10 to stand trial in Washington County bar brawl said to involve War Dogs, Pagans

Prosecutors say the attack was part of a gang turf war; defense called it a bar fight gone too far.

By JUSTIN VELLUCCI
TribLive

A district judge Friday tossed out dozens of charges stemming from a violent biker brawl last year at a Washington County bar that prosecutors called part of a yearslong turf battle between “outlaw motorcycle gangs.”

Authorities accused the defendants of savagely beating a bar patron from a rival gang with bottles, bats and axe handles.

The melee at 40 Bar and Grille in North Franklin involved members of the War Dogs who attacked a member of the Pagans motorcycle club, according to investigators.

Prosecutors said at least 10 members of the War Dogs severely beat Jordan Henderson in the bar after midnight on Aug. 17, 2025.

Secrecy surrounded the case following arrests in early December.

Criminal complaints against the defendants were sealed by a judge at the request of the district attorney, meaning details about the incident remained hidden until Friday, when the paperwork was made publicly available.

Friday’s marathon preliminary hearing took place under extraordinary security.

Court administrators moved it from the local offices of District Judge Michael Manfredi to the Washington County Courthouse, where up to 19 sheriff’s deputies — about five or six times the typical number manning a hearing there — cycled in and out of the courtroom.

Authorities used police dogs to screen people entering the building and outside the courtroom.

Manfredi, who presided over the seven-hour preliminary hearing, threw out multiple conspiracy, robbery and criminal mischief charges against eight defendants. Two of the men who were arrested waived their hearings.

But Manfredi held for trial in Washington County Common Pleas Court numerous charges, including rioting, aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment.

Defense attorneys objected to the depiction of the clash as a turf battle between rival motorcycle gangs.

Instead, they characterized the slugfest as a fight between two men that got out of hand and nothing to do with allegiances to alleged criminal organizations.

For Jeremy Scheetz, a motorcycle gang expert with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the latenight brawl was one part of a long storyline he traced back decades.

“It’s all built around respect (and) you need to know who your enemies are,” Scheetz, who works out of Washington, D.C., testified Friday. “When a smaller club … comes into your territory, that’s an act of war.”

Prosecutors charged the following men:

• Daniel Ullrick, 75, of Pittsburgh.

• Paul Prevost, 30, of Washington.

• Clark Young, 40, of Washington.

• Corey Palmer, 55, of Washington.

• Jerry Barnett, 31, of Canonsburg.

• Benjamin Bowman, 32, of Bulger.

• Robert Conner, 53, of Uniontown.

• Kristopher Gardner, 43, of McDonald.

• Eric Haydrch, 44, of Avella.

• Zack Williams, 43, of Morgantown, W.Va. Manfredi refused to change any terms of release; some defendants were being held on bail of $250,000 while others posted bond and were released from jail.

‘Unrecognizable’

Scheetz testified that War Dogs “chapters” were created, in part, by a “dominant” biker group called the Outlaws.

He said Pagans, who are active in western Pennsylvania, are the Outlaws’ rivals — and would not have wanted War Dogs in their territory or a bar they deemed their own.

Surveillance video, repeatedly shown on a large TV screen during the hearing, showed more than a dozen motorcycles drive into the bar’s parking lot along state Route 40 around 12:30 a.m.

Bartender Julia Quarture was working a double shift that day and testified she had been tending to patrons since 10 a.m.

Quarture said 20 to 30 War Dogs — “or maybe more than that” — came inside the bar or loitered in the parking lot.

She said she found it odd that all of the bikers ordered glass bottles of beer — just one each.

At least 16 of the men later used the bottles — as well as their fists, feet and blunt objects like baseball bats and ax handles — to attack Henderson.

Almost immediately after Henderson entered the bar, Quarture testified, a patron confronted him with a racial slur.

“Then, the entire group of them starting fighting,” Quarture said. “I watched him get beat to the point where he was unrecognizable.” The beating lasted about 10 minutes, Quarture estimated. She called her boss, bar owner Cheyenne Dennison, who called 911.

Before Pennsylvania State Police arrived, the War Dogs attacked a second man — identified as another Pagan member, surveillance footage showed.

The man, his white T-shirt red with blood, later ran to the parking lot. He fired multiple shots, most of them into the air, as the attackers drove away from the club, both Quarture and Dennison testified.

Someone threw a brick at his vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.

Some patrons fled the bar when the fight broke out, surveillance footage showed. A woman could be heard screaming, “Stop now!”

“Gun! Gun!” one man shouted among the chaos.

Some War Dogs held down Henderson and snatched a concealed gun while others beat him, prosecutors said and the videos showed.

‘All speculation’

Defense attorneys didn’t buy it. They argued their clients were defending themselves during mutual combat — and that the fight was never a conspiracy among rival gangs.

The attorneys dismissed testimony by the ATF’s Scheetz and a state trooper about prior incidents, some dating back to 2017, that prosecutors alleged showed “a pattern” of violence.

Prosecutors did not claim any of the 10 suspects in the August attack were involved in other biker-brawl incidents.

The defense attorneys also criticized the lack of evidence proving their clients were members of the War Dogs. Scheetz confirmed the groups had no rosters and few paper trails about membership.

State Trooper Marc Chieffallo said some details, however, didn’t fit the defense attorneys’ narrative.

Police executing search warrants found War Dogs memorabilia and related items in the homes of eight defendants, Chieffallo testified. That included clothing, as well as “cuts,” which are denim or leather vests bearing the group’s name, slogans and colors.

Surveillance footage showed one of the War Dogs wave his fingers in a circular motion right before the beating — something prosecutors argued was a signal or cue to battle.

“That was simply the sign,” Scheetz testified. “That’s telling other individuals, ‘Let’s go!’” Some allegiances with the two outfits were not disputed.

Dennison, the bar owner, admitted on cross-examination that she dates a member of the Pagans. At least two Pagans were regulars at the establishment.

Kenneth Hayman, the War Dog member who prosecutors called the “aggressor” behind the bar fight, was killed in White Oak months after the summer attack. Police said the killing could have been retribution for beating up Henderson.

Three people were arrested. Attorneys argued there was a lack of evidence about or photographs of Henderson’s injuries from the attack.

Henderson was among 30 to 35 court-watchers Friday who dropped in and out of the courtroom. He did not testify. He also declined to speak with reporters.

Four defendants marched into court shackled at the wrists and ankles sporting loose-fitting, orange prison jumpsuits. Tattoos marked several shaved heads. The bushy goatee of one defendant stretched down to his belly. “Tatted Mom Club,” read the flannel of one woman in the crowd. Two other women wore Harley Davidson shirts.

After the lengthy hearing, Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh told TribLive he was “happy” to see the case proceed to trial.

“We’re not going to tolerate violence anywhere,” Walsh said, “let alone crimes in businesses like aggravated assault.”