FORNEY, Texas — 15 members and associates of the Aryan Circle gang, a white supremacist organization, have been charged in a federal indictment with offenses stemming from their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas.
FORNEY, Texas — 15 members and associates of the Aryan Circle gang, a white supremacist organization, have been charged in a federal indictment with offenses stemming from their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas.
According to a nine-page, 16-count indictment unsealed on Friday, the meth distribution conspiracy operated from January 2017 through November 2017 and involved residents of the area surrounding Lake Tawakoni.
11 of the named defendants have been arrested and the other four are in state custody.
Charged in the indicted were: Crystal Leann Sharkey, aka “Crystal Leann Jordan,” 36; Michael Paul Watts, 28; Jason Wayne McClure, 43; Kellie Lea Locke, 37; Michael Brandon Powell, 43; Jody Heather Bausch, aka “Jody Land,” 41; Scott Ralph Land, 47; Jeremiah Jason McGregor, aka “Wicked,” 40; James Earl Goodin, aka “Bo,” 35; Nicole Joni Culpepper, 27; Kyle Quincy Ketchum, 30; Ember Nicole Berg, 33; Shannon Marie Morgan, 42; Aaron Dewayne Marrs, 39; and Leslie Irene Cates, 34.
Each defendant has been charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The indictment also includes a forfeiture notice which, upon conviction, would require the forfeiture of any property derived from the proceeds traceable to the alleged offense, including five firearms listed in the indictment.
The Aryan Circle prison gang formed from members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas who splintered off to form a more "ideologically pure group" that believed in the complete separation of the races, according to the indictment. In recent years, the group's white supremacy ideology often took a backseat to traditional criminal ventures, such as drug dealing, and often collaborates with Mexican gangs and cartels.
The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Texas Department of Public Safety are leading the investigation with assistance from the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, Hunt County Sheriff's Office, Quinlan Police Department, Rockwall County Sheriff's Office, and the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office.