SACRAMENTO — A 2015 federal investigation into two alleged Vallejo heroin dealers led to one of the biggest prison gang takedowns in Northern California history, targeting the Aryan Brotherhood, prosecutors revealed in recently filed court records.
Brian Butler, 59, and Vicente C. Zavaleta were charged in May with conspiracy to distribute heroin in Vallejo. The offense dates cover a time period from late 2015 to early 2016, and Butler was charged with several additional heroin-related offenses that allege he trafficked heroin in Solano County during the summer of 2015.
In recent court filings, federal prosecutors revealed that the investigation led to a series of phone wiretaps that have resulted in a massive case aimed at 16 Aryan Brotherhood leaders, members and associates. The case is centered on five prison homicides — and four alleged murder plots — within the state prison system. Among those charged are two of the three men who allegedly lead the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, Ronald Dean Yandell, 57, and Daniel Troxell, 66.
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