TEXAS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
TEXAS – One member of the Aryan Circle (AC) pleaded guilty today to his role in a violent assault of a man in October 2016, as well as conspiring to sell firearms to a convicted felon, and a Mexican national pleaded guilty on Monday, April 19, to conspiring with members of the AC and others to sell methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Eastern District of Texas and Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division today.
Rodney Shane Holt, aka “Turbo,” 48, of Tyler, Texas pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, as well as conspiracy to sell firearms to a convicted felon. Holt committed the assault as part of his membership in the AC, a gang that operates in Texas and other states throughout the country. Eulalio Torres-Cadenas, aka “Yayo,” 43, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, namely 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.
“Today’s pleas demonstrate the unfortunate truth that violence and the drug trade go hand-in-hand,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “The Department of Justice and its state and local partners will continue to take a hard line against organized criminal gangs and their enablers.”
According to court documents, Torres-Cadenas supplied an Aryan Circle member with between 1.5 and 5 kilograms of methamphetamine over a number of occasions in 2016, in the area of Houston, Texas. The AC member went on to distribute the methamphetamine to buyers in Louisiana, including other AC members. The drug conspiracy that Torres-Cadenas pleaded to was uncovered as part of Operation Noble Virtue, an investigation into the AC that has targeted AC leadership.
Holt’s offense conduct included planning and participating in the events surrounding a violent beating of another AC member who wanted to switch his gang affiliation, or “patch over,” from the AC to a different gang. Holt and other AC members carried out the attack in order to “X,” or remove the AC member from the gang, because it violated the AC’s rules to join another organization. Holt’s offense conduct also included several sales of high caliber firearms to convicted felons.
The AC is a violent, white supremacist organization that originated in the Texas Department of Corrections and operates in federal prisons across the country, as well as outside prisons in states including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri. The AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through murder, attempted murder, assault, and threats. Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question.
Sentencing dates have not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Montgomery County (TX) Precinct One Constable’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; New Jersey Department of Corrections-Special Investigations Division; Indiana State Police; Fort Smith (AR) Police Department; Arkansas Department of Corrections; Arnold (MO) Police Department; Jefferson County (MO) Sheriff’s Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County (MO) Police Department; Indiana Department of Corrections; Carrollton (TX) Police Department; Montgomery County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Travis County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office; Smith County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; McCurtain County (OK) Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Liberty County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Harris County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Mercer County (NJ) District Attorney’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) District Attorney’s Office; and the Sebastian County (AR) District Attorney’s Office.
Trial Attorneys Bethany Lipman, Rebecca Dunnan, and Alexander Gottfried of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp of the Eastern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
