Aryan Brotherhood member pleads guilty in killing

An OSBI investigation into a faction of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) was crucial in a case that ended in a guilty plea by one of its members.

Brian Green was the third and final defendant to accept a guilty plea in this case.

On July 13, 2011, Green, Kyle McCown, and Travis Hill kidnapped Kenneth Earl Ayres in Texas and transported him across the Red River, where he was shot and killed. The victim and defendants were all members of the ABT.

Investigators say Ayres was killed as punishment for taking stolen property from ABT members. Green admits the kidnapping and shooting were necessary to maintain disciple within the gang.

OSBI special agents worked with numerous federal, state (Texas), and local law enforcement agencies to solve the 2011 murder.

A press release by the U.S. Department of Justice is below:

MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that Brian Thomas Green, age 44, of Mount Pleasant, Texas, pled guilty to Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A), 924(j)(1) and 2; punishable by any term of years up to life imprisonment, and up to a $250,000.00 fine or both.

The Information alleged that on or about the 13th day of July, 2011, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant, Green, also known as Country, did knowingly carry and use a firearm, that is, a small caliber revolver of unknown manufacture and serial number, during and in relation to a crime of violence for which he may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, that is, Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering – Murder.

The charges arose from a joint investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations Operation Community Shield Gang Task Force, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Longview Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Carrollton Texas Police Department, McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office, Panola County Texas Sheriff’s Office, United States Bureau of Prisons, and the Texas Rangers.

The Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.

Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the United States.