NewzIntel.com

Category: Security Intelligence

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nashville Man Charged with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm Following Robbery at the Mall at Green Hills

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NASHVILLE – Omari Rashad Moore, 30, of Nashville, has been charged by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm as part of a shooting incident near the Green Hills mall, announced Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee.

    “Citizens in our community need to feel confident that they can go shopping at a mall without fearing gunfire,” said McGuire. “We are unwavering in our commitment to secure a safe city and hold those who would threaten that safety fully accountable for their actions.”

    According to the complaint, on February 4, 2025, officers with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (“MNPD”) responded to the Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, in response to a possible robbery and shots-fired complaint. As the officers responded, 911 dispatch also received a complaint about a shooting near the I– 65 South and I–440 Interstate interchange in Nashville, which is about five miles driving distance from the Mall.

    When MNPD officers arrived at the Mall, they found two .10 millimeter cartridge casings on the ground along with a high capacity magazine containing .10 millimeter ammunition near where the shooting and robbery had occurred. Officers could not locate a victim or suspect of the shooting at the Mall. About that time, MNPD officers arrived in the area of the I–65 South and I–440 Interstate interchange and saw a silver Tesla, which had been traveling away from the direction of the Mall, that had crashed into a tree. MNPD officers recovered two Louis Vuitton bags from inside the Tesla and located two men near the crash scene, who were later identified as Moore and SUBJECT 1. A bystander, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash, told MNPD officers that he/she had seen Moore approach a nearby guardrail on foot after the Tesla crashed. MNPD officers found a Glock Model: 29, Caliber: .10 millimeter pistol with the magazine missing near the guardrail.

    SUBJECT 1 had multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to Vanderbilt Hospital by emergency medical services, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

    MNPD Detectives reviewed security footage of the robbery and shooting at the Mall. It showed a man walking away from the mall carrying two shopping bags. As he approached his car, a silver Tesla drove up to and stopped near the man’s car. A man, later identified as Moore, got out of the Tesla with an object in his pocket that was consistent with the appearance of a handgun loaded with a high-capacity magazine. Moore approached the other man’s car, and they fought before the other man broke free and ran. Moore then leaned into the other man’s car, then ran back to the Tesla carrying the two shopping bags.

    Moore has multiple prior felony convictions in Henderson County and Davidson County, Tennessee.

    If convicted, Moore faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

    This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Hinkle is prosecuting the case.  

    A federal complaint is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Head of Commercial Real Estate Investment Firm Pleads Guilty in $62.8M Fraud Scheme Targeting Atlanta Financial Center Investors

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Elchonon “Elie” Schwartz pleaded guilty today to wire fraud for executing a massive investment fraud scheme that caused more than 800 investors to send approximately $62.8 million to Schwartz, which he then diverted for his own use. Approximately $54 million dollars in investments were intended for the Atlanta Financial Center, a planned commercial real estate complex on Peachtree Road. 

    “Seeking to do nothing more than pad his own bank accounts and buy expensive luxury items, Elie Schwartz betrayed hundreds of investors who sought the opportunity to invest in these commercial real estate projects,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “This office is committed to protecting investors from individuals, like Schwartz, who defraud donors out of their hard-earned money and seek to prioritize their own greed at the expense of legitimate investors.”

    “Although investment fraud schemes are not violent crimes, they are just as destructive as they can destroy the livelihoods of entire families. Schwartz admitted to this complex scheme out of pure greed and will now face the steep consequences,” said Sean Burke, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. 

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges, and other information presented in court: Elie Schwartz ran a successful commercial real estate investment firm. Beginning in May 2022, he solicited investments through CrowdStreet Marketplace in connection with a large commercial real estate complex in Atlanta, Georgia (“Atlanta Financial Center”), and ultimately raised approximately $54 million from approximately 654 investors for this venture. Later, beginning in November 2022, Schwartz again solicited investments through CrowdStreet concerning a mixed-use building in Miami Beach, Florida (“Lincoln Place”), and ultimately raised approximately $8.8 million from approximately 167 investors for this development. In total, Schwartz raised approximately $62.8 million from investors through CrowdStreet for the investments in the Atlanta Financial Center and Lincoln Place. The CrowdStreet investor funds were deposited into a segregated bank account for each investment.

    As part of the investment solicitation process, Schwartz executed agreements with CrowdStreet that stated, among other terms, that the funds raised from CrowdStreet investors would be held in segregated bank accounts controlled by Schwartz. In the documentation that was provided to CrowdStreet investors, Schwartz represented that he would only “use any proceeds from this Offering, net of any organizational and offering expenses, to fund” the investment in each property and that Schwartz had a fiduciary duty to safeguard the funds and prohibit commingling or use of the money that did not benefit each investment.

    But contrary to the representations he made to CrowdStreet investors, and before either the Atlanta Financial Center or Lincoln Place transaction closed, Schwartz misappropriated and converted CrowdStreet investor funds for his own use. Beginning in June 2022, and continuing through June 2023, Schwartz transferred nearly all of the $62.8 million raised through CrowdStreet for the Atlanta Financial Center and Lincoln Place investments out of the segregated bank accounts. He then diverted these funds to his personal bank account, personal brokerage account, and accounts for other unrelated commercial real estate investments affiliated with, and controlled by, him.

    Schwartz used the funds raised from the CrowdStreet investors to, among other things, pay for payroll expenses for his commercial real estate businesses, purchase luxury watches, and invest in stocks and options in his brokerage account. Ultimately, in mid-July 2023, the corporate entities that Schwartz formed to receive funds from CrowdStreet investors for their investments in the Atlanta Financial Center and Lincoln Place both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

    Schwartz, 46, of New York, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

    Sentencing is scheduled for May 19, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg.       

    This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors and Trial Attorney Matthew F. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys David O’Neal and Christopher Huber provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution.

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects more than $1.5 Billion in Criminal and Civil Actions in Fiscal Year 2024

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Criminal Payment by Crypto Exchange Binance for failing to have money laundering protections boosts collections to new record

    Seattle — U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced today that the Western District of Washington collected $1,518145,143 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2024. Of this amount, $1,509,282,780 was collected in criminal actions and $8,862,362 was collected in civil actions. 

    The Western District of Washington worked with the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and the National Security Division  to obtain the $1.5 billion payment from cryptocurrency exchange Binance. 

    “Our office worked closely with Department of Justice components on the criminal case against Binance, in which Binance pleaded guilty to failing to register as a money transmitting business, willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act and willfully causing violations of U.S. sanctions,” said U.S. Attorney Gorman. “That $1.5 billion coming through our office, is part of the $4.3 billion criminal fine and forfeiture. It is a record in the Western District of Washington.”

