Shane Gail McNiel, Aryan Brotherhood Racketeering Murder, Texas 2013

Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Members Plead Guilty to Murder

Grimy Times has learned that Shane Gail McNiel, 34, and Destiny Nicole Feathers, 24, both affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), have pleaded guilty to charges related to the May 2008 murder of Mark Davis Byrd Sr. in Atascosa County, Texas.

McNiel, aka ‘Dirty,’ pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to the charge of accessory after the fact in the murder of Byrd. Feathers, 24, of Jourdanton, Texas, pleaded guilty to the same offense on August 14, 2013.

According to information presented in court, McNiel and Feathers helped hide a shotgun that they knew had been used to murder Byrd. Following the murder, Frank Lavell Urbish, aka ‘Thumper,’ and Feathers drove to McNiel’s house with the shotgun wrapped in a sheet and gave it to McNiel who then hid the shotgun in a metal shed behind his house.

Byrd, an ABT prospect, was murdered by Jim Flint McIntyre, aka ‘Q-Ball,’ Michael Dewayne Smith, aka ‘Bucky,’ and another ABT gang member for allegedly stealing drugs he was ordered to deliver to a customer on behalf of the ABT. According to court documents, Byrd was murdered as a result of a ‘discipline’ ordered by Frank Lavell Urbish, aka ‘Thumper,’ and his superiors.

The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, a powerful race-based, statewide organization, operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and elsewhere in the United States. Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery, and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise.

At sentencing, scheduled for January 30, 2014, McNiel and Feathers each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Atascosa County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; and Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office.

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