Leaders of violent prison gang convicted

By Dan Whitcomb and Kemp Powers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Four leaders of the Aryan
Brotherhood were found guilty of murder, racketeering and
conspiracy on Friday in a case intended to destroy one of
America’s most feared prison gangs.

Brotherhood chief Barry “The Baron” Mills, his top
lieutenant Tyler “The Hulk” Bingham, Christopher Gibson and
Edgar “Snail” Hevle were convicted under U.S. racketeering laws
of carrying out a campaign of killings and violence to cement
their control behind bars.

The four defendants, who sport matching walrus mustaches
and were chained to the floor throughout the trial, showed no
emotion as the verdicts were read under heavy security in a
federal courtroom in Santa Ana.

The jury acquitted Mills and Bingham on a single murder
count but the two men could be sentenced to death after a
penalty phase set to begin on August 15. Gibson and Hevle face
life in prison.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to comment
on the verdicts because of the upcoming penalty phase.

Prosecutors say the Aryan Brotherhood, also known as “the
Brand,” dominated other prison gangs by being particularly
ruthless, directing murders and assaults through notes written
in code or with invisible ink made with fruit juice or urine.

Devan Hawkes, a guard specializing in gangs at California’s
top security Pelican Bay State Prison, said experts disagree
over whether convicting gang members already serving long
sentences served a practical purpose, but said he favored
holding them accountable.

“Even if a person is serving a life sentence here in
California, they may reach that level where they start
appearing before a (parole) board hearing their term,” he said.

“The Aryan Brotherhood is one of the major prison gangs and
are considered to be extremely dangerous,” he said.

“They manufacture weapons from just about anything you
could imagine inside the prison. They use those weapons to
assault officers as well as other inmates. They also are
involved in narcotics trafficking.”

Defense lawyers argued that their clients had banded
together in self defense amid violent racial warfare in maximum
security U.S. prisons. They said the government based its case
on “a parade of perjurers” who cooperated in exchange for cash
and leniency.

Prosecutors may ultimately seek the death penalty against
16 members of the gang in a sweeping case that they say ranks
among the largest death penalty prosecutions in U.S. history.

Forty people were originally charged in the case in 2002.
Since then, 19 have struck plea bargains and another has died.
Trials are pending for the rest.