    Independently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington collected $3.8 million in criminal restitution payments, and an additional $8.8 million civil collections. Many of the criminal collections were for cases in which people intentionally failed to pay their income taxes. The owner of a string of coffee stands paid $96,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for intentionally underreporting his income from the business. A  Snohomish County restaurant owner paid over $511,000 for tax fraud and a Tukwila restaurant owner paid $376,000 so that his $926,902 tax fraud debt was paid in full.

    Of the civil collections, the district obtained $217,000 following the sale of Dr. Frank Li’s Spokane medical office building. The payment was applied to Dr. Li’s $2.85 million civil settlement for health care fraud.

    Additionally, we collected $1.23 million from Yakima Products, Inc.  These payments (which were in addition to payments made in 2023) satisfied Yakima’s $3 million settlement with the United States, for failing to pay duties on aluminum components imported from the People’s Republic of China. Learn more about the case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/automobile-accessory-company-yakima-products-inc-settles-allegations-failed-pay-duties

    The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

    Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Western District of Washington, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $2,864,850 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2024. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.  A large portion of the forfeitures relate to the indictment of two men operating a business that posted stolen items for sale via online websites. You can learn more about the case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/two-indicted-buying-stolen-goods-and-selling-them-online-amazon-or-ebay-more-3-million.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Federal Grand Juries in Bowling Green and Paducah Indict 5 Individuals for Immigration Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Bowling Green and Paducah, KY – Federal grand juries in Bowling Green and Paducah, Kentucky, returned indictments on February 11th and 12th, 2025, charging 5 individuals with illegal reentry after deportation or removal.   

    U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations, Nashville, and Sam Olson, Field Office Director for ERO Chicago, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement made the announcement.

    According to the indictments:

    Julio Rodriguez Aguilar, age 33, a citizen of Honduras, was charged in Bowling Green with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about February 4, 2025, Aguilar was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about July 8, 2016, October 26, 2018, and August 8, 2022. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. This case is being investigated by HSI, ICE/ERO.

    Antonio Pu-Us, age 39, a citizen of Guatemala, was charged in Bowling Green with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about January 6, 2025, Pu-Us was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about April 24, 2014, and October 1, 2014. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. This case is being investigated by HSI, ICE/ERO.

    Edgar Agustin-Gil, age 35, a citizen of Mexico, was charged in Bowling Green with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about January 10, 2025, Agustin-Gil was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about October 4, 2017. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. This case is being investigated by HSI, ICE/ERO.

    Jose Mayorga-Basurto, age 29, a citizen of Mexico, was charged in Bowling Green with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about January 28, 2025, Mayorga-Basurto was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about May 30, 2015, and June 7, 2015. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. This case is being investigated by HSI, ICE/ERO.

    Deyvi Humberto Cruz-Guerra, age 30, a citizen of Guatemala, was charged in Paducah with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about November 30, 2024, Cruz-Guerra was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about May 20, 2013, and October 8, 2021. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. This case is being investigated by HSI, ICE/ERO.

    A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Dahl, Mark J. Yurchisin II, and Raymond McGee are prosecuting the cases.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Riverside School Counselor Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Child Sexual Exploitation Crimes, Including Hiding Cameras in Bathrooms

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – A former counselor at a private school in Riverside County was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and placing a hidden camera inside bathrooms to film boys using the toilet and showers.

    Matthew Daniel Johnson, 34, of Bryan, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who scheduled a restitution hearing for May 28. Upon his eventual release from prison, Johnson will be placed on lifetime supervised release. Johnson has been in federal custody since October 2024.

    Law enforcement searched Johnson’s home in March 2020 and seized several videos featuring minor boys engaged in sexual activity. The videos depicted victims under the age of 12 and some as young as 3 to 5 years old.

    During the search of his residence, Johnson admitted to law enforcement that he had hidden a pen-shaped recording device in a toilet paper holder inside of a school bathroom, across the hall from his office as a school counselor at La Sierra Academy in Riverside.

    Another video file depicted Johnson adjusting a recording device inside a different bathroom at a Junior High School Bible Camp where he was working as a chaperone of children attending the camp. The video file subsequently captured minor boys using the toilet and the shower.

    Johnson further admitted to using and employing a minor victim in January 2020 for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of the victim engaging in sexual conduct.

    The Fontana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Riverside Police Department, and the FBI investigated this matter.

    Assistant United States Attorney Sonah Lee of the Riverside Branch Office prosecuted this case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Trafficking drugs for Mexican Cartel lands Laredo man in prison for more than 16 years

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LAREDO, Texas – A 37-year-old man has been sentenced for conspiring to distribute a large quantity of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Gavino Cadena pleaded guilty Nov. 10, 2022.

    U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana has now ordered Cadena to serve a total of 194 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court considered Cadena’s extensive criminal record, including his involvement with Cartel del Noreste (CDN) and the Tango Blast gang. Records also showed that while in custody awaiting sentencing in this case, Cadena was involved in numerous altercations with rival gang members such as Hermano Pistoleros Latinos, including incidents involving weapons.

    The court found Cadena to be a leader/organizer within the drug trafficking organization. He coordinated the drug loads, paid co-conspirators for their involvement and reported directly to cartel leaders in Mexico. Cadena was held responsible for organizing the offloading and transport of more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana from multiple tractor trailers in Laredo that had been imported from Mexico.

    “The Department of Justice is going to use all available avenues to crack down on cartel activity operating inside our country,” said Ganjei. “The drug trade inevitably leads to violence, and so every drug dealer or cartel member taken off the street makes our communities a little bit safer.”

    Throughout the course of this multi-year investigation, which includes two related indictments, authorities seized more than 17 tons of marijuana valued at approximately $16.4 million.

    To date, a total of 22 people, including several Mexican nationals, have been convicted for their roles in the conspiracy to transport narcotics for CDN. Their sentences have ranged from 18 months to 168 months in prison.

    Cadena will remain in custody pending a transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Laredo Police Department conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; Border Patrol; Customs and Border Protection; FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. National Guard; Webb County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and Constable’s Office Precincts 1 and 4; Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Blue Indigo Task Force. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Anthony Evans prosecuted this case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican National Sentenced to Over 8 Years in Prison for Distributing Methamphetamine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    FRESNO, Calif. — Dario Mata-Manzo, 33, a Mexican national residing in Fresno, was sentenced today to eight years and eight months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

    According to court documents, in June 2022, Mata-Manzo negotiated the sale of crystal methamphetamine for $1,200 per pound and subsequently delivered 8 pounds of the drug to undercover officers in Fresno. Court documents indicate that Mata-Manzo was connected to an interstate poly-drug trafficking organization.

