MACON– A three-day conference instructing educators, law enforcement officers, and first responders on the latest threats facing our schools, and how best to respond, will begin on Tuesday, said Charles “Charlie” Peeler, the United States Attorney for the Middle District, in a joint announcement made today with Homer Bryson, the Director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and Richard Woods, the State School Superintendent of the Georgia Department of Education. The conference will be held on June 25-27, 2019 at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center.

More than 500 educators, school resource officers, state and local law enforcement officers, and emergency responders are expected to receive 16 hours of training during the three-day conference.  The instructors are front-line experts in their field, and will deliver rich commentary on topics including Active Shooter Response, School Bus Safety, Opioid Awareness, and Cyber-Bullying/Sexting.  This is the tenth year of the “Safety in Our Schools” conference.

“It is more important than ever that our teachers and first responders are prepared to act quickly and decisively when there is a threat to the safety of students and staff,” said Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney. “This training allows them to learn from experts and each other about techniques and strategies that reduce the likelihood of school tragedies and increase the effectiveness of those who respond to emergencies at our schools.  We want our schools to be the safest place possible for children to learn and grow, and this important training helps facilitate that goal.”

Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.

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SOUTH BEND - Reginald Blackburn, age 26, of Mishawka, Indiana, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio for Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch. 

Blackburn was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release. 

According to documents in this case, between August and October 2017, Blackburn was part of a group of people who sold heroin in the South Bend and Mishawaka area.  They shared at least one cellphone, which they used to arrange sales of heroin.  Members of the group would pick up pre-packaged baggies of heroin, usually one-half gram, from members of the group and sell the heroin to people who called the shared cellphone.  The price charged for the heroin was set by people who were higher up in the group.  Blackburn was involved between August and October, but others in the group operated before he joined.  Between March and September, 2017, the phone was used for about 66,000 calls and text messages.  

This case was investigated by DEA with assistance from the St. Joseph County Drug Investigations Unit, the local federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, ATF, St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Indiana State Police, South Bend Police and Elkhart Police.  The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Molly Donnelly.

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Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Emerson Gamory pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns for clients, and one count of filing a false income tax return for himself.  When sentenced, Gamory faces a statutory maximum of nine years in prison, as well as forfeiture and a fine.  The plea took place before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Richard E. Zuckerman, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, announced the guilty plea.  Mr. Donoghue and Mr. Zuckerman expressed their grateful appreciation to the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation for their investigative work on the case.

 Gamory owned and operated Emerson Gamory Income Tax Services Inc. (“Gamory Tax”), located in Brooklyn.  For the tax years 2012 to 2016, Gamory prepared tax returns for clients that included inflated or fictitious itemized deductions, such as gifts to charity and unreimbursed employee expenses, as well as tax credits for fabricated education expenses, fraudulently reducing clients’ tax liabilities and increasing their refunds. Gamory also prepared false tax returns for Gamory Tax that did not report all gross receipts and tax returns for himself that underreported net profits. 

As part of his plea agreement with the government, Gamory admitted causing a tax loss to the United States of greater than $550,000.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States John Vagelatos, Tax Division Assistant Chief Jorge Almonte and Tax Division Trial Attorney Christopher P. O’Donnell. 

The Defendant:

EMERSON GAMORY
Age:  53
Canarsie, Brooklyn

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-268 (CBA)

          CONCORD – Robert McLain, 27, of Groveton, New Hampshire, was sentenced on Monday to serve 65 months in prison for participating in a fentanyl drug trafficking conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

          According to court documents and statements made in court, as a result of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that on March 1, 2018, McLain intended to travel from New Hampshire to a location in Lawrence, Massachusetts to purchase 250 grams of a controlled substance.  Agents conducted surveillance in the area of the transaction and observed a known drug trafficker get in the back seat of the car; and after a few minutes, get out again. The vehicle left Massachusetts and agents followed it directly to New Hampshire.

          The agents informed a New Hampshire State Trooper patrolling Interstate Route 93 about their surveillance observations.   The trooper stopped the vehicle for traffic violations and identified the driver and McLain as the passenger.  McLain subsequently admitted to purchasing one gram of fentanyl, which he claimed he swallowed.   The owner of the vehicle consented to a search of her car and signed a consent to search form.  The troopers found a hidden compartment in the vehicle that contained approximately 240 grams of fentanyl.  McLain admitted that he purchased fentanyl in Lawrence and resold the fentanyl in New Hampshire.  Over the course of the investigation, McLain ordered approximately 560 grams of fentanyl.  McLain also admitted that he traded fentanyl in exchange for a firearm.

