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The Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi Trial Concludes in Oxford
After around two weeks of heightened security presence around the Federal Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, a federal jury convicted two identified members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi (ABM) prison gang for racketeering conspiracy, methamphetamine production and trafficking, kidnapping and murder among other federal offenses.
The conviction of Frank George Owens Jr. (D’Iberville) and Eric Glenn Parker (Richton) is the end of two and a half years of investigation and prosecution of ABM in which 42 members and associates were convicted. Owens, identified as “Spoke (general)” of ABM, was additionally convicted of kidnapping and attempted murder of Michael James Hudson. Parker, identified as Captain of ABM, was also additionally convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine.
U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson will sentence them at a later date. With these convictions, Owens and Parker are facing life sentences.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said in a press release: “The Criminal Division and its partners at U.S. Attorney’s Offices appropriately use racketeering laws to target the worst-of-the worst gang members and the leaders of criminal enterprises like the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi. Just as we did in the recent Aryan Brotherhood prosecutions in Texas and Oklahoma, we have taken great strides in dismantling a violent gang with a dangerous and repulsive philosophy.”
U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams said the prosecution is a result of an unprecedented collaboration between the Department of Justice with federal, state and local law enforcement officers targeting a large-scale prison gang.
In the press release, she said, “As a result of this collaborative effort, we have effectively dismantled this violent organization and sent a clear message that the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners have an unwavering commitment to hold those individuals accountable who insist on creating an atmosphere of violence and fear in our communities.”
Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI’s Jackson, Mississippi, Division, added in the press release: “The convictions in these cases reflect a major disruption of a large organization that incubates in our prison systems and spills over to our streets. Recognizing and neutralizing these organizations is vitally important and thanks to the joint efforts of our law enforcement partners at the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Department of Corrections, the ATF, DEA and United States Marshals Service, Mississippi is much safer.”
Founded in 1984, ABM is an exclusively white prison gang with members who operated within and outside of the prison system that expanded with semi-autonomous branches in “virtually every state in the nation,” including Mississippi, according to the court documents. The ABM had an organizational structure divided into three geographic areas: the northern, central and southern regions of Mississippi. Each area was overseen by a “wheel” with each member identified as a “spoke,” like Owens was. According to court documents, ABM was engaged in racketeering activities including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, money laundering, firearms trafficking and trafficking of marijuana and methamphetamine.
The provided court documents can be read by clicking this link: Aryan Brotherhood.
Callie Daniels Bryant is the senior managing editor at HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com.
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