LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock man and chapter president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club has been federally charged with possessing large quantities of methamphetamine for distribution, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced.
74-year-old Steven Glenn Ryals, also known as “Hot Tub,” was charged by federal complaint on March 2, 2026, with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, Ryals faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the complaint, law enforcement agents initiated an investigation into Ryals and other Bandidos members in early 2025 on suspicion of methamphetamine trafficking in the Lubbock area. Ryals was identified as the Bandidos Notorious Chapter President.
On Feb. 27, 2026, agents executed a search warrant at the Bandidos Notorious clubhouse, which also served as Ryals’s residence. Inside an office, agents found approximately 3.2 pounds of suspected methamphetamine inside a locked drawer of a wooden filing cabinet. A cabinet next to it contained Ryals’s Bandidos Motorcycle Club paraphernalia.
Agents also found multiple items in the office commonly used in the distribution of controlled substances, including small plastic baggies, digital scales, and a concealed compartment inside a bookshelf.
The investigation was a joint operation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lubbock Texas Anti-Gang Center, and the Caprock Hi-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The Texas Anti-Gang Center is composed of agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lubbock Police Department.
Ryals appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Lubbock on March 2 for his initial appearance and remains in federal custody pending further court proceedings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt is prosecuting the case
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