Hopkins, Delta Counties Had The Lowest September Unemployment Rate In Area
While unemployment rates across the state and Northeast Texas increased 1.3 percent in September, the unemployment rate in the Texarkana/Northeast Texas area as a whole only increased 0.6 percent. Hopkins and Delta Counties had the lowest September unemployment rate (5,8 percent) in the area, according to LAUS, local area area unemployment statistics reported by Texas Workforce Commission in the Texas Labor information report.
Texas Workforce Commission on Oct. 16 reported 7.7 percent of the civilian labor force across the country was looking for work, a decrease of 0.8 percent from August and 4.4 percent higher than in September of 2019.
Texas’ unemployment rate, however, was 0.6 percent higher than the national unemployment. The unemployment rate in all 9 counties in the Northeast Texas Workforce Development Area (WDA)/Texarkana LAUS, which includes Hopkins County, also rose from August to September.
TWC attributed the increase in the unemployment rates to the civilian labor force shrinking as the number of individuals actively looking for work contracted.
“Texas employers added 40,700 jobs despite the increase in individuals exiting the labor force which also includes the self-employed. This marks the fifth consecutive month of job growth since measures taken to control the spread of corona virus began. The monthly job increase exceeded September 2019, when 12,800 jobs were added,” an Oct. 16 TWC press release states.
In September of 2020, 8.3 percent of 1,177 of Texas’ civilian labor force of 14,208 was unemployed. That’s still 4.9 percent higher than in September of 2019, when 482.8 of the 14,111.3 civilian labor force as unemployed.
In the Northeast Texas region, unemployment rose from 6.1 percent in August 2020 to 7.4 percent in September 2020, with 9,218 of the 124,497 labor force reported by TWC to be unemployed in September 2020. That’s 3.6 percent higher than in September of 2019, when 3.8 percent or 4,765 of civilian labor force of 124,845 in NE Texas were seeking work, according to the TWC data.
In the Texarkana LAUS area, 4,791 of the civilian labor force (CLF) of 64,815 (7.3 percent) were unemployed in September 2020, which is 0.6 percent more than in August 2020, when 4,439 of the CLF of 65,931 were unemployed. In September of 2019, the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent the Texarkana area, with only 2,662 of the 65,295 CLF unemployed
Hopkins and Delta counties had the lowest unemployment rate in the NET/Texarkana LAUS area in September 2020.
Hopkins County’s unemployment rate rose from 4.6 percent in August 2020 to 5.8 percent in September 2020. Hopkins County’s CLF shrunk from 17,451 in August to 17,180 in September of 2020. Last month, 990 people in Hopkins County were unemployed, compared to September 2019 when only 508 of 17661 CLF were unemployed (2.9 percent) and August 2020 (when 795 people were unemployed.
Delta County’s September 2020 unemployment rate also as 5.8 percent, up from 4.8 percent (the second lowest) in August 2020. The CLF decreased from 2,418 in August to 2,379 in September 2020. Only 115 were unemployed in August 2020, but that 137 were unemployed last month. The unemployment rate in Delta County was 3.5 percent in September 2019 (the 4th lowest), when 85 of the 2,456 CLF were reported to be unemployed.
Unemployment in Franklin County was 6.1 percent in September, up from 5 percent in August 2020 and 3.5 percent in September 2019.
Lamar County’s unemployment rate rose from 5.7 percent in August 2020 to 6.9 percent in September 2020. The unemployment rate in September 2020 was 3.2 percent in Lamar County.
Unemployment in Morris County spiked from 11.2 percent in August to 14 percent in September, more than the state high of 13.5 percent reported in April 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 shutdowns. Morris County’s CLF rose from 4,980 in August to 5,106 in September 2020. The number of unemployed in Morris County rose from 556 in August to 701 last month The CLF in September 2019 was 4,853, with 246 or 5.2 percent unemployed.
Cass County had the second worst unemployment rate in the region in September. The labor force shrunk from 12,641 in August to 12,538 last month. The number of people seeking jobs rose from 918 in August (7.3 percent) to 1,101 last month (8.8 percent). Unemployment rate in September 2020 was still more than double that of Sept. 2019, when only 525 of the 12,435 CLF (4.2 percent) were unemployed.
16 New Sulphur Springs ISD COVID-19 Cases Reported Over The Last Week
Over the last week, 16 new Sulphur Springs ISD COVID-19 cases were reported. All except 3 of the lab-confirmed novel coronavirus 2019 cases are students and staff of Sulphur Springs High School.
