BEAUMONT, Texas — Five indictments in three different states were unsealed Wednesday indicting a total of 24 defendants, including alleged Aryan Circle (AC) gang members and associates, on charges of racketeering conspiracy, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, drug conspiracy and unlawful firearms trafficking.
These indictments are part of a larger investigation into the AC, Operation Noble Virtue, that has targeted AC leadership and has resulted in seventeen federal convictions in six jurisdictions to date.
One of the indictments in East Texas charges six alleged AC members and associates with a racketeering conspiracy that includes acts involving murder, five alleged AC members with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, and two alleged AC members with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in aid of racketeering.
This case is being investigated by an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which is made up of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Smith County Sheriff's Office.
Among those charged are alleged current and former high-ranking gang leaders including:
- William Glenn Chunn, aka “Big Head,” 38, of Texas
- Michael Martin, aka “Aryan Prodigy,” aka “AP,” 37, of Texas
- Kevin Kent, aka “Big Kev,” 35, of Indiana
- Malachi David Wren, 51, of Texas
Other alleged AC members charged include:
- Jesse Paul Blankenship, aka “JP,” 39, of Missouri
- Timothy Long, aka “Timmy,” 41, of Arkansas
- Jeremy Chad Dennis, aka “JD,” 43, of Texas
- Becky Westbrook, 49, of Mississippi
- Rodney Holt, aka “Turbo,” 48, of Texas
- Bobby Dayle Boney, aka “Bear,” 50, of Texas
- Glynnwood Derrick, 46, of Texas.
One additional defendant remains at large.
Another indictment in East Texas charges Rodney Holt, aka “Turbo”; as well as his associate who is not known to be an AC member, Eric Hoccheim, 39, of Texas, with five counts including firearms trafficking and conspiracy.
Operation Noble Virtue also resulted in a third indictment in the East Texas area, which charges Jeremy Klintman, aka “Shamrock,” 37, of Texas; Eulalio Torres-Cadenas, aka “Yayo,” 43, of Mexico; Shane Louque, 45, of Louisiana; and Breanna Beckley, 39, of Texas, with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. These defendants are not known to be affiliated with the AC.
The indictment in the South Mississippi charges William Glenn Chunn, aka “Big Head”; Aaron Matthew Rentfrow, aka “Mongo,” 40, of Indiana; Jeremy Chad Dennis, aka “JD”; and Johnathon Aaron Reynolds, 38, of Tennessee with violent crimes in aid of racketeering relating to the stabbing of an inmate at USP Yazoo. That indictment also charges Daniel Wade Holler, aka “Knucklehead,” 34, of Texas, with accessory after the fact relating to the same attack.
The indictment in the East Kentucky charges Mitchell Leon Farkas, aka “Lifter,” 51, of Louisiana; Jonathan Tucker Gober, aka “Tucker,” 36, of Texas; James Matthew Poole, aka “Redwood,” 35, of Texas; and Andrew Dwayne Tinlin, aka “Tin,” 39, of Iowa, with violent crimes in aid of racketeering relating to the stabbing of an inmate at USP Big Sandy (Kentucky).
According to court documents, the AC is a violent, race-based organization that operates inside federal prisons across the country and outside prisons in states including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri.
The AC was established in the mid-1980s within the Texas state prison system (TDCJ) after a period of turmoil within the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) resulted in rejected and ex-ABT members creating the AC.
The AC was relatively small in comparison to other prison-based gangs, but grew in stature and influence within TDCJ in the 1990s, largely through violent conflict with other gangs, white and non-white alike. In recent years, the AC’s structure and influence expanded outside of prisons to rural and suburban areas in numerous states.
Court records further indicate the AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, assault and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the organization.
Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question, according to court documents.
The criminal acts charged in the indictments described above include shootings, stabbings, beatings, and “patch-burnings,” which are violent attacks that result in removal of a victim’s gang tattoo.
