Aryan Brotherhood members convicted of ordering murders from California prisons sentenced to life in federal prison
A federal judge in Fresno sentenced Francis Clement, 58, to life in prison for a racketeering conspiracy that included five murders, drug trafficking, fraud, and robbery, according to a press statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.
Each of the murders in Los Angeles County occurred when Clement was in state prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Clement was convicted in February along with Kenneth Johnson, 63, who was convicted of two of the murders in the aid of racketeering, along with conspiracy. Johnson was also sentenced to life in federal prison, where there is no parole.
In addition, John Stinson, 70, who was also serving a lengthy sentence in the California state prison system, was sentenced to 20 years in federal custody, the press statement said. He was already serving a life sentence for a 1979 murder and
Court documents indicated Clement and Johnson held leadership roles in the Aryan Brotherhood and directed crimes by gang members inside and outside of prison using smuggled cellphones. Prosecutors said Johnson and Clement together ordered the killings between 2020 and 2022 because they believed their victims either violated gang rules or owed the gang money.
The statement said evidence presented at the trial showed Stinson was also a high-ranking Aryan Brotherhood leader with substantial authority over the enterprise, and used a contraband cellphone within his prison cell to engage in drug trafficking. His ranking in the gang allowed Stinson to receive a cut of prison and street-level drug sales, as did Clement, prosecutors said.
Stinson was already serving a life sentence for a 1979 Long Beach murder and a 2007 racketeering conviction.
(L-R) Kenneth Johnson, Francis Clement, John Stinson
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
"The convicted defendants led a notorious prison gang that committed ruthless murders, widespread methamphetamine trafficking, and perpetuated a culture of mayhem, fear, and disorder within the prison system that bled into the outside world," said a prepared statement from Matthew Galeotti, who heads the U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Organized crime within the prison system, enabled by the use of contraband cellphones, endangers American neighborhoods by flooding streets with dangerous drugs. The Criminal Division will continue to pursue crime syndicates, like the Aryan Brotherhood and their facilitators, to ensure they go to prison and the harm they inflict on society ends once incarcerated."
"Today's sentences are yet another blow to the leadership of a violent criminal enterprise run from inside California prisons and spanning multiple counties and states," said Michele Beckwith, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. "The Aryan Brotherhood has maintained its deadly influence over members, associates and others both inside and outside prison. We are committed to doing everything we can to stop these violent inmates from orchestrating their criminal activities from inside prison walls."
Attorneys for Clement, Johnson, and Stinson had argued that they were convicted with testimony from lifelong criminals seeking to cut themselves a better deal. The Los Angeles Times reported that Clement's lawyers noted in a sentencing memo that no prison guards were prosecuted for smuggling in phones or colluding with gang leaders.
The Times also reported that lawyers for Johnson and Clement filed a motion to delay their sentencing because the men had been marked for "assault and/or murder" after the trial and the threat could be grounds for a new trial.
Eleven defendants in total were charged in the racketeering conspiracy case; five other defendants are awaiting trial and three have pleaded guilty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Police Find ‘Inconsistencies' in Alleged Kidnapping of 7-Month-Old Boy Outside Retail Store: ‘Cannot Rule Out Foul Play'
Investigators confronted Emmanuel Haro's mom about the 'inconsistencies in her initial statement' regarding her son's disappearance NEED TO KNOW Investigators said they found "inconsistencies" in the case involving the disappearance of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro Emmanuel disappeared outside a California retail store after his mother, Rebecca Haro, was allegedly attacked on Aug. 14 Investigators confronted the mom about the 'inconsistencies in her initial statement,' and she declined to address them Police have found 'inconsistencies' in the case involving the disappearance of 7-month-old California boy Emmanuel Haro. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (SBCSD) revealed in an update on Saturday, Aug. 16, that investigators found 'inconsistencies' in a statement made by Emmanuel's mother, Rebecca Haro, over his alleged kidnapping on Aug. 14. 'Investigators interviewed multiple individuals, including Emmanuel's parents Jake and Rebecca Haro,' the SBCSD said in a news release. 'During those interviews, Rebecca was confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement and declined to continue with the interview.' Investigators 'cannot rule out foul play' in the disappearance of Emmanuel as a result, according to the police statement. At around 7:47 p.m. local time on Aug. 14, deputies responded to reports that Emmanuel went missing in Yucaipa from the 34000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard, according to police. Rebecca, who obtained a black eye, allegedly told police at the time that she was attacked outside a store before her son was allegedly kidnapped. 'Investigators from our Specialized Investigations Division are continuing to investigate the reported kidnapping of a seven-month-old, after the child's mother reported being attacked outside a retail store on Yucaipa Boulevard last night,' authorities wrote on X. 'K9 scent-tracking dogs were deployed but the child was not located. No suspect information is available at this time.' Rebecca had visited a park for her son's football practice with her husband and their two other children and drove to a Big 5 Sporting Goods store to pick up a mouthguard for her son when the incident occurred, according to KTLA. 'I was going to get the diaper and somebody said, 'Hola,' and I don't remember anything since,' she told the outlet. Rebecca told ABC 7 Eyewitness News, 'I got him out of the car seat, and I laid him down so I can get his diaper ready ... all I remember, I saw white ... I fell on the floor, and as soon as I got up, I couldn't find my son.' She said she 'checked all around my truck' and ran into the store before calling 911. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. No security footage was found in the area where Emmanuel disappeared. An Amber Alert wasn't issued in this case, as no descriptions of the suspect or vehicle were provided, per KTLA. The Sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division is assisting the police in their investigation, as Emmanuel remains missing. Police are urging anyone with information about this incident to contact the Specialized Investigations Division at 909-890-4904. PEOPLE reached out to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for comment, but did not receive an immediate response. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Three dead, nine wounded in mass shooting at Brooklyn lounge
