A Modesto private investigator suspected of conspiracy to obstruct justice in a federal investigation of a retired Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy who owns a Denair motorcycle shop surrendered to authorities Thursday morning.
Gary Ermoian, 50, surrendered with his attorney at the U.S. Marshals office in Fresno, according to the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force.
The task force went to Ermoian's Modesto home and his business Tuesday morning with a warrant for his arrest, said Steven Jacobson, an investigator from the Stanislaus County district attorney's office and a task force member.
"Gary surrendered himself to the U.S. Marshals office early ... as early as practicable after we learned of the arrest warrant, which had been sealed," said John Balazs, Ermoian's Sacramento-based attorney. "We look forward to a trial in this matter and expect Gary to be fully exonerated at the end of the case."
He said a federal judge recognized that Ermoian is no danger to the public in releasing him from custody on his own recognizance.
Task force members Tuesday said Ermoian's arrest warrant was for federal charges of extortion and racketeering.
Ermoian's photo, those charges and his physical description were posted Tuesday on the Crime Stoppers portion of the Modesto Police Department Web site until they were removed Thursday.
Conspiracy charge
Ermoian was charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to the federal indictment that was filed in court Nov. 25 and ordered unsealed Wednesday.
It was unclear why the charges against Ermoian in the unsealed indictment were different from the charges the task force members released to the public Tuesday.
Jacobson declined to comment about the difference Thursday and referred questions to federal prosecutors with the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento.
Those prosecutors, who are leading the Road Dog Cycle investigation, did not return phone calls and e-mails Thursday. On Tuesday, the prosecutors declined to comment about Ermoian's arrest warrant and the nature of the charges.
Federal investigators believe Ermoian was the link between former Stanislaus County court bailiff Dave Swanson and Road Dog Cycle owner Robert Holloway, according to the indictment.
Swanson, 52; Holloway, 61; and Ermoian are listed with nine other defendants in the federal indictment of suspected illegal operations at Holloway's motorcycle shop going back to 1997.
The list of defendants includes Holloway's son, Brent Holloway, 35, who was released pending trial in early August.
Robert Holloway has been in custody since July 15.
Racketeering accusations
Authorities say the Holloways ran a racketeering enterprise at the shop, allowing motorcycle club members to take bikes on credit without official loans. Authorities say club presidents would repossess the bikes for Robert Holloway when members missed payments.
According to the indictment, federal investigators believe Swanson received an "Officer Safety Bulletin" that was sent out to law enforcement officials Sept. 19, 2007.
The bulletin contained confidential intelligence about the investigation of the Road Dog Cycle shop and a search warrant that was to be served at the business.
About 8:45 a.m. Sept. 20, 2007, Swanson called Ermoian to inform him of the search warrant with the intent that the confidential information would be relayed to Robert Holloway, the indictment says.
About 9:10 a.m. Sept. 20, 2007, Ermoian called Robert Holloway, but the indictment was not clear about the purpose of that conversation.
Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.
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