Four of the highest ranking members of the Bandidos motorcycle club have been indicted and arrested on charges related to the 2006 killing of a man in Austin, according to federal prosecutors.



Anthony Benesh III, 44, was with his two children outside a Northwest Austin pizza restaurant in March 2006 when a single shot, believed to have been fired from an elevated portion of U.S. 183, struck and killed him in a sniper-style attack, authorities have said.

Authorities believe the violent episode was an attempt from the Bandidos to protect their turf in Texas. The incident highlighted the club’s continued foothold on the state, where it has remained a dominant motorcycle gang for years.

Benesh, according to court documents filed at the time, was attempting to create a Texas chapter of the motorcycle gang the Hells Angels. He received multiple threatening voice and text messages indicating that he should stop wearing the insignia of the Hells Angels.

After a San Antonio federal grand jury returned the indictment, law enforcement arrested the following Bandidos in Waco and San Antonio on Thursday morning:

Johnny Romo, 47, (aka “Downtown Johnny”), is charged with murder in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm. Romo was a national sergeant at arms of the Bandidos. Robert Romo, 45, faces the same charges as Johnny Romo. He was a member of the Bandidos’s San Antonio Centro chapter. Jesse James Benavidez (aka “Kronic”), 40, is charged with discharging a firearm during a murder in aid of racketeering. Benavidez was sergeant at arms of the Bandidos San Antonio Centro chapter. Norberto Serna Jr. (aka “Hammer”), 35, faces the same charges as Benavidez. He was a member of the Bandidos San Antonio Centro chapter.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the story. Only four people are accused in the killing of Anthony Benesh III.