          McLain directed officers to approximately $11,000 of admitted drug proceeds, and firearms. Officers seized four handguns, a rifle, and ammunition from McLain’s residence.  They also seized soda cans that were manufactured with a hidden compartment to conceal narcotics.  The cash, firearms, and ammunition were forfeited to the United States.

           McLain previously pleaded guilty on October 1, 2018.

          “Interstate fentanyl trafficking is causing tremendous damage to communities throughout New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “In order to protect public safety, we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate those who are responsible for bringing this deadly drug into the Granite State.”

          “Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Today’s sentence not only holds Mr. McLain accountable for his crimes but serves as a warning to those traffickers who are fueling the opioid epidemic in the Granite State.”

          The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service; Immigration and

          Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill (MA) Police Department; the Methuen (MA) Police Department; the Lowell (MA) Police Department; and the Maine State Police.

          The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky, Seth R. Aframe and Debra M. Walsh.

          This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.       

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DENVER – Jessica Sharman, age 35, of Arapahoe County, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to Tampering with a Consumer Product, specifically stealing fentanyl meant for patients from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Parker Adventist Hospital in Douglas County, announced U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, DEA Denver Division Special Agent in Charge William McDermott and Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OIG) Special Agent in Charge Charles Grinstead.  Sharman appeared at the hearing free on bond.  She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on September 24.  Sharman was first charged by Information on May 29, 2019. 

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, Sharman worked as a nurse for various employers until she began working in the Intensive Care Unit at Parker Adventist Hospital in January 2018.  Soon after she started work at Parker Adventist, the defendant used an automated narcotic medication dispensing device known as a Pyxis machine.  It dispensed multiple narcotic drugs, including fentanyl.  Only authorized users, including nurses, are allowed to use the machine.  Access was obtained by using the authorized user’s fingerprint. 

On April 20, 2018, a routine audit report of access to and utilization of controlled substances from the Pyxis machine flagged Sharman’s access as “red” for high fentanyl use and waste (the disposal of excess fentanyl following physician-ordered patient administration) for the month of March 2018.  The audit for the month of February 2018 flagged Sharman’s access as “yellow,” also for high fentanyl usage.  A review of the Pyxis access records showed a high number of “remove-cancel” transactions, indicating that the defendant had accessed controlled substances from a Pyxis machine but then “cancelled” the transaction, returning the drug to the locked machine. 

On April 25, 2018, after substantiating the tampering concerns flagged by the audit, Parker Adventist removed all fentanyl from the ICU.  On April 26, 2018, Parker Adventist employees interviewed Sharman.  Based in part on that interview, it was determined that the defendant was stealing fentanyl from the hospital.  She allegedly withdrew the drug from fentanyl cassettes using a sterile syringe and saline flushes.  She sometimes replaced the fentanyl she stole with saline, injecting the saline back into the fentanyl cassette and returning the cassette to the Pyxis machine.  Following her interview, Sharman tested positive for the use of fentanyl.  The hospital terminated Sharman’s employment on April 26, 2018. 

Tampering with a consumer product is a felony offense, punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the FDA OCI and the DEA. The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Edgar. 

Fayetteville, Arkansas – Former Arkansas State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker to accepting multiple bribes and tax fraud in connection with a multi-district investigation spanning the Western and Eastern Districts of Arkansas and the Western District of Missouri.

U.S. Attorney Duane (DAK) Kees for the Western District of Arkansas, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland for the Eastern District of Arkansas and U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Garrison for the Western District of Missouri, made the announcement.

Hutchinson, 45, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously a state senator and representative prior to resigning after he was charged in the Eastern District of Arkansas to a 12-count federal grand jury indictment with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns. The indictment alleges that from 2010 through 2017, Hutchinson stole and misappropriated thousands of dollars in state campaign contributions for his own personal use and then filed false federal income tax returns from 2011 to 2014 to conceal his conduct.  Hutchinson was also previously charged, in a 32-count federal grand jury indictment, in the Western District of Missouri, for his role in a multi-million-dollar public corruption scheme that involved embezzlement, bribes and illegal campaign contributions for elected public officials. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Hutchinson agreed to plead guilty to Count 1 of the Western District of Missouri superseding indictment, charging him with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery; Count 9 of the Eastern District of Arkansas indictment, charging him with filing a false tax return; and to an information filed in the Western District of Arkansas, charging him with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.

