Motorcycle gang member arrested on drug, weapon charges in Monroe County
MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – A 26-year-old Key West man who is affiliated with the Pagan’s motorcycle gang was arrested Thursday on firearm and drug charges, authorities confirmed.
According to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Linhardt, Austin Christopher Reynolds is the second person with ties to the group to be arrested by the Sheriff’s Office in a week.
Reynolds was taken into custody Thursday following a traffic stop.
According to Linhardt, Reynolds initially fled from a deputy who was patrolling Stock Island when he spotted Reynolds just before 5:15 p.m. on U.S. 1.
Linhardt said the deputy knew Reynolds from previous encounters and knew that he had a suspended driver’s license.
The deputy was unable to keep up with Reynolds’ motorcycle, but he and another deputy searched the area and later found Reynolds near Fifth Avenue and Balido Street, authorities said.
According to Linhardt, the deputies detained Reynolds and found about two grams of cocaine and a large knife in his possession.
They said a .45-caliber pistol was found nearby in the grass, and a witness told them they saw Reynolds throw away the gun as he was fleeing from them
Reynolds was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of cocaine, fleeing and eluding, evidence tampering, reckless driving and knowingly driving with a suspended license.
“The Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant in holding all criminals in our community accountable as this case shows,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement Friday. “I want to thank the Deputies involved for their great work in this arrest.”
Linhardt said Reynolds has a prior felony drug conviction from 2016 out of Georgia.
He said Reynolds’ fellow gang member, Justin August Meyer, 31, of Key West, was arrested on Jan. 27 following a search warrant of his Staples Avenue home.
About 12 grams of cocaine were found inside his home, along with an AR-15 pistol, a 9mm pistol, 140 rounds of ammunition, $3,310 in suspected drug sales and a digital scale, Linhardt said.
Meyer was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Pagan’s gang member was also arrested in 2019 in Monroe County for allegedly making threats on Facebook.
Linhardt said in that incident, Adam Matthew Miller, 42, of Big Pine Key, posted a photo of himself holding a knife and captioning the picture: “Support Pagan’s MC or else! Support or life support! Sons of the Fire God coming to a neighborhood near you!”