Five Aryan Brotherhood members charged with murder in aid of racketeering
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment Thursday in a Sacramento courthouse, adding four counts of murder in aid of racketeering against defendants alleging that the killings were committed to advance criminal acts carried out by the California Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang, a U.S. Attorney said.
In a press statement issued Friday, Phillip A. Talbert, the U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice's Eastern District of California, said the additional indictment expands the original 2019 charges by adding four new murder-in-aid-of-racketeering counts against five defendants: Ronald Yandell, 58; William Sylvester, 53; Brant Daniel, 46; Pat Brady, 50; and Jason Corbett, 49.
The superseding indictment — which usually happens when new evidence or information surfaces, warranting an additional charge — “strikes at the heart of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang with five defendants now facing murder charges that carry with them the possibility of the death penalty,” he said.
“This white supremacist gang plagues our communities inside and outside prison and are responsible for some of the most brutal crimes committed within prison walls,” Talbert added in the prepared statement. “We will continue to use every law enforcement tool to protect the communities impacted by this gang's violence and criminal activities.”
“Prison gangs, like the Aryan Brotherhood, cannot hide behind bars and commit heinous act of violence without impunity,” said Bob P. Beris, acting special agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement Administration, which led the investigation. “These additional charges deal another significant blow to this criminal organization and sends the message that we are relentless in our pursuit of those who perpetuate violence.”
According to court documents, between 2011 and 2016, Brotherhood members and associates engaged in racketeering activity, committing multiple acts involving murder and drugtrafficking offenses. Yandell and Sylvester oversaw a significant heroin and methamphetamine trafficking operation from their shared cell. They used smuggled-in cellphones to direct their drug-trafficking activity from their prison cell to the streets of Sacramento and other California cities. Using a contraband cellphone, Yandell and Sylvester communicated with Brotherhood members and associates to direct drug trafficking, membership in the Brotherhood, order murders, and oversee other criminal activities.
The new charges allege that the five Brotherhood members murdered four other inmates as part of their gang activities and conspired to murder several others.
The indictment charges that on Oct. 7, 2011, Sylvester murdered an inmate at Folsom State Prison and, on Aug. 12, 2015, Yandell ordered Brotherhood associates to carry out an order to murder a rival prison gang member at the same prison, which is near Sacramento.
In addition, the new indictment alleges that Brotherhood member Daniel killed an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison on Oct. 29, 2016, and Brotherhood members Corbett and Brady murdered an inmate on July 20, 2018, at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, as part of their role in the gang.
The case stems from an investigation by the DEA, with “substantial investigative assistance” from the Vallejo Police Department, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, and the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.
The effort was part of an operation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations that threaten the United States, said Talbert.
If convicted on the murder-in-aid-of-racketeering charges, each of the five defendants face a mandatory life sentence, or the possibility of the death penalty, and the Attorney General will decide whether to seek the death penalty at a later time, he noted.
Should the Attorney General determine that the circumstances of the offense justify a death, the law requires that notice be filed with the court “at a reasonable time before trial,” he added.
The indictment's other charges include a range of maximum sentences, including up to life in prison, and a number of defendants also face a range of mandatory minimum sentences of five to 10 years in prison, said Talbert.