Donald Eugene Chambers (November 23, 1930 – July 18, 1999) was an American

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

outlaw biker An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

and founder of the

Bandidos Motorcycle Club The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters, l ...

, in 1966 in

San Leon, Texas } San Leon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,970 at the 2010 census. History During the early 19th century, the pirate Jean Lafitte, who ruled Galveston Island, established a strong ...

. Chambers was convicted of murdering two drug dealers in 1972 and served a life sentence until his

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

in 1983.

Biography

Chambers served as a

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Upon returning to Texas, he was employed as a longshoreman and became a member of numerous motorcycle clubs. Finding these various clubs too tame for his tastes, Chambers founded his own, the

Bandidos The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters, l ...

, on March 4, 1966 in

. He named the club in honor of the Mexican bandits who lived by their own rules, and chose the club's colors – red and gold – after the official colors of the U.S. Marine Corps. Recruiting members from

biker bar A biker bar is a bar that is frequented by motorcyclists (bikers). Some are owned or managed by people who are friendly toward motorcyclists.

s locally in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

as well as in Corpus Christi,

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, and

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, the club had over one hundred members, including many Vietnam veterans, by the early 1970s.Texas Monthly: "The Gang’s All Here" by Skip Hollansworth
APRIL 2007 In 1969, Chambers oversaw the abduction, beating and handing-over to police of a Bandidos member who was wanted for a murder unrelated to club business which was drawing unwanted attention from law enforcement to the club. Chambers later moved to New Mexico after he was involved in a deadly shootout with a rival gang at a bar in

East End, Houston East End Houston, managed by the East End District (EED), is a district in eastern Houston, Texas, United States, located between the eastern edge of downtown to the Port of Houston and South to Hobby Airport. The District is home to Houston's e ...

, where they had gone to discuss a peace agreement.'We are the people our parents warned us about'
Dane Schiller, ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' (June 6, 2015) On December 22, 1972, Chambers, along with fellow Bandidos members Jesse Fain "Injun" Deal and "Crazy" Ray Vincente, abducted drug dealer brothers Marley Leon Tarver and Preston LeRay Tarver in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

and drove them into the desert north of the city. There, the two dealers were forced to dig their own graves, after which the bikers shot them with a shotgun and set fire to their bodies. The brothers had sold baking soda to the Bandidos earlier that day, claiming it was amphetamine. Chambers, Deal and Vincente were convicted of the murders, with testimony given by Robert Munnerlyn, a club prospect and police informant who was an eyewitness to the event. The trio each received life sentences. With Chambers in prison, Ronald Jerome "Ronnie" Hodge, another former Marine, was elected the club's new national president. Hodge was known previously as "Mr. Prospect," because he had earned his full

colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

in only a month, but once elected he went by the street name "Stepmother", in reference to Chambers street name "Mother". Donald's 23-year-old son Stephen Trammell Chambers died at Ben Taub Hospital after being shot in the head during an argument in the parking lot of a Houston night club, where his wife worked as a waitress, on November 3, 1979. A man charged with the murder, Leon "Stash" Dudley, allegedly fled Texas shortly afterwards and was apprehended in

Euclid, Ohio Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner ring suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 49,692. History The City of Euclid was originally a part of Euclid Township, first map ...

in June 2016. The charges against Dudley were dropped in April 2017 after it was determined that the unidentified actual killer had been using Dudley's name and stolen social security number during the time of the murder. Chambers was

d in 1983 and retired from his club. He settled in El Paso, where he lived until his death from cancer at the age of 68 on July 18, 1999. Chambers is buried at Forest Park Cemetery in Houston beneath a large, flat grave stone inscribed with his name, affiliation with the Bandidos, and the quote, "We are the people our parents warned us about."''The Gang Paradox: Inequalities and Miracles on the U.S.-Mexico Border''
Robert J. Durán (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Donald Eugene 1930 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American gangsters American crime bosses American people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Texas Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Texas American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment People paroled from life sentence People from Houston People from El Paso, Texas United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War Deaths from cancer in Texas Bandidos Motorcycle Club

Biography

References

Further reading

External links