Kaufman Texas Shooting: Are The Aryan Brotherhood Or Mexican Cartels Responsible?

Speculation is mounting over the possible involvement of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas in the murder of two Kaufman County prosecutors, but authorities said they have not uncovered any evidence so far that the white supremacist prison gang is behind the killings.

Meanwhile, a former Texas justice of the peace said he voluntarily submitted to a gun residue test in connection with the investigation, although he hasn’t been identified as a suspect.

Eric Williams lost his job after being convicted of stealing three computers from a Kaufman County building, KCEN reported.

Williams said he did not have any hard feelings against Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McClelland, who was killed along with his wife, Cynthia, over the weekend. McClelland’s deputy, Mark Haase, was murdered Jan. 31, the same day the prosecutors’ office was praised for its successful prosecution of Aryan Brotherhood of Texas members.

"They did a gun residue test. I gave them my cell phone so they could get all the info they wanted,” Williams told KCEN, which reported that investigators are looking into anyone who may have held a grudge against McClelland.

The murders of McClelland and Haase shook Kaufman County, near Dallas, and even led a U.S. attorney working on an Aryan Brotherhood of Texas case to step down from the prosecution.

Jay Hileman, an assistant U.S. attorney, withdrew from the case amid security concerns, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing defense attorney Gus Saper.

Saper is representing alleged Aryan Brotherhood of Texas member Terry Ross Blake.

"I'd say it's not a regular thing. You know people get transferred and moved around the (prosecutor's) office, so people get moved on and off cases," Saper told the paper. "But I would say this situation is probably a little bit different from all of those."

No suspects have been identified in the killing of McClelland or Haase, and investigators have not been able to determine if the Aryan gang is involved.

But the gang has been the subject of rampant rumors over its possible involvement in the murders.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry refused to comment on the speculation, but he also raised the possibility that Mexican drug cartels may be responsible for the deaths of the Texas prosecutors.

“We know the drug cartels are very, very active in our country now. It goes back … to the whole issue of border security and the failure of the federal government to put the men and women, whether they are military or whether they’re border patrol or whether working with the local law enforcement, expend the dollars necessary to secure the border with Mexico,” the governor told Fox News.

The killings have struck fear in the heart of Kaufman County, where a man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly making threats against a county official.

Nick Morale, 56, allegedly made the threat on a hotline set up for tips on the killings, according to KTRK. Morale, who was being held on $1 million bond, is not a suspect in the murders.