SSISD Administrators on Oct. 15 notified students, employees an family members at SSHS that 4 additional students and 1 additional staff member who were on the high school campus within the last week had received positive COVID-19 test results.
That’s 11 students and 2 staff members at SSHS who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week (Oct. 9-15), and 14 students and 6 staff members so far this month from SSHS who have tested positive for COVID-19. Since school started on Sept. 1, the district has received notifications for 32 students and 8 staff at SSHS who have tested positive for COVID-19. At least 2 sports schedules have been impacted by the SSISD COVID-19 cases, including varsity football.
Also on Oct. 15, SSISD notified parents, staff and students that a student who had been on the Sulphur Springs Middle School campus within the last week has tested positive for COVID-19. That makes 3 staff and 2 students of SSMS who have tested positive for the virus this month, and 6 staff and 4 students from the campus 4 students since school started who have received positive COVID-19 results.
Only 1 other COVID-19 case was reported for SSISD this week, a Douglass ECLC staff member on Oct. 12. Earlier in the month, four staff members at Barbara Bush Primary also tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the monthly COVID-19 case total through Oct. 15 to 21 students and 14 employees who have received positive COVID-19 results. That’s four more SSISD staff members who have tested positive so far in October than the entire month of September. That’s only 3 fewer students half way through October than during the whole month of September.
Cumulatively, that makes 40 SSISD students and 21 employees of SSISD who have received positive COVID test results since Sept. 1. These totals include only students and staff who have been on campus since school started, and that SSISD sent official notifications for.
Drug Take Back Event Planned Oct. 24
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Posse and Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, will be hosting a Drug Take Back event next Saturday.
People are invited to bring their leftover unused prescription or over-the-counter medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 24, to Atwood’s parking lot, located at 817 Gilmer St. in Sulphur Springs, for proper disposal.
The Drug Take Back Event is for medications that are not needed or that are out of date so that officials can have them properly destroyed. This could also be a good way to get rid of remaining medication from a family member who has passed away or may have left them behind.
In a 2018 national survey on drug use and health, 9.9 million American were reported to have misused controlled prescription drugs; the majority of abused prescription drugs obtained from family and friends, often from home medicine cabinets.
The Drug Take Back events help keep these drugs out of water systems and the trash, and helps prevent the medications from being available for potential use by anyone other than the person they were prescribed to or intended from, including children. That in turn could help prevent drug addition and overdose deaths, according to the DEA’s event web page.
HCSO and Posse members said while all pills will be accepted, needles and inhalers will not be accepted at the takeback event. Not sure where a medication from? Provided the drug is not an inhaler or needle it will be accepted. Just drop it off for disposal. No questions will be asked.
This will be the 19th year the DEA has partnered with law enforcement agencies across the country to host take back events. Typically, they are offered twice a year, one in April and another in October, at various locations.
The DEA reports that through the partnership of 4,896 law enforcement agencies a total of 882,919 pounds (441.5 tons) of medications were collected from the 6,174 sites participating in the October 2019 National Take Back event.
For additional information about the DEA’s 19th National Drug Take Back event, go online to DEATakeBack.com
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
Oct. 14-15 Hopkins County COVID-19 Update: 12 New Cases, 1 Additional Death
THHS Reported Significant Changes In COVID-19 Cases, Deaths At Sulphur Springs Nursing Homes
COVID-19 case counts continue to rise Wednesday and Thursday, according to local and state reports. Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials reported 8 new cases and the Local Health Authority reported a 4 percent increase in cumulative COVID-19 cases among adults age 61 over the last 2 weeks on Oct. 14. Three additional Hopkins County residents had tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 15, HC/SSEM officials reported.
State officials on Oct. 14 also reported 1 additional death of a Hopkins County resident from COVID-19 as well as significant changes in COVID-19 cases at local nursing homes, including deaths.
DSHS Death Reports
Texas Department of State Health Services On Oct. 14 reported another Hopkins County resident was confirmed by death certificate to have died as a result of COVID-19 on Oct. 9, increasing the number of COVID-19 deaths reported to have occurred in October. Two Hopkins County residents died on Oct. 5 and one on Oct. 8, according to the DSHS Oct. 14-15 County Trends reports.
That makes 21 Hopkins County residents confirmed by death certificate to have died as a result of COVID-19 since July. There were no additional deaths reported for Hopkins County on Oct. 15, according to DSHS reports.
HHS Nursing, Assisted Living Reports
The Oct. 14 Texas Health and Human Services nursing facility report attributed 9 deaths at local nursing homes to COVID-19, and reported 13 new employee cases and 19 active resident cases of novel coronavirus 2019 at Sulphur Springs nursing homes on Sept. 30. There were no changes in the number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities reported at local nursing facilities on Oct. 15.
