EUGENE — Although they could not win a felony conviction against him, prosecutors in a case against an Oregon motorcycle club leader want to keep him from associating with his members.

But the lawyer for Justin “Mooch” DeLoretto of the Oregon chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club says he will fight to protect his client’s right to free association.

DeLoretto is to appear in court today for sentencing in a case in which he was accused of trying to run two investigators off Interstate 5 during rush hour.

A Lane County jury on Thursday found DeLoretto guilty of reckless driving and other misdemeanor charges but acquitted him of eight felony charges, including conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping.

Prosecutors will seek jail time and a term of probation that would include a “no-association” order barring him from contact with the Mongols.

DeLoretto, who turns 27 on Sunday and has “Mongols” tattooed on the back of his head, set up Oregon’s chapters of the club.

Such an order would be a “huge blow” to Oregon’s Mongols, said Eugene police Detective Dave Burroughs, one of the investigators DeLoretto was accused of trying to run off the road on April 23.

“This guy’s the brains of the Mongols,” he said. “He’s extremely smart. He’s a good leader.”

DeLoretto’s lawyer, Kelly Beckley, said it was DeLoretto’s intelligence, polite demeanor and compelling testimony that helped persuade the jury to acquit him of the felony counts that could have put him in prison for years.

“The state’s attempt to vilify everybody associated with the Oregon Mongols, and to make them sound like some sort of a vicious outlaw motorcycle gang, is just wrong,” Beckley said.