For years, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Bingham worked two jobs: as a law enforcement officer in the Inland Empire and as a gun store owner in Twentynine Palms.
But authorities said Thursday that Bingham worked more than two jobs — he led a complicated and illicit double life. He is accused of being a member of a local outlaw motorcycle gang and committing numerous gun-related crimes in connection with the gang’s business, including stealing a shotgun in his own sheriff’s department.
The case against the deputy is the result of a months-long investigation by gang and narcotics detectives who discovered a cache of 160 firearms in the lawman’s home, including the shotgun hunt stolen, according to a department release.
Bingham, 45, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home in Twentynine Palms and booked into county lockup around 1 p.m. He is being held on $500,000 bail and is due in court Monday.
He could not be reached for comment, and it is unclear whether he has an attorney.
“The actions of this MP are alarming and inexcusable; not only does he tarnish his badge, but he also undermines the integrity and credibility of the entire department,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement. “Criminal behavior will not be tolerated and we have placed him on compulsory leave with immediate effect.”
The investigation into Bingham began in January, when detectives with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed he was socializing and riding bikes with members of the motorcycle gang. The name of the group has not been made public.
On a weekend in late March, investigators and the California Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop on Bingham and two other gang members. During the check, investigators found him carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm. Bingham was arrested on March 23 and later released.
In a subsequent search of Bingham’s home, authorities found 160 firearms, including an automatic assault rifle equipped with a grenade launcher, as well as silencers and motorcycle gang-related paraphernalia.
Authorities also recovered the shotgun believed to have been stolen from the sheriff’s department.
Bingham was charged Thursday with 10 felonies, including possession of a machine gun; possession of a short-barreled rifle; robbery of a firearm; possession of a stolen firearm; and participation in a criminal street gang. All 10 counts have an enhancement for being done in association with a gang.
For years, Bingham had a side business running a gun store in Twentynine Palms called O’Three Tactical, according to public records and news reports.
The business closed in June 2021, with a message posted on the store’s Facebook page stating: “After being unable to maintain any type of inventory and haemorrhaging (sic) my own personal finances at the Over the past year trying to keep our doors open, O’ Three Tactical will be closing its doors for good.
He cited shortages of ammunition and firearms as one of the factors crippling the business.
“We’ve had six good years of operation, but all the drama that caused the latest hoarding problems hit a major thoroughfare (sic), just like thousands and thousands of other small businesses,” Bingham said, suggesting that he was on the verge of bankruptcy.
That year, former customers and a seller sued him, alleging unpaid bills or failure to provide firearms they purchased. An ammunition seller claimed he was owed just under $2,000 for ammunition he delivered, and another customer filed a small claims action claiming his order of about $6,000 had been canceled and that Bingham had kept the money in a business account. Both cases were dismissed.
In 2017, Bingham’s personal and professional lives merged. That year, a former Marine machine gunner, Rafael Aikens, was charged with murdering his romantic partner, Christy McKissic, 32, and her mother, Renee Metcalf.
At Aikens’ 2019 trial, Bingham testified that he arrived at the scene of the murders and also sold Aikens a .45-caliber handgun weeks before the double homicide, according to trial information.
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