TYLER–After a December mistrial because of a hung jury, a fresh Smith County panel voted unanimously Jan. 17 to find an area man guilty of a first-degree felony in relation to what the jury affirmed as giving orders that led to the 2020 shooting death of a motorcyclist near Tyler.
Kevin Dale Higgins, who Henderson County property records show owns a home southwest of Seven Points and west of Tool but who authorities say has a Kemp address, 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. The jury was scheduled to start hearing sentencing testimony Jan. 21.
The conviction 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. The two gangs had split after a 2015 Waco motorcycle gang fight.
Authorities say the person they consider to be Higgins’ second in command, Chad Michael Crowell, is from Eustace. Crowell served as the sergeant-at-arms for the Ugly Man Cossacks, authorities say. Crowell is also accused of directing activities of a criminal street gang, a charge which hasn’t yet gone to trial.
Three other men – Joshua Ray Tibbits, of Waco; Jose Antonio Valenzuela, of Longview; and Jeffery Ryan Griffin, of Robinson – have been sentenced to be incarcerated for their roles in the death, judged guilty of engaging in organized crime.