As part of his plea, Hutchinson admitted that he was hired by an unidentified individual as outside counsel, and in exchange for payments and legal work, Hutchinson pushed legislation beneficial to that individual. Hutchinson admitted that he was provided legal work to conceal the corrupt nature of his arrangement and that he would have never been hired if not for his position as an elected official. Hutchinson further admitted as part of his plea that in 2011, he stole over $10,000 in state campaign funds for his own personal use and also falsified his 2011 tax returns, including failing to report $20,000-per-month-payments he received from one law firm and other sources of income he knowingly and intentionally concealed from his taxes.

Count 1 of the Western District of Missouri superseding indictment, which Hutchinson, pursuant to his plea agreement, is expected to plead guilty to after today’s hearing before Judge Baker, alleges that Hutchinson and other elected officials accepted bribes in the form of monthly legal retainers and other things of value, from employees and executives of Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. (formerly known as Alternative Opportunities Inc.), a Springfield, Missouri-based, healthcare charity. In exchange for the bribes, Hutchinson and other elected officials allegedly provided favorable legislative and official action for the charity, including directing funds from Arkansas’s General Improvement Fund (GIF).

“As I have indicated previously, the investigation into the rampant pay to play corruption scheme present in our state capitol is ongoing,’ said the United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Duane DAK Kees, “This plea represents a serious watershed in exposing this use of sham retainers and consulting arrangements to influence the passage of law.  The previous pleas and convictions uncovered the use of these arrangements in the distribution of GIF funds, youth lock-up facilities, and Medicaid expansion, but this revelation makes clear that it affected far more than that.  The unprecedented cooperation between the two districts of the State of Arkansas, the Western District of Missouri, and the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice has brought the necessary resources to bear to bring this troubling conduct into deserving public scrutiny.”

The multi-district investigation was conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the Offices of the Inspectors General from the Departments of Justice, Labor, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Marco A. Palmieri and Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Mazzanti and Patrick Harris from the Eastern District of Arkansas; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Wulff and Aaron Jennen of the Western District of Arkansas; and Steven M. Mohlhenrich of the Western District of Missouri.

Fort Smith, Arkansas - Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Joseph Shelby, age 33, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 77 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for one count of Knowingly Possessing a Firearm After a Felony Conviction. The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court records, in July 2018, Shelby was observed driving a white Tahoe erratically in Booneville, Arkansas by Arkansas State Police. The trooper followed the vehicle to initiate a traffic stop. Shelby sped up and fled from the trooper. Shortly thereafter, Shelby lost control of the vehicle, and crashed into a ditch. Shelby attempted to flee on foot, but was apprehended. A search of the vehicle yielded a Taurus, model PT738, .380 caliber pistol, with serial number obliterated, tucked between the driver’s seat, and the center console. Shelby had two prior felony convictions for Robbery and Theft of Property.

Shelby was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2018, and entered a guilty plea in February 2019.

This case was investigated by the Arkansas State Police, Booneville Police Department, Logan County Drug Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Fire, Tobacco, and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case for the United States.

 This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

Fort Smith, Arkansas - Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Krisa Dawn Durham, age 42, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

According to court records, investigators with the DEA Task Force and the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Department learned that Durham had an outstanding warrant for absconding from parole and that she was possibly staying at a Fort Smith motel. Based on this information, investigators set up surveillance at the motel and arrested Durham after finding methamphetamine and scales inside the hotel room where she was staying.  Durham admitted to law enforcement officers that the methamphetamine and scales were hers. The DEA laboratory confirmed Durham had approximately 41 grams of actual methamphetamine. 

Durham was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2018.  She entered a guilty plea to Count One of the Indictment in February 2019.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Fort Smith Police Department, Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office and the 12^th/21^st Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Kyra Jenner prosecuted the case for the United States.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Fentanyl dealer Dennis Darnell Sturdivant, 39, of Charlotte, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler today, and pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Sturdivant, a designated Career Offender, is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to filed plea documents and today’s plea hearing, in 2015, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) learned that Sturdivant was selling heroin and Fentanyl in the greater Charlotte area.  Court records show that between 2015 and up until he was arrested in October 2018, Sturdivant made multiple Fentanyl drug sales, and sold approximately forty-seven (47) grams of Fentanyl.  According to today’s plea hearing and admissions he made in court, Sturdivant was on supervised release for a previous federal drug conviction when he was arrested on the new charges.  As part of the plea agreement, Sturdivant also forfeited over $88,000 in drug proceeds, found inside his residence.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Clandestinely-produced Fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually do not know that they are purchasing Fentanyl, often resulting in overdose deaths. Additional information including a Fentanyl fact sheet can be found here.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray Announces the Western District’s Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Enforcement (H.O.P.E.) Task Force

