Federal prosecutor over Aryan Brotherhood racketeering case in Houston withdraws due to security concerns
Jay Hileman, an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston, has withdrawn from a large Aryan Brotherhood of Texas racketeering case due to security concerns.
Richard O. Ely II, a Houston defense attorney who is representing one of the 34 defendants, said Hileman sent him an email on Tuesday, informing him that he was off the case.
Ely said another Justice Department prosecutor from Washington D.C. will be assigned to the case to replace Hileman.
That person will join David Karpel, an attorney with DOJ’s gang unit, who is already assigned to the case. Ely said the case will continue to be prosecuted in Houston.
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is a key focus in the investigation of the recent murders of the Kaufman County district attorney and one of his prosecutors. No evidence has emerged tying the prison gang to the killings. No one has been charged or named as a suspect.
District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found shot to death in their homes on Saturday. About two months earlier, felony prosecutor Mark Hasse was gunned down in a parking lot near the county courthouse.
Ely said Hileman, who he called a good friend of his, is likely concerned about his family after the killing of the DA and his wife.
“He’s obviously made a decision based on something,” Ely said.
Ely said he received death threats when he was a prosecutor.
“Law enforcement takes it very seriously,” he said.