SACRAMENTO — Five suspected members of a white supremacist prison gang now face four counts of murder in aid of racketeering after a federal grand jury returned an indictment against them alleging that the killings were committed in furtherance of criminal acts perpetrated by the gang, officials said Friday.
The Thursday indictment expands original 2019 charges by adding the counts against Ronald Yandell, 58, who is originally from Richmond; William Sylvester, 53; Brant Daniel, 46; Pat Brady, 50, and Jason Corbett, 49 who federal authorities say are members of the Aryan Brotherhood. They are each currently serving a life sentence in state prison for murder.
The new charges carrying with them the possibility of the death penalty, said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento referred to federal court documents which said between 2011 and 2016, Aryan Brotherhood members and associates engaged in racketeering activity, committing multiple acts involving murder and drug trafficking offenses.
The release alleges 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 inside their cell to the streets of Sacramento and other California cities. Using a contraband cellphone, Yandell and Sylvester communicated with Aryan Brotherhood members and associates to direct drug trafficking activities, membership in the prison gang, order murders, and oversee other criminal activities, federal officials said.
The new charges allege that the five gang 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 Aryan Brotherhood associates to carry out an order to murder a rival prison gang member at Folsom State Prison. In addition, the new indictment alleges that Daniel killed an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison on Oct. 29, 2016, and Corbett and Brady murdered an inmate on July 20, 2018, at High Desert State Prison as part of their role in the gang.
Source: www.mercurynews.com