Featured Story, Prison Gangs

The Best of the Best by Judge Broman

The Aryan Brotherhood and Aryan Brotherhood of Texas have had a shaky truce going on for years now. The feud starting decades earlier over the ABT’s use of the AB moniker.

texas-abSeveral years ago was the last flare up, when an ABT named Cowboy was brutally killed in the SMU, (Special Management Unit) by an AB “associate”. The associate running an 8 inch piece of steel through the unsuspecting ABT’s neck, before proceeding to stab him in his chest and back over twenty times.

The “Brand” (As the AB’s are known) claimed it was unsanctioned and that the “associate” wasn’t even an associate. For whatever reason there was no retaliation by the ABT’s. But the tension remained high between the two groups.

Both gangs can only walk on a couple yards in the federal system. This is due to the separations they have on them with other gangs, and the people they’ve preyed on from the yards they do walk and control.

That’s the thing with gangs, they want to be in control of whatever prison they’re walking. At first they stay out of the mix, slowly building up their numbers through recruiting and ‘brothers’ transferring to the institution. There’s never a shortage of ‘convicts’ who want to become a part of the gang. Especially the AB’s, long considered ‘the 1%, best of the best.’ The fact that there are only a few AB’s that aren’t in permanent lockdown, and they only “patch up” a few convicts every 5 years or so, makes their (aura) that much more alluring. So when one does hit a prison yard, he’s treated like royalty.

Like I said, the main thing for the gangs is to build up numbers and then take control. They’ll co-exist for only as long as they have too. As soon as one group has advantageous numbers over the other, a power move is executed. The result is one less yard that the loser gets to inhabit. So when the AB Face hit the yard alongside the ABT Red, it was only a matter of time before sparks flew.

Face came onto the yard an instant celebrity. Everyone wanted to meet the Brand member that was fresh off of a murder investigation where someone literally got their head cut off.

Red immediately took control over the other two ABT’s that were already on the yard. His time in the gang and reputation for using a knife quickly earned him respect throughout the prison.

Both cons made their rounds every day. Going to recreation and establishing themselves in the ‘community’. Building bridges and making alliances with would be prospects and allies. But Face was swiftly swooped off the yard by the administration when a murder occurred.

Although he had nothing to do with the body, the AB’s reputation for violence, and their influence over others got Face jammed up. He sat in the hole for 6 months under a bogus ‘investigation’ charge, then was shipped out.

Red on the other hand stayed out of trouble. He got three more ‘brothers’ on the yard that replaced the two that went home.

Dusty was his enforcer, a 6’2, 220 pound brute that followed him everywhere. Duke and Cub his co-horts that respected his every command. Being the only gang on the yard and with a solid foundation, Red walked around with his head held high.

There was a hiccup in Red’s ascension to ‘top dawg’ of the yard. Face was sent back to the prison due to the fact that he couldn’t walk on any other yards. He was either kicked off, or had separations in every penitentiary in the BOP! The administration had no choice but to let him out.

When Face came back out to the yard he was greeted like a veteran returning home for the war. Handshakes and backslaps all around. All except from Red and his ABT crew.

Red and everyone else could see the immediate tilt of power swinging back to Face. Although he was the only AB on the yard, there was no deficiency of crony’s wanting to be a part of his clique.

texas-ab3It wasn’t just California cons that were riding with Face. “That’s my homeboy” they always would boast proudly whenever he was around or his name came up. There was also dudes from Missouri, Washington, Michigan, and Colorado all vying to be included in Face’s crew. The odds were evenly matched in no time.

The truce held feebly for the first few weeks that Face was back on the yard. Both Face and Red being cordial towards one another, but speaking with disdain to their fellow crews about the other. It was obvious that it would explode at any moment.

That moment came when Face got a letter that he was going to be indicted for a previous murder on another yard. Knowing that he would be snatched up, shipped out, and possibly never see a yard again, Face made his move.

He had his crew let all the whites know to get whatever they needed, because he was going to be handling his business, and we’d be going on lockdown. The place it would happen would be at indoor recreation.

Of course when indoor recreation was announced over the speaker everyone went to see the show. A chance to see a real AB put in work. Was bigger than watching the Super Bowl!

The ones getting ‘voted off the island’ are always the last to know…and realize it right before it happens. This went down the same way.

Red and the ABT’s were all grouped together in the middle of the room when Face came in. Most of Face’s crew was already in place on the sides of the room, waiting for their chieftain to make the first strike.

Face strolled around and shook hands with some Surenos (a Mexican gang the AB’s have an alliance with), and acted like all was well. Then he calmly walked towards Red as he slid a knife out from under his shirt. Right before he reached Red, Face stepped up onto a treadmill and leaped off, crushing Red with a vicious right handed superman!

All 6’3, 230 pounds of Face’s power crumbled Red, and the party was on.

Face’s minions shot off the walls firing on the shocked ABT’s. Two took down Dusty, as two more went at Duke and Cub. As formidable as the ABT’s appeared on the compound, the reality was much different.

Face pummeled a crippled Red with knife shots to the back as he staggered to get up. Then shot over and jammed the three and a half inch of sharpened plastic into Dusty’s forehead, snapping the blade off its handle. Violently leaving Dusty with a brutal kick to his bloody face, he turned and attacked Duke.

Duke caved as soon as Face crushed him with a right hook. He immediately balled up as one of Face’s crew jumped up and pummeled him with combinations. Cub took off running in the opposite direction, wanting no part of Face’s wrath. Leaving his ‘brothers’ behind to get slaughtered.

Face turned back to Red as he tried to crawl away from the melee. Beating the broken down ABT leader with devastating fists and boots to the back of the head as the CO’s came pouring in, hosing the combatants down with pepper spray.

As everyone laid down on the ground to stop from getting sprayed, a seemingly immune Face went back to Dusty and delivered some parting blows to the head, before stepping to the back of the room.

The destroyed ABT’s crawled behind the shield of CO’s and were the first to be escorted off the yard. Then one by one the CO’s cuffed up Face’s crew and walked them to the hole.

Face was the last one they took, uncuffed, from the battlefield. As he was lead off, he threw his hand up as a salute and smiled, knowing that he showed everyone why the AB are called ‘The best of the best’.