Lords of Chaos (self-styled teen militia)
Encyclopedia
The Lords of Chaos was a self-styled teen militia
formed on April 13, 1996, in Fort Myers, Florida
. They gained notoriety for a crime spree that ended with the April 30, 1996, murder of one of the boys' teachers, Mark Schwebes, who served as Riverdale High School's
band director.
The Lords of Chaos predate the even more notorious Columbine High School massacre
in Colorado by three years. The Lords of Chaos case has been widely documented, most notably in Jim Greenhill's true crime
book about the case, Someone Has to Die Tonight. It is also the subject of a Dateline NBC
special, "When A Killer Calls," as well as being mentioned in Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Michael Moynihan
& Didrik Søderlind, the book even borrowing the group's name.
After the night of destruction Kevin Foster decided that they should form a militia dedicated to reigning terror upon the community. The creation of the group's symbol
( (Ø
) ) came from an in-joke involving a question Foster missed on a math test. The symbol for a null or empty set
is either { } or Ø. On the test, Foster wrote ( Ø ) as the answer to a question whose answer was no set, thereby having it marked incorrect.
Kevin "God" Foster, Pete "Fried" Magnotti, Chris "Slim" Black and Derek "Mob" Shields made up the core members of the Lords of Chaos. The group also included lesser associates Chris "Red" Burnett, Thomas "Dog" Torrone, Brad Young, and later Craig Lesh.
On April 17 the group wrote a document entitled, Declaration of War—Formal Introduction of Lords of Chaos, which they planned to mail to the Lee County Clerk/Traffic Violations Bureau but ultimately did not. The manifesto
warned:
In the early morning hours of April 20, 1996, the group escalated their terror campaign by destroying a historic 12300 square feet (1,142.7 m²) two-story brick Coca-Cola
bottling plant in Fort Myers. Kevin Foster's original plan had been to destroy the building on April 19 to emulate the Oklahoma City bombing
, which had occurred on that date the year before. Like Timothy McVeigh
, he saw his actions as a retaliation against the government for the Waco Siege
which had occurred on April 19, 1993.
As a perverse joke, Kevin Foster used a can of Pepsi
filled with gunpowder and fitted with a 25-foot fireworks fuse to destroy the historic building. While the other boys arranged propane
tanks that they had previously stolen from a local Starvin Marvin around the building, Foster ignited the fuse of the homemade bomb. The boys then retreated to a picnic table across the street where they could view the destruction. About 13 minutes later an intense explosion ripped through the building, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage. Because a bomb was used in the arson, the local authorities contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
On April 26, Kevin Foster and Peter Magnotti robbed and carjacked Emory Lewis, Derek Shields' landlord and the owner of the local Alva County Diner. Shields had hated Lewis ever since he had heard Lewis call his mother a "bitch" and "poor white trash." Lewis was uninjured in the attack.
for an upcoming "Grad Nite" at Walt Disney World
where Foster planned to steal one of the characters costumes as a disguise to shoot minorities at the amusement park. As part of their diversion Foster rigged a smoke grenade that he had purchased at an Army/Navy store with fishing wire. The plan was to stack up the clothes they wanted and run out when the grenade went off. The grenade proved to be a dud.
The boys decided to go to Riverdale High and vandalize the auditorium. Once they got there they stole latex gloves, a fire extinguisher, two staplers and a bag of canned peaches. Foster rigged a Clorox bleach bottle full of gasoline with a lit rag and threw it through the auditorium window.
Mark Schwebes, 32, the band director at Riverdale, caught members of the group loitering on the school grounds and confiscated the peaches, staplers, and fire extinguisher. He recognized Black and Torrone, telling the boys not to be surprised to get a visit from the police in the morning. After Schwebes left, Black angrily stated, "This has to be fixed tonight, because tomorrow's a school day. So, he's gotta die tonight."
