Liberty County Man Sentenced for Beaumont Bank Robberies

BEAUMONT, TX—A 46-year-old Daisetta, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for a string of bank robberies, including two in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

John Steven Stark pleaded guilty on May 3, 2012 to two counts of bank robbery and was sentenced to 169 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. Stark was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,390.17.

According to information presented in court, on January 30, 2012, Stark entered the Bank of America at 2625 Calder in Beaumont and handed a teller a note stating, “This is a bank robbery.” The teller complied with the demands of the note and provided the man with the cash from her teller drawer totaling $3,338.

On February 2, 2012, Stark robbed the Comerica Bank branch office located at 3135 Southwest Freeway in Houston. Stark used a note which he handed to a bank teller before making off with $2,632.

Surveillance video captured several images of the man during the robberies, which was then circulated by broadcast news. The man was identified as Stark and he was arrested on February 8, 2012 in Beaumont following a third bank robbery.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Beaumont Police Department, the Houston Police Department, and the Daisetta Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft.

Liberty County Man Guilty in Beaumont Bank Robbery

BEAUMONT, TX—A 46-year-old Daisetta, Texas man has pleaded guilty to bank robbery charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

John Steven Stark pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn.

According to information presented in court, on January 30, 2012, Stark entered the Bank of America at 2625 Calder in Beaumont and handed a teller a note stating, “This is a bank robbery.” The teller complied with the demands of the note and provided the man with the cash from her teller drawer totaling $3,338.

On February 2, 2012, Stark robbed the Comerica Bank branch office located at 3135 Southwest Freeway in Houston. Stark used a note which he handed to a bank teller before making off with $2,632.

Surveillance video captured several images of the man during the robberies, which were then circulated by broadcast news. The man was identified as Stark and he was arrested on February 8, 2012 in Beaumont following a third bank robbery.

Stark faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, the Beaumont Police Department, the Houston Police Department, and the Daisetta Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft.

Two Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Members Sentenced in Houston for Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering

WASHINGTON – Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have been sentenced to federal prison for their role in an aggravated assault that took place in Tomball, Texas, in September 2008, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas announced today.

On April 20, 2012, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. sentenced Michael Burkett, 34, aka “Redneck,” to 27 months in prison and Shane Dallmeyer, 31, aka “Lock Jaw,” to 33 months in prison.  

 Burkett and Dallmeyer, both of the greater Houston area, pleaded guilty to racketeering aggravated assault for their role in the beating of an ABT prospect member.  

 According to court documents, the defendants were members of the ABT, a powerful race-based, state-wide organization that operated inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout the United States.   The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system.  The gang 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 court documents, previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism.   Over time, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.

 According to court documents, 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.”

 According to court documents, Burkett and Dallmeyer, along with nine fellow ABT gang members, participated in the beating of an ABT prospect member at the home of another ABT gang leader, Steven Walter Cooke, 48, aka “Stainless,” in Tomball, on Sept. 22, 2008.  The ABT prospect, who sustained serious bodily injury, was beaten by ABT gang members because he violated ABT rules of conduct. 

 Eleven of the 12 co-defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in the assault.   The 12th ABT gang member, David Harlow, 43, aka, “Bam Bam,” was found guilty by Senior Judge Werlein on March 21, 2012, at trial in the Southern District of Texas.

 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 Bureau of Prisons; the Texas Ranger Division – Texas Department of Public Safety; the Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department; the Houston Police Department-Gang Division; the Tomball Police Department; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Inspector General; and the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office.

 The case is being prosecuted by David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman of the Southern District of Texas.

Three Men Found Guilty of Federal Hate Crime Charge Related to the Assault of African-American Man

The defendants were found guilty of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was enacted in October 2009.   The evidence at trial established that on Aug. 13, 2011, the defendants approached the victim, who was waiting at a bus stop in downtown Houston.   At least one defendant referred to the victim using a racial slur, and the defendants then surrounded and attacked the victim by punching and kicking his face, head and body.   The defendants were arrested at the scene after a passerby called 911.   All three defendants had tattoos known to reflect an affiliation with white supremacist groups.    

“Today’s convictions under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act show that hate crimes are all too common in this country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division.   “The department will continue to use every available tool to identify and prosecute hate crimes whenever and wherever they occur.

“We hope today’s convictions send a powerful public message,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris.   “The Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a tool the FBI will use to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate crimes as felony offenses.”

The defendants face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.   The sentencing is scheduled for July 16, 2012, before the Honorable Kenneth Hoyt, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas.  

This case was investigated by the Houston Division of the FBI in cooperation with the Houston Police Department.   Assistance was also provided by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.   It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Saeed Mody and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard Hogan of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Former Houston Police Department Officer Handed 15-Year Sentence

HOUSTON—Former Houston Police Officer Leslie Aikens has been sentenced to 188 months in prison following his convictions on charges of public corruption, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Aikens was convicted by a Houston federal jury on November 15, 2011, following two days of trial and less than two hours of deliberation.

Aikens, 46, of Houston, was charged and convicted of aiding and abetting possession of a controlled substance by providing an escort for narcotics through the Houston area in his official Houston Police Department (HPD) vehicle. Aikens, a 19-year veteran of the HPD, was also charged with extortion under color of official right or a Hobbs Act violation for accepting a $2,000 bribe to provide the protection for the vehicle he believed to be transporting seven kilograms of cocaine.

During trial, the majority of testimony came from the FBI agent who explained that during the course of the undercover operation, Aikens escorted a load of seven kilograms of cocaine. The following day, he received the $2,000 bribe payment for his services. The jury also viewed a video as well as audio tapes which detailed the transaction. The defense, however, attempted to convince the jury that Aikens had no knowledge of the cocaine. The jury, in considering the arguments of the defense and the government’s evidence and testimony, found Aikens guilty on all counts with which he was charged.

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who presided over the trial, sentenced Aikens just a short time ago to 188 months on each of the two counts of conviction, to run concurrently. Aikens no longer works for the HPD and was further ordered to serve a term of five years in prison following completion of his prison term and to pay a $5,000 fine.

Aikens has been in custody following the return of the verdicts where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prison facility to be determined in the near future.

The operation was conducted by the FBI with the assistance of the Texas Rangers and HPD.

Assistant United States Attorneys John Jocher and Jim McAlister prosecuted the case.