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Man charged in Warren cycle club killings to take polygraph
By Jordan Cohen
WARREN
One of three men charged in connection with a shoot-out between rival motorcycle clubs in Warren last June that left two dead and three wounded plans to take a polygraph test that he hopes will help prove his innocence.
James Gardner, 48, of Warren, appearing before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Logan on Tuesday, responded affirmatively when the judge asked him about going forward Monday with the polygraph, commonly referred to as a lie detector.
“He never shot anyone that day, and he wants the world to know it,” said Atty. David Rouzzo, a public defender representing Gardiner, after the hearing. Rouzzo said the results of the test “will be used as evidence [in the trial] regardless of the outcome.”
Gardner and two fellow members of the Forever Two Wheelz Motorcycle Club – David Bailes, 45, and Charles Dellapenna III, 47, both of Warren – are charged with two counts each of aggravated murder and felonious assault in the shooting deaths of 41-year-old Jason Moore of Bristolville and 54-year-old Robert Marto of Cortland and the wounding of two others, Andrew Claypool, 50, of Girard and Walter Hughes, 41, of Warren. All of the victims belonged to a rival motorcycle club, The Brothers Regime.
Bailes, who is president of Forever Two Wheelz, also was shot and severely wounded in the abdomen. Thus far, police have not filed charges or identified his assailant.
Bailes appeared in the courtroom Tuesday in a wheelchair with an exterior wrapping around his stomach. His attorney, Mark Lavelle, said Bailes required a feeding tube to be able to eat until recently and still is suffering from his wound, which required extensive treatment in the hospital.
“He’s in very poor shape and will possibly need more surgery,” the attorney said, adding that his client is able to eat without the tube “at least for now.”
Additional charges of obstruction of justice and falsification have been filed against Gardner, while police have also charged Dellapenna with carrying a concealed weapon. All three remain jailed in lieu of bond.
The shootings occurred June 18 at Shorty’s Place, a bar on Highland Avenue Southwest in Warren Township. At the time, Forever Two Wheelz was hosting a charity motorcycle run when members of the rival club showed up, according to investigators.