Eastern District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Jefferson County Man Admits Sextortion of Arkansas TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Jefferson County, Missouri on Wednesday admitted requesting and receiving child sexual abuse material from a teen and then forcing her to produce more.
David Paeper, 20, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted meeting a 15-year-old girl on Instagram and requesting and receiving sexually explicit images of her. When she later refused his request for more images, he threatened to send the initial explicit images to her mother unless she produced more.
The Rogers (Arkansas) Police Department traced Paeper’s Instagram account and the St. Louis County Police Department found and interviewed Paeper. They also found images of the teen on Paeper’s phone.
Paeper is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. The charge is punishable by five to 20 years in prison.
The Rogers (Arkansas) Police Department and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Franklin County Man Caught with over One-Half Pound of Meth Sentenced to 140 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Wednesday sentenced a man caught with more than one-half pound of methamphetamine to 140 months in prison.
Nathan Hollis Price, 49, was caught on May 20, 2024, after investigators with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office learned that he was bringing the meth from St. Charles to the motel in Sullivan where he was staying. They conducted a traffic stop and found three bags containing a total of 245.9 grams of pure meth. They found two scales and a glass pipe in his motel room.
The amount of meth was “clearly an amount that he intended to distribute further,” a sentencing memo written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rebar says.
Price pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rebar is prosecuting the case.
Former Missouri Pastor Convicted of All Charges Related to Pandemic, Auto, Personal Loan FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Wednesday convicted the former visiting pastor of a Missouri church of all 20 of the counts that he faced related to his orchestration of a $1.2 million pandemic loan fraud scheme as well as a more than $600,000 auto and personal loan fraud scheme.
After jurors deliberated for about an hour, they found Kenneth C. Sparks III, 56, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and 10 counts of money laundering.
The trial started Monday. Evidence and testimony showed that Sparks was invited to Faith Walk Ministry in Paris, Missouri, to preach for three days. He stayed three years, all the while using the church, its employees and parishioners to launch a “full-time fraud operation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman told jurors in closing arguments. Sparks claimed to be a prophet and an apostle of God, whose word could not be questioned. “Kenneth Sparks impersonated God himself in order to steal millions of dollars in public funds during the worst days of the pandemic,” Wiseman said.
Sparks first fraudulently obtained an Economic Injury Disaster Loan for himself shortly after the pandemic hit. He then “exploited the faith of his congregation” by asking and receiving for parishioners’ personal and bank account information and using that to apply for additional loans, Wiseman said. He also directed them to open accounts at a credit union to receive the money and had them sign blank checks. Sparks told parishioners and church employees that he would use the information to fix their credit and/or obtain grants to build a megachurch, evidence and testimony showed. About 40 fraudulent EIDL and Paycheck Protection Program loans would eventually be obtained.
In testimony Wednesday, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Aaron Joifrita said $1.2 million in pandemic loans were obtained in the name of parishioners and church employees. Loan applications contained numerous falsehoods. The applications were filled out by church employees, with the help of two other Sparks’ co-conspirators from outside the church who supplied false tax and employment documents. Parishioners were also supplied with “scripts” in case they were questioned by bank officials about the loans. Just over $1 million went to Sparks, who wrote $313,000 in checks to himself and obtained $172,000 via cash withdrawals or advances in addition to spending $168,000 at luxury retailers, $127,000 on real estate and $47,000 on jewelry, including a diamond-studded Rolex watch, evidence showed.
Sparks also used many of the same methods to direct a scheme that took out $685,000 in personal and auto loans in his name and the names of others.
Sparks is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. Ten other defendants have either pleaded guilty or accepted responsibility in the case.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek Wiseman and Karin Schute are prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Brentwood Felon Admits Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon on Wednesday admitted possessing a firearm that was first brought to authorities’ attention during a domestic disturbance.
