Cossacks MC President’s Trial: Jury Unable to Reach Verdict

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – The trial for a biker club president accused of ordering the murder of an East Texas motorcyclist continued Friday, but had an unexpected ending.

At 6:30 p.m., the jury was dismissed after being unable to reach a verdict. The defense attorney calling it a hung jury. No word yet on when or if the trial may be begun again with a new jury.

Kevin Dale Higgins, 58, is reported to be the national president of the Ugly Man Cossacks motorcycle club. He was arrested in April in connection with the murder of rival club member Brandon Edwards, of Ben Wheeler, who was shot and killed in Arp on May 2, 2020.

The trial for a biker club president accused of ordering the murder of an East Texas motorcyclist continued Thursday with testimony from the group’s second in command.

Previous court hearings have established that Edwards was a member of the 1%er Cossacks, a rival club that split from the original Ugly Man Cossacks after a 2015 shooting in Waco. Three men have been convicted in Edwards’ shooting death, and Higgins now faces up to life in prison if convicted of giving the “smash on site” order to his members. The defense has been alluding towards shifting the blame from Higgins, the national president of the club, to his second in command, national sergeant-at-arms Chad Michael Crowell, of Eustace. Crowell has also been charged with directing street gang activities.

The state began day three of the trial by calling Crowell to the stand. He confirmed that he was a close confidant of Higgins’ who as the national president chose Crowell to assume the role of national sergeant of arms.

Crowell said Joshua Tibbits, of Waco, would have been the one most likely to have shot Edwards.

Tibbits has been convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity in Edwards’ murder and is serving a sentence of 45 years. He testified in Higgins trial Wednesday, confirming the groups chain of command but making it clear he would not be a compliant witness.

Crowell joined the Ugly Man Cossacks in 2015 when he was living and working in West Texas, introduced to the club by a friend. He began as a probate, immediately awarded patches and quickly climbed to ranks of the sergeant of arms positions until reaching the national level.

In his time as Higgins’ national sergeant of arms, he testified every command was either given or authorized by the National President.

“That was one of his biggest things is you didn’t do anything without him knowing it,” he said.

Crowell compared himself to a light switch, controlled by the commands of his superior, Higgins.

“Pretty much the way it was explained to me is ‘I turn you on, I turn you off. As a SA, you have no, you have no authority, and I come to you and say, hey, I need you to do this, I’m turning you on, and as soon as I tell you not to, I turn you off, and that’s all you are.’ That was Doc’s motto.”

After the Edwards murder, Crowell said he began to distance himself and stopped responding to requests from Higgins. He was contemplating leaving for months before the murder but feared the threat of violence and even death.

“What I knew, what was going on, [Higgins] would’ve never let me leave.”

To get out without serious repercussions, Higgins said he started a relationship with a woman in law enforcement and made it public knowledge to those in the club. According to Crowell, this was against the bylaws of the club and he therefore was able to get out.

He said he leads a different lifestyle now after leaving group five years before his arrest. He said he has since committed himself to Christ and wants to tell the truth.

Previous testimony from the other former club members claimed that Crowell used his repo business to track license plate numbers of suspected 1%ers. Crowell denied this.

The defense said that all Crowell has as proof of Higgins’ guilt is his word.

The next witness for the state was Texas DPS Special Agent Clay Stillman, who is based in Longview. Stillman specialized in organized crime, gangs and large-scale conspiracy. Stillman said he is very familiar with organized crime conspirators. He testified on his work with the Edwards investigation, recalling a string of violent surveillance operations prior to the murder.

Source: KLTV7