Former Executive Director of Children’s Advocacy Center of Tom Green County, Inc. Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

LUBBOCK, TX—Debra Rucker Brown, the former executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) of Tom Green County, Inc., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to one count of theft concerning a federally funded program, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Brown faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, restitution could be ordered. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report.

Brown, 51, served as the CAC’s executive director for more than 16 years—from August 1994 through February 2011. The CAC is a non-profit program that operates Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); Hope House; Family Enrichment Services (FES); and the Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT). CAC’s funding comes mostly from grants and contracts for services, with the balance coming from charitable contributions and money raised through special events it hosts. A significant source of the grant funding is provided by the U.S. government through Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services.

According to documents filed in the case, Brown admitted that from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2008, she knowingly embezzled or stole from the CAC by submitting and processing several fictitious reimbursement forms seeking reimbursement for items purportedly purchased for the CAC, or one of its programs, and for purported expenses incurred, including travel by her and others for CAC business. Using these fictitious reimbursement forms, Brown then caused CAC checks to be fraudulently issued payable to her or for her benefit. She also caused CAC checks to be issued payable to her without providing any supporting documentation. She tendered the signed fraudulent checks at her bank for deposit to her personal checking account or for cash, or submitted them as payment on her personal credit card accounts.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Texas Rangers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann C. Roberts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock is in charge of the prosecution.

Tomball Man Pleads Guilty To Involvement In Murder

BEAUMONT, Texas – A 48-year-old Tomball, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a 2008 Liberty County homicide, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales of the Eastern District of Texas.

Steven Cooke pleaded guilty to committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity, (VCAR) today before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. Specifically, Cooke admitted that he murdered Scott Freeman, 37.

According to information presented in court, Cooke was a general of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), a race-based state-wide organization which operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout the state of Texas and the United States. The command structure has a militaristic ranking structure. The ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise.

In 2002, a division within the ABT resulted in two separate rival ABT factions. Freeman and Cooke each belonged to separate rival factions. At the time of his murder, Freeman was actively recruiting members of the opposing faction to join forces with his rival faction. Cooke’s particular faction had been given a “greenlight” to assault or kill members of the rival faction.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2008, Cooke, using the ruse that his own vehicle was overcrowded, persuaded Freeman to pull over as both men were traveling in separate vehicles from Cooke’s residence in Rye, Texas to Cleveland, Texas. One of the passengers in Cooke’s vehicle disembarked and sat on the passenger side of Freeman’s truck. Freeman came around the side of his truck to greet Cooke and a co-defendant. At this point, Cooke shot Freeman six times. After Cooke and his co-defendant moved Freeman's body behind Freeman’s vehicle, they fled the scene.

U.S. Attorney Bales expressed his appreciation for the hard work performed by so many officers and agents and added, “In both word and deed, the ABT has consistently demonstrated a flagrant disrespect for the law and a pitiless disregard for the standards and norms of conduct that bind our society together. Scott Freeman’s murder was a completely senseless act of violence that accomplished nothing but to further cement the ABT’s reputation as a loathsome gang dedicated to enforcing a foolish and evil code of conduct.”

“We have now convicted two of the five ABT generals from the Poncho faction. A third general has died from natural causes. This most recent accomplishment signals not only the end of Steven Cooke’s criminal career but underscores our present intention to completely dismantle the ABT’s ability to do harm,” said U.S. Attorney Bales.

Cooke faces Life in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

This case is being investigated by the ATF the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Lufkin, Texas, in full cooperation with the Liberty County District Attorney’s Office.

El Paso Air Branch Intercepts Domestic Air Smuggler

El Paso, Texas — On June 1, CBP Air and Marine Operations Center requested the launch of an interceptor aircraft from the El Paso Air Branch to track a suspect aircraft that had just departed Oceanside, Calif. Detection enforcement officers suspected the Piper Cherokee airplane and owner were engaged in domestic air smuggling. The branch dispatched a Cessna Citation C-550 to intercept and a Cessna 210 from the Albuquerque air unit to assist.

