Leader of White Supremacist Oregon Gang Given 13 Years for Murder Conspiracy
The leader of a white supremacist gang in a rural corner of Oregon will spend more than 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder-conspiracy and assault charges.
With Jeremiah Mauer headed to prison for a minimum of 160 months, authorities last week told the East Oregonian they have dismantled key elements of the United Aryan Empire, a white supremacist gang linked to a string of violent crimes last year in and near the community of Pendleton in Umatilla County, Ore.
Police aggressively pursued the gang with a series of arrests and obtained grand jury racketeering indictments against Mauer and two other members of the gang in January. The indictments were returned less than three weeks after Pendleton police seized illegal firearms and arrested the three felons on charges of shooting into occupied homes, detonating an explosive device and involvement in a large gang fight.
Mauer, 31, struck a plea deal that allowed him to avoid trial where he would have faced 14 additional charges, including racketeering, possession of a prohibited firearm and riot, the newspaper reported.
Mauer was sentenced Thursday to a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 months for the conspiracy charge, to be followed by two concurrent 70-month terms for his two assault convictions. He won’t be eligible for release until he serves the 160-month sentence, Umatilla District Attorney Dan Primus.
“He’s the linchpin, the head guy,” the prosecutor said.
Other identified members of the United Aryan Empire –– Gregory Tinnell, 44, and Steven Grangood, 22 –– also have struck plea bargains and await sentencing.
A fourth member, Warren Browning, 35, remains in jail awaiting trial. Tinnell and Grangood agreed to testify against Browning as part of their deals, but Mauer did not.
Mauer’s girlfriend, Sarah Frankford, also was sentenced Thursday to five years probation after being conficted of third-degree assault stemming from her role in the criminal enterprise.