While the number of active cases among residents of Carriage House Manor decreased from 27 to 18 on Sept. 30, an additional 4 residents had died as a result of COVID-1. That increased the number facility residents of COVID-19 deaths at the facility to 8 as of Sept. 30, according to the Oct. 14 and 15 HHS nursing facility reports.
Texas Health and Human Services on Oct. 14 also reported 13 additional employees of Carriage House Manor had tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 30. That makes 38 CHM employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, according to the Oct. 14-15 HHS reports. That’s just 1 shy of the total number of Hopkins County residents DSHS has reported have been confirmed by death certificate to have died in September.
Sulphur Springs Health and Rehabilitation was reported for the first time to not only have resident COVID-19 cases on Sept. 30, but one of the two residents had died from the virus. The other case remained active on Oct. 1, according to the HHS Oct. 14 and 15 nursing facility reports.
The only active case at Sulphur Springs assisted living facilities as Oct. 1 continued to be a Wesley House employee, according to the Oct. 15 HHS reports.
There were no active cases of COVID-19 at licensed child care centers in Hopkins County on either Oct. 13 or Oct. 14, according to the Oct. 14-15 HHS child care report.
LHA Age Range Report
The largest rise in cumulative COVID-19 cases among all Hopkins County residents over the last 2 weeks was in residents ages 61 and older. On Oct. 14, residents age 61 and older accounted for 31 percent of the cumulative COVID-19 cases, the most by any group since the Local Health Authority and HC/SSEM began reporting statistics by age on Sept. 1. That’s a 4 percent increase in the last 2 weeks and a 9 percent increase in the last month.
Young people ages 11-20 accounted for another 15 percent of the Hopkins County resident who have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, the same as on Sept. 30, 5 percent more on Sept. 1 and 3 percent more than on Sept. 14.
Residents ages 41-50 accounted have continued to account for 13 percent of Hopkins COVID-19 patients since Sept. 14, and is 1 percent less than the Sept. 1 report.
Hopkins County residents ages 1-10 accounted for 4 percent of the cumulative COVID-19 patients on Oct. 14, ages 21-30 for 11 percent, ages 31-40 14 percent, ages 51-60 for 12 percent; each of these age groups declined 1 percent each from the Sept. 30 report period to the Oct. 14 report period. Since Sept. 1, that’s a 2 percent drop for ages 1-10, 3 percent drop for ages 21-30, 3 percent drop for ages 21-30, 5 percent drop for ages 31-40, 1 percent drop for 41-50 years and 3 percent drop for 51-60.
HC/SSEM Oct. 14-15 Reports
Hopkins County Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials reported 8 new COVID-19 cases on Oct. 14 and 3 new cases on Oct.15, increasing the active case county to 111 and the weekly case county so far to 52. That brings the total number of Hopkins County residents who have tested positive with COVID-19 from Oct. 1-15 to 103, just 15 cases shy of September’s 30-day total and 2 more than last week’s positive antigen test total. The new cases on Oct. 14 and make 464 Hopkins County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 since March.
There were no new recoveries reported on either Oct. 14 or Oct. 15 for Hopkins County, so the weekly total remains 30. There have been 70 Hopkins County residents who have recovered from the virus so far this month and 353 since March.
One additional patient was reported to be in the COVID-19 Unit at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs on Thursday, according to the Oct. 15 Hopkins County COVID-19 update. That’s 3 days in a row that the patient count has risen by 1, from 5 on Oct. 12 to 8 on Oct. 15.
Testing at the free testing site at 128-A Jefferson Street slowed a little on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 93 tests performed each day, 39 fewer than on Oct. 12, according to HC/SSEM reports.
Free testing continues to be offered from starting at 9 a.m. until at least 6 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. To register go online to GoGetTested.com, scroll down to the “Sulphur Springs — Red Cross/Old Fidelity Express — Texas Emergency Management” testing site (they are usually listed alphabetically), click the green “Book It” button and follow the prompts.
Canned Meats Needed For Tira Food Pantry
By Jan Vaughn
A baby shower was held at the Weir home on Saturday afternoon for Dakota Weir and Sarah Theriault. Destri and Natalie Weir were the hostesses. Dacy was unable to come due to illness. Ladies attending included Joyce Dodd, Dana Waggoner, Regina Taylor, Malorie Padron, Jan Vaughn, Elizabeth Wallace and Yvonne Weir. Dustin, Wesley, and Robert Weir were there, too, along with lots of children who enjoyed running around and playing during the outdoor event. The weather was beautiful and it was a very nice shower. Yvonne adds, “Dustin, Natalie and Everly spent the night, as did Sarah and Lucus.”