    This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and the High Impact Investigation Team (HIIT), a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative (HIDTA), which consists of personnel from the California Department of Justice, Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Madera County Sheriff’s Office, Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Kings County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.

    The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Richard R. Barker to Serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Spokane, Washington – Following the recent resignation of the Honorable Vanessa R. Waldref, and by operation of the Vacancies Reform Act, Richard R. Barker is now serving as the Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

    Acting United States Attorney Barker has over a decade of experience as a career prosecutor, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney since 2014.  During his career, Barker has held the positions of First Assistant United States Attorney, Tribal Liaison, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Coordinator, Digital Asset Coordinator, and Public Affairs Officer.  From 2014 – 2019, Barker served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the nation’s capital, where he served as a dedicated homicide prosecutor.  In early 2019, Barker joined the Eastern District of Washington, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in the Spokane office.

    Acting United States Attorney Barker has dedicated his career to serving victims of violent crime, while handling numerous homicide and violent crime cases. Late last year, Barker was lead counsel with AUSA Michael J. Ellis in the trial of Zachery Holt and Dezmonique Tenzsley for the double murder of two Tribal members and the attempted murder of a federal officer on the Colville Indian Reservation. In 2023, Barker successfully prosecuted Ronald Craig Ilg, who attempted to hire hitmen on the dark web to harm his wife and a former work colleague.

    Throughout his career, Acting United States Attorney Barker also has handled several significant drug trafficking prosecutions.  In 2023, Barker and AUSA Stephanie Van Marter prosecuted the “Fetty Bros” Drug Trafficking Organization, which was distributing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills and other drugs into Eastern Washington and using extreme violence to insulate their organization. Barker later served as lead counsel in the removal of more than 161,000 fentanyl-laced pills and 80 pounds of methamphetamine from rural Washington. In his efforts to further address the fentanyl crisis, Barker worked closely with now former U.S. Attorney Waldref and the City of Spokane to create a Special U.S. Assistant Attorney position focused on prosecuting those responsible for illegal narcotics impacting the Spokane area.

    As First Assistant United States Attorney, Barker has supervised the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s litigating units, which include the Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. As the Chief Deputy to the U.S. Attorney, Barker helped establish the District’s dedicated Appellate Division and worked closely with the Office’s administrative team to obtain additional DOJ resources for increasing public safety throughout Eastern Washington. Barker also played a pivotal role in opening the District’s Branch Office in Richland Washington, and he has been instrumental in the office’s efforts to increase resources for prosecuting cases on Native American Reservations. In early 2024, Barker played a key role in hiring the district’s first MMIP AUSA, who is fully dedicated to prosecuting cases of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People.  For Barker’s dedication to working with Native American communities and improving public safety, he received a Department of Justice Director’s Award in 2024.

    “I have loved serving as a federal prosecutor and working so closely with federal, state, local, and Tribal leaders to seek justice and protect our communities,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Barker. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington has an incredible team of attorneys and support staff, who are fully dedicated to protecting the citizens of Eastern Washington and our nation. It is truly inspiring to serve alongside such an excellent group of professionals, who have dedicated their careers to doing the right thing each and every day.”  

    Outgoing U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref stated, “Acting U.S. Attorney Barker is an exceptional leader, a gifted attorney, and a tireless advocate for justice. His unwavering dedication to protecting the communities of Eastern Washington is evident in everything he does. It has been an honor to work alongside him as my First Assistant, and I have no doubt that he will continue to serve with integrity, determination, and a deep commitment to upholding the law, as he takes on this new role as the chief law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of Washington.”

    Acting United States Attorney Barker graduated with highest honors from Brigham Young University Law School. After graduation, Barker clerked for the Honorable J. Clifford Wallace on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Honorable G. Murray Snow on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.  Following his clerkships, Acting United States Attorney Barker worked in private practice for Davis Polk, LLP, in Washington D.C.

    Outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Barker serves as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University School of Law, where he has taught courses in Trial Advocacy and Conflicts of Law. Barker also serves as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexico Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing More than Eight Pounds of Methamphetamine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Yakima, Washington – On February 10, 2025, United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Santiago Rojas-Rangel (“Charapo”), age 51, of Mexico, to 151 months in prison on methamphetamine distribution charges. Judge Dimke also imposed 5 years of supervised release. When imposing the sentence, Judge Dimke noted Rojas-Rangel’s “complete and utter lack of respect for the law in this country.”

    According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, in early 2024 agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) developed information that Rojas-Rangel was selling methamphetamine in and around Yakima, Washington.  Between February and May 2024, the DEA conducted several controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Rojas-Rangel totaling approximately 8 pounds. The purchase of the illegal drugs was carefully monitored and controlled by DEA agents.

    Ramirez Sanchez was previously convicted in Yakima County Superior Court on two counts of Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Methamphetamine in December 2019 for offenses that occurred in 2016.  He was sentenced to a total of 44 months and 1 day of confinement. Rojas-Rangel has also previously been deported from the United States and illegally re-entered, before engaging in further drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Washington.

    “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prioritize the prosecution of dangerous repeat drug offenders,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “Mr. Rojas-Rangel entered the United States illegally and then distributed large quantities of methamphetamine into the Yakima community.  I am grateful for the dedication of our federal, state, and local partners and for the incredible team of prosecutors, who dedicate their careers to keeping our communities safe.”

    “Methamphetamine traffickers prey on their communities for profit,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “The Drug Enforcement Administration and our partners work especially hard to ensure accountability for repeat drug offenders, like Mr. Rojas-Rangel, with this richly deserved prison sentence.”

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Letitia A. Sikes.

    1:24-cr-02045-MKD

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Career Offender Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Armed Drug Trafficking

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant has Seven Prior Felonies in Athens-Clarke, Gwinnett, Middle District of Georgia

    ATHENS, Ga. – A Northeast Georgia resident with a lengthy criminal history who was serving federal supervised release when officers found him illegally possessing a firearm and trafficking cocaine was sentenced to serve 22 years in prison today.

    Mandrell Antwoin Hull, 44, of Winterville, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 264 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III on Feb. 12. Hull previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on July 22, 2024. There is no parole in the federal system.

    “We must hold repeat offenders accountable when they illegally arm themselves and violate the laws put in place to maintain order and safety for everyone,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “Our dedicated federal prosecutorial team continues to work alongside our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to help ensure their efforts result in justice.”