A short while after an air-to-air intercept was completed, the suspect and trailing OAM aircraft landed at Dalhart Airport in the panhandle of Texas. The suspect pilot and passenger were questioned by Air and Marine agents, and subsequently refused to consent to a search of their aircraft. AMOC coordinated the response of Texas State Troopers and a canine officer, as well as special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.

The canine alerted to the possible presence of narcotics in the aircraft, and a subsequent search of the aircraft revealed the presence of 68 kilograms of high-grade “hydro” marijuana and $8,000 in cash. The contraband, aircraft, pilot and passenger were turned over to HSI special agents for federal prosecution.

"This is yet another excellent example of the extraordinary capabilities that our motivated and skilled Enforcement Specialists at AMOC bring to our battle against narcotics smuggling. It is also a classic example of the mutually supportive partnership that ICE HSI and Office of Air and Marine continue to forge in its joint efforts to protect America," said Mike Wimberly, director of air operations for the El Paso Air Branch.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Eleven Alleged Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Members Charged for Roles in Assault

WASHINGTON—Eleven alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have been indicted for their alleged roles in the 2008 beating of a gang prospect in Tomball, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas.

The superseding indictment, returned by the federal grand jury on Feb. 16, 2011, and unsealed today in Houston, charges the defendants with violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity (VICAR) and conspiracy to engage in violent crimes in aid of racketeering. The defendants charged in the indictment are Zechariah Aaron Johnston, 31; Steven Walter Cooke, 47; Stephen Kyle Knebel, 33; David Bruce Harlow, 46; Robert Lynn Sheats, 33; Justin Northrup, 25; Benjamin Christian Dillon, 28; Rusty Dwayne Plante, 34; Johnny Ray Nichols, 35; Shane Everett Dallmeyer, 30; and Michael Raymond Burkett, 33. All of the defendants are from the greater Houston-area.

According to the indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another ABT member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.

The indictment alleges that a prospect member of ABT sustained serious bodily injury after he was severely beaten on Sept. 22, 2008, at Cooke's home in Tomball. The beating was allegedly administered by ABT gang members because the prospect member violated certain ABT rules of conduct.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the VICAR charge. They face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. The defendants who were not already in federal prison are making initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in Houston.

According to the indictment, the ABT is a race-based, state-wide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and elsewhere in the United States. The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. As alleged in the indictment, it modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. According to the indictment, previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism. Over time, however, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.

As alleged in the indictment, the ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as "direct orders."

An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Texas Rangers; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Walker County, Texas, Sheriff's Office; the Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff's Department; the Houston Police Department-Gang Division; and the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff's Office.

The case is being prosecuted by David Karpel of the Criminal Division's Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman of the Southern District of Texas in Houston.

Odessa Murder Suspect Arrested

On Tuesday, December 28, 2010, the Odessa Police Department and Texas Rangers were working to locate murder suspect Christopher Antonio Redic who was accused of killing Freddie Hall III. The Rangers reached out to the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force of whom they are a member agency, along with the Odessa PD and several other area agencies. The Texas Rangers had developed information that Redic may be in Monahans, and the task force quickly set up surveillance on several possible locations. On Wednesday, task force agents learned that Redic and his girlfriend had caught a ride to the Killeen/Temple area the day before, prior to law enforcement focusing on Monahans.

The U.S. Marshals in Waco are also part of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in the Western District of Texas, and they were contacted to use their resources with the task force member agencies in the Killeen and Temple area to locate Redic. Within hours, Task Force agents in Waco were able to locate an apartment in Temple where Redic was reportedly hiding out with his girlfriend. U.S. Marshals and Texas Rangers, along with task force officers from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Waco PD, were joined by Bell County Sheriff’s deputies and Temple Police Department. Officers approached and surrounded the apartment where Redic was supposed to be. Officers first encountered Redic’s girlfriend, and when they made entry, located and arrested Redic without incident inside the apartment. Texas Rangers also located and seized a 9mm handgun, but it is undetermined at this point if it is the murder weapon.