Our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, Tiffany, Perry and Jaidyn, came on Saturday and we celebrated Jaidyn’s 12th birthday that evening. Joining us were Malcolm and Melinda Joslin, and Ben and Shayla, and Kenden Joslin and Emma Hall. We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade ice cream and cake, and visiting in the backyard.
I want to express my appreciation to the council members who take care of the Tira Food Pantry weekly. Joyce Dodd reported that we are running low on canned meats. If you would like to donate food or money to the cause, please call Joyce at 903-348-8754.
I had the rare opportunity to see a bald eagle just up the road from our home on Wednesday. I was excited that it remained on its perch in the top of the tree while I took pictures.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-945-2190 or 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
Cumby Homecoming Week Activities Announced
Cumby ISD is gearing up for Homecoming Week. The 2020 homecoming festivities include recognition of the 2020 Cumby Homecoming Court, the crowning of a Homecoming Queen and King, daily spirit themes and other community activities planned during Cumby Homecoming Week, Oct. 19-23.
A different dress-up theme has been designated for each day of the Cumby Homecoming Week. Monday has been dubbed PJ Day. Tuesday is Twin Day. Wednesday will be Tourist/Hawaiian Day. Thursday is Throwback Thursday. Friday is Maroon Out, a day to don school colors. All Cumby students are encouraged to be creative and dress up for the daily theme to show their school spirit.
On Oct. 21, at Homecoming Parade will start at 6 p.m., with line-up at Matt’s at 5:30 p.m. The cheerleaders are scheduled to perform at the park. On Oct. 23, kickoff for the home game versus Clarksville is set for 7:30 p.m. Homecoming festivities, including the crowning of the 2020 Cumby Homecoming King and Queen. School officials report the Cumby Homecoming Week activities do not include a community bonfire.
Two representative from each class at Cumby High School were selected to the 2020 Cumby Homecoming Court. They include junior representatives are Logan Miller and Dayli Sims; sophomore representatives Andrew Dignam and Britney Jacobs; and freshman representatives Lane McCraw and Lilly Campbell. The nominees for Cumby High School 2020 Homecoming King are Colten Lindsey, Keagan McCullum, Darren Brewer and Cameron Rodriguez. The nominees for Cumby HS 2020 Homecoming Queen are Lucero Osornio, Rylee Krotky, Brooke Petty and Rachael Dotson, Cumby ISD announced Thursday afternoon, Oct. 15.
Wood County Sheriff’s Report Oct. 7-13, 2020
Wood County Sheriff’s Office provided the following activity report for Oct. 7-13, 2020:
- Abandoned Vehicle: 5
- Alarm: 10
- Animal Complaint: 13
- Arrest/Warrant: 6
- Assault: 3
- Burglary: 7
- Criminal Mischief: 1
- Criminal Trespass: 6
- Disturbances/Disputes: 15
- Fire-Vehicle: 1
- Found Property: 3
- Fraud: 2
- Harassment: 3
- Inquest: 2
- Livestock at Large: 12
- Lost Property: 1
- Missing Person: 2
- Motorist Assist: 2
- Noise Complaint: 4
- Reckless Driver: 3
- Shots Fired: 1
- Suspicious Activity: 22
- Theft: 8
- Traffic Hazard: 3
- Traffic Stop Cleared by Arrest: 1
- Welfare Check: 17
SSISD: Decision Yet To Be Made Regarding The Oct. 23 Home Varsity Football Game Against Ennis
Sulphur Springs ISD officials made an announcement Thursday morning concerning two Wildcats varsity football games. SSISD, via Blackboard and on social media, announced that a determination has yet to be made concerning whether to play the Friday, Oct. 23 home varsity football game against Ennis at Gerald Prim Stadium.
SSISD officials also confirmed that Friday’s district varsity football game at Crandall has been postponed. That game may be rescheduled at a later date.
SSISD, in the notices, stated district officials will communicate further details concerning both games as they become available.
Wildcats varsity football players are quarantined until October 23. Their Homecoming game last Friday against Hallsville was canceled due to virus issues.
The Ennis Lions will also be idle this Friday. Their game against Greenville has been postponed. Greenville ISD shut down for in-person learning for on Thursday and Friday due to COVID-19 exposure, specifically “a number of COVID-19 cases and resulting close contacts on multiple campuses.” All athletic events scheduled Thursday and Friday were also canceled to allow all campuses and facilities in GISD to be deep cleaned. Classes and athletic events are scheduled to resume Monday, according to an announcement on the GISD website.
