A year-long investigation into the activities of members or known associates of the Aryan Brotherhood led to the arrest of nine people on felony charges related to criminal gang activity.
The investigation began in October 2017 when the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant in the 4100 block of County Road 500N, southwest of Taylorsville, where investigators found materials linking the residents with the Aryan Brotherhood, investigators said.
Detectives said individuals who lived and visited that home were responsible for dealing large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin and had been involved in numerous burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts.
A year ago, investigators said they had identified more than two dozen individuals who had visited the home and that further arrests were anticipated.
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Arrested in this roundup were:
Chelsie S. Harden, 30, of 222 N. Hughes St., on charges of felony trafficking with an inmate, possession of methamphetamine, criminal gang activity, maintaining a common nuisance and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. No bond is listed at this time.
Jarred A. Parton, 26, Franklin, on charges of felony criminal gang activity and misdemeanor battery. Bond set at $326,000.
William J. Justig, 38, of 6024 E. Pioneer Place, on charges of felony gang activity, trafficking with an inmate, dealing in a Schedule III controlled substance and misdemeanor dealing in a Schedule IV controlled substance. No bond listed at this time.
Brandon B. Jacobs, 28, Nashville, on charges of felony criminal gang activity, auto theft, intimidation, possession of an altered handgun and misdemeanor carrying a handgun without a license. Bond set at $1,126,000.
William “Corey” King, 35, of 1003 Pennsylvania St., on charges of felony criminal gang activity and trafficking with an inmate. Bond set at $240,000.
David E. “Bub” Hadley, 35, of 10180 S. County Road 200W, on charges of felony criminal gang activity and trafficking with an inmate. No bond listed at this time.
Mary J. Craig, 22, Edinburgh, on charges of felony trafficking with an inmate, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance. No bond listed at this time.
William J. Stillabower, 33, of 5214 S. Lincoln Village, on charges of felony gang activity and trafficking with an inmate. Stillabower is being held in jail with no bond.
Matthew S. Mowery, 22, Austin, on charges of felony possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a syringe. No bond listed at this time.
While the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies the Aryan Brotherhood as the nation’s oldest major white supremacist prison gang and national crime syndicate, these nine arrests have nothing to do with any race-related crime, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
Harris said the individuals were financially driven to steal items, involved in vehicle thefts, drug trafficking and theft of personal property.
“It’s not uncommon for the Aryan Brotherhood to work with other races to enhance their criminal enterprises,” Harris said.
When the search warrant was served at the home at 4100 W. County Road 500N, investigators found two vehicles, an all-terrain vehicle, a go-kart, a handgun, large amounts of electronics, a television, lawn equipment and tools.
Part of the investigation into this group involved looking into numerous vehicle thefts in Columbus and elsewhere in Bartholomew County, in which the vehicles were believed to have been driven to Indianapolis and other locations and then driven back and dumped on county roads, Harris said. At times, there were two to three of these reports of stolen vehicles each day, he said.
Some of the individuals in this roundup were arrested earlier and have already bonded out or are on house arrest, Harris said. The arrests were grouped to be released at one time to not have any outstanding warrants compromised as the police looked for each individual to arrest.
Part of the investigation included looking into suspects attempting to sneak contraband into the Bartholomew County Jail.
Investigation start
In October 2017 at the home where the Aryan Brotherhood material was found, officers arrested Jeremy D. Streeval, 32, who lived in Edinburgh, and Debin Gabbard, 28, who gave her address as the 4100 W. County Road 500N, where the search warrant was served.
In February, Gabbard was arrested on multiple charges involving possession of methamphetamine, dealing in methamphetamine, possession of a narcotic drug and trafficking with an inmate, court records state. Gabbard was accused of smuggling narcotics into the Bartholomew County Jail that led to the Oct. 7, 2017 death of inmate Angela Blair, 42, Elizabethtown.
Court records state Gabbard smuggled the narcotics into the jail in a body cavity and provided the drugs to Mary L. Snyder, 19, who gave Blair access to the drugs while the two were housed together in the jail. Snyder pleaded guilty in June to felony possession of methamphetamine and was given a two and a half-year prison sentence, according to court records.
Gabbard was sentenced in June to 21 years in prison, and is appealing that sentence after entering into a plea bargain in which she pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing in methamphetamine, one a Level 3 felony, the other a Level 5 felony. The remaining charges were dismissed.
As the investigation involving additional suspects continued, detectives contacted Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash, who assigned Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Holden Kay to work closely with investigators, Harris said.
Officers from the Columbus Police Department, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the Columbus and Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Edinburgh Police Department worked on the investigation.
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The Aryan Brotherhood is also known as The Brand, Alice Baker, AB or One-Two, is the nation’s oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate. Founded in 1964 by Irish bikers as a form of protection for white inmates in newly desegregated prisons, the group is considered today to be the largest and deadliest prison gang in the United States, with an estimated 20,000 members inside prisons and on the streets.
As a crime syndicate, the AB participates in drug trafficking, male prostitution rings, gambling, and extortion inside prisons. On the streets, the AB is involved in nearly every kind of criminal enterprise, including murder-for-hire, armed robbery, gun running, methamphetamine manufacturing, heroin sales, counterfeiting and identity theft.
The Southern Law Poverty Center lists the group’s ideology as "white nationalist."
Members of the AB typically can be easily identified by their tattoos. Popular tattoos among AB members include a shamrock inscribed with the number 666, swastikas, the abbreviation A.B., and double lightning bolts, which stand for Hitler’s SS.
For more information, visit the Southern Law Poverty Center’s website at splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/aryan-brotherhood.
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