In a significant development tied to a racketeering case filed in 2019, Jason Corbett, 51, hailing from Butte County, has pleaded guilty to murder in aid of racketeering in connection to the California Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. The gang, implicated in racketeering activities spanning from 2011 to 2016, faces charges related to murder, conspiracies, and drug trafficking.
Court documents unveiled that Aryan Brotherhood (AB) members orchestrated criminal activities, including drug trafficking and murder, while incarcerated. Using smuggled cell phones allowed them to direct these illicit operations from their prison cells.
Corbett’s involvement in an AB-related killing took place in July 2018 at the High Desert State Prison. The Department of Justice details that the motive behind the murder was to uphold his gang status, as the victim had falsely claimed AB membership and accrued a substantial drug debt at a previous prison.
The probe into AB’s activities involved collaboration among multiple law enforcement agencies.
Corbett, having pleaded guilty, now faces a mandatory life sentence, with his sentencing scheduled for April 8, 2024.
This revelation comes on the heels of another AB member, Pat Brady, 53, pleading guilty to a similar charge in December 2023. Brady admitted to killing an inmate at Salinas Valley Prison in October of 2016, who had lost drugs and failed to carry out an assigned hit by a gang member. Brady is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25.
As the legal proceedings unfold, three additional defendants—Ronald Yandell, Billy Sylvester, and Danny Troxell —are slated for trial in February. The charges against them are allegations, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The broader investigation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program, which aims to identify, disrupt, and dismantle high-level criminal organizations posing threats to the United States.
