Is A Bar In Bryant A Front For The Bandidos ?….The Shanna Hastings Story Continues
Dec 21, 2025
On December 12th I brought you the story of Hastings filing a lawsuit against Bryant Mayor Chris Treat and Police Chief Carl Minden for wrongful termination. That story includes tie-ins to the outlaw motorcycle gang The Bandidos.
I announced in the article that I was going to take a deep-dive investigation into the matter and bring you the facts.
What I have found so far mirrors the scripts from the FX series “Sons of Anarchy.”
FACT: The notoriously violent Bandidos Motorcycle Gang has set up shop in Bryant.
How do we know ?….Because Hastings, a now former Bryant PD Detective, got targeted and terminated for investigating them.
You say “Hey Jimmie…That’s a lot to take in.”
Yeah, it really is….But stay with me because I’m gonna get you there piece by piece.
On June 28th of this year, Bryant PD was called to Burks Brothers Brewery & Taproom in response to a report of approximately 20 Bandido bikers beating two men in the parking lot.
Investigation files show the bar was known to the PD to be a hangout for the Bandidos.
The bar is owned by Dr. Jessie Burks who is a foot and ankle surgeon at Arkansas Surgical Hospital in North Little Rock….Keep that little nugget in your mind because I’m gonna throw you a curve ball in a minute.
The two men beaten were a father & son with the son landing at UAMS with stab wounds to the arm and head.
Detective Hastings was assigned to the case which ultimately led to her discovering facts that got her fired for….are you ready for this ?….Discovering and reporting them.
Only one of the Bandidos beating the men was positively identified. That was 24-year-old Khel Dabin Jewett of Benton.
Jewett was taken into custody and charged with second degree battery. He was released on $50,000.00 Bond.
Through intel from LRPD, Hastings learned that if the Bandidos have set up shop at the bar then that very well could trigger a turf war with a rival motorcycle gang, the Mongols, which gave Hastings legitimate community safety concerns.
That led Hastings to reach out to State Alcohol Beverage Control Director David Potter to see if any of this could affect the bar holding a permit for alcohol.
Potter replied that it very well could which led to Hastings working with ABC Special Agent Princess Danzy.
On July 2nd Hastings and fellow Bryant PD Detective Nathaniel Morrison met Special Agent Danzy along with ABC Special Agent Ellis to accompany them on an inspection of the Burks Brothers bar.
Get this….During the inspection, the Officers discovered a bookcase that actually serves as a hidden door. The door was locked and after staff opened the door for the agents, they discovered a hidden room where the Bandidos hold meetings which they refer to as ‘church.’
Now you remember me telling you Dr. Jessie Burks owns the bar, right ?
Well according to Sergeant Nick Dean with the Bryant PD, Dr. Burks is not only the owner, he is in fact himself a Bandido….Told you I was sending a curveball.
Want another curveball ?
Right after the Officers arrived for the inspection, Dr. Burks’ son Gunnar arrived accompanied by Bryant PD Patrol Captain Nate Johnston. Johnston was off-duty at the time.
Hastings stated in her report that “Once Capt. Johnston noticed Det. Morrison and me there, he broke eye contact, did not acknowledge us, and sat down at the bar with Gunnar.”
When the hidden door was discovered, Hastings noted – “I observed Capt. Johnston get up from the bar and as he was walking to the door, he was doing something on his phone, again not speaking to or acknowledging us. He then got into his truck and left the property, while Gunnar stayed at the bar.”
As I stated in the article on December 12th, Hastings had concerns about Johnston having inappropriate association with the Bandidos Motorcycle gang that filtered into ongoing cases.
Johnston showing up to the bar with Gunnar during the inspection is just one part of the basis for Hastings’ concerns.
There is much more to bring you on the ABC inspection of the bar and I’m going to do just that in the upcoming days.
As to the beating and stabbing incident, well Prosecutor Chris Walton had no choice but to drop the charges against Jewett for several reasons.
Besides being notorious for murder, violence, gun trafficking, drug trafficking and more, they are also notorious for threatening and intimidating victims and witnesses.
Officers who responded to the scene reported that witnesses to the attack were being threatened by Bandidos not to tell the police anything.
There is no video of the attack because the Burks Brothers bar does not have any surveillance cameras….Do you have to wonder why ?
Last but not least the victims did not want to press charges….Another shocker.
Now as I have stated this is just the first of a series of articles investigating the wrongful termination of Officer Hastings and all of the issues tied to it such as the concerns of Captain Johnston’s relationship with the Bandidos.
Now in Defense of Johnston, Bryant Assistant PD Chief JW Plouch asks the question ‘Is it illegal to be a Bandido’….I kid you not.
We will explore that in the next article.
Let me end with the question I posed in the Title.
Is the Burks Brothers Brewery a front for the Bandidos ?
The math is pretty simple for me….How bout you ?
#FactsNotFiction
Professional Bully Fighter I investigate and report on issues around the State of Arkansas with an emphasis on Government. I am strong conservative however I bring Truth and Facts regardless of Party affiliation….My hashtag is #FactsNotFiction
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