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Yearlong investigation of Aryan Brotherhood results in 9 arrests in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ind. (WISH) — Chassity Myers says she lives in rural Columbus off County Road 500 North, in part, for the peace and quiet. 

But about two years ago, she started hearing more traffic. 

“Probably at least 40 to 50 cars a day,” Myers said. 

As for that peacefulness?

“We would hear gunshots quite often, and it would make it quite scary for the kids to be out playing in the yard,” Myers said. 

Myers said the noise died out about a year ago, after Bartholomew County police arrested two drug dealers living down the road from her. A judge sentenced Debin Gabbard and Jeremy Streeval to 15 years each with the Indiana Department of Corrections for dealing meth. 

“Getting rid of them people back there was a blessing to us and then also to the other neighbors around us,” Myers said. 

What she didn’t know then was that police believe Streeval and Gabbard are connected to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist and Neo-Nazi prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States. 

Police officers said Friday that they arrested nine more people over the past year.

“All nine are either members or associates of the gang,” Columbus Police Department Lt. Matt Harris said. 

William Lustig faces charges of trafficking with an inmate and dealing controlled substances. 

Prosecutors charged Brandon Jacobs with carrying a handgun without a license and auto theft. 

Seven of the nine are charged with criminal gang activity. 

Police say the crimes appear to be “crimes of opportunity, with a focus on making money and not around race.” 

“For a time, we were dealing with two to three vehicles being reported stolen in the city of Columbus a day,” Lt. Harris said. “Those vehicles were, in turn, either used to drive to other communities to purchase drugs or even attempted to be resold.”

The county jail staff said four of the suspects are currently in their custody. A spokesperson would not say how the suspects trafficked with inmates. 

Arrested in the case

Chelsie S. Harden, 30, Columbus, Indiana

  • Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
  • Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony)
  • Possession of a Controlled Substance (Class A Misdemeanor)
  • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
  • Maintaining a Common Nuisance (Level 6 Felony)
  • Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Class A Misdemeanor)
  • Jarred A. Parton, 26, Franklin, Indiana
    • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
    • Battery (Class A Misdemeanor)
  • William Jacob Lustig, 38, Columbus, Indiana
    • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
    • Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
    • Dealing in a Schedule III Controlled Substance (Level 6 Felony)
    • Dealing in a Schedule IV Controlled Substance (Class A Misdemeanor)
  • Brandon B. Jacobs, 28, Nashville, Indiana
    • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
    • Auto Theft (Level 6 Felony)
    • Intimidation (Level 6 Felony)
    • Possession of Altered Handgun (Level 6 Felony)
    • Carrying an Handgun Without a License (Class A Misdemeanor)
  • William “Corey” King, 35, Columbus, Indiana
    • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
    • Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
  • David “Bub” Hadley, 35, Columbus, Indiana
    • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
    • Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
  • Mary Jaylin Craig, 22, Edinburgh, Indiana
    • Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
    • Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony)
    • Possession of a Controlled Substance (Class A Misdemeanor)
  • William J. Stillabower, 33, Columbus, Indiana
    • Criminal Gang Activity (Level 6 Felony)
    • Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
  • Matthew S. Mowery, 22, Austin, Indiana
    • Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony)
    • Unlawful Possession of a Syringe (Level 6 Felony)

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