Pagans 'organized murder' trial set for next week in Marion County Circuit Court

Mar. 29—FAIRMONT — The trial surrounding the execution of Henry Silver by the Pagans Motorcycle Club is scheduled to begin next Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court.

The state accuses John Lee Wolfe, a patched member of the club, of orchestrating Silver's killing, while fellow Pagans Derek Shann Clem, Jonathan Matthew Biller and Austin Douglas Mullins are named as the ones who carried out the execution.

The circumstances of the execution revolve around a deadly love affair between Silver and Wolfe's girlfriend. The Times West Virginian is withholding the name of Wolfe's girlfriend, who will be referred to as Jane Doe. The affair came to a bloody end on Sept. 9, 2022, after the Pagans gunned down Silver in the parking lot of the Carolina Arbors in Carolina. A police report and several court filings reveal what may have happened the night Silver died.

Doe is also the mother of one of Wolfe's children.

The state argues the men formed a conspiracy, one that would not have been possible without the common connection of the Pagan brotherhood.

"There is, was and never will be any reason for any of these men to race to Carolina and execute a man because he was having an affair with John Wolfe's girlfriend absent the Pagan's brotherhood and creed," Prosecutor Sean Murphy wrote in a memorandum to the court. "As the saying goes, play stupid games-win stupid prizes. These men shall reap what they sow with their beliefs and conduct."

The memorandum made the case that evidence of membership in the club and its accompanying paraphernalia be admissible at trial.

Silver had his own girlfriend he was unfaithful to, Penny Roe, a pseudonym created to allow the Times West Virginian to withhold her name. Roe discovered the affair after encountering messages and nude photos of Doe on Silver's phone. Roe shared the messages with Wolfe, who told Doe it would be in Silver's best interest to end the affair and it would do him no good to hide.

The Pagans harbor toxic attitudes toward women, their ideological doctrine views them as property which belongs to members of the club, the memorandum states. Girlfriends or wives are referred to as 'old lady's.' Since women are considered property, Pagans view affairs as property theft, the sentence for which is a violent beating by members. Pagans view themselves as apart from regular citizens.

Wolfe discussed his 'old lady's' infidelity with the president of the Central Chapter of the West Virginia Pagans Motorcycle Club, Ryan Lane. Wolfe was frustrated due to his inability to pursue action since he was going through family court with Doe.

"However, both he and Ryan Lane discussed at length the need to do something to put a stop to it eventually, teach Henry a lesson and get rid of Doe," Murphy wrote in the memorandum.

That night in September, Silver showed up at Doe and Wolfe's apartment, inebriated on drugs or alcohol. Doe, who had left to purchase Mountain Dew and ice from a Circle K in Monongah, encountered Silver outside. She urged him to leave before Wolfe discovered he was there but it was too late. Wolfe knew he was there. Silver and Wolfe got into a verbal altercation. She departed for the Circle K. When she returned, a dark Chevrolet pickup truck fled out of the parking lot and Silver was on the ground, dead. Doe did not return in time to see what happened.

But her son did.

Referred to as ZW in the court documents, Wolfe and Doe's son reported "buddies of his dad" arrived in a dark pickup truck, positioning themselves so as to make a quick escape after killing Silver. Despite wearing ski masks, ZW could still tell who they were by their tattoos and voices.

Silver was still outside the apartment, Wolfe pointed him out to the three Pagans and they rushed to gun Silver down in full view of several apartment residents, including children. Clem, Biller and Mullins fled, Wolfe followed suit. Doe returned in time to see Wolfe pick up her son, place him on his motorcycle, drive around Silver's body and flee out of the complex.

Wolfe later dropped ZW off with a relative at a McDonald's. Wolfe was later arrested on Oct. 20, 2022.

"Quite clearly this was club business," Murphy wrote. "Quite clearly this was organized murder conducted by a group of men who operate in a manner which is in keeping with the rules, regulations and modus operandi of a paramilitary domestic terrorist organization."

Murphy noted that Wolfe and Lane discussed bail before and after the killing, and that a club meeting conducted hours before the execution took place between members where they discussed the Henry Silver problem as a group. This all ties back into Murphy's argument that the killing was club business. It appears Murphy plans to use Pagan Motorcycle membership to argue at trial it provided a framework under which Wolfe planned and executed his crime.

Scott Alan Shough and John Colton Rogers represent Wolfe. In their response to the State's memorandum, they argue that Wolfe ordered the killing because of the affair, and not because of his membership in the Pagans.

"Mr. Silver was having an affair with his significant other," Rogers wrote in his reply. "Got into a verbal confrontation with Mr. Silver prior to the shooting, called a group of individuals to murder Mr. Silver on his behalf....and is also a Pagan!"

Rogers argued that if the evidence is introduced, it would be highly probable that Wolfe would be convicted solely on his affiliation to the Pagans rather than the facts of the case.

Rogers' memorandum contains no mention of ZW's account.

The court held a hearing on March 12 to determine what evidence the state could admit.

Jury selection for the trial is set to begin April 3.

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com