Alleged kidnapping ‘mastermind’ apparently fabricated family ties to Hell’s Angels founder
By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
The suspected “mastermind” behind a bumbling home invasion in Missouri and mistaken kidnapping in New Jersey is believed to have fabricated his relationship to Hell’s Angels founder Sonny Barger.
“Sonny has no children,” the famed Hell’s Angel’s sister, Shirley Rogers, told the Globe in a telephone interview Friday. “He has no biological children.”
William James Barger, 48, has been falsely claiming to be the son of Sonny Barger in recent months while recruiting prospects for a new Midwestern chapter of the motorcycle gang, according to authorities.
Barger is being held in the Vernon County Jail in Nevada, Mo., charged with directing three of those local prospects to commit a home invasion Nov. 9 near Richards, Mo. Charles Scammell was shot in his hand during the home invasion, and he and his wife were left tied up in their kitchen.
Investigators believe Barger also ordered the Jan. 8 kidnapping of pet store owner Jeffrey Muller, 59, in Newton, N.J. Muller was abducted by three men who shot him with a stun gun, forced him into a car and took him on a wild ride to Missouri during which he was bound and beaten. He finally escaped his captors when their car broke down in Lake Ozark, Mo.
Rogers, a retired businesswoman from Ceres, Calif., said her brother, Sonny, is alive and well in the Phoenix area of Arizona. He is still a member of the motorcycle gang and is currently affiliated with the Cave Creek chapter of the Hell’s Angels.
But William Barger is not his son, Rogers said. She said that she had never heard of William Barger until stories about the New Jersey kidnapping and his claim to be related to her brother started tripping a Google alert on her computer this week.
Rogers said her family encounters this type of false claim frequently, due to people either lying about their relationship to her brother or passing on a lie they have been fed by others. She said she has become the “go-to person” for such questions about her family’s genealogy.
Ron Peckman, the Vernon County sheriff, said he is now 100 percent certain that Barger has been lying about the matter to legitimize his local recruiting efforts and to intimidate others.
“Everybody has been afraid of the name ‘Hell’s Angels,’” Peckman said. “But we’ve put that to rest.”
The Bates County Sheriff’s Department issued a news release Friday acknowledging first becoming aware of Barger’s claims in June of last year. They received information at that time that he was trying to start a “Heartland” chapter of the gang by recruiting “pledges.”
“During the investigation, it was revealed that Barger had also attempted to find pledges (who) would kill Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson and Chief Deputy Justin Moreland,” the news release said.
Barger and several of his chapter members were hauled in and interviewed by investigators with the sheriff’s department, the state patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Barger reportedly claimed during the interview that Sonny Barger was his father and that he was “a patched member” of the Hell’s Angels.
Barger is charged with 11 felonies in connection with the home invasion in Missouri. He has yet to be charged in the New Jersey kidnapping case.
Other suspects
Lonnie Swarnes, 44, of Rich Hill, was arraigned Friday in the kidnapping of Muller at a hearing in Sussex County, N.J., and bond was set at $750,000. He had waived extradition proceedings following his arrest one week ago. Two other suspects — Douglas Stangeland, 46, of Nevada, and Andrew Wadel, 21, of Rich Hill — remain in custody at the Miller County Jail in Missouri pending extradition. They have yet to be charged in the Missouri home invasion.
