KINGMAN – A second defendant has entered a no-prison, probation-guaranteed plea agreement for his involvement in a biker brawl at the Roadhouse 95 Restaurant and Bar in Fort Mohave. Christopher Balke, 30, Mesa, pleaded guilty to assault during a Jan. 12 hearing in Kingman.
Balke and five other Arizona residents were arrested late last June, following a five-month-long multiple agency investigation dubbed “Operation Roadhouse Rumble” by the Arizona Department of Public Safety Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GITTEM).
Two co-defendants each were arrested in California and North Dakota, while two others were already in custody when the roundup occurred last summer.
GITTEM reported that five men associated with the Pagans motorcycle club rumbled with members of a rival motorcycle club during a violent and chaotic melee at the establishment early last year. All involved had fled by the time law enforcement arrived.
Defense attorney Brad Rideout said Balke’s conviction involves his client punching another already-dazed biker who was unable to defend himself. The man suffered minor cuts and bruises and no serious injuries, according to Rideout.
Terms of the plea agreement require Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle to place Balke on probation, while jail time can also be imposed at sentencing next month.
Another case co-defendant, Edward Hargrove, 37, Bullhead City, is scheduled to be released from custody and placed on probation when sentenced Jan. 27 after pleading guilty to a rioting charge.
Dave Hawkins
