MISSISSIPPI
A federal judge sentenced a Eric Glenn Parker, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi, to life in prison for racketeering conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and other related offenses, according to officials.
“Even among criminal organizations, the ABM stands out for its violent and repulsive crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “That is why we will continue to identify, apprehend and prosecute ABM members across the country until the communities that have been living in fear are free from ABM’s grasp.”
“This prosecution is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the Department of Justice, federal, state and local law enforcement officers targeting a large-scale prison gang involved in violent organized crime throughout the state of Mississippi,” said U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams.
Parker, 36, of Forrest County, Mississippi, was sentenced Friday to serve life in prison.
On April 13, 2016, Parker was found guilty by a federal jury of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, murder and methamphetamine distribution.
The ABM is the Mississippi-centered branch of the Aryan Brotherhood, a violent, “whites only,” prison-based gang with members and associates operating inside and outside of state penal institutions. The ABM is engaged in racketeering activities, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, money laundering, firearms trafficking and trafficking in marijuana and methamphetamine, both inside and outside correctional facilities.
According to trial evidence, Parker and three co-defendants served at varying times on the ABM’s three-member “wheel” that oversaw and directed ABM activity throughout Mississippi during the conspiracy.
According to evidence presented at trial, ABM leaders ordered other gang members to lure an individual to an ABM house so that they could murder him for an unpaid drug debt. ABM gang members kidnapped the victim, beat him severely, and delivered him to Parker.
Parker, along with Frank George Owens Jr., his co-defendant at trial, beat the victim to death and delivered the body to a co-defendant, who burned the victim’s body for days in order to incinerate it. In addition, Parker dealt methamphetamine on behalf of the ABM, which garnered him a leadership position in the gang.
Today’s sentencing marks the culmination of a 2.5-year investigation into and prosecution of the AB, which resulted in the conviction of 42 members and associates of the gang.
Owens, 44, of D’Iberville, Mississippi, was convicted along with Parker of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, murder and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine.
On Nov. 2, 2016, Owens was sentenced to life in prison and 10 years for attempted murder.
***The DEA, ATF, FBI and MBN investigated the case. The U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Protective Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Mississippi Highway Patrol; Mississippi Bureau of Investigation; Mississippi Department of Corrections; Harrison County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team; Tupelo, Mississippi, Police Department; North Mississippi Narcotics Unit; Tishomingo County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Lee County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Forrest County, Mississippi, District Attorney’s Office; Prentiss County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Jones County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Harrison County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; and South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi prosecuted the case.