Feed: Aryan Brotherhood members charged for violent crimes - AggScore: 13.0

Aryan Brotherhood members charged for violent crimes

---

caption id alignalignleft width210 captionGang logo for Texasbased Aryan Brotherhood. Photo KnowGangs img srchttpcdn2b.examiner.comsitesdefaultfilesstyleslargehash66136613f17bff2199644a19c271dd4d4b1e.jpg alt width210 height170 captionOn Friday, 11 suspectsbelieved to bemembers of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texaswere indicted for their alleged roles in the 2008 beating of a gang prospect in Tomball, Texas, according to a report obtained by the Organized Crime Control Committee of the National Association of Chiefs of Police.The superseding indictment, returned by the federal grand jury on February 16, 2011, and unsealedFriday in Houston, charges the defendants with violent crimes in aid of racketeering activityand conspiracy to engage in violent crimes in aid of racketeering.The defendants charged in the indictment are Zechariah Aaron Johnston, 31 Steven Walter Cooke, 47 Stephen Kyle Knebel, 33 David Bruce Harlow, 46 Robert Lynn Sheats, 33 Justin Northrup, 25 Benjamin Christian Dillon, 28 Rusty Dwayne Plante, 34 Johnny Ray Nichols, 35 Shane Everett Dallmeyer, 30 and Michael Raymond Burkett, 33. All of the defendants are from the greater Houstonarea.According to the indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another ABT member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.The indictment alleges that a prospect member of ABT sustained serious bodily injury after he was severely beaten on September 22, 2008, at Cookes home in Tomball. The beating was allegedly administered by ABT gang members because the prospect member violated certain ABT rules of conduct.If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a 250,000 fine. They face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a 250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. The defendants who were not already in federal prison are made theirinitial appearances Friday in U.S. District Court in Houston.According to the indictment, the ABT is a racebased, statewide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and elsewhere in the United States.The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. As alleged in the indictment, it modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a Californiabased prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s.According to the indictment, previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacyseparatism. Over time, however, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.As alleged in the indictment, the ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the gang. Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higherranking members, often referred to as direct orders.