Judge delays decision on whether San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy’s arrest was justified – Orange County Register

Christopher Bingham, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy and suspected Mongols Gang member, speaks with his attorney Jeff G. Moore during his preliminary hearing on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at the San Bernardino Justice Center. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

A Superior Court judge will decide Wednesday, April 24, whether San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Bingham will stand trial for allegedly possessing firearms and explosives on behalf of the Mongols motorcycle gang.

On Monday, as Bingham’s preliminary hearing concluded, his attorney, Jeff G. Moore, challenged the validity of the deputy’s March 23 arrest in Riverside County and subsequent search of Twentynine Palms.

During the search, investigators seized approximately 160 firearms, including a fully automatic assault rifle with an attached grenade launcher, as well as three explosive projectiles, four silencers and Mongols memorabilia including a fully patched leather vest, T-shirts, stickers and a black helmet with Mongols stickers on it.

Sheriff’s investigators arrested Bingham, 45, on April 4, following an investigation that began in January. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on April 9. And during an interview at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where he is being held on $240,000 bail, Bingham denied being a member of the Mongols and said things were “not what they seemed.”

Motion to quash

In a petition filed with the court to quash the search warrant and suppress the evidence, Moore disputed what investigators cited as the basis for Bingham’s arrest: that he had a loaded firearm while participating in a criminal street gang.

Moore said the law allows sworn peace officers to carry firearms both on and off duty. “This arrest occurred without probable cause and without legal justification,” he said.

Related: The San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy used an alias in his double life as an alleged outlaw biker

When Judge Alexander R. Martinez asked Moore whether that law would apply if Bingham were suspected of having “active ties to a criminal gang,” Moore said, “It does.”

Moore also argued that the suspected Mongols belt buckle and other items of clothing Bingham was wearing at the time of his initial arrest were not noticed until after he was apprehended and his Glock was seized. He said investigators had no evidence showing Bingham was a Mongols gang member or involved in any crime.

Moore also argued that the search warrant was too broad and did not specifically mention that Bingham was a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy when it was presented to a judge for signature.

Red Herring

Deputy District Attorney Alberto Juan called Moore’s argument a red herring.

“We shouldn’t think about this too much,” Juan said. “There is no reason to suppress this evidence.”

Juan said probable cause for Bingham’s arrest stemmed from the belief that he was associating with Mongols gang members and carrying firearms. At the time of his arrest on the westbound 10 Freeway, west of Oak Valley Parkway in Beaumont, Bingham was riding with two Mongols gang members who were wearing full-patch vests and owned a 9mm Glock.

When the CHP sergeant who stopped Bingham ran the Glock serial number through the state Department of Justice database, it came back as unregistered, but that was because he entered the number incorrectly. When sheriff’s detectives later checked it themselves, they discovered the gun was actually registered to Bingham, according to court testimony.

When Judge Martinez asked Juan why his office did not criminally charge Bingham with active participation in a criminal street gang in possession of a firearm, Juan said it was because Bingham had been arrested in Riverside County and his office had no jurisdiction.

Martinez said he needed time to consider the legal arguments of the prosecution and defense.

‘Hanging around’

The final witness for the prosecution, Sgt. Josh Guerry of the sheriff’s Gang and Narcotics Division testified that Bingham was suspected of being a “hangaround” of the Mongols – someone who is not an official member, but socializes and rides with members, attends meetings and other events, and receives the gang bonus has earned. to trust.

At the time of Bingham’s initial arrest, he was believed to be driving with two Mongols members to a meeting in Azusa, Guerry testified. He said the projectile explosives, machine guns and silencers found in Bingham’s home were believed to be for the benefit of the Mongols.

Before being transferred to the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino to work as a deputy, Bingham served as a gunsmith at the sheriff’s Morongo Basin station in Joshua Tree, Guerry said.

During the search of Bingham’s home, investigators found a less-than-lethal shotgun stolen from the sheriff’s Morongo Basin station in a gun safe in his garage, according to court testimony.

Guerry also testified that text messages obtained from one of Bingham’s seized phones revealed a discussion he had with a suspected member of the Mongols about Bingham converting a Glock training pistol into a fully functioning firearm by replacing the slide plates.

However, he acknowledged that there was no evidence that Bingham supplied Mongolia’s members with weapons or ammunition.

Before joining the Sheriff’s Department in 2005, Bingham served in the U.S. Marine Corps from September 1998 to September 2002. He served as a rifleman, rose to the rank of corporal and received several awards. In 2015, he opened the O’Three Tactical gun shop on Twentynine Palms Highway, but closed the business in 2021.

In late 2019 or early 2020, Bingham was suspected by his department of unlawfully using the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, or CLETS, to conduct criminal background checks. The Sheriff’s Department referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office to consider criminal charges, but county prosecutors dismissed the case in January 2020 due to insufficient evidence.