Article about his "SWest honky" tattoo
Man accused in shooting tied to gang
The two words are tattooed across the chests of men in Springfield and Joplin. The same words have surfaced in court papers about stolen guns, vehicle thefts, drugs.
The words — Southwest Honkeys —also now link the two most recent shootings of Springfield police officers.
Police describe the gang as unorganized, but Greene County court records increasingly tie Southwest Honkeys to Springfield crimes — including the recent life-changing injury to Officer Aaron Pearson.
Also linked to the gang, according to court records researched by the News-Leader, was the shooting of Officer Travis Wilson in 2013.
Although court records mentioning the gang most often center on thefts and drug distribution, crimes can escalate — the shooting Officer Pearson one of the most extreme examples. Accused in that case is Joshua Hagood, who has one of the gang's tatoos and is associated with known gang members.
Members appear to borrow images, actions and language of white supremacist groups. But there's no record of the gang committing hate crimes. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks such groups nationwide, has no record of the "Honkeys."
What is clear, however, is that tattooed white men arrested in the Ozarks are continuing to be identified with the gang.
