David P. Hartlaub, a 28-year-old Caucasian male, was tragically shot and killed on February 27, 1988, in Perkins Township, Ohio. Hartlaub, who was a music store manager, was making a night deposit at a bank near the Sandusky Mall when he was attacked. The killers, who were members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, mistakenly identified Hartlaub's yellow van as belonging to a rival gang member, the Outlaws.
This tragic incident was part of an initiation ritual for the Hell's Angels, involving a cold-blooded murder of a rival gang member.
Three individuals—Steven Wayne Yee, Mark Verdi, and John Ray Bonds—were indicted and convicted of aggravated murder and federal firearms offenses in connection with Hartlaub's death. The court found that the gunmen had no interest in robbery, as the deposit bag containing approximately $4,000 was found untouched in the van. The government's theory was that the shooting was a case of mistaken identity, and the defendants were convicted based on circumstantial evidence and DNA evidence presented during the trial.
Steven Wayne Yee, one of the convicted individuals, later filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming he did not fully understand the length of the mandatory prison sentence or the conditions for parole eligibility. Despite his plea, Yee was sentenced to life in prison, and his next parole eligibility date was set for June 14, 2018. The court denied his motion, and Yee remained incarcerated.
The case remains one of the most heinous murders in Erie County, and the legal proceedings surrounding it have been complex and contentious. The tragic death of David Hartlaub and the subsequent legal battles highlight the severe consequences of gang violence and the challenges faced by the justice system in addressing such crimes.
