted in the case, in part, the result of the Detroit One Initiative,which has been described as a collaborative effort between law enforcement and the community to reduce homicide and other violent crime in Detroit.

“Here, through the Detroit One initiative, the collective efforts of federal agents, state and local police, and private citizens helped thwart a mass murder plot and ensure the convictions and lengthy prison sentences of Johnson and his fellow gang members," Caldwell said in a statement.

The evidence in trial showed that Johnson, 39. used the Vice Lords to help the Phantoms in crime, including violent attacks of rivals of the Phantoms, authorities said. 

Specifically, authorities said Johnson on Sept. 8, 2013, ordered numerous Phantoms to forcibly steal the “rags,” or motorcycle vests of members of the rival Satan Sidekick Motorcycle Club. During that attempt, a Satan Sidekick member was shot in the face and a Phantom member was stabbed, according to a Justice Department press release.

According to the evidence at trial, a few weeks later, Johnson and his fellow gang members plotted the murder of three members of the rival Hell Lovers Motorcycle Club. It appeared to be in retaliation for the fatal shooting of Phantom gang member.

Evidence at trial, a press release said, showed the plot involved killing the three men and then,  at the wake, killing the gang members who showed up at the Hell Lovers clubhouse. Federal agents from ATF and the FBI intervened before the plot could be executed, authorities said. 



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