Robert Almonte, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas said, “This case exemplifies what the task force concept is all about. As a member of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, the Odessa Police Department essentially has investigators all over the country ready to respond at a moment’s notice. In this case, a murder suspect on the run, is captured quickly and safely, and will later return to Odessa to answer to these charges.”

Two Rangers and a Marine

April 15, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added two Texas Rangers and one police officer who is a former Marine.

W. J. L. Sullivan was a sergeant with the Texas Rangers from 1889 to 1901. He is the author of Twelve Years in the Saddle with the Texas Rangers.

Captain Daniel Roberts joined the Texas Rangers in 1874 and served periodically until 1882. Captain Daniel Roberts’ autobiography, Rangers and Sovereignty, was published in 1914.

David Cortez is a former United States Marine who served one year with the Third Reconnaissance Battalion in Okinawa, Japan. David Cortez is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University and holds a BA in business administration. He is a twenty-four year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department, where he currently serves as a sergeant in the Patrol Division. Among his many assignments in police work are the Patrol Division, Vice, Intelligence, Narcotics, Burglary, Detective, Gang Unit, Federal Drug Task Force, (known as Weed-n-Seed) and the Training Division. David Cortez is the author of A Personal Guide for Cabin and Cockpit Self Defense.

According to the book description of A Personal Guide for Cabin and Cockpit Self Defense, “This book outlines a variety of self defense related issues. First it recognizes terrorism profound impact on the flight industry and the American way of life. Secondly, it draws informal parallels between the current flight industry and our system of policing while defining some terrorist methods of operations. Moreover, the book addresses a need for a change in attitude and purpose as it relates to flight personnel. Varied issues involving fear, emotional control, legality, personal attitudes, edged weapons defenses, and personal weapons, are delineated in this book.. What’s more, realistic self-defense measures are clarified for Cabin and Cockpit Defense. This book is a classic "HOW TO" on Self-Defense and a must read for airline personnel, police and the military.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 972 police officers (representing 408 police departments) and their 2065 criminal justice books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Texas Rangers

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. The website added the first two Texas Rangers to the nearly 500 state and local police officers who have written books.

According to the official history of the Texas Rangers, “The Texas Rangers are the oldest law enforcement organization on the North American continent with statewide jurisdiction. On August 10, 1935, when the Texas Legislature created the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers and the Texas Highway Patrol became members of this agency, with statewide law enforcement jurisdiction. The true modern-day Ranger came into being on September 1, 1935.”

Joaquin Jackson, a Texas Ranger, wrote about his career and the history of the Texas Rangers in his book One Ranger a Memoir. According to David Marion Wilkinson, “Jackson's tenure in the Texas Rangers began when older Rangers still believed that law need not get in the way of maintaining order, and concluded as younger Rangers were turning to computer technology to help solve crimes. Though he insists, "I am only one Ranger. There was only one story that belonged to me," his story is part of the larger story of the Texas Rangers becoming a modern law enforcement agency that serves all the people of the state. It's a story that's as interesting as any of the legends. And yet, Jackson's story confirms the legends, too. With just over a hundred Texas Rangers to cover a state with 267,399 square miles, any one may become the one Ranger who, like Joaquin Jackson in Zavala County in 1972, stops one riot.”

Born in Lorena, Texas, in 1914, Lewis C. Rigler attended Texas A&M University. He entered Texas Ranger service as a member of Dallas-based Company B, and retired in 1977. He is an investment consultant and owner of a bail-bond business. His book, In the Line of Duty, tells the story of his life and service as a Texas Ranger.

According to one Amazon reader/reviewer, “Lewis Rigler gives the reader insight into his life and experiences as a transition-era Texas Ranger. His was a time between the saddle-bound frontier types and the higher tech crime solving Rangers of today. The writing is clear and poignant with no apologies for the more primitive, yet more effective methods of crime fighting used by the Rangers of the previous generation. A devout Christian, Ranger Lewis Rigler acknowledges that he was somewhat atypical in appearance and demeanor, but no less effective in pursuing those on the wrong side of the law. An intriguing and satisfying read.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 469 police officers (representing 198 police departments) and their 976 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.