Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and West Norriton Township Police Chief Michael A. Kelly announced the arrests of nine members of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in connection with the Oct. 17, 2025, shooting at the Wawa on Main Street in West Norriton, a short distance from the Lower Providence Township border.
Arrested were George Cwienk III, 51; Joel Hernandez-Martinez, 36; George Hripto Jr., 50; Jason Lawless, 45, all of Bridgeport; Manuel Baez-Santos, 34, of Norristown; Erik Dixon, 33, of King of Prussia; Luke Higgins, 29, of Dauberville; Justin Noll, 34, of Reading; and Erik Rosenberger, 46, of East Greenville.
(Credit: Montgomery County DA)On Friday, October 17, 2025, at 9:12 p.m., West Norriton Township Police were dispatched to the Wawa, 2544 W. Main St., for a reported shooting. The 911 caller said the store manager had locked down the building and had customers hiding in the back area.
A joint investigation by West Norriton Township Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau determined the shooting was gang-related and resulted in six people being shot, including two innocent bystanders.
According to the investigation, an adult male was shot in the face while putting air in his vehicle’s tire, and an adult female was shot in the right side of her torso as she stood near the store’s entrance.
By James Short One member of the Unknown Bikers Outlaw Motorcycle Gang was shot in the left forearm and thigh, authorities said.
Detectives used surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, and other evidence to piece together the events. Video showed two Unknown Bikers members arriving at 9:08 p.m. to refuel when nine Pagans arrived together at 9:10 p.m.
“Some of the Pagans surrounded the opposing gang members, while other Pagans positioned themselves to block any escape,” a release from the District Attorney stated. “Almost immediately, a physical altercation ensued … Video shows Pagan gang members tactically moving through the area and taking a shooting platform stance.”
One minute later, gunfire erupted, and the Pagans fled the scene toward Norristown. Detectives recovered 14 fired cartridge casings at the scene.
Norristown Police later located four motorcycles and five Pagan gang members traveling eastbound on Main Street. Officers found that Rosenberger, Higgins, Cwienk, Hernandez-Martinez, and Noll had all been shot and were transported to area hospitals.
The investigation involved the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit, the District Attorney’s Gun Violence Reduction Task Force, and police from West Norriton, Upper Merion, Norristown, Bridgeport, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force.
The defendants were arrested Thursday, and charged with 12 felony counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts of riot, 14 counts of simple assault, and 46 counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Bail was set at $500,000 cash for Baez-Santos, Cwienk, Dixon, Higgins, Hernandez-Martinez, Hripto, Lawless, and Rosenberger. Noll’s bail was set at $50,000 unsecured due to ongoing medical treatment.
A bail review hearing was held the same day before Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who declined to change bail amounts, authorities said. Eight defendants were unable to post bail and were remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 10, before Magisterial District Judge Marc Alfarano.
The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Libby Hemler and Bradley Deckel.
According to a criminal complaint, detectives documented two earlier events involving the same Pagan members:
Sept. 21, 2025 – Norristown: A confrontation between Pagan riders and another driver that police described as “pack-style aggressive riding.”
Sept. 27, 2025 – Pennsbury Township: A separate encounter where multiple Pagan riders surrounded a vehicle, with investigators later connecting several of the same motorcycles and defendants to the Oct. 17 Wawa shooting.
The Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, which is active along the East Coast including Pennsylvania, has been described by the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation as "among the largest and most crime-prone outlaw motorcycle gangs in the country."
According to the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation’s 2020 report, the Pagans have “dramatically expanded” in New Jersey in recent years. A 2021 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey states that “We have now charged 11 members of this outlaw gang with various weapons, drug-trafficking and violent crimes.”
A 2023 AP News article reported that a national Pagans leader was sentenced to 75 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, with law enforcement describing the club as a criminal enterprise.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