    “Criminals like Hull continue to plague our communities with blatant disregard for the safety of others and reckless indifference to the law. It is only through our local and federal partnerships that we are able to put a stop to these violent repeat offenders,” said Robert Gibbs, Senior Supervisory Special Agent of FBI Atlanta’s Athens office. “This case is another example of how the FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to keeping the streets of Georgia safe for everyone in our community.”

    According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Hull was serving supervised release for a 2018 federal conviction for marijuana distribution in Case No. 3:17-CR-24-CAR. On April 11, 2023, officers with the United States Probation Office (USPO) reached out to the FBI in Athens to request their assistance in conducting a search of Hull’s residence in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, because USPO believed that Hull was storing illegal drugs inside his residence. That same day, agents and officers searched his Winterville property and located cocaine, $32,826 in drug proceeds and a loaded 9mm pistol. Records show that Hull has five prior felony convictions in the Superior Court of Athens-Clarke County and one prior felony conviction in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, in addition to his prior federal felony conviction for which he was serving supervised release at the time of this crime. It is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.

    This case is a part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.

    The case was investigated by the FBI Athens Resident Agency Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison prosecuted the case for the Government.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Louisville Man for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned an indictment on February 4, 2025, charging a local man with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

    U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Acting Special Agent in Charge A.J. Gibes of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Chief Paul Humphrey of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.

    According to the indictment, Emmett Morris, 28, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on July 29, 2024. Morris was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.

    On January 14, 2022, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Morris was convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree less than 10 dosage units of opiates, trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree under 2 grams of methamphetamine and convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

    On January 21, 2016, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Morris was convicted of facilitation to murder, receiving a stolen firearm and 3 counts of robbery in the second degree.

    On February 6, 2025, Morris made an initial court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. He remains in federal custody pending trial. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    This case is being investigated by the LMPD and the ATF.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua R. Porter is prosecuting this case.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: A new era in testing: USAF TPS partners with Stanford and Silicon Valley for AI, emerging technologies course

    Source: United States Air Force

    This historic collaboration marks the school’s first major engagement with academia in recent memory and is part of a broader effort to prepare future military test leaders for the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, data-driven systems, and autonomous technologies.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Lakeland Convicted Felon Charged With Possessing Firearm And Ammunition

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced today the filing of a criminal complaint charging Taqiy Lewis (27, Lakeland) with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. If convicted, Lewis faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. 

    According to the criminal complaint, on December 24, 2020, M.C., a 70-year-old woman, was outside her Lakeland home with her family, including young children. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Lewis and others engaged in a shootout just outside M.C.’s residence. M.C. was struck twice and killed. A.L., a thirteen-year-old child, was also shot and wounded.  

    More than two years later, on February 9, 2023, during an unrelated investigation, ATF special agents and officers from the Lakeland Police Department recovered a Kahr CM9 9mm pistol while executing a search warrant. Forensic testing using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) confirmed that this firearm was the one used to kill M.C. and injure A.L. Further investigation revealed that six casings collected from the crime scene, two spent projectiles recovered from a home, and a bullet recovered from M.C.’s body were all fired by Lewis and the Kahr CM9 pistol he possessed. At the time of the shooting, Lewis was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. 

    A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lakeland Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Fort Myers Man Pleads Guilty To Pizza Shop Armed Robbery

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Shadarien Lamarr Ward (22, Fort Myers) today pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Ward faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

    According to court documents, on the evening of September 1, 2024, Ward robbed a pizza shop near downtown Fort Myers at gunpoint, pistol-whipping an employee in the process. After grabbing the cash register drawer and approximately $700 in cash, Ward fled the area on foot. Though he was hooded and masked during the robbery, Ward was later identified by law enforcement after an extensive review of surveillance cameras in the area that tracked him to a nearby motel.

    Ward, a registered sex offender, was wearing a GPS monitor at the time of the robbery as part of his state sex offender probation, which helped law enforcement retrace his steps leading up to and immediately following the robbery. Although he cut off his GPS monitor and absconded from supervision following the robbery, Ward was located and arrested at a North Fort Myers motel soon thereafter.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fort Myers Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon Eth.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Lee County Felon Pleads Guilty To Unlawfully Possessing Loaded Firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Austin Charles Wesley (25, Lehigh Acres) today pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Wesley faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

    According to court documents, on October 24, 2024, Wesley was pulled over for speeding by the Florida Highway Patrol on SR-82 in Lee County. During the traffic stop, law enforcement located a loaded Walther .22 caliber handgun concealed underneath Wesley’s clothing. As a multi-time convicted felon, who previously served sentences in Florida state prison for various crimes, Wesley is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.     

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Fort Myers Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon Eth.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: New Haven Man Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Trafficking Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JOSHUWA DIAZ, 34, of New Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to a narcotics trafficking offense.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Diaz was arrested on February 16, 2024, after a court-authorized search of his apartment on Orange Street in New Haven revealed approximately 75 grams of fentanyl, 278 grams of cocaine, 47 grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded P80 handgun with no serial number (“ghost gun”).

    Diaz pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base (“crack”), and fentanyl, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for May 7.

    Diaz is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

    In April 2013, Diaz was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 78 months of imprisonment for distributing heroin.

    This investigation has been conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force, which includes members from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments.

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Keefe.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: New Eurojust-hosted project widens scope of actions against impunity for war crimes and genocide beyond EU

    Source: Eurojust

    National Authorities Against Impunity (IMPNA) project

    View leaflet

    The practical aim of this project is to assist CSOs at regional and local level and set up platforms for their cooperation with judicial authorities outside the EU. This will assist organisations in dealing with the increase in violations of human rights due to the sharp rise of armed conflicts across the globe. 

    The number of armed conflicts worldwide has doubled over the last five years, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED). This has led to a stark increase in war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, so-called core international crimes. This brings particular challenges for the international community to pursue accountability in order to get justice done for the victims by exercising universal and extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

    Commenting on the launch of IMPNA, Eurojust Vice-President Ms Margarita Šniutytė-Daugėlienė said: ‘The fight against impunity for the most atrocious crimes requires cooperation on the broadest level to make sure perpetrators can be brought to justice. Especially with the rise of armed conflicts around the world, we need to work with as many actors as possible: national authorities, the International Criminal Court, fact-finding missions, the United Nations and civil society organisations. For this reason, I very much welcome this new project, as it will give a major impetus to cooperation efforts in the interest of all victims of core international crimes.’

    EU Member States constitute the majority of countries that initiate investigations and prosecutions in response to atrocities committed worldwide. Yet the nature and potential impact of universal jurisdiction calls for its use globally. By widening the scope of judicial actions against core international crimes, across regions and situations, the number of ’safe havens’ for perpetrators can be limited. 

