NORRISTOWN — After a contentious preliminary hearing, seven members of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang were ordered to stand trial in Montgomery County Court on charges related to a shooting involving a rival biker gang on the parking lot of the Wawa in West Norriton Township, during which six people, including two innocent bystanders, were wounded.
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, were held for trial after a preliminary hearing on Friday that lasted more than seven hours.
District Court Judge Marc A. Alfarano determined prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to move each man’s case to county court on charges of aggravated and simple assault, conspiracy, riot and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with the 9:12 p.m. Oct 17, 2025, shooting that occurred on the parking lot of the Wawa at 2544 W. Main Street in West Norriton.
A total of nine members of the Pagans were charged in connection with the incident.
The preliminary hearings for two other members of the Pagans, George T. Cwienk III, 51, of the unit block of 7th Street, Bridgeport, and Erik P. Rosenberger, 46, of the 400 block of Blaker Drive, East Greenville, were postponed until a later date because their lawyers were not available on Friday.
Friday’s preliminary hearing was moved from the district court to the county jail, where eight of the defendants are currently being held, unable to post $500,000 cash bail. Alfarano held the hearing in a small courtroom at the jail in Eagleville.
Prosecutors, in court documents, cited “extreme security concerns” as the reason for the move, indicating that “Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are known for showing up to events in force in an effort to intimidate and control those involved.”
To allow for public access, the hearing was livestreamed to a courtroom at the courthouse in Norristown for viewing by the public and members of the media. About two dozen friends and relatives of the defendants attended the hearing.
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Bradley Walter Deckel and co-prosecutor Libby Hemler argued the nine members of the Pagans observed two members of the rival Unknown Bikers Motorcycle Gang pumping gas at the Wawa, surrounded them and began physically assaulting them in an attempt to remove their so-called “colors.”
Gunshots rang out during the confrontation.
“The act of one is the act of all. They knew what they had to do to get this motorcycle club off their turf. They went there to assault, intimidate with violence,” alleged Deckel, suggesting the Pagans, a dominant club in Pennsylvania, felt disrespected when the Unknown Bikers hadn’t requested permission to be in the area.
Prosecutors showed Alfarano video surveillance footage from the Wawa that captured the alleged interaction between the rival biker gangs.
A male bystander was shot in the face just below his eye while he was putting air in his vehicle’s tire, and a female bystander was shot in her torso as she stood at the door of the store, authorities alleged. Additionally, three members of the Pagans were shot, and one member of the Unknown Biker Gang was shot.
Defense lawyers, who asked Alfarano to dismiss the charges against all seven men, pounced on testimony that 13 of the 14 fired cartridge casings found at the scene were fired from guns linked to the two members of the Unknown Bikers, who were not charged in connection with the incident. Prosecutors contend the Unknown Biker members acted in self-defense.
“It is astounding that they are not charged. They shot 13 rounds,” argued defense lawyer Robert Kirwan, who represents Noll, suggesting it was the Pagans who “were attacked.”
Defense lawyer Paul Lang, who represents Dixon, argued that Dixon ran “like a bat out of hell” when he was fired upon by members of the Unknown Bikers.
All of the defense lawyers argued that prosecutors presented no evidence that any of their clients shot at anybody, suggesting it was the Unknown Bikers who were responsible for all of the gunshot injuries.
But Deckel argued that none of the victims would have suffered gunshot wounds if the Pagans had not entered the Wawa parking lot and initiated an attack on a rival motorcycle gang.
“Why were the 13 shots fired that night? What is the catalyst? What is the cause? This does not happen but for the decisions of the defendants … because the defendants made a decision as a group. They were in for a penny, in for a pound,” said Deckel, arguing the Unknown Bikers acted in self-defense. “They defended themselves. They had a right to defend themselves. They were scared for their lives.”
Defense lawyers argued that prosecutors presented no evidence outlining the specific role that each defendant played during the alleged incident and that mere presence at the scene was not sufficient to support the charges.
“There is a lack of evidence in this case,” argued defense lawyer Brendan Campbell, who represents Baez-Santos, adding that prosecutors didn’t say “who did what.”
But Deckel argued prosecutors placed the members of the Pagans at the scene and that under “accomplice liability theories,” each of them is responsible for what occurred.
Prosecutors presented video surveillance footage that showed the nine Pagan members traveling from Norristown to West Norriton. License plate readers also linked several of the defendants to motorcycles captured by video surveillance.
County Detective William Mitchell, an expert in cellphone analysis, testified that cell tower data showed that phones linked to Baez-Santos, Hripto, Dixon, and Lawless were near the Wawa at the time the incident occurred.
“They were traveling in a consistent pattern with each other. They were in the general vicinity of the Wawa at the crucial time of the shooting,” Mitchell testified.
The hearing was contentious at times, leading Alfarano to address the lawyers at one point, “It’s a little too heated now,” and he called for a brief break.
The investigation began about 9:12 p.m. when West Norriton police responded to the Wawa for a report of a shooting. The store manager reportedly locked the store and had customers hiding in the rear of the store.
The investigation determined that two members of the Unknown Bikers Motorcycle Gang arrived at the Wawa about 9:08 p.m. and were pumping gas when they were confronted by nine members of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.
“Through review of various video sources, the Pagans bypassed the initial entrance to the Wawa and then entered a secondary entrance and immediately worked in tandem surrounding the two members of the Unknown Bikers Gang,” county Detective David Holtzman and West Norriton Detective Robert Scotti alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding “the collective nature of their movements was not to intimidate but to overpower the rival group.”
Almost immediately upon the arrival of the Pagans, a physical confrontation erupted, and a video source depicted multiple Pagans physically assaulting a rival biker, detectives alleged.
“The area then erupts in gunfire,” Holtzman and Scotti alleged, adding that both groups were armed. “The area of the Wawa Convenience store then became a chaotic scene. People were observed running, hiding, and the store was locked down with the customers hidden in the back.”
The Pagans quickly departed the shooting area, and several of them were later stopped by law enforcement.
Detectives said the Wawa parking lot is a busy location with a steady flow of customer traffic.
“Law enforcement reviewed various video angles and identified approximately 23 individuals placed at risk of death or serious bodily injury. This danger was instigated by the actions of the Pagans,” Holtzman and Scotti alleged. “The collective manner in which the Pagans entered the parking lot, positioned themselves and promptly started attacking the other individuals revealed a conscious disregard for the safety of employees, patrons of Wawa and their rivals.”
Information about the shooting was broadcast to area police. Norristown police subsequently spotted four motorcycles and five Pagan members traveling eastbound on Main Street. After pulling them over, Norristown police found that three of the members, Cwienk, Hernandez-Martinez and Noll, had been shot and they were transported to area hospitals for treatment of wounds to the ankle, foot and chest.
At one point, Kirwan, on behalf of Noll, argued that prosecutors presented no evidence to show that Noll was in close proximity to the Unknown Bikers at the gas pumps where the shooting occurred. Holtzman responded, “He was close enough to get shot.”
The investigation was conducted by members of the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Gun Violence Reduction Task Force, Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force and police from West Norriton, Upper Merion, Norristown and Bridgeport.
