A U.S. magistrate judge granted bail on Thursday to a former Marine and junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) instructor accused of assaulting and attempting to rob a man, whom prosecutors say was a rival of the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
Marcell Lett, 56, is set for release Friday morning on an unsecured $75,000 bond. He will be placed on home confinement with GPS monitoring but will be allowed to go to work, meet with his lawyer, and attend church if he chooses. If Lett violates the conditions of his release, he will be required to pay the full bond amount.
During a Thursday hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Black argued that Lett would pose a risk to public safety if allowed to remain free on bond until the charges against him are resolved. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Bennett, while acknowledging the seriousness of the charges, found that Black had not substantiated his claim.
Bennett also considered arguments presented by Lett’s court-appointed defense attorney, Richard Kuniansky, who contended that if Lett were truly a danger to the community, he would likely have been arrested and charged years ago when the alleged assault occurred.
Bennett’s decision followed the reading by Kunianksy of several letters of support for Lett, including one from a former student who described him as “one of the most kind, compassionate, and supportive people I have ever met.” The student also mentioned they still keep in touch with Lett.
According to his LinkedIn page, Lett has worked as a junior ROTC instructor at Ridge Point High School in Fort Bend for the past decade. The Fort Bend Independent School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Lett is still employed by the district. A webpage listing Lett’s employment appears to have been deleted from the district’s website.
Lett, a decorated former Marine who has deployed overseas at least ten times, is among 14 men arrested and charged last week by federal authorities in connection with a six-year racketeering investigation into the Houston chapters of the Bandidos motorcycle group. Authorities allege that this group was responsible for the murders of at least two rival gang members and the attempted murder of three others.
Lett faces charges of assault in aid of racketeering activity and using, carrying, brandishing, discharging, and possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence — crimes that could result in a lengthy prison sentence. The charges stem from an altercation between a group of Bandidos and three men they considered rivals at the Hawg Stop Bar and Grill on September 26, 2020.
According to Joshua Lyons, an investigator with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Office of Inspector General and an FBI task force officer, the bar in northeast Harris County — now apparently closed — was hosting a bikini contest and motorcycle-washing contest that evening. Three men, identified as members of the Brothers East (B*EAST) motorcycle club, were among the spectators. Originally formed as an affiliate of the Bandidos, Brothers East broke away around 2019, leading the Bandidos to declare war on the group, according to Lyons.
Several Bandidos were present at the event and called for reinforcements when they spotted the Brothers East members, Lyons testified. Lett was among those who answered the call for backup. Lyons further testified that motorcycle groups often claim bars as their turf.
John Pfeffer, then the sergeant-at-arms for the Mascareros, another Bandidos support group, also responded to the call for backup. In the Bandidos, a sergeant-at-arms is a high-ranking member responsible for enforcing rules and discipline within the club. Pfeffer, who would later become the chapter president of the “Welcome to Hell” Bandidos chapter, spoke with Adam Burns, one of the Brothers East members, before allegedly punching him in the face.
Other Bandidos rushed in, causing Burns to fall to the ground in the bar’s unpaved parking lot. Burns was then kicked and beaten in an altercation captured on surveillance video and by a photographer present for the contest. Lyons testified that Lett was among those who kicked Burns.
Approximately 30 to 45 seconds after the altercation began, shots were fired. Burns was struck six times, five of them in his back. Lyons testified that Lett’s co-defendant, Roy Gomez, was the person responsible for fatally shooting Burns.
Gomez, known as “Repo,” was charged with Burns’s murder by Harris County prosecutors shortly after the shooting. He is scheduled to stand trial in late March, though he is not facing murder charges in the federal racketeering case. Lett was reportedly injured by a ricochet during the shooting, although it is unclear whether the bullet came from Gomez or Burns, who allegedly fired four shots from the ground.
A ‘hangaround’ Bandido
Lett faces charges of aiding and abetting others in the assault and murder of Burns, based on the allegation that he participated in the violent crime by using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm. However, during questioning by Kuniansky, Lyons admitted that authorities have no evidence to suggest that Lett brought a firearm to the bar, knew his co-defendant was armed, or was informed that Gomez intended to use a firearm.
Kuniansky argued after the hearing that merely being present during a shooting does not automatically make someone guilty of aiding and abetting. “The law says that you didn’t have to personally do it, but you had to at least know that someone was going to use a firearm,” he said. “He didn’t aid or abet anybody in that shooting.”
Kuniansky also emphasized that while Lett’s actions were wrong, the federal assault charge seemed disproportionate. “Should he have done that? No,” Kuniansky said of Lett’s involvement in kicking Burns. “But that’s a class A misdemeanor in state court. They’re charging him with felonies that could put him in jail for decades.”
Lett’s connection to the Bandidos is complex. While he has never been a full-fledged Bandido, according to Lyons, he was affiliated with the Mascareros, a Bandidos support group, and served as the president of its central chapter. Lett attempted to resign as president because Bandidos’ bylaws prohibit Black members, according to Lyons, who added that the Bandidos have had only one Black member in nearly 60 years of existence. Lett remains a “hangaround” Bandido, or a prospective member undergoing a trial phase, Lyons said.
According to Lyons, Bandidos often start their involvement with the group by joining support groups like the Mascareros. However, Kuniansky argues that groups like the Mascareros are misunderstood and that they often engage in charitable work. He cited a letter of support for Lett from Melissa Saldivar Hamilton, an administrative specialist for the city of Houston, who stated that the Mascareros participate in the Toys for Tots program each year.
“The government throws out that term ‘criminal gang.’ I mean, there are good apples and bad apples I guess in any sort of motorcycle club,” Kuniansky said, adding that he has not represented a Bandido before.
Five of 14 charged free on bond
Five of the 14 individuals charged in the extensive federal racketeering case have been released on bond, including Lett, who has the highest bond, at $75,000. He also requires GPS monitoring.
Michael Dunphy, released on a $50,000 unsecured bond on Monday, was a member of the Bandidos for about ten years and served as the national sergeant-at-arms before leaving the group in 2023, according to Lyons. U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho granted Dunphy’s release, ruling that prosecutors failed to present “clear and convincing” evidence that he had ordered Bandidos to assault 14 members of the Greybeard Motorcycle Club in February 2023 at Bimboz Bar and Grill near Tomball.
Prosecutors, for their part, contended that Dunphy had issued a “smash on sight” order sometime in 2020, directing Bandidos to assault or kill any Brothers East member they encountered. They maintained that this order applied to the 2023 incident as well.
Brandon Hantz, a two-time Survivor contestant, was also granted release on bond. Hantz, who was associated with the Bandidos for about two years, faces charges related to the 2023 assault on the Greybeards and an arson incident in Montgomery County.
Jeremy Cox and Scott Christinson have also been released on $50,000 unsecured bonds. Cox, also known as “JD,” faces the same charges as Lett, and Christison, allegedly called “Skinman” by the Bandidos, is charged with selling cocaine and possessing a firearm while doing so. The remaining defendants’ detention hearings are scheduled for next week after defense attorneys requested continuances to review the evidence.
The final two defendants in the case, Darvi Hinojosa and John Sblendorio, both charged with attempted murder, were denied bail in November by Ho, who determined that the nature of the alleged crimes warranted continued detention.
Altogether, the superseding indictment details six separate incidents over nearly three years in which people associated with groups that authorities say the Bandidos consider their rivals were threatened, robbed, assaulted, or killed.
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