Clifford "Buckshot" Michael Lavoy, a Montclair member of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a March bar attack in Ontario that left a rival biker dead, capping off a violent flare-up in an ongoing feud between motorcycle clubs.
As reported by The Mercury News, Lavoy pleaded guilty in October 2025 to one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering, admitting he aided and abetted the assault that came just before the fatal shooting. The federal judge handed down the five-year sentence following that plea, with the decision announced this week in federal court.
How the Attack Unfolded
Federal prosecutors say the violence started in the early morning hours of March 4 inside the Firewater Bar, when Lavoy and fellow Mongols member Julian "Juls" Pulido confronted a man identified in court records as "V.S." for wearing Vagos Motorcycle Club gear in what the Mongols considered their territory. According to a complaint summarized in a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the two men punched and choked the victim inside the bar.
When the victim tried to escape, prosecutors allege Pulido pulled a gun and shot him multiple times in the back. The man collapsed in the doorway and was pronounced dead at the scene at about 2:45 a.m., according to the federal charging documents.
Nine-Hour Pursuit Ends in Kern County
Authorities say Pulido bolted after the shooting and sparked a nine-hour chase that cut across five Southern California counties. The pursuit finally ended along Highway 46 near Lost Hills in Kern County, where Pulido crashed a black Dodge into a ditch. He was arrested there, still wearing Mongols-branded clothing, according to federal prosecutors.
Pulido has been charged in federal court with murder in aid of racketeering and faces a potential mandatory life sentence if convicted, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sentence Follows Plea
Lavoy's guilty plea and five-year term do not resolve the more serious murder case hanging over Pulido, who remains in custody on both state and federal counts. Prosecutors expect him to stand trial next year, with his federal case currently set for November 2026, according to The Mercury News.
Federal Crackdown Cited
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the case grew out of a joint investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Ontario Police Department, pursued under Operation Take Back America, a broader push to disrupt violent organized-crime activity. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Declan T. Conroy and Daniel H. Weiner are prosecuting the federal case.
Hoodline first reported on the arrests last April in an earlier piece about the vicious Ontario biker rivalry, part of what officials and observers describe as a pattern of bloody skirmishes between the Mongols and the Vagos in Southern California. With Lavoy sentenced and Pulido awaiting trial, both state and federal authorities say they intend to keep the pressure on as they pursue cases tied to outlaw motorcycle-gang violence.
