Caught with stolen gun, Columbus Aryan Brotherhood gang member pleads in federal court
A Columbus man affiliated with the white supremacist gang Aryan Brotherhood is facing up to 10 years in federal prison after he was caught with a stolen pistol while on parole for a previous offense.
Daniel Lloyd, 34, pleaded guilty Monday to possessing a stolen firearm. The plea was in U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land’s courtroom in Columbus, where Lloyd’s to be sentenced March 30.
Authorities said Columbus police and probation officers with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision were conducting an operation targeting “known gang members” on Feb. 13 when they searched Lloyd’s residence in the 3800 block of 14th Avenue, where Lloyd tried to flee from the rear of the home.
The address is off Hamilton Road near Columbus’ Jordan-Johnson neighborhood.
The facts stipulated in Lloyd’s plea said the agents found a stolen .380-caliber Ruger LCP pistol with extended clip, plus methamphetamine and cash. Lloyd admitted the gun was stolen.
Lloyd is “a validated member of the Aryan Brotherhood,” federal authorities said, adding his lengthy criminal history includes convictions in Columbus for possessing and trafficking in methamphetamine and burglary. He was on parole after serving prison time for convicted for second-degree criminal damage, they said.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center that tracks hate groups, the Aryan Brotherhood is “the nation’s oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate,” founded by bikers in 1964 to defend white inmates in desegregating prisons. The brotherhood now is “the largest and deadliest prison gang in the United States, with an estimated 20,000 members,” the SPLC says.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 11:42 AM.