Although Schwebes had an unlisted telephone number the boys were able to procure his address through local directory assistance. Most of the other boys went home leaving only Kevin Foster, Chris Black, Pete Magnotti and Derek Shields, the core members of the group. It was decided that Foster would do the actual shooting. Black would act as getaway driver, Shields would knock on the door and Magnotti would stay in the car and act as a look out. On the way to the killing, Foster sang a deranged version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
":
At approximately 11:30 pm that night, Mark Schwebes heard a knock at his door. Opening it, he received a blast to the face from a Mossberg
12-gauge
shotgun
, which authorities believe killed him instantly. Foster shot him a second time in the buttocks because he wrongly perceived him to be a homosexual. Mistakenly believing that it was impossible to trace
shells back to his shotgun because it was a smooth bore weapon, Foster left the two spent shotgun shells at the scene.
they believed Mark Schwebes had been caught up in. The members of the group and its hangers-on, however, began bragging about the killing shortly after the commission of the crime. On May 2, Craig Lesh, a hanger-on of the group, bragged to his ex-girlfriend, Julie Schuchard, that the Lords of Chaos had killed the teacher. In the version he told her, he had been present and was actually the one who had knocked on the door. On May 3, after a restless night, Schuchard decided that she had to alert authorities and tell them what she knew.
From Schuchard, detectives learned not only of the Lords of Chaos' murder of Mark Schwebes but also of the group's plans to commit armed robbery at a Hardee's
restaurant where Magnotti and Shields worked. The detectives then questioned Craig Lesh, learning that he had not actually been present during the murder. They also learned that the group had been responsible for the Coca-Cola bottling plant bombing. This led to the arrests of the key members of the group on their way to commit the Hardee's robbery.
Brad Young and Craig Lesh were quickly released with no charges filed against them. Chris Burnett worked out a deal with prosecutors whereby he would plead guilty to second degree arson
and armed robbery and serve two years in jail, receive 10 years probation
and turn state's evidence
against the Lords of Chaos. Tom Torrone also turned state's evidence, being allowed to plead no contest to second degree arson and serve one year in jail with 10 years probation. In March 1997, Magnotti plead guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 32 years—one for each year of Mark Schwebes life—and agreed to testify. Two weeks before his trial began, Shields' pled guilty to first degree murder, followed in October by Black. Both received life imprisonment. Only Kevin Foster would go to trial.
Lee County
Prosecutors Marshall King Hall, Bob Lee, and Randy McGruther offered Kevin Foster life without the possibility of parole—an offer he turned down. He told his attorneys Bob Jacobs and Marquin Rinard that he considered this a worse fate than being sent to "Old Sparky
", Florida's electric chair
.
Jury selection for the trial began on March 3, 1998, presided over by Judge Isaac Anderson. During the trial Foster's mother testified that he was at home during the murder of Mark Schwebes, but one by one the members of the Lords of Chaos took the stand and stated not only that Foster had been there, but that he was the ringleader of the plot.
On March 11 closing arguments were given and the jury retired to deliberate
. After 2 hours and 16 minutes, the jury reached a verdict
of guilty. On April 9, 1998, the penalty phase of the trial began. The jury would have to decide if Foster should receive the death penalty or if they should be lenient and recommend life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. By a vote of 9 to 3 the jury recommended the death penalty. On June 17, 1998, Judge Anderson agreed with the jury's recommendation and sentenced Foster to death.
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
formed on April 13, 1996, in Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
. They gained notoriety for a crime spree that ended with the April 30, 1996, murder of one of the boys' teachers, Mark Schwebes, who served as Riverdale High School's
Riverdale High School (Florida)
Riverdale High School, located in Fort Myers, Florida, is one of the many high schools in Lee County. The first two years of Riverdale began at the present day site of Dunbar High School. Riverdale was located in this area for approximately two years while the present-day site was still in...
band director.
The Lords of Chaos predate the even more notorious Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
in Colorado by three years. The Lords of Chaos case has been widely documented, most notably in Jim Greenhill's true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
book about the case, Someone Has to Die Tonight. It is also the subject of a Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
special, "When A Killer Calls," as well as being mentioned in Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Michael Moynihan
Michael Moynihan (journalist)
Michael Moynihan is an American journalist, publisher and musician. He is best known for co-writing the book Lords of Chaos, about black metal....
& Didrik Søderlind, the book even borrowing the group's name.
Formation of the Lords of Chaos
On April 13, 1996, in Fort Myers, Florida, Kevin Foster, Pete Magnotti and Chris Black went on a vandalism and arson spree. Florida juvenile records show that only the group's ringleader, Kevin Foster, had any prior arrests or any kind of criminal history, and his primarily consisted of driving violations. The other members of the group had no arrest history. The first spree was quickly followed by a second that included an attempt to burn a church bus and the burning of a bird cage at The Hut, a themed restaurant, which resulted in the deaths of two macaws.After the night of destruction Kevin Foster decided that they should form a militia dedicated to reigning terror upon the community. The creation of the group's symbol
Gang signal
A gang signal is a visual or verbal way gang members identify their affiliation. This can take many forms including slogans, tattoos or hand signs...
