SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Steven Wong, a/k/a “Chino,” age 43, of Shallotte, North Carolina, and Solomon Rodriguez, a/k/a “Solo,” age 34, of Reading, Pennsylvania, were convicted on June 21, 2024, for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, firearms conspiracy, attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act Robbery, and two counts of use of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence following a two-week trial before United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Wong was the president of the Schuylkill County chapter of the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club, of which Solomon Rodriguez was a member.  Wong used his position to recruit members of the motorcycle club to participate in a series of brutal home-invasion armed robberies in Schuylkill and Berks County in the summer and fall of 2020.  Wong rewarded loyal members involved in the conspiracy with money and free drugs.  During these home invasion robberies, two or three members of the conspiracy would enter the homes of local street-level drug dealers while wearing masks and armed with firearms and knives and rob the victims of drugs and drug proceeds. One of the firearms used was a fully automatic homemade AR-15 style assault rifle. 

During the seven-day trial, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office presented the testimony from approximately 19 witnesses, including expert witness testimony from an ATF Firearms expert, and an expert in historic cell-site location data analysis.  Both defendants testified on their own behalf.

“This group acted with extreme violence, invading people’s homes with machine guns drawn, and committing crimes that brutalized their victims,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “Though our cooperative efforts with the Pennsylvania State police and local police departments, we successfully brought these criminals to justice and ended their trail of crimes, making our communities safer again.”

The charges stem from an investigation involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Pennsylvania State Police, the Mahanoy City Police Department, the Schuylkill Haven Police Department, the Pottsville Police Department, the Shillington Police Department, the Reading Police Department, and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys James Buchanan, Jenny Roberts, and Sarah Lloyd prosecuted the case.

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

In this case, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. 

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