SANTA ANA — A jury convicted four alleged leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang Friday on charges of murder, conspiracy and racketeering in a federal case aimed at dismantling the violent white supremacist organization.The four defendants did not show any reaction when the verdicts were read in a 15-minute proceeding. Most jurors, who deliberated for two weeks, either looked down or away from the defendants.The trial is part of what is believed to be one of the largest federal capital cases, with more than a dozen people potentially facing the death penalty. More defendants face trials in Los Angeles later this year.Barry “The Baron” Mills, Tyler “The Hulk” Bingham, Edgar “The Snail” Hevle and Christopher Overton Gibson were all convicted under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, and offenses known as Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering. The so-called VICAR verdicts make Mills and Bingham eligible for the death penalty.
Mills, Bingham and Hevle were also convicted of a count of murder for the killing of Arva Lee Ray, a prisoner slain at the Lompoc penitentiary in 1989. Gibson was not charged with that count.Mills and Bingham were acquitted of a count of murder for the death of inmate William McKinney, a former Aryan Brotherhood member who was struck with a weight bar at Lompoc in 1993.
Aryan Brotherhood associate Jerry Noble 'Termite' Kennedy founder of the Sacramaniacs motorcycle gang shoots and kills Glenn Sherman Chambers of Campbell, Oregon. May 11, 1993 Aryan Brotherhood member Victor F. Carrafa stages a brazen daytime escape from the custody of the Sacramento County Sherriff's department during a dentist appointment.
The other two defendants weren’t charged with that count.The death penalty phase against Mills and Bingham was scheduled to begin Aug. 15 in front of the same jury. Sentencing for Hevle and Gibson was set for Oct. They face 20 years to life in prison.“We’re disappointed and now we move on to the next phase,” said Mark Fleming, Mills’ lawyer.Hevle’s attorney, Bernard Rosen, said he was “shocked.” He said there was little evidence against his client. The government’s indictment laid out a sweeping case of plots to kill rivals and even fellow brotherhood members to control drug dealing and other criminal enterprises behind bars.During the four-month trial before U.S.
A couple of hours later and 125 miles away, near Laredo, agents were tracking a tractor-trailer they’d been tipped to.When agents and local police moved in, they found 62 Mexicans piled into the trailer, illegal immigrants who’d paid about $7,000 each to be smuggled across the border en route for destinations in the U.S.Later that same evening, in California, Customs and Border Protection officers manning the San Ysidro Port of Entry stopped a Jeep Liberty attempting to enter the U.S. With two Chinese illegal immigrants tucked inside the cargo area.Other than the connections, which intrigued some security experts, Feb.