The One-Niners, commonly known as the 9'ers, are a street gang on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Based in Oakland, Los Angeles, and possibly other cities, their leader was Laroy Wayne until he was replaced briefly by Darnell, and then permanently by Tyler Yost.
History[]
Background[]
All of their members appear to be African American and their "colors" are purple. They mostly deal in heroin and buy their weapons from the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club and the Russian Mafia. They are one of the Oakland gangs that are under the supervision and control of drug kingpin, Damon Pope, who served as the true leader of the group until his death, at which point, August Marks took control.
Season 1[]
When the Sons of Anarchy's weapon storage was raided and their gun shipment was late, Laroy Wayne, the Niners' leader at the time. told Clay to never let it happen again. Later, the Sons told the Niners to eliminate some Mayans in exchange for a shipment of guns. They were supposed to attack an arms deal between the SOA and Mayans after the Sons left, but they decided to take them out also. The Sons of Anarchy escaped and the relationship between the Niners and Sons became very strained. After an internal misunderstanding and the death of Donna Winston, Clay Morrow used the One-Niners as a scapegoat for his blunder, saying that they killed Donna. The news of this made SAMCRO member Piney go into a One-Niners bar in Oakland and take one hostage, demanding to know who killed his daughter in law. Jax arrived and being one of the only people to know the truth, tried to convince Piney that the One-Niners were not responsible. Laroy showed up shortly after, furious but also assuring Piney that the Niners had nothing to do with her death.
Season 2[]
With the misunderstanding of Donna's death cleared, the Niners and the Sons continued their business. Laroy was willing to even help the Sons in their battle with the Aryan Brotherhood led by Ethan Zobelle.
Season 4[]
Laroy and an entourage of One-Niners were present at Opie Winston's wedding, still on good terms with SAMCRO.
However, things grew strained once the Sons started muling drugs for the Galindo Cartel while the One-Niners were buying and selling with Galindo's rival, the Lobos Sonora Cartel. SAMCRO and the Galindos confronted Laroy and the Niners, threatening him so that he'd break his relations with the Lobos. They agreed to letting the Sons and Galindo come to a meet with the Lobos so they could ambush them. Some Lobos were killed while some escaped, furious by the Niners' breaking their partnership. Later, the Lobos killed many Niners in retaliation for Laroy's betrayal of the cartel. When the Sons came to his bar with the Mayans, Laroy was shown to be upset and paranoid, still reeling from the Lobos' vengeance. He threatened SAMCRO and the Mayans to get out, blaming them for causing the chain of events that made the Niners targets of the cartel.
When an internal conflict with SAMCRO led Opie Winston to shoot Clay, Clay thought it best to hide the fact that he was shot by a fellow member for the sake of the club, and blamed the Niners for the attack. Tig, upset that Clay had been shot when he should've been protecting him, drove to Oakland where Laroy was having lunch with his girlfriend. Tig, wanting retaliation, tried to run Laroy over but accidentally hit his girlfriend instead, killing her. Laroy, broken down and desperate for revenge, pursued Tig with the Niners down the highway. One of the Niners was killed during the confrontation when more of the Sons of Anarchy came to Tig's aid and they managed to escape. It turned out that Laroy's girlfriend was Veronica Pope, the daughter of Damon Pope, the biggest crime boss in Oakland.
Season 5[]
The aftermath of Veronica Pope's death left the Niners, and particularly Laroy, in disarray. They were told by Damon Pope, despite wanting vengeance for his daughter's death, that they should lie low for the time being since all eyes were on them. Laroy, however, didn't listen and ordered the Niners to attack one of the Sons' shipment trucks. This sparking of a war forced Damon Pope to intervene in the Niners' affairs, having his enforcer August Marks kill Laroy and appointed a new leader, Darnell. However, Marks manipulated Darnell into trying to kill Jax, before killing the new Niner leader himself, showing Jax that Pope was in complete control of not only the One-Niners' lives, but the Sons' lives as well. August also did this to ease the tension between the Sons and One-Niners for the time being. August then promoted Tyler to be new leader of the One-Niners, who was horrified after seeing how easily the previous leaders had been tossed aside by Pope's power.
Tyler has since served as a quiet but competent leader for the One-Niners, remaining a steadfast ally for SAMCRO and their other business partners. Damon Pope also allied himself with Jax once he had hurt them with the murders of Dawn Trager and Opie Winston. Later, though, Jax had Damon Pope killed by Tig and in the process, framed former club president, Clay Morrow, for the murder. Before his death, Pope had made it so that whoever killed him, would receive a five million dollar bounty on their head, so that his retaliation would come even from the grave. August Marks took up Pope's former position and placed the bounty on Clay's head while also telling Jax that if he discovered there was more to Pope's death than their seemed, that vengeance would be carried out to more than just one person.
Season 6[]
Tyler remained as leader of the Niners while August took over Pope's position as the kingpin of crime in Oakland. August discovered that Clay Morrow was in protective custody after being arrested so the revenge for Pope's death wouldn't be immediate as anyone who would collect the five million dollar bounty was unable to get to Clay. He also told Jax that he still wanted Tig Trager, whom Jax had previously made a deal with Pope to turn over for the killing of Veronica Pope. Jax refused but August made sure to remind him that it wasn't a request.
Season 7[]
Members[]
Current[]
- Tyler Yost - Leader
- Mike - Member (RO Issue 7)
- Andre - Member (RO Issue 7)
Former[]
- Unnamed member - Killed by Jax Teller
- 2 unnamed members - Killed by Opie Winston
- Unnamed member - Killed by Mayans Motorycle Club members
- 3 unnamed members - Killed by Lobos Sonora Cartel members
- Gill - Killed by Marcus Alvarez
- Teej - Killed by Jax Teller
- Unnamed member - Killed by Jax Teller
- Laroy Wayne Former leader; killed by August Marks
- Darnell - Former leader; killed by August Marks
- Rig - Killed by Marcus Alvarez
- 3 unnamed members - Killed by Mayans Motorycle Club members
- Chester Kray - OG; Killed by Jax Teller
- 2 unnamed members - Killed by Chibs Telford, Tig Trager and Happy Lowman
- 5 unnamed members - Killed by Nero Padilla, Oscar El Oso Ramos, two Mayans Motorycle Club members and two Byz Lats members
- Unnamed member - Killed by a Marks Incorporated member
While not official members of the gang, The One-Niners were under the watchful supervision of Damon Pope, the most powerful gangster in Oakland, and his enforcer, August Marks. Their authority reaches above the One-Niners, serving as the true leaders and overseers of the group. However, the Niners are no longer subservient to August Marks, due to his death in the Season 7 finale.
Trivia[]
- The One-Niners also appeared in The Shield .
- The One-Niners have been blamed twice for murders or attempted murders of the Sons that they didn't commit. The first was Donna Winston at the end of season one and the second was the shooting of Clay Morrow at the end of season four. Both of these caused rifts in the relationships between the Sons of Anarchy and the Niners.
- According to Tyler, Laroy "sold their streets" (started paying street taxes) to Damon Pope three years prior to Season 7.