    Furthermore, the fight against impunity benefits from the contribution of various actors who seek to advance the cause of justice. These include national authorities, international and hybrid criminal courts and tribunals, investigative mechanisms and fact-finding missions mandated by the United Nations and CSOs. 

    Over the years, CSOs have provided key contributions to accountability efforts, including by collecting and preserving information on core international crimes and human rights violations. The IMPNA project will bolster their capacities, as well as those of national authorities, to work together and enhance cooperation between all efforts undertaken in both EU Member States and third countries. A principal aim is to avoid duplication of efforts through better coordination and cooperation, with a special focus on victims, especially female survivors. 

    The project is funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) for four years, from October 2024 until September 2028. With its official launch today at Eurojust, IMPNA has now formally started. It will be implemented and hosted by Eurojust and the Genocide Network Secretariat, based at the Agency.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Clearland — UPDATE: Missing person found safe

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The 28-year-old man who was reported missing on February 11 from Clearland has been found safe.

    The RCMP thanks Bridgewater Police Service for their assistance with this investigation, and Nova Scotians for assisting with missing persons files through social media shares and offering tips.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Natuashish — Natuashish RCMP investigates serious assault; victim airlifted for medical treatment, woman arrested

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Following an investigation into a serious assault that occurred at a home in Natuashish on February 10, 2025, 32-year-old Antonia Jacobish was arrested and charged by Natuashish RCMP.

    Shortly before midnight on Monday, Natuashsish RCMP received a report of the assault. A woman received serious injuries resulting from a physical attack that occurred inside a home. The victim was airlifted out of the community for urgent medical attention.

    The investigation, which was assisted by RCMP NL’s West District General Investigation Section, resulted in the arrest of Jacobish on February 11, 2025. She attends court today, charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. The victim of the crime is recovering from injuries that are now considered non-life threatening.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Massachusetts Resident Sentenced on Gun and Drug Convictions

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kyle Taylor, age 29, of Malden, Massachusetts, was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

    United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.

    When he pled guilty in September 2024, Taylor admitted that he sold multiple firearms and controlled substances to another person in Rensselaer County between September 2023 and January 2024. Taylor admitted that he had sold two firearms to this person on separate occasions in October 2023, and on both occasions also distributed controlled substances. In December 2023, Taylor and a co-conspirator sold this person over 400 fentanyl pills along with approximately 25 grams of fentanyl powder.

    United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also imposed a 4-year term of post-incarceration supervised release.

    ATF investigated this case with assistance from the Troy Police Department, the Brookline (Massachusetts) Police Department, and the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph S. Hartunian prosecuted the case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Construction and Property Management Companies and Company Owners Plead Guilty to Asbestos Violations

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PORTLAND, Ore.–A construction company operating in Hood River, Oregon, and a property management company operating in The Dalles, Oregon, together with the owners, pleaded guilty Friday to violating asbestos work standards and negligent endangerment by discharging a hazardous pollutant in violation of the Clean Air Act.

    The property management company Horseshoe Grove, LLC pleaded guilty to violating asbestos work practice standards, and its owner and operator, Ryan Richter, 44, of The Dalles, pleaded guilty to negligent endangerment by discharging a hazardous pollutant.

    The construction and demolition company Chamness Dirt Works Inc. pleaded guilty to violating asbestos work practice standards, and its owner and president, Ronald Chamness, 58, of Hood River, pleaded guilty to negligent endangerment by discharging a hazardous pollutant.

    According to court documents, in November 2022, Horseshoe Grove purchased a property operating as a mobile home rental site with approximately thirty tenant spaces. The property also contained two dilapidated structures located near the actively rented tenant spaces. At the time of sale, Richter received an asbestos survey completed in 2021 which reported over 5,000 square feet of asbestos within the dilapidated structures. Richter also received a demolition estimate from Chamness Dirt Works to sample, test and remove asbestos containing materials but excluded the costs for asbestos abatement.

    In February 2023, Richter and Horseshoe Grove hired Chamness Dirt Works to demolish the two asbestos-laden structures. On February 20, 2023, Chamness received a quote from an asbestos abatement contractor for the proper removal and disposal of asbestos containing materials. Despite knowing the structures contained asbestos, Chamness and Richter, through and with their companies, knowingly violated the Clean Air Act by demolishing the structures without hiring a certified asbestos abatement contractor or implementing the precautionary measures mandated by federal regulations for handling such materials.

    On November 19, 2024, Richter, Chamness, Horseshoe Grove, and Chamness Dirt Works were charged by criminal information with negligent endangerment and violating the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work practice standards.

    Richter and Chamness each face a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. Horseshoe Grove and Chamness Dirt Works each face a maximum sentence of five years’ probation and $500,000 fine. As part of the plea agreement, Richter and Chamness have agreed to conduct asbestos remediation on the property. They will be sentenced on April 3, 2025, before U.S. District Court Judge Marco A. Hernández.

    This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency and is being prosecuted by Bryan Chinwuba, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Brazilian Man Indicted for Illegal Reentry

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Brazilian man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.    

    Rafael De Jesus-Ribeiro, 39, was indicted on one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. De Jesus-Ribeiro was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 13, 2025. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

    According to the indictment, De Jesus-Ribeiro was deported from the United States on July 17, 2019. It is alleged that sometime after his July 2019 removal, De Jesus-Ribeiro illegally reentered the United States without permission.

    The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of an imposed sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah Foley and Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Hawkins of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

    The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
     

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  • MIL-OSI Security: St. Michael Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Abuse

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Fargo – United States Attorney Mac Schneider announced that Collin Ray Delorme, also known as Collin Ray Delorme Sr., age 30, from St. Michael, North Dakota, appeared in United States District Court for the District of North Dakota in Fargo today and was sentenced by Chief Judge Peter Welte to serve 40 years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release during which time he will be required to follow a number of conditions. Delorme was also ordered to pay restitution, joint and severally with his codefendant, for medical and funeral expenses.

    On February 18, 2023, Baker called 911 from a home in St. Michael, North Dakota within the boundaries of the Spirit Lake Reservation. Delorme’s co-Defendant, Kenzie Rose Baker, reported her one-year-old child was not breathing. The child was transported to CHI St. Alexius in Devils Lake, North Dakota and was pronounced dead. An autopsy concluded the cause of death was “battered child” due to multiple, repeated injuries of various ages, evident upon external and internal examination. The child’s internal injuries were untreated which created infection and sepsis.

    Two of the charges to which Delorme pled are related to his abuse of the deceased one-year-old child.  The third charge is the result of his abuse of a three-year-old child that included hitting the child on the arms and throwing him on a bed.