Today, U.S. Attorney Murray announced the formation of the Western District’s Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Enforcement (H.O.P.E.) Task Force.  This multi-agency team of experienced federal and state investigators located in the Western District of North Carolina will work with federal criminal prosecutors and attorneys to identify abusive practices by participants in the opioid pharmaceutical supply chain, and prosecute drug trafficking networks that distribute lethal heroin and opioids into our communities.  The H.O.P.E. Task Force brings together multiple federal and state agencies to bring the full force of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement efforts against doctors, pharmacies, pill mills, and other participants in irresponsible and reckless distribution of opioids in the Western District.

The Task Force will focus on coordinating investigations, information sharing, identifying trends throughout the region, investigating whistleblower complaints, and the creation of cross-agency investigative teams so each agency task force member can bring its area of expertise on investigations.  

The Task Force builds upon existing partnerships between the agencies, and its work reflects a heightened effort to reduce heroin and opioid abuse, to increase prevention through outreach efforts, and to educate the public about the dangers of counterfeit drugs, heroin abuse and opioid addiction.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division, and the North Carolina Department of Insurance, among others, which are members of the H.O.P.E. Task Force.

“The mission of the H.O.P.E. Task Force is to save lives,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Heroin and opioid abuse are a real public health crisis that threatens the stability of our communities. We must act now. I want to thank all partner agencies on the task force for contributing their unique expertise and resources in our fight against this epidemic, and for their unwavering commitment to protecting our communities from the devastation of heroin and opioid abuse and addiction.”

U.S. Attorney Murray also thanked CMPD for handling the investigation into Sturdivant, with the assistance of the DEA. Assistant United States Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of Sturdivant’s prosecution.

           WASHINGTON – Thelmiah Lee, 68, of Southeast Washington, D.C., pled guilty last week to charges stemming from his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

           Lee pled guilty, mid-trial, on June 18, 2019, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two felony counts of first degree identity theft, and admitted to his conduct in fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia over a four-year period.

           As part of his plea, Lee agreed to a term of incarceration between 42 and 96 months and agreed to return more than $16,000 in cash that law enforcement seized at the time of his arrest. The cash will be delivered to his victims as partial compensation for their losses.

           According to the government’s evidence, beginning in 2012 and continuing until his arrest in July 2016, Lee stole the identities of two victims: his own brother, and another man.  Lee used those identities and his victims’ personal identifying information to fraudulently submit and obtain nearly $25,000 in unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia. Lee took steps to mask his identity as the actual recipient of those funds, and he received the benefits on debit cards—which he used at various businesses. Over the course of a multi-year investigation, detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department, agents from the D.C. Office of Inspector General, and claims examiners from the D.C. Department of Employment Services worked together to interview victims, identify Lee, and gather evidence of his identity thefts—as well as his submission, receipt, and use of the unemployment benefits. On July 22, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lee’s residence, which he had fraudulently rented using the name of his brother. During the search, law enforcement recovered more than $16,000 in cash, along with multiple licenses, tax documents, and other confidential materials belonging to Lee’s victims. 

           On June 17, 2019, the trial for this case began in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. The following day, after opening statements and the testimony of multiple victims, Lee entered a negotiated guilty plea to two felony counts. The Court ordered that Lee be detained pending sentencing, scheduled for September 13, 2019.    

           In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, Office of Inspector General, and D.C. Department of Employment Services detectives, agents, and claims examiners who investigated the case. U.S. Attorney Liu also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney William Schurmann, who investigated and tried the case, as well as Paralegal Rommel Pachoca, Legal Assistant Emma Atlas, and Litigation Technology personnel Paul Howell and Leif Hickling.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Wood County man who operated a pawn shop in Mineral Wells pled guilty to a federal gun charge, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  Alonzo Clark Nichols, 38, entered a guilty plea to possession of an unregistered machine gun.  Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force (PNTF) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).  

“This is an egregious case,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Firearms dealers are held to a common standard of complying with federal laws. In the wrong hands, the modified firearm could’ve been the instrument of the next terrible disaster. We will not tolerate such disregard for laws that are intended to protect law enforcement and the public.”

