For years, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Bingham had two jobs: as a regulation enforcement officer within the Inland Empire, and because the proprietor of a gun retailer in Twentynine Palms.
However authorities on Thursday mentioned Bingham had greater than two jobs — he had a double-life that was difficult and illicit. He’s accused of being a member of an area outlaw bike gang and committing quite a few firearms crimes in reference to the gang’s enterprise, together with stealing a shotgun from his personal Sheriff’s Division.
The case in opposition to the deputy is the results of a months-long probe by gang and narcotics detectives who uncovered a cache of 160 firearms within the lawman’s residence, together with the stolen shotgun, in response to a press release from the division.
Bingham, 45, was detained Thursday afternoon at his Twentynine Palms residence and booked at round 1 p.m. in county lockup. He’s being held in lieu of $500,000 bail and is scheduled to seem in courtroom Monday.
He couldn’t be reached for remark, and it’s unclear if he has an lawyer.
“The actions of this deputy are alarming and inexcusable; he not solely tarnishes his badge but in addition undermines the integrity and credibility of your entire division,” mentioned Sheriff Shannon Dicus in a press release. “Legal conduct won’t be tolerated, and now we have positioned him on obligatory go away efficient instantly.”
The investigation into Bingham started in January, when detectives with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Division confirmed that he socialized with and rode bikes with members of the bike gang. The group’s identify was not publicly disclosed.
On a weekend in late March, investigators together with the California Freeway Patrol carried out a site visitors cease of Bingham and two different gang members. Throughout the cease, investigators discovered him carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm. Bingham was arrested March 23 and later launched.
Throughout a subsequent search of Bingham’s residence, authorities discovered 160 firearms, together with an automated assault rifle with an connected grenade launcher, together with silencers and motorcycle-gang-related paraphernalia.
Authorities additionally discovered the shotgun that was allegedly stolen from the Sheriff’s Division.
Bingham was charged Thursday with 10 felonies together with possession of a machine gun; possession of a short-barreled rifle; grand theft of a firearm; possession of a stolen firearm; and participation in a felony avenue gang. All 10 counts carry an enhancement for being finished in affiliation with a gang.
For years, Bingham had a facet enterprise operating a gun retailer in Twentynine Palms known as O’Three Tactical, in response to public information and information experiences.
The enterprise shuttered in June 2021, with a message posted on the shop’s Fb web page stating, “After being unable to keep up any form of stock and hemorrhaging [sic] my very own private funds over the past 12 months making an attempt to maintain our doorways open, O’Three Tactical can be completely closing its doorways.”
He referenced a scarcity of ammunition and firearms as one issue crippling the enterprise.
“We had six 12 months run, however all of the drama that precipitated the previous couple of hoarding points hit a majory [sic] artery, identical to 1000’s and 1000’s of different small companies,” Bingham mentioned, suggesting he was near chapter.
That 12 months, former clients and a vendor introduced him to courtroom alleging unpaid payments or failing to offer firearms they’d bought. An ammunition vendor claimed it was owed just below $2,000 for ammo it had delivered, and one other buyer filed a small-claims motion claiming that his roughly $6,000 order was canceled and that Bingham had saved the cash in a enterprise account. Each instances have been dismissed.
In 2017, Bingham’s private {and professional} lives merged. That 12 months, a former Marine machine gunner, Rafael Aikens, was accused of killing his onetime romantic companion, 32-year-old Christy McKissic, and her mom, Renee Metcalf.
At Aikens’ 2019 trial, Bingham testified to arriving on the scene of the slayings, and in addition promoting Aikens a .45-caliber handgun weeks earlier than the double murder, in response to information experiences on the trial.
