TYLER–After a Smith County jury found a Henderson County man guilty Jan. 17 of a first-degree felony in relation to what the jury believed was giving orders that led to the 2020 shooting death of a motorcyclist near Tyler, the court then followed that conviction Jan. 21 by sentencing him to life in prison.
Kevin Dale Higgins, who is from western Henderson County, was convicted on the same day the jury went to deliberations for directing activities of a criminal street gang while serving as national president of the Ugly Man Cossacks motorcycle club. After a December mistrial because of a hung jury, a new Smith County jury voted unanimously to convict Higgins.
The conviction and life sentence stems from the May 2, 2020, death of Brandon Edwards, a Ben Wheeler man who was a member of the 1%er Cossacks, a rival gang, who was chased and shot by Ugly Man Cossacks members in eastern Smith County, near Chapel Hill and Arp.
A Eustace man who is accused of being a ranking member of the Higgins-led motorcycle gang, Chad Michael Crowell of Eustace, testified during Higgins’ trial. Crowell’s charges have yet to be tried.