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Thread: Feds deal 'devastating blow' to Aryan Brotherhood prison gang

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Feds deal 'devastating blow' to Aryan Brotherhood prison gang

    A multi-year investigation has dealt a "devastating blow" to a notoriously violent Texas prison gang, according to the feds.

    Thirty-four suspected members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang, including four top leaders,have been indicted on federal charges in Houston.

    "You’ve heard people talk about, in order to kill a snake you have to cut its head off. That’s what this team has done," said FBI Special Agent-in Charge Stephen L. Morris.

    The white supremacist gang has been running a violent organized crime ring in and out of federal and state prisons for decades, according to investigators.

    They are indicted for murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, racketeering and drug trafficking. Ten defendants have been charged with offenses that are eligible for the death penalty. The remaining 24 defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

    The leaders ruled with fear, intimidation and extreme violence, according to Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

    "As charged, ABT uses extreme violence and threats of violence to maintain internal discipline and retaliate against those believed to be cooperating with law enforcement," Breuer said. "Through violence and intimidation, ABT allegedly exerts control over prison populations and neighborhoods, and instills fear in those who come in contact with its members."

    Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have worked together for years to bring the ABT down.

    "This multi-year investigation and indictment clearly targets the worst-of-the-worst among the ABT," said Morris.

    According to court documents, the ABT has a detailed and uniform organizational structure, with territory divided into five regions, each run by a "general."

    The indictment charges four generals, Terry Ross Blake, 55, aka "Big Terry;" Larry Max Bryan, 51, aka "Slick;" William David Maynard, 42, aka "Baby Huey;" and Charles Lee Roberts, 68, aka "Jive," with conspiracy to participate in the racketeering activities of the ABT, among other charges.

    Three suspects were still on the loose Friday afternoon. They are Christopher Morris, Stephen Mullen and Billy Weatherred. They are believed to be in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

    The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. The gang modeled itself after the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the 1960s.

    This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General as well as sheriff’s offices in Harris, Montgomery, Orange, Tarrant, Atascosa and Waller Counties, police departments in Houston, Baytown, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Carrollton and Alvin, and district attorney’s Offices in Harris, Montgomery, Atascosa and Kaufman Counties.

    http://www.khou.com/news/Feds-deal-d...178185431.html
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    Admiral CnCP Legend JT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heidi View Post
    This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General as well as sheriff’s offices in Harris, Montgomery, Orange, Tarrant, Atascosa and Waller Counties, police departments in Houston, Baytown, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Carrollton and Alvin, and district attorney’s Offices in Harris, Montgomery, Atascosa and Kaufman Counties.
    God, I wouldn't like to be the nominated SPOC for that task force...

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    I am wondering if Holder will approve the death penalty for any of them. Over the past 4 years he has declined to approve the death penalty for a few MS13 gang members in the Mid-Atlantic.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Senior Member Member chris35721's Avatar
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    If any of these gang members go to jail they will spend there whole time in AD. SEG. In texas any known gang member MUST be in seg. So going to b a long and lonly time in prison. as you know deathrow spends 23 hrs a day in their cell. Seg does also, they are treated just like deathrow inmates no matter which prison they go to.

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    A few years back, the feds tried to get the death penalty for several Brand members who were already serving life sentences and the jury came back with...life sentences. Hopefully, Holder will try again to get these Texas inmates put to death. If you don't seek to execute lifers (that is, presuming these guys are serving life sentences or the practical equivalent) who are behind conspiracies involving murder, then you've essentially granted them a free pass--a veritable license to kill.

    Then again, even if ten defendants are sentenced to death, whether they stand a realistic chance of actually getting executed remains an open question. That is to say, there hasn't been a federal execution since 2003 and lethal-injection litigation has been ongoing (or stalled) since 2006. I'm not sure if there's the political will to actually execute murderers at the federal level, even though the will exists to seek (nominal) death sentences in court.

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    November 25, 2013

    Three More Defendants in Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Racketeering Case Plead Guilty

    By Bill Morlin

    Federal prosecutors now have guilty pleas from fully half the 36 members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) who were indicted last year for committing multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking.

    To date, 18 of the defendants have entered guilty pleas, and the remaining 18 are scheduled to stand trial May 12 in U.S. District Court in Houston. Other guilty pleas likely could occur between now and the trial date.

    The ABT is considered one of the most violent crime syndicates in the United States – responsible for crimes both in and out of prisons. It was established in the early 1980s within the Texas penal system, modeling itself around the white supremacist philosophy of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang formed in that state’s prison system during the 1960s.

    “The ABT offered protection to ‘white’ inmates if they joined the gang,” the indictment says.

    Last week, three ABT members, including a reputed “general” of the organization, William David “Baby Huey” Maynard, each pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy. Dustin Lee “Lightning” Harris and Sammy Keith “Stubby” Shipman also entered guilty pleas.

    Maynard is the second “general,” or leader, of the ABT to plead guilty. Charles Lee “Jive” Roberts, a 68-year-old ABT general, was sentenced in late September to 30 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole for crimes that included the ordering of six murders in 2011.

    The remaining generals who face trial are Terry Ross “Big Terry” Blake and Larry Max “Slick” Bryan.

    The U.S. Department of Justice has withdrawn its option of seeking the death penalty in the case, but many of the defendants still face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The federal racketeering law allows prosecutors to include multiple crimes – so-called predicate acts – in one all-encompassing indictment. In the ABT case, the indictment alleges Shipman, Maynard, Harris and others “agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang” in an enterprise that went back to at least 1993.

    “The defendants and numerous other ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other things,” court documents say.

    Some court documents in the case are sealed from public inspection, so it’s not clear how many of the 18 defendants who have pleaded guilty will testify for the prosecution in exchange for lighter sentences. Defense attorneys for some defendants have said their clients are not cooperating even with the entry of guilty pleas.

    Besides Blake and Bryan, the remaining defendants are: James Lawrence Burns, Ben Christian Dillon, Rusty Eugene Duke, Kelly Ray Elley, Kenneth Michael Hancock, Clay Jarrad Kirkland, Michael Richard Lamphere, Jamie Grant Loveall, Ronald Lee

    Prince, David Orlando Roberts, Billy Don Seay, James Erik Sharron, Brian Lee Thomas, Fredrick Michal Villarreal, Tammy Melissa Wall and Steven Worthey.

    http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2013/1...-plead-guilty/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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