Every murder turns on a bright hot
light, and
a lot of people have to walk out of
the shadows.
~Mark Hellinger
This post is to remind everyone about how important
law enforcement is to the public. Those who serve to administer justice are
always in danger. Highway Patrol Troopers are often killed simply for writing a
ticket or run over by hit and run drivers. Police officers get shot with AK
47’s pursuing suspects or simply trying to serve warrants. As we have all seen numerous times on
television, persons create wildly dangerous car chases, endangering law
enforcement and the public, due to such things as violations of probation,
escape from criminal acts, or drunk driving.
Desperate
people, some of whom are drug addicts, persons carrying a deadly grudge, or
criminals on the run, often take desperate and violent actions without any
regard of the consequences. Individuals who prosecute alleged violators of our
laws always have the threat of harm hanging over their heads.
This danger
is not limited to the largest cities of this country, but also includes smaller
communities. People do not expect cold blooded murders of law enforcement officials
in less populated areas. Yet, three of the brutal Texas
murders discussed in this post occurred in Kaufman County—which
is comprised of approximately 103,000 people. Kaufman
County is generally split between
small rural towns and Dallas
commuter suburbs.
On January
31, 2013 an Assistant District Attorney was shot five times in a parking lot as
he made his way into the courthouse in Kaufman
County, Texas.
Shortly thereafter, the District Attorney of Kaufman County announced during a
media interview that he was going to find the culprits and administer stern
justice. He vowed to capture those who had killed his assistant. He stated as follows: “We’re very confident
that we’re going to find you, we’re going to pull you out of the hole you’re
in, we’re going to bring you back and let the people of Kaufman County
prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Approximately two months later, both he and his
wife were brutally gunned down in their home. She was killed with a single gun shot wound.
He was shot twenty times. Quoting, Pete Williams and Jeff Black.
In Colorado, a killer
knocked on the door of the head of Colorado’s
Department of Corrections and shot him when he came to the door. The killer was
later gunned down by law enforcement officers in a shoot out. He was a member
of a white supremacist gang known as the 211 Crew. The 211 Crew has been linked with the Aryan
Brotherhood.
Is there a possible link? The Texas murders, it has been speculated, may have
been carried out by members of the Texas Aryan Brotherhood. They have recently been
singled out by Texas
law enforcement for prosecution—especially for running methamphetamine labs. If the murders were committed by members of
the Texas Aryan Brotherhood, this is a very dangerous situation for those who
have actively prosecuted or arrested members of this gang. The concern of law enforcement has peaked to
such a point that a Houston Federal Prosecutor, fearing for his safety and that
of his family, removed himself from a large racketeering case against members
of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. He has
since been replaced by a prosecutor from Washington,
D.C. Quoting,
Kevin Krause.
According to Mark Potock of the Southern Poverty
Law Center, “if this really was an assassination by the Aryan Brotherhood of
Texas, we are about to see a war begin.” The Aryan Brotherhood is the most
violent prison gang, according to Potock. “While only .1% of inmates are in the
Aryan Brotherhood, 18% of all prison murders are committed by the white
supremacist group.”
The District Attorney’s office of Kaufman County
was one of the numerous Texas
and federal agencies involved in a multiple-year investigation that led to the recent
indictments of 34 alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, including
four of its senior leaders. Quoting,
Ed Lavandera and Holly Yan. At the time,
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny A. Breuer called the indictment a “devastating
blow” to the organization, which he said uses threats of violence, including
murder, against “those who violate (its) rules or pose a threat to the
enterprise.”
The Texas Aryan Brotherhood has the reputation for
being one of the most brutal gangs as a result of murders that occur in and out
of prison facilities. The group is able to violently address any threat. In the
past 20 years, parts of Eastern
Kaufman County
have increasingly become home to methamphetamine labs. Many of these labs are run by white
supremacist groups. ChicagoTribune.Com, Tight
Security after Texas
D.A. Killing. As time has progressed, the Texas Aryan Brotherhood has
transitioned from primarily being a “white power” organization into an ultra-violent
major money making business. Their methods of income include the sale of
illegal drugs and extortion. A great portion of the gang’s activity is
controlled from higher level members who are incarcerated.
As of the date of this posting, and what makes this
case even more captivating, there has been a major twist. A former Justice of the Peace of Kaufman County
has been arrested in Dallas
for making terroristic threats via email to Kaufman public officials, as well
as murder. His bond has been set at twenty-three million dollars. In addition
to the Aryan Brotherhood, he was a person of very high interest during the
investigation because he had been prosecuted by the Assistant District Attorney
for theft, resulting in the loss of his job and law license. As a result of the conviction for theft, he
was put on two years probation.
The former Justice of the Peace described the
conviction and loss of his law license as “a life long sentence.” “I will have
to seek another career, with a felony I will not be able to earn what I am used
to,” he said, adding that it would be his wife, who he said was on disability,
and his aging parents who would suffer the most. Quoting, Michael Pearson and Ed Lavandera.
His wife has been arrested for one count of murder.
Her bond has been set at three million dollars; however, there has been no information
released by law enforcement sources regarding exactly what role she may have allegedly
played in the murders. It appears that she may have been the get-away driver
for her husband after he allegedly committed the murder of the Assistant
District Attorney outside the courthouse.
It is also believed that she was a passenger in the
car when her husband murdered the District Attorney and his wife. Her alleged involvement
in these brutal and meticulously planned murders seems very inconsistent with
her severe health problems. She is very ill. She suffers from advanced rheumatoid
arthritis and chronic fatigue syndrome. Quoting,
Tanya Eiserer.
It remains
to be seen whether the Texas Aryan Brotherhood had any part (directly or
indirectly) in these brutal slayings, or whether a disgraced ex-public official
and his wife acted totally alone. Either way, the brutality of these slayings
shows the consequences of those who are intent on committing murder to seek
revenge.
~Leonardo G. Renaud
