| Careaga family murders | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kitsap County, Washington, US |
| Date | January 27, 2017- January 29, 2017 (Pacific Time Zone) |
| Target | John Derek "Johnny" Careaga |
Attack type | First-degree murder, home invasion, arson |
| Weapons | Firearm |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Victims |
|
| Motive | Financial dispute over narcotics [1] |
| Convicted | Danie Kelly, Robert Watson & Johnny Watson |
 |
The Careaga family murders refers to the quadruple homicide of a Washington stepfamily that occurred in January 2017. [2]
The Careaga family consisted of 43-year-old John Derek "Johnny" Careaga, 37-year-old Christale Lynn Careaga, 16-year-old Johnathon Felipe Higgins and 16-year-old Hunter Evan Schaap who all resided together at a home in Kitsap County, Washington. [3] [4] John and Christale had gotten married in 2009 – with the two teenagers coming from prior relationships the parents had been involved in. [5] [6]
The Careagas were the owners of Christale's Java Hut & Juanitos Taco Shop, a thriving Mexican restaurant in Bremerton, Washington. [7] [8] [9]
On January 27, 2017, Christale Careaga, Hunter Schaap and Johnathon Higgins were all shot and killed within their home before the residence was set ablaze. Exactly two days later, the charred corpse of Johnny Careaga was uncovered in his light-duty truck off a remote road at a forest plantation in Mason County where he had been gunned down and torched. [10]
On the night of the murders, Christale Careaga reportedly had some friends over at the residence. Meanwhile, Johnny Careaga received a phone call while at the house and went out to meet someone, telling the family that he would return home shortly. Johnny later returned to the premises, but did not enter the house. One of the guests at the Careaga residence went to the garage to check up on him, only to hear three men talking in loud voices. [10]
As the killings were taking place, police in Bremerton, Washington received a phone call from Hunter Schaap who informed 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers that he and his family had been shot and begging them to hurry over to the house. The phone line subsequently went dead and Hunter was smothered with a pillow before being fatally shot in his head. When responders later arrived at the Careaga home, they found the residential premises burning down in flames with the bodies of Christale, Hunter and Johnathon – all lifeless. [11]
A few days later on January 29, Johnny Careaga was discovered dead within his burnt-out Ford F150 pickup truck on an abandoned remote tree farm in Mason County, Belfair, Washington. [12] A property caretaker of this said farm told investigators that Johnny had been on the land lot earlier that day, only without his truck. [11]
According to the Kitsap County Fire Marshal's Office, firelog (likely soaked with some type of fire accelerant) had been placed on the beds at opposite ends of the home after Christale, Hunter, and Johnathon had all died. Large rocks were then thrown through the house windows to fuel the flames. [13]
When investigators examined the crime scene, they uncovered over $50,000 in cash stowed within a strongbox along with a money bag in the master bedroom containing $7,000. [14]
The quadruple homicide of the family-of-four is said to have been the result of a dispute between Johnny Careaga and the perpetrators over illicit drug sales as he was the apparent target of the attack. [14] According to law enforcement investigative efforts, Johnny would regularly bring back a kilogram of cocaine from California every few months to sell for profit in Kitsap County, Washington. [10] [15] [ unreliable source? ]
Detectives from the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with FBI special agents, have come to the conclusion that members and associates of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club had been involved in the slaying of the Careaga family. [16] [17] The Bandidos MC are a self-proclaimed "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club with a global presence who have had a longstanding history of involvement in organized crime as well as other unlawful activities including drug trafficking and murder. [18] [19] [20] Some of the customers who bought cocaine from Johnny Careaga were members of the Bandidos MC. [21]
One of Johnny Careaga's close friends started selling the cocaine he transported from California to Robert "Bobby" Watson III, a "fully-patched" (official) member of the Bandidos MC Bremerton chapter. It is unknown whether Watson had purchased the cocaine for his own personal use or to resell and profit off of. The friend of Johnny's eventually decided to put a stop to selling, placing Johnny into direct communication with Bobby Watson III as a subsequent result. When Johnny would end up taking his routine trip down to California after this incident, Watson would follow closely behind him – ultimately causing an intense verbal argument between both men. [13]
Bandidos MC Bellingham chapter Vice President Robert J. "Bobby" Watson III has been described as the alleged mastermind behind the slayings. [11] [17] When asked by fellow club members about his involvement in the Careaga family murders, Bobby Watson would reply with different and inconsistent responses. [21] The President of the Bandidos Bellingham chapter condemned the crime and cooperated with law enforcement investigators expressing his disapproval towards any club member who would kill women and/or children. [22]
Bremerton resident Johnny J. Watson is the younger brother of Bobby Watson. Unlike his brother Bobby, however, Johnny Watson is not affiliated with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. [21]
Danie J. Kelly was a "hang-around" associate of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club whose prospective membership was sponsored by Robert "Bobby" Watson III. [16] [22] He was seen in police surveillance footage wearing Bandidos MC supporter apparel. [14] Kelly had once also had a close relationship with Johnny Careaga, even going so far as to serve as the best man at his first wedding. The two would later have a falling out, however, after Johnny accused Danie of stealing from him. [13]
In response to the Careaga family murders, investigators assembled a task force to look into the quadruple homicide. [12]
Each of the three perpetrators, whose identities were not initially publicized, were booked into the Kitsap County Jail. The arrestees were incarcerated on 16 different felony charges per person – among those being aggravated murder, arson and burglary. [12] [23] Danie Kelly, Robert Watson, and Johnny Watson all pled not guilty to alleged felony charges. [7] A judge ordered that the trio were to be held without bail and were not to possess firearms, alcohol or drugs unless otherwise prescribed. Furthermore, the three assailants were forbidden to have any contact with one another – as also required by said judge. [1] In April 2024, the men were found guilty of 30 charges, including first-degree murder, premeditated murder, and arson and on May 7, 2024, they were sentenced to life without parole. [24]
Kitsap County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard; its largest city is Bremerton. The county, formed out of King County and Jefferson County on January 16, 1857, is named for Chief Kitsap of the Suquamish Tribe. Originally named Slaughter County, it was soon renamed.