Matthew Orasco, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Aug. 17, 2025, Brentwood Police Department officers responded to reports of a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival at Orasco’s home, they saw that his girlfriend had bruises under her eyes, a cut lip that had been stitched up, swelling on the side of her head and a red eye. She said that Orasco had assaulted her. Officers then learned that Orasco, a convicted felon, was keeping a handgun at a neighbor’s house. Officers found the .357 Magnum revolver and ammunition and learned that Orasco would ask for the pistol and then return it to the neighbor for safekeeping.
Orasco is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. The charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
The Brentwood Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
St. Louis Bar Co-Owner Admits FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The co-owner of a St. Louis bar on Monday admitted obtaining a credit card in the name of one of his co-owners and using it to charge nearly $30,000.
Anthony Saputo, 44, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of engaging in illegal transactions with an access device. Saputo admitted that on Sept. 9, 2021, while another of the bar’s co-owners was out of the country, he applied for and obtained an American Express card by using her name and Social Security number without her knowledge or authorization. In the next two months, Saputo charged nearly $30,000 on the card, including a $3,000 cash advance that he used to pay his rent and car loan. Some of the charges were also business expenses related to the opening of the bar. Saputo failed to pay the balance, incurring significant penalties and interest.
Saputo, of St. Louis County, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. As part of his plea agreement, he has agreed to release any ownership interest in the LLC that owns the bar. He will also be ordered to pay restitution.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll is prosecuting the case.
Sex Offender Caught in State Park with Children Admits Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A sex offender on Thursday admitted being caught with two children in a Missouri state park, triggering an investigation that uncovered child sexual abuse material.
Michael E. Barton, 46, of Washington County, admitted in his plea agreement that on Nov. 12, 2023, he was spotted by a Missouri State Park Ranger in Elephant Rocks State Park. The ranger ran Barton’s license plate and learned that he was a sex offender who, by law, is not allowed within 500 feet of a park with a playground. The ranger conducted a traffic stop and spotted two boys, ages 8 and 12, in the car who are not related to Barton. Barton provided the passcode to one of his cellphones, leading the ranger to discover a YouTube account that Barton had not registered and photos of the older boy shirtless.
The ranger also found photos of a second phone that included SnapChat conversations with the older boy that included adult pornography. When confronted with the ranger’s findings, Barton ran for his vehicle and grabbed the older boy’s arm but was shocked with a Taser and handcuffed. The ranger found and searched Barton’s second phone, with his consent, and uncovered photos and videos of the older boy, including videos taken with a camera Barton had hidden in his home.
Barton pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of failure to update the sex offender registry.
Barton is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18. The possession charge is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison and the failure to register charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The Missouri State Park Rangers and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Poplar Bluff Woman Caught with Gun, Meth Sentenced to 40 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A convicted felon from Poplar Bluff, Missouri who was caught with a gun after selling methamphetamine to investigators was sentenced Wednesday to 40 months in prison.
On Dec. 3, 2025, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department conducted a court-approved search of the home of Dorothy Mae Neeley. Neeley had recently sold a small amount of meth to someone working with the Task Force. She was arrested on an unrelated warrant and turned over about 5 grams of a mixture containing meth, according to her plea agreement. She also told investigators that she had a firearm in her bedroom, and they found a disassembled sawed-off shotgun. Neeley is a convicted felon, having been imprisoned four times, and is thus barred from possessing a firearm.
Neeley, 50, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in May to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.
Fast Food Employee Admits Shooting at Customer During St. Louis DisputeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon on Wednesday admitted exchanging gunfire with a customer of the St. Louis fast food restaurant where he worked.
Tony Robinson, 28, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Dec. 17, 2025, he got into an argument with a customer of the fast-food restaurant where he was working. After a manager intervened, Robinson walked away from the drive-thru window and put his headset on the counter. The customer was standing outside, looking through the window of the dining room. Robinson then walked outside with a hand in his pocket. The customer backed up and opened fire. Robinson pulled a gun from his pocket and returned fire. Both men continued shooting as they fled. The customer ran away and Robinson went back inside before firing through the window of the restaurant’s dining room.