    On August 16, 2024, Baker pleaded guilty to charges of Accessory after the Fact; Child Abuse in Indian country; Child Neglect in Indian country. Baker is scheduled to be sentenced on February 24, 2025.

    “This sentence provides a measure of accountability for the horrendous abuse and tragic death of a toddler,” Schneider said. “Through their work on multi-disciplinary teams on each reservation with tribal social services, law enforcement, tribal court prosecutors, and behavioral health partners, our Indian country prosecutors are committed to preventing child abuse. They also will not hesitate to bring forceful prosecutions against child abusers in federal court. Our hope is that today’s sentence serves as a deterrence in our efforts to keep children safe.”

    “The abuse and neglect that these children experienced is truly horrific. No child should ever endure such suffering,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI and our partners’ commitment to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and ensuring that those who harm children are brought to justice.”

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lori H. Conroy and SheraLynn Ternes.

    # # #

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Juvenile Charged With August 2024 Armed Carjacking

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

               WASHINGTON – Aniq-Kai Covington, 16, of Washington, D.C., was charged as an adult (under Title 16) on February 11, 2025, in Superior Court with armed carjacking in connection with an August 13, 2024 incident in Southeast D.C. The charge was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

               According to documents filed in court, on August 13, 2024, at approximately 9:15 p.m., police officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of  31st Street S.E., where they located the victim of an armed carjacking. The victim told the officers that at least two suspects approached the victim, who was sitting in their vehicle waiting for a family member. One suspect approached the victim’s driver’s side door and pointed a firearm at the victim, ordering the victim to get out of the vehicle. Another suspect attempted to open the victim’s passenger door. The victim complied and got out of the car. The first suspect then demanded money and took the victim’s wallet and cell phone, before the suspects fled northbound on 31st Street, SE in the victim’s car.  The victim borrowed a phone from a family member and called 911. 

               The victim’s vehicle was located in the 2500 block of High Street S.E., stationary and unoccupied, just before 9:30 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after police were dispatched to the scene of the carjacking.  The victim’s vehicle was forensically processed, and a latent fingerprint recovered from the interior passenger’s side door handle was later determined to belong to Covington. 

               Covington was presented in court yesterday and ordered detained. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 14, 2025.

               The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Winer is prosecuting the case.

               These charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Prison Guard Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Smuggle Drugs into Virginia Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Virginia man was sentenced yesterday for conspiring to distribute controlled substances and launder drug proceeds with co-conspirators in Massachusetts and Virginia.

    Kenneth J. Owen, 24, of Charlotte Court House, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In September 2024, Owen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute MDMA and buprenorphine and two counts of money laundering conspiracy.

    In December 2019 and January 2020, Owen conspired with Sathtra Em, a Lowell resident, and Michael Mao, an inmate at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Va., to smuggle MDMA and buprenorphine in the form of Suboxone and generic Suboxone sublingual films into the prison. At the time, Owen was working as a correctional officer at Buckingham.  

    As part of the conspiracy, Em mailed the drugs to Owen’s residence and paid him $1,600 in bribes to deliver the drugs and other contraband to Mao in the prison. Mao then sold the smuggled drugs to other inmates at Buckingham and Em collected the drug debts on behalf of Mao in the same Cash App accounts she used to pay the bribes to Owen. Owen used a Cash App account with the name “Carlos” to receive the bribes from Em, and he cashed out the funds to his bank account within minutes of receiving them.    

    Em and Mao previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. In August 2024, Em was sentenced to 21 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Mao was sentenced to 121 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, in November 2024.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations and the Virginia Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Amrhein of the Asset Forfeiture Unit, prosecuted the case.

    This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
     

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Groundwater: How Scientists Study its Pollution and Sustainability

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    An aquifer is a porous rock that is water bearing and from which water can be extracted (Infographic: Adriana Vargas/IAEA).

    Groundwater accounts for around 30 per cent of the world’s freshwater, making it an important resource for addressing current global issues, such as world population growth, agricultural intensification and increased water use in different sectors like oil and gas extraction and mining, apparel and textile manufacturing and livestock farming. To protect groundwater from the threats of overextraction and pollution, and to manage it sustainably for the future, it is essential to understand where groundwater in specific locations is originating from, what its quality is and how quickly it replenishes. Scientists can perform this kind of research by analyzing the water ‘fingerprints’ called “isotopes”, which are variations of atoms in the water molecule.

    What is groundwater?

    Groundwater is water found underground. It can be hidden in the cracks and spaces within rocks and sediments, forming an underground resource, hosted in what is known as an “aquifer”. Depending on the characteristics or the aquifer, groundwater can be extracted, using pumping wells, for irrigation, drinking and industrial water supply and other human activities.

    How are aquifers formed and why should we use them wisely?

    Groundwater is part of the water cycle. Following rainfall, some water soaks into the soil and, driven by gravity, migrates downwards continuously through the subsoil and moves until it is eventually stopped by compact, impermeable rock, called an aquiclude. Many aquifers are connected to, and fed by, rivers and other surface water bodies, during the dry season. In the wet season, this system can be reversed with groundwater moving back into rivers and lakes and replenishing them.

    Aquifers are an integral part of the water cycle, and their replenishment rate depends on rainfall, among other factors (Infographic: Adriana Vargas/IAEA).

    The rate at which an aquifer is replenished depends on the climate and environment in the location where recharge is happening. Aquifers in an area of low rainfall might take centuries to get refilled. In contrast, shallow aquifers in an area of substantial rainfall may be replenished almost immediately. Thus, climate change, which results in more intense droughts, but also more intense localised rainfall, has an impact on how fast aquifers refill and, by extension, on how much groundwater people can use sustainably.

    The intensive use of groundwater for human activities, such as agriculture and industry, at a scale that exceeds the speed at which aquifers refill, may put at risk not only the integrity of the aquifers, which risk collapse if they are drained, but also the global amount of water that people can use, because groundwater constitutes an important part of the world’s available freshwater.

    Additionally, groundwater may not always be clean enough for human use. Human activities carried out on the surface, such as sewage disposal and the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, including animal manure, are among the main sources of contamination and pollution of groundwater. Knowing the origin of pollutants, therefore, is the first step toward addressing problems of water quality.

    Potential sources of groundwater pollution by human activities (Infographic: Adriana Vargas/IAEA).

    What are isotopes and how can they help scientists understand water?

    The water molecule is composed of atoms of oxygen and hydrogen. Some variations of the atoms of the same chemical element, called isotopes, can be used to study the water cycle, including groundwater.

    Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

    Different “isotopic” techniques are used to measure isotope amounts and proportions, and to trace their origin, history, sources and interactions in the environment.

    Water has a different or unique isotopic “fingerprint”, or “isotopic signature”, depending on where it comes from. Scientists analyze isotopes to track the movement and pollution sources of water along its path through the water cycle.

    How do scientists use isotopes to establish whether groundwater is being overused?

    Scientists use isotopes in large-scale studies on water, to assess its amount, age, and origins, and to establish whether the amount being used by people is sustainable.

    For example, radioisotopes naturally present in groundwater, such as tritium, carbon-14, and noble gases helium-3, helium-4 and krypton-81, are used to learn more about how old groundwater is and the timescales of groundwater flow. By analyzing the concentration of different combinations of both stable and radio-isotopes, scientists can calculate when exactly the water is recharged in aquifers, how fast groundwater flows, and how long it takes to replenish. With this data, it is possible to establish, for example, whether or not agricultural activities in a specific area are demanding an amount of groundwater that will not be replenished fast enough to sustain irrigation needs in the long run.

    By analyzing the isotopes in groundwater, scientists can establish how old the water is, and deduce how long it will take for an aquifer to recharge based on how much water is being pumped for human activities (Infographic: Adriana Vargas/IAEA).

    How do scientists use isotopes to study groundwater pollution?

    Scientists use specific isotopes like nitrogen-15, oxygen-18, and sulfur-34 to identify pollutants such as nitrate and sulphates. They also use these isotopes to establish whether the groundwater in a specific location is safe for human use.

    For example, scientists can establish whether water contaminated with an excessive amount of nitrate is being polluted by either human waste or by fertilizers. Nitrate ions are made up of nitrogen and oxygen, and nitrogen has two isotopes while oxygen has three. The ratio of these isotopes is different in human waste and in fertilizers. Therefore, the source of pollution can be identified based on these isotopic differences. Knowing the origins of pollutants is a milestone in addressing problems with water quality and working toward the sustainable management of water resources.

    What is the role of the IAEA?

    • The IAEA uses isotope hydrology to support Member States in water resources assessment and sustainable water management. The Agency also provides assistance and training to laboratories and scientists on analytical services through its Isotope Hydrology Laboratory.
    • Offering a wide range of courses, the IAEA provides training on the fundamentals of isotope hydrology and isotopic analyses of stable isotopes, tritium and noble gases.
    • Through its technical cooperation programme, the IAEA collaborates closely with its Member States to improve the availability and sustainability of freshwater resources through science-based, comprehensive water resources assessments.
    • Partnering with the World Meteorological Organization, the IAEA operates the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation, which contains scientific advice, logistics and technical support in isotope hydrology.

    This article was first published on 22 March 2023.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Apprehends Mother’s Boyfriend for Injury to a Child

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Austin, TX – The U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested a man sought by Austin Police for injury to a child following an incident on February 7th that resulted in the hospitalization of a 2-year-old victim.  

    Marcos Amaya Maldonado, 25, of Del Valle, is alleged to have committed the injury while the child was in his custody during the day at the child’s mother’s residence in the 9900 block of Dessau Road. According to an affidavit by an investigator with the Austin Police Department (APD) Child Abuse Unit, Maldonado is the boyfriend of the victim’s mother. 

    When the mother arrived at the residence from work, she observed bruising to the side of the child’s face, according to the affidavit. After noticing an increase in bruising and swelling to the child’s face, and a “rash” under the diaper area, the mother called 911.

    Medical personnel at a nearby hospital reported the victim had sustained a large contusion to her head and extensive bruising to her genitalia and vaginal lacerations. 

    Following an investigation on February 9th, the APD Child Abuse Unit obtained a warrant in the City of Austin Municipal Court and requested assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force-Austin Division to locate and apprehend Maldonado. 

    Members of the task force initiated a fugitive investigation and arrested Maldonado in the 100 block of Fortuna Drive in Del Valle.

    Maldonado was transported to the APD Child Abuse Unit and booked into the Travis County Jail where he will await judicial proceedings.  

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin:

    Austin Police Department-Tactical Intelligence Unit
    Georgetown, Round Rock, and San Marcos Police Department
    Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
    Texas Attorney General’s Office
    Texas Department of Criminal Justice OIG
    Texas Department of Public Safety
    U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
    U.S. DHS/Homeland Security Investigations

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  • MIL-OSI Security: New Orleans Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Conspiracy

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – CORIS ADDISON (“ADDISON”), age 42, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on February 5, 2025, by United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle, after previously pleading guilty to violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act by participating, along with others, in a methamphetamine conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

    According to court records, one of ADDISON’s co-conspirators sold approximately seven grams of pure methamphetamine to an undercover Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agent, and another individual, on August 29, 2023 at a Westbank, New Orleans apartment.

    Another drug deal was set for the following day at the same apartment, but before the deal took place, two of ADDISON’s co-defendants robbed the undercover ATF agent, and the other individual, at gun point.  To escape the danger, the undercover ATF agent, and the other individual, went onto the third-floor balcony of the apartment and began climbing down.  The agent fell during his escape and sustained severe injuries.  Although ADDISON did not participate in the robbery, he and others were later arrested  at the apartment.

    Judge Lemelle sentenced ADDISON to serve 80 months in prison, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    The investigation was conducted primarily by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Louisiana State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department and Crimestoppers GNO. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Haller, Senior Litigation Counsel and PSN Coordinator, and Nolan Paige, Chief of the Narcotics Unit.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Thirty-Eight Defendants Sentenced in Massive Prison-Based Drug Trafficking Ring

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    ATLANTA, Ga. – Thirty-eight members of a drug trafficking organization, including several State of Georgia prison inmates, have been sentenced for their roles in coordinating and distributing deadly heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl throughout the metro-Atlanta area, as well as laundering drug proceeds to Mexico.

    “The successful dismantling of this large organization is a result of a tenacious multi-year effort from federal, state, and local authorities to root out narcotics trafficking originating from state prisons,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr.  “Our office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to leverage all resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute entire networks of offenders responsible for distributing deadly drugs into our communities.” 

    “These sentences mirror the destructive impact on the community caused by this violent drug trafficking organization,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “Wherever you operate, if you distribute dangerous drugs, DEA will find you and hold you accountable.”

    “Thanks to the hard work and collaboration of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, thirty-eight members of this extensive drug distribution network will spend significant time behind bars where they will no longer be able to plague our community with poison,” said Sean Burke, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. 

