PRISON METH RING BUSTED

Five members of the Aryan Brotherhood have been arrested for
allegedly being involved in a methamphetamine ring that was directed
from inside a Mississippi prison, the U.S. AttorneyThe investigation
started in 2004 when correctional officers heard through telephone
monitoring and confidential informants about the ring, MDOC
Commissioner Chris Epps said.

The scheme lasted for about a year, Luzinski said.

He added there may be another arrest. The investigation is ongoing.'s
office said Thursday.

Several imprisoned members of the white supremacist prison gang
allegedly enlisted the assistance of former inmates and criminal
co-conspirators outside of the prison to produce and distribute the drug.

Those arrested were Aryan Brotherhood leader Grady Brown, 36,
incarcerated at the Central Mississippi Correctional facility in
Pearl; Melanie Minton, 27, of Rankin County; Donald Harris, 28, of
Meridian; Eric Pendergrass, 24, of Pearl; and Jessica Wade, 22, of
Rankin County, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

They face federal charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute
meth and possession with intent to manufacture meth.

The Drug Enforcement Agency, MBN and the Mississippi Department of
Corrections investigated the case with assistance from the Gulf Coast
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and the Rankin County Sheriff's Office.

Brown would arrange for hypophosphorous acid, which can be used to
make meth, to be delivered to a Simpson County Community Work Center
in Magee, where Brown and Harris were assigned, officials said.

The investigation started in 2004 when correctional officers heard
through telephone monitoring and confidential informants about the
ring, MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps said.