Five members of rival motorcycle gangs were indicted for their alleged participation in an armed, violent melee in Lindenhurst in September 2025.
On September 14, 2025, at approximately 3:28 p.m., alleged members of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club and Demons of Hell Motorcycle Club, the latter of which is a support group of the Hells Angels, were allegedly involved in a violent altercation involving knives, hammers, and other weapons outside of a gas station in Lindenhurst off Sunrise Highway.
The altercation allegedly began when members of the Demons of Hell and one member of the Hells Angels interrupted a memorial service for a member of the Pagan’s being held at a Lindenhurst bar. Shortly thereafter, at least 15 individuals met nearby at the Route 66 gas station, where the confrontation escalated and a melee ensued.
It is alleged that during the melee, Roger Clarke and Christopher Clarke, members of the Demons of Hell, stabbed and beat a Pagan’s rival with a hammer, causing the victim to suffer a stab wound, which resulted in emergency surgery to treat his injuries. Roger Clarke is further alleged to have stabbed an additional member of the Pagan’s while that victim was attempting to flee the scene. The victim sustained a stab wound with lacerations to his liver and colon and required emergency surgery to treat his injuries.
Joseph Bivona, Michael Baffa, and Robert Miller are all alleged members of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club. They are alleged to have acted together to beat a seventy-six-year-old alleged Hells Angel member with weapons, including baseball bats. The victim suffered a brain bleed, resulting in multiple emergency surgeries and continued medical treatment.
“This was a brazen and dangerous outbreak of violence that put our community at risk,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “What began as a confrontation between rival motorcycle gangs quickly escalated into a chaotic melee in the middle of Sunrise Highway involving weapons and resulted in numerous serious injuries. Violence of this nature will not be tolerated.”
On January 20, 2026, Roger Clarke, 53, of New Hampshire, was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins for the following charges:
- one count of Gang Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- two counts of Assault in the First Degree, both Class B violent felonies
- two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, both Class D violent felonies
Collins ordered Clarke held on $75,000 cash, $750,000 bond, or $750,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Clarke is due back in court on February 3, 2026 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
On January 20, 2026, Christopher Clarke, 21, of New Hampshire, was arraigned on the indictment before Collins for the following charges:
- one count of Gang Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- one count of Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony
Collins ordered Clarke held on $25,000 cash, $250,000 bond, or $250,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Clarke is due back in court on February 3, 2026 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
On January 20, 2026, Bivona, 46, of Centereach, was arraigned on the indictment before Justice Collins for the following charges:
- one count of Gang Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- one count of Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies
Collins ordered Bivona held on $75,000 cash, $750,000 bond, or $750,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Bivona is due back in court on January 29, 2026 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
On January 20, 2026, Baffa was arraigned on the indictment before Collins for the following charges:
- one count of Gang Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- one count of Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies
Justice Collins ordered Baffa held on $75,000 cash, $750,000 bond, or $750,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Baffa is due back in court on February 27, 2026 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
On January 21, 2026, Miller, 57, of Farmingville, was arraigned on the indictment before Justice Collins for the following charges:
- one count of Gang Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- one count of Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, both Class D violent felonies
Collins ordered Miller held on $75,000 cash, $750,000 bond, or $750,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Miller is due back in court on February 3, 2026 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.