Erik Rosenberger, of East Greenville (Credit: Montgomery County DA)
Judge cites surveillance video, denies bail reduction after lengthy hearing
After a four-hour preliminary hearing Thursday that drew a dozen supporters to the courthouse, an East Greenville woodworker will join seven other alleged Pagans Motorcycle Club members for trial in Montgomery County Court over last fall’s violent confrontation with a rival club at a West Norriton Wawa.
District Court Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar ordered Erik P. Rosenberger, 46, of the 400 block of Blaker Drive, to stand trial on charges including aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy, riot and recklessly endangering another person.
The charges stem from the Oct. 17, 2025, shooting in the parking lot of the Wawa at 2544 W. Main St., where six people were wounded, including two bystanders.
Rebar said prosecutors presented enough evidence at the preliminary stage, particularly surveillance video of the confrontation, to send the case to county court, while noting there were still “a lot of unknowns” about how the evidence will ultimately unfold at trial, according to The Mercury.
She also denied a defense request to reduce Rosenberger’s previously set $500,000 cash bail, leaving him jailed pending further proceedings.
Prosecutors: confrontation sparked by fight over “colors”
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Walter Deckel and co-prosecutor Libby Hemler, according to the report, argued that nine Pagans members converged on two members of the rival Unknown Bikers Motorcycle Club who were fueling their motorcycles and physically attacked them in an effort to strip them of their club “colors.”
Prosecutors suggested the Pagans, described as a dominant club in Pennsylvania, took offense to the rival group operating in what they viewed as their territory.
Gunfire erupted during the clash. Testimony indicated a male bystander was shot in the face just below his eye while putting air in a tire, and a female bystander was shot in the torso near the store entrance, according to reports. Three Pagans members and one member of the Unknown Bikers were also struck by gunfire.
Detectives testified that video footage showed Rosenberger, a parent to four children, and two others approaching and making physical contact with one of the rival bikers in the opening moments of the fight, according to The Mercury. While no evidence was presented that Rosenberger fired a weapon, Deckel argued he is legally responsible for the actions of others under conspiracy and accomplice liability theories.
Defense: rival bikers fired the shots
Defense attorney William Lewis Goldman Jr. argued the case against his client was built on speculation and hearsay, according to The Mercury. He pointed to testimony that 13 of the 14 spent shell casings recovered at the scene were linked to firearms associated with the two Unknown Bikers, who have not been charged.
According to testimony, the gunshot wounds suffered by the injured victims came from those weapons.
Goldman contended prosecutors presented no direct evidence that Rosenberger shot at anyone and argued the rival bikers “decided to empty their guns in a public area.” Prosecutors have maintained those men acted in self-defense.
Rosenberger is the eighth of nine charged Pagans members to be held for court. Seven others were ordered to stand trial in December following a separate preliminary hearing. A ninth defendant, George T. Cwienk III of Bridgeport, is still awaiting his hearing.
Headed to trial are Manuel “Machete” Baez-Santos, 34, of the 600 block of Kohn Street, Norristown; Erik Dixon, 33, of the 500 block of Kingwood Road, Upper Merion; Joel “Chihuahua” Hernandez-Martinez, 36, of the 300 block of West Sixth Street, Bridgeport; George Hripto Jr., 50, of the 200 block of East Fourth Street, Bridgeport; Jason William Lawless, 45, of the 500 block of Grove Street, Bridgeport; Luke Clayton Higgins, 29, of the 300 block of Bellemans Church Road, Dauberville; and Justin “Junkyard” Ray Noll, 34, of the 600 block of Memorial Highway, Fleetwood.
The defendants each are charged with 12 felony counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts of riot, 14 counts of simple assault, and 46 counts of recklessly endangering another person. According to The Mercury, eight defendants are currently being held at Montgomery County jail, unable to post $500,000 cash bail.
Read more on their hearing here
No, this isn't "Task" on HBO. This occurred Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 around 9 p.m. in West Norriton.
