A Tomball man has admitted in federal court his involvement in the 2008 death of a Livingston man, federal officials recently announced.

Steven Walter Cooke, 48 of Tomball pleaded guilty to violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity, admitting that he murdered Scott Freeman during a rift within the pair’s white supremacist group. Cooke was also fingered in a 2008 beating of a gang prospect in Tomball, as part of the investigation. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Police Department.

It’s been three years since Freeman’s bullet-riddled body was found along a road in rural Livingston County by a passing motorist. Now federal prosecutors say that the case has provided them a glimpse into the violent underworld of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT).

“In both word and deed, the ABT has consistently demonstrated a flagrant disrespect for the law and a pitiless disregard for the standards and norms of conduct that bind our society together,” said U.S. Attorney John Bales. “Scott Freeman’s murder was a completely senseless act of violence that accomplished nothing but to further cement the ABT’s reputation as a loathsome gang dedicated to enforcing a foolish and evil code of conduct.”

Cooke is what prosecutors describe as a general in the ABT, while Freeman was part of a rival faction looking to split from the main group. Cooke, who’s street name is Stainless, shot Freeman six times according to court records, after luring him into an ambush. Freeman was shot once in the left arm, three times in his left torso, once in the right buttocks and once in the face by a .45 caliber weapon.

“In the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2008, Cooke, using the ruse that his own vehicle was overcrowded, persuaded Freeman to pull over as both men were traveling in separate vehicles,” a Justice Department statement said. “One of the passengers in Cooke’s vehicle disembarked and sat on the passenger side of Freeman’s truck. Freeman came around the side of his truck to greet Cooke and a co-defendant. At this point Cooke shot Freeman six times. After Cooke and his co-defendant moved Freeman’s body behind Freeman’s vehicle they fled the scene.”

The ABT was started as a prison gang in the 1980’s, heavily modeled after a similar gang in California. Members live by a philosophy that they “must secure the existence of our people and the future for white children.” The group follows a military-style structure with generals, like Cooke, at the top.

“We have now convicted two of the five ABT generals from the Poncho faction,” Bales said. “A third general has died from natural causes. This most recent accomplishment signals not only the end of Steven Cooke’s criminal career, but underscores our present intention to completely dismantle the ABT’s ability to do harm.”

The case was prosecuted under federal racketeering laws, due to the gang’s status, rather than in state court where murder cases are normally tried.

Cooke now faces a life-term in prison. No sentencing date has been set.

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