member of a Midwest "outlaw" biker gang called the Invaders was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for his role in a major marijuana conspiracy.

Stephen P. "Sticky Steve" Morris, 47, pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge in November and admitted that he played a part in what prosecutors have said was a 15-year scheme that brought thousands of kilos of pot to the St. Louis area.
Morris' lawyer, Jeffrey Rosanswank, told U.S. District Judge Rod Sippel that Morris had "quite an awakening" before the indictment was filed. It was "one thing" to ride around on motorcycles, Rosanswank said, "but things got out of hand."
Morris was one of 15 men indicted last year in federal court in St. Louis on the marijuana charges. Additional methamphetamine-related charges were filed against others in Indiana.
Officials believe that some local Invaders members were involved in the deaths of three men in recent years, according to court documents and investigators' notes. Morris was not named as one of those involved.
Two of the victims, Randy Greenman, 39, and George Whitter, 36, disappeared from a bar in south St. Louis County on Aug. 30, 2007. Pieces of their bodies were found in several locations. Gang member Alan Henry Little, 61, of St. Louis County, disappeared in 2007 and was presumed murdered.
The Invaders were founded in Gary, Ind., in 1965, and have chapters in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Colorado.
No Invaders members have been charged with the murders of the three, and there has been no mention of the murders in public court proceedings in the drug case. There have also been a number of sealed court filings in the case. A defense lawyer recently asked for a delay, saying his client had been told by unidentified homicide detectives that charges were imminent.