( (Ø
Ø
Ø — minuscule: "ø", is a vowel and a letter used in the Danish, Faroese, Norwegian and Southern Sami languages.It's mostly used as a representation of mid front rounded vowels, such as ø œ, except for Southern Sami where it's used as an [oe] diphtong.The name of this letter is the same as the sound...
) ) came from an in-joke involving a question Foster missed on a math test. The symbol for a null or empty set
Empty set
In mathematics, and more specifically set theory, the empty set is the unique set having no elements; its size or cardinality is zero. Some axiomatic set theories assure that the empty set exists by including an axiom of empty set; in other theories, its existence can be deduced...
is either { } or Ø. On the test, Foster wrote ( Ø ) as the answer to a question whose answer was no set, thereby having it marked incorrect.
Kevin "God" Foster, Pete "Fried" Magnotti, Chris "Slim" Black and Derek "Mob" Shields made up the core members of the Lords of Chaos. The group also included lesser associates Chris "Red" Burnett, Thomas "Dog" Torrone, Brad Young, and later Craig Lesh.
Escalation
In an East Lee Tribune article entitled Hell Raising in Buckingham, a local reporter lashed out at the unknown culprits, calling them "obviously pea-brained vandals" and "person(s) of less than average intelligence and a cretin's personality." This article only further antagonized the boys to do more damage.On April 17 the group wrote a document entitled, Declaration of War—Formal Introduction of Lords of Chaos, which they planned to mail to the Lee County Clerk/Traffic Violations Bureau but ultimately did not. The manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
warned:
Lee County is dealing with a formidable foe, with high caliber intelligence, balls of titanium alloy, and a wicked destructive streak. . . . Be prepared for destruction of biblical proportions, for this is the coming of a NEW GOD, whose fiery hand shall lay waste to the populous.
THE GAMES HAVE JUST BEGUN, AND TERROR SHALL ENSUE. . . .
In the early morning hours of April 20, 1996, the group escalated their terror campaign by destroying a historic 12300 square feet (1,142.7 m²) two-story brick Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
bottling plant in Fort Myers. Kevin Foster's original plan had been to destroy the building on April 19 to emulate the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, which had occurred on that date the year before. Like Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
, he saw his actions as a retaliation against the government for the Waco Siege
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
which had occurred on April 19, 1993.
As a perverse joke, Kevin Foster used a can of Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
filled with gunpowder and fitted with a 25-foot fireworks fuse to destroy the historic building. While the other boys arranged propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
tanks that they had previously stolen from a local Starvin Marvin around the building, Foster ignited the fuse of the homemade bomb. The boys then retreated to a picnic table across the street where they could view the destruction. About 13 minutes later an intense explosion ripped through the building, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage. Because a bomb was used in the arson, the local authorities contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
On April 26, Kevin Foster and Peter Magnotti robbed and carjacked Emory Lewis, Derek Shields' landlord and the owner of the local Alva County Diner. Shields had hated Lewis ever since he had heard Lewis call his mother a "bitch" and "poor white trash." Lewis was uninjured in the attack.
Murder of Mark Schwebes
On April 30 the group decided to go steal clothes at a local Dillard'sDillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
for an upcoming "Grad Nite" at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
where Foster planned to steal one of the characters costumes as a disguise to shoot minorities at the amusement park. As part of their diversion Foster rigged a smoke grenade that he had purchased at an Army/Navy store with fishing wire. The plan was to stack up the clothes they wanted and run out when the grenade went off. The grenade proved to be a dud.
The boys decided to go to Riverdale High and vandalize the auditorium. Once they got there they stole latex gloves, a fire extinguisher, two staplers and a bag of canned peaches. Foster rigged a Clorox bleach bottle full of gasoline with a lit rag and threw it through the auditorium window.
Mark Schwebes, 32, the band director at Riverdale, caught members of the group loitering on the school grounds and confiscated the peaches, staplers, and fire extinguisher. He recognized Black and Torrone, telling the boys not to be surprised to get a visit from the police in the morning. After Schwebes left, Black angrily stated, "This has to be fixed tonight, because tomorrow's a school day. So, he's gotta die tonight."
Although Schwebes had an unlisted telephone number the boys were able to procure his address through local directory assistance. Most of the other boys went home leaving only Kevin Foster, Chris Black, Pete Magnotti and Derek Shields, the core members of the group. It was decided that Foster would do the actual shooting. Black would act as getaway driver, Shields would knock on the door and Magnotti would stay in the car and act as a look out. On the way to the killing, Foster sang a deranged version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....