A gang-related gunfight inside a crowded Brooklyn lounge early Sunday left three men dead and nine people, including innocent bystanders, wounded, cops said. The mass shooting erupted inside the crowded Taste of the City Lounge on Franklin Avenue near Carroll Street in Crown Heights just before 3:30 a.m., cops said. 'We believe that there were up to four shooters involved in this incident. Our crime scene investigators have now recovered shell casings from multiple guns,' NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press briefing at City Hall. 'The shell casings appear to be from 9-mm and .45-caliber weapons.' 'We was just in there,' said clubgoer Marie Desir, a 40-year-old mother of two who fled the shooting. 'I heard a few gunshots and then … People on the floor, running, trying to save their life just like I did.' She said she hit the floor when the shots started. 'I ducked down and after that I found a way to get out,' she said. 'I laid down on the floor first and when I found a way to get out, I just got out because I was right there close to the door.' She returned to the club hours later because one of her friends, Guerby Tida, 32, went missing in the mayhem. He showed up at the curb, where his car was parked, midday Sunday, leading to an emotional reunion after Desir worried he was among the dead. 'I'm OK,' he told her. 'Thank god everything's good.' The shooting is believed to be gang related but Tisch declined to provide further details on motive, citing the ongoing investigation. An argument inside the crowded club led to the shooting, she said. Some of the victims are believed to have been involved in the clash while others are likely innocent bystanders. 'What happened in Crown Heights this morning was a tragic senseless act of violence,' Tisch said. 'The club did have bouncers, and we are working now to identify those bouncers and interview them.' Cops recovered a firearm close by the lounge near Bedford Avenue and Eastern Parkway that may be connected to the shooting, she said. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video and no arrests have been made so far. Rajawn Philips, 40, who works in the smoke shop next door, said he heard the shots and checked the camera feed from outside his store. 'I saw people running,' he said. 'I looked out the door. I saw the intensity of the running.' A 35-year-old man and a 27-year-old man died at area hospitals while a 19-year-old man died at the scene, Tisch said. Six men and three women were wounded but survived, the oldest 61 and the youngest 27, according to police sources. They were all hospitalized and are expected to recover. 'As you get to the door, you see shot victims,' said Philips, who left his smoke shop to check on the scene. 'A girl was shot in the face. This guy shot in the leg. Another guy out here this morning shot in the a–.' He saw medics doing CPR and chest compressions on patrons. It's the second shooting at the club in less than a year. A 28-year-old man survived being shot in the back and arm in front of the club about 4 a.m. Nov. 17, according to police. The victim told cops he was standing outside the lounge when two men he didn't know approached him and started arguing with him, cop sources said. One of them whipped out a gun and opened fire. In February, cops released surveillance footage of a suspect they were still looking for in that shooting and asked the public's help identifying him. Taste of the City Lounge serves Caribbean fusion cuisine and has a full bar with hookahs, DJs and live music. Philips said security at the lounge is tight but that's not enough to stop it from being a 'problematic place.' 'Every night it's some type of altercation so I'm surprised that three people died there but I'm also not surprised at the same time,' he said. 'This is not new. It's the normal.' 'Every single victim of violence, particularly gun violence, is one too many and last night's mass shooting reminds us all the work that we must continue to do,' Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday. 'This is the second (mass shooting) within weeks, and we don't want this to turn into a normal course of doing business.' On June 28, Shane Tamura opened fire with an assault rifle in a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, murdering an NYPD officer and three others before killing himself. The violence comes as the city has seen significant drops in violent crimes through Aug. 10 compared to the same period last year, including a 24% drop in murders and a 21% drop in shootings. 'We have the lowest number of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year that we've seen on record in the city of New York,' Tisch said. 'Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly. And it's a terrible thing that happened this morning, but we're going to investigate and get to the bottom of what went down.' _____
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
Person killed, good Samaritan injured during late-night Los Angeles shooting
A heated confrontation became tragic late Saturday night when a shooting left one person dead and another injured in Los Angeles, according to authorities. The Los Angeles Police Department said the incident took place in the 1300 block of St. Andrews Place in the Harvard Heights neighborhood around 10:35 p.m. The suspect and victim were engaged in a verbal dispute when the victim called out for help as a vehicle was passing by. Police said a good Samaritan exited the vehicle to provide help, and the suspect then drew a firearm and fired shots at both of them. The victim, who was originally in a dispute with the suspect, was pronounced dead at a local hospital later that night. They've yet to be identified by authorities. The good Samaritan was transported to a local hospital, where they remain in stable condition. According to the LAPD, the suspect remains at large as of Sunday. No additional details were immediatley made available.
