Mo. sheriff alleges purported gang leader ordered biker recruits to kill him, deputy

Mo. sheriff alleges gang leader wanted him killed

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Authorities say the self-professed head of a motorcycle gang whom investigators blame for a bungled New Jersey kidnapping tried to persuade new biker recruits to kill a Missouri sheriff and his deputy.

The Bates County Sheriff’s Department says in a Friday statement that an investigation into 48-year-old William Barger revealed he wanted pledges to kill Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson and Chief Deputy Justine Moreland.

William Barger has been charged on 11 counts mainly stemming from a home invasion in November. He has not been charged in the Jan. 8 kidnapping or the unsuccessful suspected assassination plot. He does not have an attorney.

Prosecutors believe the kidnapping was a case of mistaken identity and that the abductors took the wrong man.