History Brought to Life at ‘The Cemetery Walk’ Nov. 1
Researchers of the Hopkins County Genealogical Society love bringing history to life, literally! Their annual Cemetery Walk event is planned for Sunday November 1, 2020 in Sulphur Springs City Cemetery. It’s vastly interesting, as well as thoughtfully-planned for 2-4pm when many people can enjoy taking a stroll through one of the most history-rich locations in town! Cost to attend is $10 person.
According to Rhonda Beachhold, a member of the Society’s board of directors, numerous former citizens who were laid to rest in the Cemetery will be portrayed during the Cemetery Walk. Costumed actors in period costume (actually Society volunteers) will present highlights of the life story of these historical characters to groups who tour the grounds that day. Be ready to be entertained, and to leave better informed about what Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County was like “back in their day”. Time periods portrayed will range from the 1890’s to the 1950’s.
“The opening session at 2pm will be at the Myra Wilson Chapel inside the City Cemetery at 2pm. There, visitors will hear a history of the chapel and cemetery by John Sellers before setting out. Tour guides will take visitors into the sections of the cemetery being used that day. Also, anyone is welcome to stroll through the historical sites within the cemetery, on their own”. You can also get information about membership, research services and assistance in doing your own research, through the local Genealogical Research Library, open weekly inside the Sulphur Springs Public Library at 611 North Davis Street.
Historic figures you will meet during this Cemetery Walk:
Amanda Pate (Mrs. O.M. Pate)
Capt. W. R. Buford
Mollie Patrick Lynch, mother of Ruth, Mrs. Charles Ashcroft
Elizabeth Coffee of the Coffee Hotel
Elizabeth and Thomas Coleman
Dasie Sellers owner of Sellers Cafeteria, downtown Dr. W. C. Hurley (Phrenologist? a process which involves feeling the skull to determine an individual’s illness or psychological attributes)
Hopkins County Resident Reportedly Among 24 Indicted On Federal Charges Related To Aryan Circle
A man reported to be a Hopkins County resident is among 24 defendants named in 6 federal indictments alleging charges of federal racketeering, firearms and drug charges across multiple states.
The indictments are part of Operation Noble Virtue, a larger investigation into the Aryan Circle which has targeted AC leadership and has resulted in 17 federal convictions in 6 jurisdictions to date, according to a new release from the Department of Justice’s Public Affairs Office.
Federal authorities attempted to locate Bobby Dayle “Bear” Boney, 50, in Hopkins County Wednesday morning, Oct. 14. Boney reportedly turned himself in to authorities later Oct. 14 and was arrested. He was being held at Hopkins County jail Wednesday night, pending transport to a federal magistrate, according to local officials.
An Oct. 14 United States Department of Justice Public Affairs Office new release states the following about the indictments and arrests:
Five indictments in three different states were unsealed today indicting a total of twenty-four 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.
The indictments were announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox of the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. of the Eastern District of Kentucky, and U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst of the Southern District of Mississippi. 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 the Eastern District of 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. 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; and 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; and Glynnwood Derrick, 46, of Texas. One additional defendant remains at large.
Another indictment in the Eastern District of 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 Eastern District of Texas, which charges Jeremy Klintman, aka “Shamrock,” 37, of Texas; Eulalio Torres-Cadenas, aka “Yayo,” 43, of Mexico; Shane Louque, 45, of Lousiana; and Breanna Beckley, 39, of Texas, with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. These defendants are not known to be afilliated with the AC.
The indictment in the Southern District of 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 Eastern District of 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.
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 that 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. 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.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law
This case is being investigated by an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Montgomery County (TX) Precinct One Constable’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; New Jersey Department of Corrections-Special Investigations Division; Indiana State Police; Fort Smith (AR) Police Department; Arkansas Department of Corrections; Arnold (MO) Police Department; Jefferson County (MO) Sheriff’s Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County (MO) Police Department; Indiana Department of Corrections; Carrollton (TX) Police Department; Waller (TX) Police Department; Montgomery County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Travis County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office; Smith County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; McCurtain County (OK) Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Liberty County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Harris County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Mercer County (NJ) District Attorney’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) District Attorney’s Office; and the Sebastian County (AR) District Attorney’s Office.
The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Bethany Lipman, Rebecca Dunnan, Lakeita Rox-Love, and Alexander Gottfried of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp of the Eastern District of Texas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah Johnson of the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael FiggsGanter of the Southern District of Mississippi, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