At 9:12 p.m., West Norriton Township Police were dispatched to the Wawa, 2544 W. Main St., for a reported shooting. The 911 caller said the store manager had locked down the building and had customers hiding in the back area.
A joint investigation by West Norriton Township Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau determined the shooting was gang-related and resulted in six people being shot, including two innocent bystanders.
Detectives used surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, and other evidence to piece together the events. Video showed two Unknown Bikers members arriving at 9:08 p.m. to refuel when nine Pagans arrived together at 9:10 p.m.
“Some of the Pagans surrounded the opposing gang members, while other Pagans positioned themselves to block any escape,” an October press release from District Attorney Kevin Steele stated. “Almost immediately, a physical altercation ensued … Video shows Pagan gang members tactically moving through the area and taking a shooting platform stance.”
One minute later, gunfire erupted, and the Pagans fled the scene toward Norristown. Detectives recovered 14 fired cartridge casings at the scene.
Norristown Police later located four motorcycles and five Pagan gang members traveling eastbound on Main Street. Officers found that Rosenberger, Higgins, Cwienk, Hernandez-Martinez, and Noll had all been shot and were transported to area hospitals.
The investigation involved the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit, the District Attorney’s Gun Violence Reduction Task Force, and police from West Norriton, Upper Merion, Norristown, Bridgeport, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force.
According to a criminal complaint, detectives documented two earlier events involving the same Pagan members:
Sept. 21, 2025 – Norristown: A confrontation between Pagan riders and another driver that police described as “pack-style aggressive riding.”
Sept. 27, 2025 – Pennsbury Township: A separate encounter where multiple Pagan riders surrounded a vehicle, with investigators later connecting several of the same motorcycles and defendants to the Oct. 17 Wawa shooting.
Founded in 1959, the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, which is active along the East Coast including Pennsylvania, has been described by the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation as "among the largest and most crime-prone outlaw motorcycle gangs in the country."
According to the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation’s 2020 report, the Pagans have “dramatically expanded” in New Jersey in recent years. A 2021 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey states that “We have now charged 11 members of this outlaw gang with various weapons, drug-trafficking and violent crimes.”
A 2023 AP News article reported that a national Pagans leader was sentenced to 75 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, with law enforcement describing the club as a criminal enterprise.
Pagans Incidents in Pennsylvania
1973: Pagan's Motorcycle Club member Anthony "Rocky" LaRocca, nephew of former Pittsburgh mafia boss John LaRocca, and another member of the club were charged with assaulting an ATF agent, conspiracy, firearms and possession of a silencer.
1974: Two Pagans, Michael Watson and George Coons, are injured, along with a bystander, in a shootout with the Breed Outlaw Motorcycle Club at the Philadelphia Custom Car, Speed and Cycle Show at the Civic Center.
1982: Pagans attack members of the multiracial one-percenter Wheels of Soul Outlaw Motorcycle Club in Philadelphia.
1985: National Pagans Vice President Daniel “Danny the Deacon” Zwibel is indicted on RICO charges, along with James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke and Eugene “Nick the Blade” Gesuale.
1985: Pagans and Erie-based Iron Coffins gang indicted on charges of LSD, PCP and amphetamine sales
1990: “Rocky” LaRocca and Francis “Rick” Ferri are sentenced to life in prison for murdering John Heatherington.
2005: Pagans allegedly open fire and kill the Hells Angels Philadelphia chapter vice president in a drive-by on the Schuylkill Expressway, leading to closure of the chapter.
2020: A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicts 30 members of the Pagans for narcotics and firearm possession, seizing 12 guns, a large quantity of drugs and $28,000 in cash and jewelry. The FBI tapped 10 phones in the investigation.
2021: A Pagans Pittsburgh chapter vice president pleads guilty in federal court to illegal firearm possession.
2022: Pittsburgh Pagans associate Jason Evans sentenced to 57 months for a large-scale drug trafficking operation in western Pennsylvania and Ohio.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
