A Southern California Sheriff’s Deputy is accused of living a double life as a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang as police found an arsenal of firearms at his home — including a stolen shotgun from his department.
Deputy Christopher Bingham, 45, was arrested after he was caught riding with two members of “a local Outlaw Motorcycle Gang” on March 23, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Bingham, an 18-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, allegedly had an unloaded, unregistered firearm and was booked at the Smith Correctional Facility but was later released.
The department had been on Bingham’s tail since January 2024 when police caught wind that he had been riding and socializing with members of the gang, prompting officials to open an investigation into the deputy.
Investigators from the Gangs/Narcotics Division were then granted a search warrant for his Twentynine Palms, Calif. home following his arrest in March.
Police found a treasure trove of “approximately 160 firearms,” including a fully automatic assault rifle, with an attached grenade launcher, the department said.
They also allegedly found “destructive devices,” silencers, paraphernalia from the gang, and “a stolen San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department shotgun” during the search.
The 18-year Sheriff’s Department veteran was arrested at his home on Thursday at around 1 p.m. and booked at the West Valley Detention Center.
“The actions of this deputy are alarming and inexcusable; he not only tarnishes his badge but also undermines the integrity and credibility of the entire department,” San Bernardino Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement.
“Criminal behavior will not be tolerated, and we have placed him on compulsory leave effective immediately. The investigation has been forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office, and charges have been filed.”
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has slapped several felony charges against Bingham.
Bingham has been charged with possession of a machine gun, possession of a short-barreled rifle, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a destructive device, possession of silencers, and participation in a criminal street gang.
These charges carry an enhancement for being done in association with a gang, according to California Penal Code 186.22 PC.
His bail was set at $500,000 after his arsenal was discovered.
While the department never specified which motorcycle gang Bingham had been riding with, District Attorney Jason Anderson believes Bingham was involved with the Mongols, according to The San Bernardino Sun.
“This appears to involve the Mongols, without question,” Anderson said.
Bingham owned a gun store in Twentynine Palms as a side business while working for the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, according to public records obtained by the LA Times.
The store, O’Three Tactical, has been closed since June 2021.
The business was “unable to maintain any kind of inventory” and was “hemorrhaging” Bingham’s “own personal finances,” he wrote on the store’s Facebook page after announcing the closure.
Bingham was also mixed up in a murder trial back in 2019 after Rafael Aikens — a former Marine — was arrested for killing his estranged ex-girlfriend Christy McKissic and her mother in their Twentynine Palms home in 2017.
Bingham testified during the trial that he had sold Aikens a .45-caliber handgun weeks before the gruesome murders and had also arrived on the scene during the night of the double homicide, according to the Desert Sun.
Aikens was given a life sentence for his crimes, but the prosecution never revealed if the gun sold to him by Bingham was the one used in the killings.
