Source: United States Department of Justice News
Five members and associates of a white supremacist gang were sentenced in Alaska this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole for racketeering, including murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping, and other offenses.
The person formerly known as Timothy Lobdell, 46, who legally changed his name to “Filthy Fuhrer” (Lobdell); Roy Naughton, aka Thumper, 46; Glen Baldwin, aka Glen Dog, 41; Colter O’Dell, 30; and Craig King, aka Oakie, 57, were convicted at trial of racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping resulting in death, and kidnapping conspiracy on May 2, 2022. Baldwin, O’Dell, and King were each also convicted of murder in aid of racketeering. Lobdell and Naughton were also convicted of an additional two counts each of kidnapping conspiracy, kidnapping, and assault in aid of racketeering.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the defendants were leaders, members, and associates of the 1488s, a violent, prison-based Neo-Nazi gang that operated inside and outside of state prisons throughout Alaska. The 1488s use Nazi-derived symbols to identify themselves and their affiliation with the gang, including a 1488 “patch” tattoo which depicts an Iron Cross superimposed over a swastika. The tattoo can only be awarded to members who gained full membership by committing acts of violence on behalf of the gang. The gang enforced discipline through written rules and a code of conduct, including the boast that “the only currency we recognize is violence and unquestionable loyalty.”
Lobdell founded and led the 1488 gang from inside a state maximum-security prison, where he was serving a 19-year sentence for the attempted murder of an Alaska State Trooper. In addition to directing acts of violence aimed at establishing the gang’s dominance in the prison hierarchy, Lobdell ordered members of the gang to commit violent kidnappings and assaults in the “free world” outside of prison. As part of a plan to impose greater organization and structure among non-incarcerated members, Lobdell insisted on punishing members that he perceived to be defying the 1488 code of conduct, which he believed diminished the power, influence, and reputation of the gang. Lobdell 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 1488 member Michael Staton on Aug. 3, 2017.
On April 2, 2017, Roy Naughton and other 1488 members, acting at the direction of Lobdell, lured a victim to a gang meeting at Naughton’s residence. Once there, the victim was taken into a basement where he was held at gun point, tied up, and assaulted. As part of the assault, the gang members shattered a lightbulb in his mouth and tattooed him with a racial epithet. The victim was threatened with more violence if the incident was reported to police.
On July 17, 2017, Lobdell called Naughton from prison. During the call, Naughton boasted about the April 2 assault, and reported to Lobdell that another member would be assaulted in the next few days. On July 20, 2017, a second victim was assaulted in a similar manner as the first victim and his 1488 membership “patch,” which is a tattoo, was burned off.
In 2016, Naughton asked for and received permission from Lobdell to impose exceptionally severe discipline on Staton, who had previously stolen from both the 1488s and Craig King, who held himself out as a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Naughton, King, Baldwin, and O’Dell worked with other 1488 members to locate, kidnap, and murder Staton. On Aug. 3, 2017, 1488 members, including Baldwin and O’Dell, lured Staton to Wasilla, Alaska, where they beat him and took him to King’s duplex. After arriving, Staton was taken to an empty room, which had been lined with plastic sheeting. Inside the room, King and the 1488s beat and tortured the victim, including cutting off his 1488 tattoo with a knife that had been heated with a propane torch. The co-conspirators wrapped Staton in the plastic and carpeting, and Baldwin and O’Dell drove him to a remote section of Wasilla, where they shot him and set fire to his body. O’Dell was awarded full membership in 1488s for his role in the murder.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Bureau of Investigation, investigated the case in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS). Investigative assistance was provided by the IRS Criminal Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; Anchorage Police Department; and the State of Alaska’s Department of Corrections.
Trial Attorney Jeremy Franker of the Criminal Division’s OCGS and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Taylor, James Klugman, and Chris Schroeder for the District of Alaska prosecuted the case.