White supremacist ‘1488′ prison gang members sentenced to life in prison
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Five white supremacist gang members and accomplices were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole this week, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Alaska office of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The sentenced include 46-year-old Filthy Fuhrer (formerly known as Timothy Lobdell), 44-year-old Roy Naughton, 41-year-old Glen Baldwin, 30-year-old Colter O’Dell, and 57-year-old Craig King, who were each convicted of racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping resulting in death, kidnapping conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy in aid of racketeering on May 2, 2022. Fuhrer and Naughton were also convicted of an additional two counts each of kidnapping conspiracy, assault in aid of racketeering, and kidnapping.
All five men were members or associates of the “violent, prison-based Neo-Nazi” gang known as the 1488s, which was started by Fuhrer inside the walls of Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska’s only maximum security prison. Fuhrer, who was serving a 19-year sentence for the attempted murder of an Alaska State Trooper, reportedly maintained the order and structure of the organization by ordering violent assaults on other men, including those outside of the prison walls.
“With federal life sentences imposed on five defendants who were associated with a violent, hate-driven gang, Alaska’s law enforcement community has delivered a devastating blow to the 1488 criminal enterprise,” FBI Special Agent In Charge Antony Jung said. “Dismantling violent, criminal organizations is a priority for the FBI, and a goal that is shared among our law enforcement and prosecution partners across Alaska.”
On April 2, 2017, under the directive of Fuhrer, several gang members roped a victim into attending a gang meeting at Naughton’s residence. Once at the residence, the victim was assaulted at gunpoint and tattooed with a racial epithet. This set a pattern for other behavior instituted by Fuhrer, according to the release.
“As part of a plan to impose greater organization and structure among non-incarcerated members, Fuhrer insisted on punishing members that he perceived to be defying the 1488 code of conduct thereby diminishing the power, influence, and reputation of the gang,” the press release stated. “Fuhrer sent out a trusted lieutenant with a list of directives, which culminated in the kidnapping and assault of two lower-level gang members on April 2, 2017, and July 20, 2017, and the kidnapping, assault, and murder of Michael Staton on Aug. 3, 2017,”
The murder was an attempt at revenge as Stanton had previously stolen from the 1488s and King. The gruesome murder began as a beating where Baldwin and O’Dell took Staton to King’s residence where he was beaten, tortured, and shot. Gang members then set Staton’s body on fire. For his hand in the murder, O’Dell was awarded membership in the gang.
According to the release, membership in the gang was marked by a “patch,” or tattoo, that featured an Iron Cross superimposed over a swastika. The tattoo was given to those members who had fully committed themselves by engaging in various violent acts. Included in the gang’s written rules and code of conduct was the saying, “the only currency we recognize is violence and unquestionable loyalty.”
“The United States Attorney’s Office will use every tool at its disposal to combat and dismantle violent criminal enterprises,” U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska said in the press release. “These life sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ conduct in the maiming of two individuals and the brutal murder of a third, all in order to strengthen their hate-based criminal enterprise. We will continue to work tirelessly with our federal, state and local investigative partners to ensure those engaging in such loathsome crimes are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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