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges and other information presented in court: During the investigation, federal special agents learned that a network of prison inmates was using contraband cell phones to broker drug transactions throughout the metro-Atlanta area, including importing drug shipments from Mexico and other states. These prison brokers relied on conspirators on the outside to store, package and distribute multiple types of illegal drugs. Other members of the organization were responsible for laundering the proceeds from the drug sales to Mexico using local money remitters.  The organization also repeatedly threatened violence to uncooperative members.  In one case, agents learned of a plot to abduct and murder a narcotics dealer.  In response, law enforcement quickly mobilized to disrupt the plan.

    After the first phase of the investigation concluded, a Grand Jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against 19 of the conspirators for drug trafficking and money laundering offenses.  During the second phase of the investigation, agents identified additional conspirators including two of the high-level prison brokers, Jesus Sanchez-Morales and Juan Ramirez, who were later indicted by the Grand Jury for drug trafficking offenses.  After Ramirez was brought into federal custody, he used another contraband cell phone to broker drug deals, including the attempted distribution of fentanyl.  The Grand Jury later charged him with this new conduct.  

    Through this multi-year investigation, agents seized over 250 kilograms of methamphetamine, 25 gallons of liquid methamphetamine, more than 12,000 fentanyl pills, kilogram-quantities of fentanyl powder, heroin, and marijuana, and over $450,000 in drug proceeds. 

    The defendants were convicted and sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May:

    • Juan Ramirez was sentenced earlier today to 27 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release .  Ramirez was convicted of ten drug trafficking counts including Conspiracy and Possession with the Intent to Distribute  Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl, after a jury found him guilty of these charges on July 25, 2024.
    • Jesus Sanchez-Morales was sentenced to 27 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Sanchez-Morales was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on June 22, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Martin Maldonado was sentenced to 19 years, seven months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Maldonado was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on April 26, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Benjamin Villareal Perez was sentenced to 19 years, seven months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Perez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on September 17, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Jaime Chavez was sentenced to 17 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Chavez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime on April 30, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Aszavious Anderson was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Anderson was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime on May 28, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Kristofer Ty Armistead was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Armistead was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on June 7, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Mario Castillo was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Castillo was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime on September 25, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Aricus Cantrell Holloway was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Holloway was convicted of Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on April 24, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Cristian Hernandez-Lovo was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Hernandez-Lovo was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime on September 24, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Jesus Antonio Molina-Ortiz was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Molina-Ortiz was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime on August 10, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Jamar Tyrone Zanders was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Zanders was convicted of Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on September 24, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Brandon Richard Duncan was sentenced to 14 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Duncan was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on July 9, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Joseph Dominic Edwards was sentenced to 14 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Edwards was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on August 4, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Rafael Alvarez was sentenced to 13 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Alvarez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on August 13, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Jason Garcia-Lara was sentenced to 13 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Garcia-Lara was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on June 23, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Jordan Duane Bowers was sentenced to 12 years, six months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Bowers was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, and Heroin on May 10, 2022, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Emmanuel De Santos Nieto was sentenced to 12 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. De Santos Nieto was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on September 9, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Salvador Valencia-Zavala was sentenced to 11 years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Valencia-Zavala was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on January 27, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Marvin Gaye Banks was sentenced to 11 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Banks was convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on July 15, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Samantha Fagundes was sentenced to 11 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Fagundes was convicted of Conspiracy and Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl, on January 15, 2020, after she pleaded guilty.
    • Alejandro Vasquez-Lopez was sentenced to 10 years, nine months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Vasquez-Lopez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on May 24, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Shelly Denise Class was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Class was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on October 10, 2019, after she pleaded guilty.
    • Edgar Ochoa Martinez was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Martinez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on July 22, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Allison Nichole Daniel was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Daniel was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on May 27, 2020, after she pleaded guilty.
    • Enrique Rodriguez-Govea was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Rodriguez-Govea was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on May 30, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Taurus Basil Stephens was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Stephens was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on December 16, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Raheem Jamal Morris was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Morris was convicted of Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on June 26, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Lilia Martinez Rodriguez was sentenced to eight years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Martinez Rodriguez was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering on September 21, 2020, after she pleaded guilty.
    • Roberto Rojas was sentenced to eight years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Rojas was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on January 13, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Nicholas Charles Johnson was sentenced to seven years, eight months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Johnson was convicted of Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on July 10, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Leonardo Rosas was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Rosas was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on October 3, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Daniel Gonzalez was sentenced to five years, four months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Gonzalez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on July 11, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Juan Torres Chavez was sentenced to a time-served sentence of approximately four years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Chavez was convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on December 14, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
    • David Chavez-Ortiz was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Chavez-Ortiz was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Fentanyl on October 21, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
    • Antwonette Jarnez Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Thomas was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on January 7, 2021, after she pleaded guilty.
    • Erin Cortez was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Cortez was convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on January 22, 2020, after she pleaded guilty.
    • Joaquin Flores, Jr. was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Flores was convicted of Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on January 19, 2024, after he pleaded guilty. 

    Eusebio Paniagua-Paz remains a fugitive.  If you have any information about his whereabouts, please contact your local law enforcement agency. 

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, Atlanta Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, DeKalb County Police Department, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia State Patrol, and the South Fulton Police Department.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Alison B. Prout, Amy M. Palumbo, Elizabeth M. Hathaway, Sarah Klapman, and Nicholas Evert, together with former Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler Mann, Scott McAfee, and Erin H. Harris, prosecuted the case.

    This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Orleans Parish Man Guilty of Carjacking and Weapons Violations

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on February 4, 2025, RICHARD CARR (“CARR”), age 29, a resident of Orleans Parish, pled guilty in connection with a carjacking and gun violations that occurred on January 12, 2023, in New Orleans.

    Specifically, CARR pled guilty to carjacking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1); brandishing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(ii); and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Court documents revealed that on January 12, 2023, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers were dispatched to Conti Street in response to an armed robbery/carjacking.  The victim said he met CARR that day and drove with him to various areas in the city after which,  CARR produced a firearm and demanded the victim’s cell phone and  car keys for his silver Toyota CHR.  On January 13, 2023, NOPD Officers observed the victim’s stolen silver Toyota CHR, minus the license plate , parked in front of a Franklin Ave gas station.  Police then saw a male sleeping in the front seat with a firearm in on his lap.   NOPD then secured the firearm, a Glock Model 43, nine-millimeter caliber pistol, and arrested CARR.  CARR was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous felony conviction.

    As to the carjacking and felon in possession charges, CARR faces a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and up to 3 years of supervised release. As to the charge for brandishing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, CARR faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years, up to a maximum of life imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to 5 years of supervised release, and a $300 mandatory special assessment fee.  

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Kennedy of the Violent Crime Unit.

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