Kinfolk MC biker gets 1 year in jail for assault before fatal shooting of Bandidos leader
A biker with the Kinfolk Motorcycle Club is free while on appeal after being sentenced to a year in state jail for hitting a Bandidos chapter president, who was then fatally shot during an El Paso bar brawl six years ago.
Manuel "Manny" Gallegos, now 63, on Jan. 18 was convicted by a jury and sentenced in 34th District Court. On Friday, he was released from custody on a $10,000 bond while his case is on appeal, court records show.
A jury found Gallegos guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity-assault for striking Bandidos chapter president Juan "Compa" Martinez Jr., 61, but acquitted him on four counts of EIOCA-aggravated assault in connection with the shooting that followed.
"It was a long trial, two weeks. I know the jury worked hard. We do respect and accept their verdict. We are appealing on some legal issues and we’ll see how those go," one of Gallegos' lawyers, Joseph D. Vasquez, said Monday.
The El Paso District Attorney's Office has not responded to a request for comment.
Under Texas law, an assault charge is a misdemeanor, though it can be a state jail felony with the enhancement of engaging in organized criminal activity for crimes committed while being a member of a gang.
Gallegos and Martinez were old friends of some 40 years who ended up in what law enforcement investigators described as rival outlaw biker gangs, according to court testimony.
On July 30, 2017, Gallegos went to the bar where the Bandidos were hanging out, refused to leave and then during a confrontation struck Martinez, kicking off a fight between Bandidos and Kinfolk members inside Mulligan's Chopped Hog bar, 1810 George Dieter Drive in far East El Paso.
The confrontation, assault, brawl and shooting were filmed from several angles by security cameras at the bar.
After Gallegos slapped Martinez, the Bandidos pounced on Gallegos, who was punched, kicked and hit with a bar stool and knocked out, according to security camera video and court testimony.
After the fight erupted, Javier "Jake" Gonzalez, vice president of the El Paso chapter of the Kinfolk MC, entered wearing a helmet, with a gun in his hand, then opened fire at the Bandidos, fatally shooting Martinez seven times, according to court testimony. Three other Bandidos-affiliated bikers were wounded in the shooting.
Prosecutors claimed that the fight was instigated by Gallegos as part of a Kinfolk plot to shoot the rival Bandidos and kill Martinez. During the trial, the judge issued a directed verdict dropping a murder charge because of insufficient proof while keeping the assault charges.
Defense lawyers countered that there was no attack plot and that Gallegos was unconscious at the time of the shooting and shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of Gonzalez.
In 2019, Gonzalez was sentenced to 56 years in prison after being convicted of murder and three counts of engaging in organized criminal activity-aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The shooting was part of what prosecutors described as a larger "war" between the longtime Bandidos and the Kinfolk MC, formed by ex-Bandidos in 2016.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Kinfolk biker gets year in jail in assault of El Paso Bandidos leader