In January 2019, Nichols was a federally licensed firearms dealer operating 5 Star Pawn on Elizabeth Pike in Mineral Wells.  On January 4, 2019, Nichols gave a police officer a gun part called an auto sear designed to convert a pistol from semiautomatic to fully automatic.  On January 8, 2019, Nichols sold another auto sear to the officer.  On January 11, 2019, PNTF and ATF agents executed a search warrant at 5 Star Pawn where they seized additional auto sears and several rounds of 25mm high explosive incendiary tracers used by the United States military.  Auto sears meet the definition of machinegun under federal law.  Consequently, it is unlawful to possess an auto sear unless it has been registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.  Despite having a federal firearms license, Nichols did not have authority to possess or sell machineguns, machinegun parts, or other National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons.  He faces up to ten years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 25, 2019.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks is handling the prosecution.  Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the plea hearing. 

This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that Jeffrey Alan Kummer, 30, of Summersville, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possessing two sawed-off firearms.  Stuart commended the efforts of the Summersville Police Department, the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). 

“In order to protect our Second Amendment rights, we must strictly enforce federal firearms laws,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.   “Gun owners need to be responsible and follow the letter and spirit of our gun laws.”

On March 24, 2018, a Summersville Police Officer and a Nicholas County Deputy Sheriff responded to a domestic violence complaint at Kummer’s Hughart Lane residence in Summersville.  Kummer was also wanted on a capias issued by the Kanawha County Circuit Court.  The officers entered the residence and encountered Kummer in the bedroom with two sawed-off firearms, a .20 gauge shotgun and a .22 caliber rifle.  The shotgun had been reported stolen from a federally licensed firearms dealer in January 2018.  Kummer told police that the shotgun had been sawed-off prior to his having purchased it several months earlier.  He admitted cutting the .22 rifle himself.  Short barreled rifles and shotguns are illegal to possess unless they are registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer record.  Neither firearm had been registered.  Kummer pled guilty in March 2019.   

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks handled the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNewsand @USAttyStuart 
 

 
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –   Two Detroit men were sentenced to federal prison for heroin trafficking crimes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.

“Far too many Detroit drug dealers have come to Huntington to peddle their poisons,” said United States Mike Stuart.  “Since the very first day I became United States Attorney, I pledged my support to fighting the onslaught of out-of-state drug dealers causing death and destruction in the City of Huntington.  We are working tirelessly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute and imprison those that prey on the citizens of Huntington and surrounding area.”

Rudolph Donnell Willis, 45, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, having previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin.  Between March and June of 2015, Willis received heroin which he delivered on multiple occasions to a residence located at 1751 Buffington Avenue in Huntington.  Willis provided the heroin to the occupants of the residence and the occupants would in turn distribute the heroin to various customers.  Willis later collected money from the heroin sales at the residence.  Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence on June 29, 2015.  Just prior to execution of the warrant, officers observed Willis enter the residence.  During the search, Willis and other individuals in the residence were arrested and officers seized heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine. 

Charles Deshawn Lockhart, 27, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, having previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.  Between November of 2014 and May of 2016, Lockhart and others sold heroin in Huntington after it was transported from Detroit.  During his participation, Lockhart received quantities of heroin from other individuals which he would sell to various customers.  After distributing the heroin, Lockhart would return the proceeds to other individuals.  Lockhart admitted that on, November 14, 2014, he possessed approximately 10 grams of heroin in Huntington which he intended to sell.  Lockhart also admitted that he sold heroin on multiple occasions during the investigation to confidential informants.  As part of his plea agreement, Lockhart admitted that he was responsible for the distribution of up to 400 grams of heroin during his involvement in the conspiracy.    

Both of the investigations were conducted by the FBI Drug Task Force and the Huntington Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecutions.  United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentences.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.), a focused enforcement effort that seeks to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas. 

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Gulfport, Miss. – Aldo German Arechiga-Gutierrez, a 45 year-old citizen of Mexico, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 18 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for unlawful reentry by an alien who was previously deported  after a conviction for an aggravated felony, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Gregory A. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.  

In 2002, Arechiga-Gutierrez was convicted in California for conspiracy to possess and sell methamphetamine.  As a drug trafficking crime, the conviction qualified as an aggravated felony.  Arechiga-Gutierrez was ordered removed from the United States to Mexico after serving his prison sentence.   He then unlawfully returned to the United States and, in 2012, was convicted in the Southern District of Mississippi for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.  After completing his prison sentence on that charge, Arechiga-Gutierrezwas again removed from the United States to Mexico in 2014.

