A Bowie County jury on Thursday convicted a member of the Texarkana street gang Loyalty Cash Business (LCB) for coordinating the December 2020 murder of a fellow gang member in a murder-for-hire plot. On Friday, the jury sentenced him to life in prison.
Calvin Gardner, 34, was found guilty of orchestrating the murder of Jermaine “Bubba” Aldridge, who was shot on December 3, 2020, in the parking lot of Chili’s restaurant in Texarkana, Texas, according to court documents. The gang targeted Aldridge because their leader, Courtney Hope, believed he had stolen $100,000 from them.
Aldridge, 31, had been dining with other LCB members at the restaurant when he stepped outside to take a phone call. Although Gardner was not present at the scene, he coordinated with gang members at the restaurant and the hired hitmen, court records indicate.
Gardner exchanged multiple phone calls with the gang members at Chili’s and the hitmen both before and after the murder.
“Before and after the shooting, there were multiple calls from Calvin Gardner to and from LCB members at Chili’s, as well as to those not present at the scene,” stated the probable cause affidavit. “The call logs suggest that all LCB members at the restaurant were aware of the impending hit due to their actions and phone communications. This is further confirmed by Gardner’s connection to the hitmen.”
One of the calls Aldridge received was from Cedric Alexander.
Alexander, 33, was recently sentenced by a Bowie County jury to three life terms, including one for being one of the two men who traveled from Tennessee to Texarkana to execute Aldridge’s murder. Van Dmarcreus Grissom, aka “Red,” 35, also received the maximum sentence for his involvement in gang-related activities.
First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told TXK Today on Friday, “Three separate Bowie County juries have reviewed this evidence and delivered the maximum sentences allowed under Texas law.”
“Our citizens have made it clear through these verdicts that gang violence will not be tolerated in this community,” Crisp said. “The Bowie County District Attorney’s Office commends the dedicated law enforcement officers who have tirelessly worked to dismantle the Loyalty Cash Business gang.”
Gardner was represented by Texarkana lawyer Derric McFarland, while Crisp represented the state. District Judge John Tidwell presided over the trial.