":
- He sees you when you're sleeping,
- He knows when you're awake.
- He knows if you've been bad or good,
- So be good for goodness' sake!
- O! You better watch out!
- You better not cry,
- Better shut up
- And prepare to die.
- Kevin Foster's coming to your house.
At approximately 11:30 pm that night, Mark Schwebes heard a knock at his door. Opening it, he received a blast to the face from a Mossberg
Mossberg 500
Mossberg 500 is a series of shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless, pump action repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, and...
12-gauge
Gauge (bore diameter)
The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound . Thus...
shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
, which authorities believe killed him instantly. Foster shot him a second time in the buttocks because he wrongly perceived him to be a homosexual. Mistakenly believing that it was impossible to trace
Ballistics
Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
shells back to his shotgun because it was a smooth bore weapon, Foster left the two spent shotgun shells at the scene.
Arrest and Trial
Lead detectives on the case initially focused on a love triangleLove triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
they believed Mark Schwebes had been caught up in. The members of the group and its hangers-on, however, began bragging about the killing shortly after the commission of the crime. On May 2, Craig Lesh, a hanger-on of the group, bragged to his ex-girlfriend, Julie Schuchard, that the Lords of Chaos had killed the teacher. In the version he told her, he had been present and was actually the one who had knocked on the door. On May 3, after a restless night, Schuchard decided that she had to alert authorities and tell them what she knew.
From Schuchard, detectives learned not only of the Lords of Chaos' murder of Mark Schwebes but also of the group's plans to commit armed robbery at a Hardee's
Hardee's
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
restaurant where Magnotti and Shields worked. The detectives then questioned Craig Lesh, learning that he had not actually been present during the murder. They also learned that the group had been responsible for the Coca-Cola bottling plant bombing. This led to the arrests of the key members of the group on their way to commit the Hardee's robbery.
Brad Young and Craig Lesh were quickly released with no charges filed against them. Chris Burnett worked out a deal with prosecutors whereby he would plead guilty to second degree arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
and armed robbery and serve two years in jail, receive 10 years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
and turn state's evidence
Turn state's evidence
To turn state's evidence is when an accused or convicted criminal testifies as a witness for the state against his associates or accomplices. Turning state's evidence is occasionally a result of a change of heart or feelings of guilt, but more often is done in response to a generous offer from the...
against the Lords of Chaos. Tom Torrone also turned state's evidence, being allowed to plead no contest to second degree arson and serve one year in jail with 10 years probation. In March 1997, Magnotti plead guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 32 years—one for each year of Mark Schwebes life—and agreed to testify. Two weeks before his trial began, Shields' pled guilty to first degree murder, followed in October by Black. Both received life imprisonment. Only Kevin Foster would go to trial.
Lee County
Lee County, Florida
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Located in southwest Florida, the principal cities in the county are Fort Myers and Cape Coral...
Prosecutors Marshall King Hall, Bob Lee, and Randy McGruther offered Kevin Foster life without the possibility of parole—an offer he turned down. He told his attorneys Bob Jacobs and Marquin Rinard that he considered this a worse fate than being sent to "Old Sparky
Old Sparky
Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New York, Texas, and Virginia. It was the nickname of the long-retired electric chair at the now-closed West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, West...
", Florida's electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
.
Jury selection for the trial began on March 3, 1998, presided over by Judge Isaac Anderson. During the trial Foster's mother testified that he was at home during the murder of Mark Schwebes, but one by one the members of the Lords of Chaos took the stand and stated not only that Foster had been there, but that he was the ringleader of the plot.
On March 11 closing arguments were given and the jury retired to deliberate
Deliberation
Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. In legal settings a jury famously uses deliberation because it is given specific options, like guilty or not guilty, along with information and arguments to evaluate. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and...
. After 2 hours and 16 minutes, the jury reached a verdict
Verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. The term, from the Latin veredictum, literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman: a compound of ver and dit In law, a verdict...
of guilty. On April 9, 1998, the penalty phase of the trial began. The jury would have to decide if Foster should receive the death penalty or if they should be lenient and recommend life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. By a vote of 9 to 3 the jury recommended the death penalty. On June 17, 1998, Judge Anderson agreed with the jury's recommendation and sentenced Foster to death.