A prominent member of the Mongolian Motorcycle Club was charged on Tuesday with murdering members of rival Vagos, a escalating conflict between the two outfits as federal prosecutors said.
Julian Pulido, 35, shot and killed Vicente Sandoval on March 4 at Firewater Bar, Ontario, according to an unsealed complaint Tuesday and records from a San Bernardino County coroner. The second so-called Mongolian member, Clifford Lavoy, was accused of suffocating Sandoval before being killed.
Ravoy pleaded not guilty to alleged assault charges on Tuesday and was sentenced to jail without bonds, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Pulido stayed at San Bernardino County Jail Tuesday and has not yet filed a request in federal court.
Sandoval’s killing is the latest disaster in the three-year conflict between the Mongols and Vagos, according to court records, which included shootings at the Hooters restaurant, a brawl at the Harley-Davidson store in Marina del Rey, allegedly a homicide locked by a deputy magazine Vago, which rode a tricycle.
In the complaint, a California Highway Patrol official said the Mongolians have 2,500 members around the world, with chapters in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia. The club is governed by the “Mother’s Chapter”, which collects membership fees from regional branches. The official’s name was removed in the complaint, and he said the money was derived in part from robbery, credit card fraud and the sale of methamphetamine and cocaine.
Mongols’ dirty clothes aired in federal court in 2022 when the club’s long-time lawyer accused its president, Little Dave Santillan, a secret informant of American alcohol, tobacco, guns, guns and explosives.
Santillan denied the allegation, although His wife secretly records that once he retires, the ATF agents cannot “protect” him. Mongolia’s 25-year member Santillan testified in 2022 that he was “in trouble” with the club, depriving him of his title as president.
The official wrote in the complaint that the Mongolian leader has “Arsenal” with assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, knives and bulletproof vests at its downtown Los Angeles headquarters. The Mongols allegedly kept the cache of weapons on competitors, including Hell Angels, the offender, Silence and Waggs’ son.
Prosecutors held a memorial to the deceased at a hotter in Riverside at the latter club on December 19, 2021, tracking the Mongols’ clash with Vagos. Some Mongolians appeared and a battle broke out, the official wrote. Shooting broke out on both sides. The complaint said that when the Riverside police arrived, everyone ran away – but blood on the ground showed someone was injured.
The official wrote that after the Hooters shot, “high-level officials” of two motorcycle clubs tried to “broker” a meeting, but never achieved it.
On the evening of May 8, 2024, the Sheltered Motorcycle Club held a party at the Escondite Bar in downtown Los Angeles, according to the search warrant affidavit reviewed by the Times. The complaint said the Asylum Motorcycle Club was a “support club” for the Mongolians, meaning its members could be marked for attending Mongolian events.
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, members of the Shelter Motorcycle Club decorate Escondit with mechanical cattle and DJ equipment, LAPD detectives wrote in an affidavit.
At 11:24 pm, a battle broke out between some Mongolians and two Vagos members of the crash party. A Vagos, who was later identified as Joseph Laumua, was sitting in a wheelchair.
The affidavit says that after the battle, Laomu and Shuangwawu met with a man with a silver medal. Detective wrote that Laumua and another Vago returned to the party with their guns and opened fire.
The complaint says they missed the Mongols and instead hit two bystanders who were not affiliated with the motorcycle gang. Jose Lira, 47, was killed. The second victim survived.
Detective wrote that Laumuya escaped three rounds of Harley Davidson. Three months later, a 38-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Lira. A second shooter has not been confirmed.
Two months after the Lira was killed, some Vagos and Mongolians fought at the Harley-Davidson store in Marina del Rey, which ended with the Vagos shooting. The complaint said both clubs regional officials warned members to “be prepared for further violence”.
The night Sandoval killed in Ontario, Pride appeared on the fire stick wearing a black hat with the words “Mongolian MC” and a black sweatshirt with the words “MFFM” which stands for “Forever, Forever, Forever, Forever Mongolia”, the official wrote in the complaint.
Fireproof flow does not allow customers to wear “cutting” – leather vest with patches on it indicating membership in the of Moore motorcycle group. Sandoval wore a sweatshirt with the words “Vagos MC SGV” and a Vagos pendant on a gold chain.
Officials wrote that Pulido and Lavoy told Sandoval that he did not show proper respect to them when he did not introduce himself in the bar. The complaint said Sandoval accused the people of acting like “Little B” but bought them a round of drinks as an apology.
Pulido asked the bartender to put a second round of drinks on Sandoval’s label. The bartender refused.
Pride then slapped Sandova in the face and applied the ring to his fingers with blood, engraved with the letters “LMDM” or “Live Mongol, Die Mongol”. The complaint says Ravoy began to suffocate Sandoval.
Sandoval broke and ran to the door. The complaint said Pride took the gun and fired four times in the back.
Pulido and Lavoy ran past Sandoval’s body, who lay on the sidewalk outside the bar. According to the complaint, Pulido briefly returned to his body, shouting, “f-!f-!” before running away.
After he dragged for several hours, Ontario police tried to arrest Pulido in Kern County later that day. The officer wrote that Pulido pulled out the Dodge Dart from Highway 5 and exploded through a red light, almost hitting two cars. He tried to make a turn of 60 mph and then hit the ditch.
