Man with alleged link to white supremacist gang enters plea in Fresno County murder case
A Coarsegold man with alleged ties to a white supremacist gang pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of murder, kidnapping and elder abuse.
Brandon Engelman, 40, was arrested last week for allegedly fatally shooting Pacer Hampton, 56, with whom he had a long-standing dispute, detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.
Engelman’s bail was set at $1.7 million and he remains in the Fresno County jail. His attorney Amanda Moran said she will try and lower his bail at a hearing set for June 9.
Moran said Engelman faces 25-years to life if found guilty on all the charges, which also include corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. Fresno County Sheriff’s Office detectives said the kidnapping, elder abuse and corporal injury charges are not related to the murder and involve a family member.
Engelman became a suspect in Hampton’s murder when his white Chevy Tahoe was seen near the murder scene in the 5500 block of West Olive Ave. area. Cooperative neighbors provided detectives with surveillance video, which revealed images of a possible suspect vehicle, a white Chevy Tahoe.
Detectives said the tips about the SUV and who owned it pointed them to the direction of Engelman, a man with felony convictions for robbery and residential burglary.
Earlier this month, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said during a news conference the defendant has a connection to a white supremacist criminal street gang known as the Fresnecks.
Authorities said the gang has ties to the Aryan Brotherhood and illegal activity within the California prison system.
