Donald Eugene Chambers
Encyclopedia
Donald Eugene Chambers was the founder the Bandidos
outlaw motorcycle club
, in 1966 in San Leon, Texas
. He was a Marine
Vietnam
veteran who created his club after his return. He was convicted of murderering two drug dealers in 1972 and served a life sentence until his parole
in 1983.
.
In 1972 Don Chambers, Jesse "Deal" Fain and Ray Vincente abducted two drug dealers in El Paso, Texas. The dealers, Marley Leon and Preston LeRay Tarver, had sold baking soda to the Bandidos, claiming it was methamphetamine
. The Bandidos drove the two dealers into the desert north of the city. There, the dealers, were forced to dig their own graves, after which the bikers shot them with shotguns and set fire to their bodies. Chambers, Deal and Vincente were all convicted of these murders; with testimony given by an eyewitness to the event. They all received life sentences.
With Chambers in prison, Ronald Jerome Hodge, another ex-Marine, was elected the club's new national president. Hodge was known previously as "Mr. Prospect," because he had earned his full colors in only a month, but once elected he went by the street name "Stepmother", in reference to Chambers street name "Mother".
In 1983 Chambers was parole
d and retired from his club. He settled in El Paso, Texas
, where he lived out his life in relative peace, until his death on July 18, 1999.
Bandidos
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate with a worldwide membership. The club was formed in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas. Its slogan is We are the people our parents warned us about. It is estimated to have...
outlaw motorcycle club
Outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a type of motorcycle club that is part of a subculture with roots in the post-World War II USA, centered on cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals celebrating freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the...
, in 1966 in San Leon, Texas
San Leon, Texas
San Leon is a census-designated place in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,365 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. He was a Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
veteran who created his club after his return. He was convicted of murderering two drug dealers in 1972 and served a life sentence until his parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
in 1983.
Life
Chambers was a Marine in the Vietnam War. When he came back to Texas after the war, he became a member of many motorcycle clubs, but he found them too tame for his tastes. Chambers founded his own motorcycle club, the Bandidos, in March 1966 in San Leon, Texas. He chose the club's colors, red and gold, after the official colors of the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1968 Chambers created the second Bandidos chapter in Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
.
In 1972 Don Chambers, Jesse "Deal" Fain and Ray Vincente abducted two drug dealers in El Paso, Texas. The dealers, Marley Leon and Preston LeRay Tarver, had sold baking soda to the Bandidos, claiming it was methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
. The Bandidos drove the two dealers into the desert north of the city. There, the dealers, were forced to dig their own graves, after which the bikers shot them with shotguns and set fire to their bodies. Chambers, Deal and Vincente were all convicted of these murders; with testimony given by an eyewitness to the event. They all received life sentences.
With Chambers in prison, Ronald Jerome Hodge, another ex-Marine, was elected the club's new national president. Hodge was known previously as "Mr. Prospect," because he had earned his full colors in only a month, but once elected he went by the street name "Stepmother", in reference to Chambers street name "Mother".
In 1983 Chambers was parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
d and retired from his club. He settled in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, where he lived out his life in relative peace, until his death on July 18, 1999.