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Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood were sentenced to two consecutive life terms for various gang-related crimes orchestrated from their cells at California State Prison, Sacramento (CSP-Sacramento), including the murders of a Latino inmate and a member of a rival white supremacist gang.
With the use of smuggled cellphones, Ronald Yandell, 62, of Pinole, and William Sylvester, 56, directed drug trafficking activities, ordered murders, and oversaw other criminal activities inside and outside CSP-Sacramento.
In 2015, Yandell allegedly orchestrated the murder of Hugo “Yogi” Pinell, infamous for his role in the 1971 San Quentin Prison escape attempt, during which he reportedly slashed the throats of two correctional officers. Months before his attempted escape, Pinell fatally stabbed a correctional officer to death in another California prison.
Sylvester, was also tied to the murder of another CSP-Sacramento inmate, Ronald Richardson, who was reportedly affiliated with a rival white supremacist gang known as the United Society of Aryan Skinheads. The homicide happened on October 7, 2001 and earned Sylvester his membership in the Aryan Brotherhood.
In recent years, CDCR introduced a policy which places inmates from different rival gangs in the same housing and yard areas to encourage rehabilitation and reduce segregation. Criminal justice advocates cited an uptick in violence following the policy change, arguing that it endangers inmates by forcing them into potentially hostile environments without adequate safeguards.
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