5 members of rival motorcycle gangs charged for knife and hammer fight at Lindenhurst gas station

A grand jury has indicted five members of rival motorcycle gangs in connection with a fight involving knives and hammers that erupted in September at a Lindenhurst gas station.

The grand jury charged members of the Demons of Hell Motorcycle Club, a subset of the Hells Angels, and the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club with gang assault following the Sept. 14 fight that left four people stabbed and another man injured after a memorial service was interrupted at a West Islip bar, prosecutors said.

"This was a brazen and dangerous outbreak of violence that put our community at risk," Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. "What began as a confrontation between rival motorcycle gangs quickly escalated into a chaotic melee in the middle of Sunrise Highway involving weapons and resulted in numerous serious injuries. Violence of this nature will not be tolerated."

Two members of the Hells Angels and Demons motorcycle club interrupted a memorial service the Pagans were holding, starting with a fight at the 1683 Sports Bar & Grille on Sunrise Highway in West Islip, authorities said.

The fight escalated later that afternoon about five miles away and involved at least 15 people at the Phillips 66 gas station on Sunrise Highway, prosecutors said.

Two members of the Demons motorcycle club were charged with beating one of the Pagans with a hammer and stabbing him in his liver and colon, prosecutors said. Another man was stabbed as he tried to leave the gas station, according to the indictment.

Three other members of the Pagans were charged with beating a 76-year-old Hells Angels member with baseball bats, causing a brain injury that required multiple emergency surgeries, prosecutors said.

Roger Clarke, 53, and Christopher Clarke, 21, both of New Hampshire; Joseph Bivona, 46, of Centereach; Michael Baffa, 57, of Farmingville; and Robert Miller, 54, of West Babylon, were indicted on multiple counts of assault and gang assault stemming from the brawl.

Each pleaded not guilty during separate arraignments this week in Riverhead. Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins set bail for Roger Clarke, Bivona, Baffa and Miller at $75,000 cash or $750,000 bond. Christopher Clarke’s bail was set at $25,000 cash bail or $250,000 bond.

Roger Clarke’s attorney, John Halverson, said Clarke was chased down and stabbed by a rival gang member. He said he would fight the charges after seven people involved in the brawl were given tickets for second-degree riot charges.

Halverson said the case was previously adjudicated after guilty pleas to reduced disorderly conduct charges.

Miller’s attorney, Tara Laterza, said there were legal issues with the indictment.

"The facts suggest there’s more to this story, that I look forward to getting to the bottom of," Laterza said.

Other defense attorneys in the case could not be reached for comment.

If convicted, each of the five men face up to 25 years in prison.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.