Robinson ran from the restaurant into a nearby church and hid his gun in a stairwell. When St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers found Robinson, he initially lied and said he threw his gun into a sewer. Officers found his gun, a .45-caliber Glock pistol. Police interviewed the customer, who also said he was acting in self-defense. Officers found four .45-caliber cartridge casings and nine 9mm casings. There were bullet holes in the windshield and hood of the customer’s car and in the restaurant window.
Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
Georgia Felon Accused of Possessing Guns, 53 Kilos of Cocaine in St. Louis CountyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from Georgia has been arrested and accused of possessing about 53 kilograms of cocaine and two firearms.
Chad E. “J-Bo” Brown, 54, was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on August 14 with one count of possession with the intent to distribute more than 10 kilograms of cocaine. He appeared in court Monday.
The complaint and affidavit say that the day before Brown’s arrest, the Drug Enforcement Administration learned of a cocaine shipment that had arrived in St. Louis and suspected that Brown was using a St. Louis County home as a drug stash house. Agents conducted a court-approved search of the home on August 14 and found about 49 kilos of cocaine in duffel bags in a bedroom closet and four more kilos in the kitchen, the affidavit says. Two guns were found in a bedroom.
A charge set forth in a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and does not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and was initiated by the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Delworth is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Appears in Court on Fatal 2024 CarjackingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis, Missouri man appeared in court Thursday to answer charges accusing him of a fatal 2024 carjacking.
Terry Thomas, 21, was indicted on July 16, 2025, with one count of carjacking resulting in death, one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of causing death through the use of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday.
The indictment accuses Thomas of stealing a Kia Stinger on May 6, 2024, in Jennings, Missouri, resulting in a man’s death.
A motion seeking to have Thomas held in jail until trial says the victim was shot five times. The stolen Stinger was found abandoned by Creve Coeur at 2:46 a.m., about six hours after the carjacking. Thomas was arrested by police on June 20, 2024.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
Man Admits Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material When a Minor, Distributing as AdultRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Wayne County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted distributing child sexual abuse material that he produced as a minor.
Tanner Stevens, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted viewing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) beginning when he was 13 or 14. Stevens took pictures of two minors when he was a minor and uploaded them to X when he was 21. The investigation began when the Missouri State Highway Patrol Special Victims Unit received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding someone who uploaded CSAM into Google Photos. Investigators traced the account to Stevens. Stevens’ cellular phone contained over 100 videos and over 400 images containing CSAM.
Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17. The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Illinois Man Sentenced to 154 Months in Prison for Carjacking, Shooting in St. LouisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Venice, Illinois was sentenced Tuesday to 154 months in prison for the armed robbery and carjacking of one man in St. Louis in 2024 and for shooting at another man an hour later.
On Sept. 4, 2024, Harry Moore, 21, was driving a Cadillac that had been stolen in Belleville, Illinois, and was accompanied by two other armed people, including a juvenile. They spotted an SUV in the Tower Grove East neighborhood in St. Louis and decided to rob the driver. Moore’s two passengers got out and demanded the victim’s wallet, iPhone and keys. Then Moore, who was also armed, got out and demanded that the victim unlock his phone and provide his debit card PIN so that the three could loot his accounts. Moore then drove to a gas station, followed by his accomplices, and used the victim’s debit card to withdraw more than $200 from an ATM. He used the victim’s phone to transfer $200 from the victim to an associate via Cash App.
About an hour later, Moore was in the front passenger seat of the stolen SUV when he spotted someone from a rival group walking near Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis. Moore opened fire with a .45-caliber handgun as his target fled into a parking garage. Later that day, investigators found the juvenile and the SUV in East St. Louis.
On Oct. 10, 2024, Moore was arrested inside a home in Cahokia Heights, Illinois. Investigators found three firearms there, including the Glock used in the shooting.
Moore’s conduct risked the lives of his victims and anyone near the shooting, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin said in court Tuesday. The carjacking and shooting followed a “staggering amount of crimes” that began at a young age, Martin said, adding that Moore was one of a small subset of individuals responsible for a large amount of violent crime.
Moore, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in April to one felony count of carjacking and one felony count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI and the St. Clair County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Pair Accused of Shooting at St. Louis Police, ATFRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two men have been accused of shooting at St. Louis Metropolitan police officers and ATF agents last month.
