Prosecutors say the conviction of several members of the Sundowners Motorcycle Club on federal charges of operating a drug ring "weeds" a major crime element from a west Salt Lake neighborhood.
Late Friday a federal jury found club president Richard N. Knudsen guilty of 42 charges. Most significantly, he was convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise -- which carries a minimum prison term of 20 years and a fine of up to $2 million. He was also convicted of a variety of other charges, including conspiring to manufacture a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance.The 12-member jury also returned guilty verdicts against three other Sundowners. Charles Mirelez, 43, Salt Lake, was convicted of 16 charges. Shauna Jensen, 32, Taylorsville, was convicted of 10 counts and Jeffrey Johnson, 41, Kearns, was found guilty on three counts. The jury acquitted Michael Dennis Steward of the two counts he faced.
The verdicts follow a three-week trial that resulted from a year-long investigation into the club's operations. The investigation, conducted jointly by local and federal authorities, was funded from a federal Weed and Seed grant. The Weed portion of the grant is aimed at eliminating gangs, drugs and violent crime from the Glendale, Poplar Grove and Fair Park neighborhoods.
"The goal of Weed and Seed law enforcement efforts in Salt Lake City has been to eliminate gangs and drug dealers from these communities," U.S. Attorney Paul Warner said. "We have had success; we have more to do. To reach our goals we need effective partnerships like the ones involved in the Sundowners case."
In all more than 50 people were charged with state and federal crimes following the investigation. About 35 cases already have resulted in convictions or guilty pleas. Cases against more than 15 other suspects are ongoing.
But clearly, Knudsen was the one prosecutors viewed as the leader of the operation and the one they wanted behind bars.
For jurors to reach their verdict they had the unenviable task of sorting through more than 100 exhibits and three weeks of testimony. Closing arguments alone lasted all day Thursday.
Those arguments painted contrasting pictures of Knudsen, his four co-defendants and the Sundowners Motorcycle Club. Prosecutors portrayed the Sundowners' clubhouse, 17 S. 800 West, as command central for an extensive drug ring, while defense attorneys said it was simply a hangout for a club of motorcycle enthusiasts.
Defense attorneys claimed prosecutors used references to leather jackets and motorcycles to taint the Sundowners' image during the trial.
"I'm surprised they didn't just roll a Harley Davidson motorcycle down the aisle here and keep it there for the duration of the trial," said Michael Sikora, attorney for Mirelez. "Look at the evidence, don't look at the lifestyle."
Lead federal prosecutor Richard McKelvie claimed Knudsen controlled drug deals made by Sundowners and used the income from those deals to support himself. Knudsen hadn't paid social security tax since 1978, McKelvie told jurors.
McKelvie argued Knudsen's drug deals were significant enough to merit the three-month long wiretap of the Sundowners' clubhouse from July 28 to Oct. 30, 1998.
"In every phone call there's no doubt who pulls the strings here," McKelvie said of Knudsen's alleged hand in the drug deals.
Knudsen's defense attorney, Charles Lloyd, didn't dispute his client used, bought and sold small amounts of methamphetamine, but claimed Knudsen isn't the drug kingpin federal prosecutors claim he is.
"This was an effort by the government to paint a sinister, scary, criminal picture of the Sundowners," Lloyd said in his closing arguments.
McKelvie argued it didn't have to be a huge operation to have a significant impact on the community.
"It doesn't have to be a Fortune 500 of drug organizations," McKelvie said.
Prosecutors claim Mirelez handled a number of drug deals, including a handful of methamphetamine sales to an undercover FBI agent. Although not a club member, prosecutors claim Jensen helped Knudsen sell drugs. They also claimed Johnson and Steward did the same.
Steward's defense attorney, Julie George, compared her client to a dolphin that had been accidentally scooped up in a tuna net.
"The fact that he swam with the fish, that he swam in the same water, that he hung out with these people -- that's not enough," George said.
Jurors apparently agreed with her argument and acquitted Steward.