TYLER, Texas — An East Texas man accused of giving the orders that led to the 2020 shooting death of a motorcyclist in the Chapel Hill area was arrested this week.
Chad Michael Crowell, 38, of Eustace, was booked into the Smith County Jail Tuesday on a directing activities of a criminal street gang charge, which is a first-degree felony. He remains jailed on a $2.5 million.
According to an arrest affidavit, Crowell is a national sergeant at arms of the Ugly Man Cossacks (an outlaw motorcycle gang) who told his subordinate members to commit violent acts against members of the rival motorcycle gang, 1%er Cossacks.
The document states that one of those actions led to motorcyclist Brandon Edwards, 33, of Ben Wheeler, getting chased by three Ugly Man Cossacks members and getting shot to death in the 16400 block of FM 850 in Chapel Hill on May 2, 2020. Edwards was identified as a rank-holding member of the local 1%er Cossacks.
Those three men have all been convicted and sentenced to prison. Joshua Ray Tibbits, of Waco, was found guilty of engaging in organized crime and sentenced to 45 years in prison, while Jose Antonio Valenzuela, of Longview, and Jeffery Ryan Griffin, of Robinson, pleaded guilty to the same charge and received 22-year prison sentences each.
An investigation showed Crowell was a part of the national leadership team that put out a "smash on site" order (a directive to commit violent acts) against the 1%er Cossacks.
Griffin told investigators that after a meeting with national leadership, Crowell said, "if you see any of these (expletive), you put them down. You are hurt him ... you are to take his cut. If you can't handle him one on one, watch him and call another brother and get him over there. Tell your other members the same thing," the affidavit said.
Valenzuela said that Crowell had given the "smash on site" order to Ugly Man Cossacks members with a sergeant at arms rank, meaning that members should assault any 1%er Cossacks members they see in public. Valenzuela told police the "smash on site" order came from the national president through Crowell, the document read.
The affidavit showed a part of a Ugly Man Cossacks meeting minutes in February 2020 read, "Smash on site, no matter what," regarding the 1%er Cossacks. Crowell said the national president wanted members to "hurt 'em until they change their name." If an Ugly Man Cossacks member didn't assault a 1% Cossacks member, Crowell said they would be in trouble.
According to the affidavit, Edwards' shooting death is just one of the criminal acts that Crowell is accused of ordering. Those crimes include:
- Aggravated assault in Hubbard in January 2020
- Aggravated assault involving brass knuckles and a handgun in Gilmer in February 2020
- Aggravated robbery and stabbing in Upshur County in February 2020
- Non-fatal shooting in Harrison County in March 2020
In the incident that led to Edwards' death, Tibbits, Griffin and Valenzuela decided to harass Edwards, who then attempted to evade them. Griffin and Tibbits fired handguns out of the window of their truck, killing Edwards. All three fled the scene, the affidavit said.
Griffin told investigators that Crowell had a sense of accomplishment in his eyes and seemed proud of what Griffin, Tibbits and Valenzuela did to Edwards. Valenzuela, Griffin and Tibbits all admitted to the details of the incident, the affidavit explained.
Ugly Man Cossacks members were getting rewarded for following the "smash on site" order like Valenzuela, who was promoted to regional sergeant at arms after criminal acts committed in February 2020. Valenzuela told police that without the "smash on site" order from Crowell and another leader, none of these events would've happened, according to the affidavit.
Some of the rewards that members received for following the order include patches, tattoos and a promotion in rank, the document said.