Justin R. Price, 19, and Alexavier Bishop, 19, both of Florissant, were charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday with aiding and abetting the assault of federal agents and aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Price appeared in court Friday. Bishop is in custody.
The officers and agents were conducting a traffic stop at Oriole and Thekla Avenues in St. Louis on July 28 when just after 9 p.m. a Ford Fusion stopped about one block away and someone fired 12 shots with an automatic weapon. Police pursued the Fusion, which was abandoned in the 1500 block of Sells Avenue. An affidavit filed in support of the complaint says that Bishop, Price and one other person were in the Fusion but escaped, the affidavit says.
About 90 minutes before the shooting, Price and Bishop were spotted pulling on the door handles of parked vehicles in the 1700 block of McLaran Avenue, about one mile away, and appeared to be armed, the affidavit says.
“It is a miracle that the police officers, ATF agents and bystanders were not wounded in this incident,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “You can be assured that we are treating this assault with the utmost seriousness. We are grateful for the hard work of investigators and the assistance of the public, and we hope that the public will continue to help us in this ongoing investigation.”
“The fact that no one was struck by the 12 rounds fired at St. Louis police officers and ATF agents that night was extraordinarily fortunate, but it does not diminish the seriousness of this alleged attack,” said ATF Kansas City Field Division Special Agent in Charge Bernard Hansen. “This case reflects the determined work of state, local and federal partners, along with community members who came forward to help. We are especially grateful for SLMPD’s investigative work and for the diligence of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in reviewing the evidence and securing these charges as the investigation continues.”
“An attack on law enforcement is an attack on the people working every day to keep our neighborhoods safe. These arrests demonstrate what is possible when local, state and federal law enforcement work together, supported by a community willing to come forward and help, with a shared commitment to accountability,” said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Tracy. “I am grateful to the many law enforcement partners involved in this investigation, along with our nationally recognized SLMPD Crime Laboratory, for working relentlessly to identify those allegedly responsible and move this case forward.”
Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Alton Police Department and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office were involved in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Setting Fires at St. Louis County HotelRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A Florissant man on Monday admitted setting fires in a hotel near Ferguson, Missouri in 2025.
Brandon Dallas Smith, 40, admitted purchasing a cup of gasoline from a convenience store at 2:26 a.m. on March 26, 2025, and then using that gas to ignite several fires at the hotel. Two of the fires were ignited outside of hotel room doors. Hotel guests put out the fires before the fire department arrived, but the hotel was damaged.
Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of use of a facility of interstate commerce with intent to commit a crime of violence in furtherance of arson.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Squad investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.
Illinois Man Accused of Sex Trafficking of Woman Who Later Fatally OverdosedRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Sparta, Illinois has been accused of promoting and facilitating the prostitution of a woman found dead of an overdose in 2025.
Jared Anders, 30, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on July 22 on three felonies: sex trafficking, use of interstate commerce with intent to distribute prostitution and use of interstate facilities to promote prostitution. He appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment alleges that Anders benefited financially from the prostitution of the victim between Feb. 1, 2025, and May 22, 2025.
A motion seeking to have Anders held in jail until trial says that the investigation began on May 22, 2025, when the victim was found dead of an overdose in a hotel in Edmundson, Missouri, near St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The victim’s picture had been posted on multiple online prostitution sites, the motion says, and she and Anders had been communicating about her prostitution activities and the drugs that she said she needed to keep working as a prostitute.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Edmundson Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Former Missouri Police Officer Admits Sexually Abusing 18 DetaineesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former North County Police Cooperative officer on Monday admitted sexually assaulting 18 men after detaining or arresting them.
Marcellis Blackwell, 36, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to 18 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to bodily integrity. All of the counts involved abusive sexual contact and fifteen involved the kidnapping of the victims.
