Federal prosecutors in Houston say a member of the Homietos outlaw motorcycle club has been linked to a deadly series of highway shootings on Interstate 45 in April 2023, part of what they describe as a wider biker gang war that left three motorcyclists dead. According to a newly filed federal charging document, the attacks were not random road rage but alleged ambushes tied to an ongoing feud between rival motorcycle clubs. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the Justice Department on Thursday charged Joseph Roy “Tequila” Gomez with participating in a racketeering conspiracy connected to the Homietos.
Prosecutors say the filing accuses Gomez of brandishing a gun during the I-45 attacks, helping to dispose of firearms afterward and joining meetings where members allegedly discussed keeping the shootings quiet. The Houston Chronicle reports that the Homietos defendants in the broader case are scheduled to go on trial in June, while a separate federal case targeting rival Bandidos members is set for May.
Where the Shootings Happened
The violence unfolded on April 14, 2023, along a busy stretch of I-45.
Around 11 a.m., a motorcyclist identified as William Kinnison was shot while riding north on I-45 in Spring. He later died at a hospital. Roughly an hour after that attack, three more motorcyclists were hit by gunfire near the Sam Houston statue outside Huntsville. Two of them, Andrew Cole and Ramiro Sosa, were killed. A third rider was airlifted to a Houston hospital.
In the immediate aftermath, authorities said the victims appeared to be affiliated with outlaw motorcycle clubs, and multiple agencies began investigating whether the two crime scenes were connected, according to KPRC Click2Houston.
Federal Filings Build on Earlier Homietos Case
The new allegations plug into a larger federal probe that had already produced racketeering and firearms charges against a dozen Homietos members in 2023.
Back on Sept. 25, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston announced those arrests, describing a multi-year FBI investigation into violent acts tied to the club, including an assault at a banquet hall that prosecutors say fit a pattern of group-sanctioned violence. In that earlier case, The U.S. Attorney's Office said the indictment accused Homietos members of carrying out assaults to protect the club’s power and reputation.
The latest filing that brings in the I-45 shootings is framed by prosecutors as an extension of that same racketeering narrative, now reaching onto one of the region’s busiest highways.
Prosecutors Paint a Wider Biker War
Prosecutors and reporters describe the violence as part of a longer-running split between the newer Homietos and the older, entrenched Bandidos organization. The Homietos allegedly broke away in 2017, then recruited members from the Tango Blast prison gang as they expanded chapters outside Texas.
The FBI has outlined what it calls a turf war in the Houston area that played out from about 2020 through 2024, with federal court filings tying shootings, assaults and arson to competing biker crews. A project by the Houston Chronicle chronicled that broader conflict and last year’s indictments of Bandidos members.
Legal Implications
The federal racketeering, murder and firearms counts hanging over both the Homietos and Bandidos cases carry serious weight. Prosecutors say some of the charges in the related prosecutions could bring life sentences if juries convict on the most severe counts.
A separate Justice Department announcement last year on the Bandidos indictments noted that murder in aid of racketeering and certain firearm offenses expose defendants to decades, and in some cases life, behind bars. In that statement, The U.S. Attorney's Office also underscored a basic legal point that still applies here: indictments are only allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
What’s Next
For now, Gomez is the only person charged in the expanded federal conspiracy tied directly to the I-45 shootings, according to prosecutors. Investigators say the broader probe has involved the FBI working alongside state and local law enforcement agencies.
In the separate Bandidos case, defense attorneys have asked judges to adjust the court calendar, and any scheduling shifts will determine whether the two large biker prosecutions move ahead on the current timetable or slow down.
Authorities at both the local and federal level say the investigations remain active. They have asked anyone with information about the April 2023 shootings to contact investigators, a request first highlighted in early coverage of the attacks by KPRC Click2Houston.
