TEXARKANA, Texas–A former correctional officer arrested New Year’s Eve with more than 50 grams of marijuana and a stash of Kool cigarettes was allegedly bringing the contraband to a known member of Loyalty Cash Business, a criminal street gang that also bills itself as the I-30 Cartel.
Calyn Parker, 21, was reportedly arrested following a random search as she entered the jail annex adjacent to the Bi-State Justice Building at around 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 to work as a correctional officer, according to a probable cause affidavit. During the search, a female superior officer allegedly recovered a package wrapped in duct tape from Parker’s waistband.
The package allegedly contained more than 53 grams of marijuana and “a large number of Kool cigarettes,” the affidavit said.
Investigators determined the contraband was allegedly meant to be delivered by Parker to Vonquildric Abraham, a reportedly high-ranking member of the Texarkana street gang, Loyalty Cash Business. The gang, originally formed by juveniles under the name Lil’ Cuz Boys, has allegedly been responsible for murders for hire, robberies and drug trafficking in the area.
Abraham has not been charged in connection with the contraband allegedly seized from Parker.
The Bowie County District Attorney’s Office has been going after the gang by charging members under a state racketeering statute: engaging in organized criminal activity. Abraham, 31, is currently being held on those charges in connection with a robbery and aggravated assault that involved a man being shot in the head in front of his home in 2021. Abraham is accused, along with a long list of co defendants, of conspiring to commit those and other crimes.
Abraham has also been charged with multiple counts of possessing contraband while being held on the charges, including a cell phone in March. A woman reported to jail staff that she was being threatened via Facebook online by an inmate, Abraham, between the hours of midnight and 1 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit.
The alleged threats illustrate the difficulty prosecutors have faced in relying on witnesses to publicly testify against gang members. In a number of other cases involving alleged LCB gang members, prosecutors are using banking and business records to demonstrate alleged money laundering schemes, rather than depending on eyewitnesses to violent crimes who are afraid to come forward, in an effort to dismantle the gang.
Jail staff searched Abraham’s pod and allegedly found him sleeping with a phone in his hand. He attempted to hide the phone in his pants when he woke but failed and allegedly broke the device before jail staff could collect it.
In April, a month later, jail staff allegedly found 18 ounces of marijuana in Abraham’s pillow and a cell phone hidden in a shoe beneath his bed. His bonds on the engaging and contraband charges total in excess of $300,000.
If convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity, Abraham faces five to 99 years or life in a Texas prison.
