Donald Eugene Chambers

Donald Eugene Chambers Born November 23, 1930(1930-11-23) Died July 18, 1999(1999-07-18) El Paso, Texas, United States Nationality American Other names Mother (streetname) Occupation Marine, Biker Known for Founder of the Bandidos

Example of a Bandidos patch, showing the red and gold colors chosen by Chambers.

Donald Eugene Chambers (November 23, 1930 - July 18, 1999) 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.

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.^[1][2][3][4] He chose the club's colors, red and gold, after the official colors of the U.S. Marine Corps.^[2] In 1968 Chambers created the second Bandidos chapter in Corpus Christi, Texas.

In 1972 Don Chambers, Jesse "Deal" Fain and Ray Vincente abducted two drug dealers in El Paso, Texas.^[2] The dealers, Marley Leon and Preston LeRay Tarver, had sold baking soda to the Bandidos, claiming it was methamphetamine.^[2] 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.^[2] 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.^[1][2] 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 paroled 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.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Mallory, Stephen L. (2007), Understanding Organized Crime, Jones & Bartlett Learning, p. 156, ISBN 0763741086, http://books.google.com/books?id=fbcPBAOJcXYC&pg=PA156&dq=%22Donald+Eugene+Chambers%22&hl=en&ei=vy1HTODdMt3snQeVlsWWBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Donald%20Eugene%20Chambers%22&f=false, retrieved 2010-07-21 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Schneider, Stephen (2009), Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada, John Wiley and Sons, p. 420, ISBN 0470835001, http://books.google.com/books?id=ZO8jKSn25DAC&pg=PA420, retrieved 2010-07-21 
3. ^ Reavis, Dick (May 1979). "Never Love a Bandido". Texas Monthly (Emmis Communications) 7 (5): 102. ISSN 0148-7736. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Mi4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA102&pg=PA102#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved July 21, 2010. 
4. ^ Dupont, Gilles (20 July 2010). "Les Bandidos déferlent [The Bandidos unfurl]" (in French). Le Bien Public. http://www.bienpublic.com/fr/accueil/article/3512072/Les-Bandidos-deferlent.html. Retrieved July 21, 2010. "Une organisation créée en 1966 par Don Chambers au Texas, et qui a essaimé dans le monde entier, et s’est organisée en « chapters » ou chapitres. [An organization founded in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas, and has spread worldwide, and was organized into chapters.]" 

References

• Hanes, Allison (April 11, 2006), "Fellow bikers killed delinquent Angels", National Post (Don Mills, Ontario): A.6 
• Caine, Alex (2010), The Fat Mexican: The Bloody Rise of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9781742373829 

Persondata
Name	Chambers, Donald Eugene
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 23, 1930
Place of birth
Date of death	July 18, 1999
Place of death	El Paso, Texas, United States