The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office in Gulfport received information that Arechiga-Gutierrez had returned again to the United States.  HSI research and surveillance located Arechiga-Gutierrez residing in the Picayune area and illegally employed in the southeastern Louisiana area.  Arechiga-Gutierrez was positively identified and arrested.  He later admitted to being a citizen of Mexico, and to voluntarily entering and being in the U.S. unlawfully.  Arechiga-Gutierrez pled guilty before Judge Ozerden on March 22, 2019.

U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the work of the City of Picayune Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol.  Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case. 

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man who used an elderly person’s identity to steal nearly $30,000, was sentenced yesterday to three years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.

Dennis William Moncrief, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan to three years and one day in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Judge Mahan also ordered Moncrief to pay restitution in the amount of $28,034.83.

In August 2017, Moncrief was serving a term of supervised release imposed after his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Based on Moncrief’s admission that he violated the terms of his release, U.S. District Court Judge Andre P. Gordon revoked Moncrief’s release, imposed a 13-month sentence, and ordered Moncrief to self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons at a later date to serve that sentence.

According to his plea agreement in this case, prior to his self-surrender date, in October 2017, Moncrief stole the identity of a 79-year old victim to fraudulently obtain credit cards in her name and used those cards to cause more than $28,000 in loss. When it came time for Moncrief to serve his revocation sentence as ordered by Judge Gordon, he intentionally failed to surrender to federal authorities.

In February 2019, Moncrief pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of failure to surrender for service of sentence.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez prosecuted the case.

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Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Michael Rickett, 23, of Saco, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release for selling an unregistered destructive device. Rickett pled guilty to the charge on February 21, 2019.

According to the government’s evidence, on July 10, 2017, concerned citizens reported to the Saco Police Department that Rickett asked them to purchase an explosive device.  The next day, a federal agent, acting in an undercover capacity, called Rickett.  Rickett offered to sell a “military grade IED” to the agent for $350.  Two days later, the agent purchased a homemade explosive device from Rickett.  A forensic laboratory examination confirmed that the device was an explosive bomb.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; and the Portland and Saco Police Departments. 

BOSTON – A Randolph man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for distributing fentanyl. 

Giovany Fouyolle, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 75 months in prison, four years of supervised release, during which time Fouyolle is prohibited from being in contact with gang members and associates, and ordered to pay forfeiture of $10,500.  In March 2019, Fouyolle pleaded guilty to distribution of more than 40 grams of fentanyl.

This case was part of Operation Cut the Kings. During the investigation, an undercover federal agent purchased fentanyl from Fouyolle in Stoughton in July 2018. The investigation revealed that Fouyolle was a founder and leader of the No Fear Ones street gang in Randolph. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Randolph Police Chief William Pace; Stoughton Police Chief Donna M. McNamara; and Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy E.  Moran of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Kaylen Miller, 22, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara to being a user of a controlled substance in possession of firearm and ammunition. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who is handling the case, stated that on September 25, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at 45 Easton Avenue in Buffalo, which was where the defendant resided with his mother. As investigators and officers prepared to execute the search warrant, officers observed a window open and an object was thrown from the rear upper window as the search team made entry. The object thrown from the window was identified as a loaded .357 caliber revolver. Miller, who is wheel-chair bound, was inside the living room, which was a room that led to the bedroom from which the firearm was thrown out of the window. DNA consistent with the defendant Miller was located on the revolver.

During the execution of the search warrant, investigators also recovered quantity of marijuana, $411 cash, a large number of empty glass vials, 17 cellular telephones, and four scales.

Kaylen Miller has a prior arrest for marijuana possession on August 12, 2013, in Amherst, NY. In addition, on December 19, 2018, during a post-arrest interview with investigators, the defendant was asked about the marijuana recovered on September 25, 2018, during the execution of the search warrant at 45 Easton Avenue. Miller admitted that he was and is an unlawful user of marijuana. 

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division. 

Sentencing is scheduled for October 17, 2019, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.

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BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

Luis Marcial Peguero-Espinal, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 57 months in prison and will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. In March 2019, Peguero-Espinal pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien.

On May 23, 2018, law enforcement officers encountered Peguero-Espinal and determined him to be unlawfully present in the United States. Peguero-Espinal was previously deported on June 16, 2011, and Sept. 19, 2017.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Charles D. Marcos , Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.