FRESNO, CALIF. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Eastern), published as received.

FRESNO, Calif. — Following a four-week trial before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston, three members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang were found guilty of racketeering activity that included murder, drug trafficking, fraud, and robbery, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. 

A federal jury found California State Prison inmate John Stinson, 70, guilty of one count of conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity.

The jury found California State Prison inmate Francis Clement, 58, guilty of conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and five counts of murder in aid of racketeering for the murders of Allan Roshanski, Ruslan Megomedgadzhiev, Michael Brizendine, James Yagle, and Ronnie Ennis.

The jury found California State Prison inmate Kenneth Johnson, 63, guilty of conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering for the murders of Allan Roshanski and Ruslan Megomedgadzhiev.

According to court documents and evidence produced at trial, between 2015 and 2023, AB members and associates engaged in racketeering activity, committing multiple acts involving murder, conspiracies to murder, fraud, robbery, and drug trafficking crimes. Using smuggled-in cellphones, Stinson, Johnson, and Clement directed various criminal acts while controlling the membership of the AB. Stinson was a leader of the AB and had significant authority over the enterprise, including resolving disputes among members and approving the murder of current or former members. Johnson and Clement ordered murders of individuals in the Los Angeles area of California.

Additional individuals charged in the case and still pending trial include the following:

  • Jayson Weaver, 47, scheduled for trial in April 2026.
  • Waylon Pitchford, 47, scheduled for trial in April 2026.
  • Andrew Collins, 42, scheduled for trial in April 2026.
  • Evan Perkins, 38, scheduled for trial at a pending date.
  • Justin Gray, 39, scheduled for trial in September 2025.

The charges against the remaining defendants are only allegations, and those individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was the product of an extensive long-term investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Office of Correctional Safety (CDCR), United States Marshals Service, Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, Pomona Police Department, Torrance Police Department, San Diego Police Department, San Diego Sheriff Department, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and Kern County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Justice and California Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, the Clovis Police Department, and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Stephanie Stokman and James Conolly and Department of Justice attorney Jared Engelking are prosecuting the case.

Stinson, Clement, and Johnson are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Thurston on May 19, 2025. Defendants Johnson and Clement face mandatory life sentences based upon their convictions for murder in aid of racketeering. Defendant Stinson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison based upon his RICO conspiracy conviction.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.