Gang trial opens in tight security

They wore khaki pants and button-down dress shirts, giving the appearance of typical white-collar crooks ensnared in an embezzlement case.

But behind the clothes are men normally clad in jailhouse jumpsuits, men potential jurors packed into the federal courthouse Monday knew little, if anything, about. Federal prosecutors and U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson know them as Aryan Warriors, gang members accused of committing violent acts, drug deals and bribery inside the Nevada prison system.

Federal authorities believe the Aryan Warriors and any associates who might drop in during the six-week trial are capable of posing a danger not only to witnesses and prosecutors, but also to jurors, prompting Dawson to direct attorneys to use only the jurors' first names and jury numbers in open court and in other communications.

Dawson began assembling a panel of jurors Monday in a heavily secured courtroom. Guards and U.S. marshals were present, a surveillance camera hovered over the courtroom doors, and new railing protected witnesses from spectators and the defendants.

Opening statements are expected to begin today, unless a last-second plea deal ends the trial. Attorneys said an "all or nothing" plea agreement was on the table Monday, but one of the seven defendants declined to accept it, meaning they all must stand trial.

The Aryan Warriors have operated within the prison system for nearly a decade. They distribute drugs, run illegal gambling operations, kill and assault fellow inmates, extort money from inmates and their families, and corrupt guards to get away with their misdeeds, according to an indictment.

The violent gang has made headlines across the country, but only one of the nearly 100 potential jurors in Dawson's courtroom Monday said they were familiar with the case.

Last week, Scott Michael Sieber, a member of the Aryan Warriors, provided insight into the gang's operations. Sieber was part of the violent prison gang when he "put in blood work for the Aryan Warriors," meaning he sank a knife into a fellow inmate to achieve a higher status within the menacing brotherhood, he explained last week.

The 41-year-old recently simplified the gang's primary mission: "Seek power, sell drugs and take control of the prison."

Sieber, whose nickname is "Knucklehead," appeared before Dawson last week to accept a plea agreement. Fellow defendants Charles Lee Axtell and Jason Inman did the same.

Sieber explained that the gang extorted money from inmates and threatened their families. He said one inmate in debt with the gang was given an "ultimatum of getting stabbed or paying money." The gang collected $2,700 from the inmate's family after saying he would be badly hurt if they chose not to pay.

The Aryan Warriors communicated secretively. They glued letters in library books. Inside the covers they scribbled a series of numbers that, when added up, directed the operative to the page that included the letter, according to documents obtained from the Nevada State Prison system. The messages related to information about who in the gang should be promoted, which inmates to attack and which gang members needed money to support their families.

Sieber said he was in prison for robbing a woman in Las Vegas in 1995. He told Dawson he was a member of the Warriors when he committed that crime. The Aryan Warriors have a "street program" to spread its white supremacist message throughout Nevada, mainly Las Vegas, Reno, Henderson and Pahrump, the indictment states.

Since serving time at the Ely State Prison, Sieber has upped his status to a "bolt holder," which is third in command of the gang.

Daniel Egan, the 34-year-old who was second in command of the Aryan Warriors, was sentenced last year to 17 years for his role in the gang.

The gang's success was due in part to its ability to corrupt prison guards, the indictment states. Federal prosecutors won't say whether the guards also will be charged in the case. On Monday, defense attorneys filed a motion to gain access to information about any disciplinary actions taken against the guards, but Dawson denied the request.

According to the indictment, gang members gained access to computer, court and prison records to search for communications between prison staff and the guards.

The purpose is to identify "those individuals who the Aryan Warriors perceive as being against its racial cause and illegal activity," the indictment states.

Gang members bribed the guards, either in cash or drugs, to gain access to computers and glean information about incarcerated child molesters, informants or homosexuals, according to the indictment.

Guards also assisted drug trafficking by bringing in methamphetamine or looking the other way when visitors delivered the drugs, the indictment stated.

The Warriors instructed visitors to place plastic wrap around methamphetamine or marijuana and tuck the package in a balloon. The balloons were hidden in a visitor's waistband and delivered to a gang member, who ingested and later regurgitated them, according to court records from Inman's plea deal.

"Guards within the Nevada prisons are fearful of the Aryan Warriors and the potential of the Aryan Warriors perpetuating acts of violence against them," the indictment states. "The Aryan Warriors also befriend and obtain the cooperation of guards who are intrigued with the criminal enterprise and its racial philosophies."

One victim of the Aryan Warriors is Anthony Beltran. He was housed with Aryan Warrior Douglas Potter for eight days in December 2008.

One morning, Beltran placed his back toward the cell door and his hands through the food slot to be handcuffed and taken to the showers.

As Beltran stood defenseless, Potter lunged at him with a weapon made from a typewriter rod and stabbed him dozens of times, said Jeffrey Galliher, Beltran's attorney who filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Beltran's mother.

"He (Potter) stabbed him over and over and over, then calmly walked over and put on his pants and sat on his bunk," Galliher said.

Letters slipped into the library books indicated that a vote was taken among Aryan Warriors to reward Potter with his "bolts for the murder."

Jury selection is expected to continue this morning.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.