The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club (RMMC) or Rock Machine is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It has eighteen Canadian chapters spread across seven provinces. It also has nine chapters in the United States and eleven chapters in Australia, with chapters also located in 24 other countries worldwide. It was formed in 1986, by Salvatore Cazzetta and his brother Giovanni Cazzetta. The Rock Machine competed with the Hells Angels for control of the street-level narcotics trade in Quebec. The Quebec Biker War saw the Rock Machine form an alliance with a number of other organizations to face the Hells Angels. The conflict occurred between 1994 and 2002 and resulted in over 160 deaths and over 300 injured. An additional 100+ have been imprisoned.
Seabeck is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2010 census. Seabeck is a former mill town on Hood Canal.
Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger Jr. was an American outlaw biker who was a founding member of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in 1957. After forming the Oakland chapter, Barger was instrumental in unifying various disparate Hells Angels chapters and had the club incorporated in 1966. He emerged as the Hells Angels' most prominent member during the counterculture era and was reputed by law enforcement and media to be the club's international president, an allegation he repeatedly denied. The author Hunter S. Thompson called Barger "the Maximum Leader" of the Hells Angels, and Philip Martin of the Phoenix New Times described him as "the archetypical Hells Angel", saying he "didn't found the motorcycle club ... but he constructed the myth". He authored five books, and appeared on television and in film.
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or bikie club, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.
The Quebec Biker War was a turf war in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, lasting from 1994 to 2002, between the Quebec branch of the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine. The war left 162 people dead, including civilians. There were also 84 bombings and 130 cases of arson. In March 2002, American journalist Julian Rubinstein wrote about the biker war: "Considering how little attention the story has attracted outside Canada, the toll is staggering: 162 dead, scores wounded. The victims include an 11-year-old boy killed by shrapnel from one of the more than 80 bombs bikers planted around the province. Even the New York Mafia in its heyday never produced such carnage, or so terrorized civilians."
Gangs in Canada are mostly present in the major urban areas of Canada, although their activities are not confined to large cities.
The Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club (SOSMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in Niwot, Colorado in the United States in 1966, the club has a membership of over 250, with 35 chapters based in 12 U.S. states and in Germany. The Sons of Silence are the sixth-largest motorcycle club in the world, behind the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws, the Pagans and the Mongols.
The Nordic Biker War was a gang war that began in January 1994 and continued until September 1997 in parts of Scandinavia and Finland, involving the Hells Angels and Bandidos outlaw motorcycle clubs. The conflict is also known as the Great Nordic Biker War or Second Biker War to distinguish it from the earlier Copenhagen Biker War, which took place between 1983 and 1985.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and human trafficking operations. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole. Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.
Salvatore "Sal" Cazzetta, also known as "La Barbe", is a Canadian former outlaw biker and gangster who founded the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club and later joined the Hells Angels following the Quebec Biker War. He was also a longtime associate of the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal.
The Loners Motorcycle Club (LMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada in 1979. It has seventeen chapters in Canada, eleven chapters in Italy, eleven in the United States. They also possess several chapters in other countries across the world. The club was established by two prominent Italian-Canadian bikers, Frank Lenti and Gennaro Raso.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is classified as a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in numerous countries. While the club has denied being a criminal organization, Bandidos members have been convicted of partaking in criminal enterprises including theft, extortion, prostitution, drug trafficking and murder in various host nations.
The Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club are a multiracial one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club. Although they are active nationwide in the United States, they are primarily based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With chapters in at least 25 states across the US, the group claims to be the country's largest mixed-race outlaw motorcycle club.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution rings. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is classified as a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in numerous countries. While the club has denied being a criminal organization, Bandidos members have been convicted of partaking in criminal enterprises including theft, extortion, prostitution, drug trafficking and murder in various host nations.
George Jessome, better known as "Pony", was a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster, known as one of the victims of the Shedden massacre of 2006.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, an international outlaw biker gang, has been involved in multiple crimes, alleged crimes, and violent incidents in Canada. The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) has designated the Hells Angels an outlaw motorcycle gang. Hells Angels MC have been linked with drug trafficking and production, as well as many violent crimes including murder, in Canada.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club has been designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the U.S. Department of Justice. The club is involved in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, explosives violations, motorcycle and motorcycle-parts theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, murder, bombings, extortion, arson and assault. The Bandidos partake in transporting and distributing cocaine and marijuana, and the production, transportation and distribution of methamphetamine. Active primarily in the Northwestern, Southeastern, Southwestern and the West Central regions, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 Bandidos members and 93 chapters in 16 U.S. states.
Nathaniel J. Sargent was a Black pioneer in Washington who settled in Kitsap County.
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