As part of his plea agreement, Blackwell admitted that between Nov. 8, 2022, and June 5, 2023, while working as an officer with the North County Police Cooperative, Blackwell sexually assaulted 18 men. The assaults typically followed traffic stops or arrests. In one case, Blackwell detained two men after a traffic accident, groping one in the back seat of his police vehicle before taking his other victim to a remote location. Sixteen of his victims were handcuffed at the time. Fifteen were taken to a remote location, including a high school and the back parking lot of Blackwell’s department, after he deactivated his body-worn camera. On 13 occasions Blackwell falsified reports by claiming that his body-worn camera had been active during his entire interaction with the arrestees.
The investigation began on June 4, 2023, when one of Blackwell’s victims from the previous day contacted the North County Police Cooperative. As more victims came forward, the FBI took over the investigation.
Blackwell is scheduled to be sentenced on November 24. The U.S. Attorney’s office will request a sentence of 30 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Krug and Jennifer Szczucinski are prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Bus Driver Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sex with 12-Year-Old Michigan GirlRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Maria A. Lanahan on Wednesday sentenced a St. Louis bus driver to 15 years in prison for engaging in sex acts with a 12-year-old Michigan girl.
After meeting the victim via social media in 2023, Harold Paul White, now 56, drove to Michigan to pick her up and bring her back to St. Louis. White engaged in illegal sex acts with the minor at his apartment in St. Louis and recorded those acts with a phone. When the victim realized that she had been reported missing, White bought her a bus ticket home.
“This is the second child predator we've sent to federal prison in as many days, underscoring the persistent threat these offenders pose to our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Child exploitation is not an isolated problem; it is a daily reality that the FBI and our law enforcement partners confront across the country. Parents need to understand that a child's bedroom is no longer a barrier between them and those who would do them harm. Online platforms give predators constant access to potential victims, making vigilance, communication, and reporting more important than ever.”
White pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in May to one count of interstate travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
The FBI and local police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuted the case.
Former St. Louis Aldermanic Candidate Admits Committing Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A businessman and former St. Louis aldermanic candidate on Wednesday admitted committing Social Security disability fraud by falsely claiming to be unable to work for years.
Justin Idleburg, 47, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of theft of government money. He admitted that from January 2019 to May 2024, he failed to report his business activities and income from grants to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and exaggerated his symptoms to remain medically eligible for benefits. He fraudulently received a total of $51,388.50.
Idleburg initially began receiving Social Security disability benefits in January 2007. His disability determination was reviewed in 2018 and 2024, when he reported mental health symptoms and difficulty getting along with others. Despite those claims, beginning as early as 2017, Idleburg was involved in multiple community organizations, organized and attended public events, ran for the St. Louis Board of Alderman in 2019 and started two businesses, he admitted in his plea agreement. In March 2019, he formed Idleburg Consultants, LLC and listed himself as the principal. In 2020 his social media showed him volunteering at the polls for an election event. In 2022 Idleburg posted a photo of a chancellor’s certificate he received from the University of Missouri St. Louis in economic development.
In August of 2023, Idleburg registered Cabanne District Community Development Corporation and listed himself as president. He applied for and received $67,000 in grants for his business and deposited the grants in bank accounts he failed to disclose to the SSA. In 2023 he also participated in multiple media interviews regarding his businesses and spoke to lawmakers in Jefferson City regarding cultural bias in the energy sector.
Idleburg is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s Cooperative Disability Investigations program investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
East St. Louis Felon Admits Shooting Homeless ManRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from East St. Louis on Tuesday admitted shooting a homeless man in 2024.
Travion X. Cutler, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Oct. 21, 2024, he was walking around a tent in downtown St. Louis when the man who shared the tent returned from showering at a friend’s house. The victim’s tentmate was inside the tent. Cutler fired a single shot, striking the victim in the abdomen. Police quickly located Cutler, who turned and ran, dropping a .40 caliber handgun after he fell into some bushes. He was then arrested. Cutler is a felon and is thus barred from possessing firearms.
Cutler is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Voss is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
St. Louis Felon Admits Repeatedly Being Caught with FirearmsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from St. Louis on Tuesday admitted being caught three times with firearms after traffic stops.
Darrion Boyd-Barnes, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Sept. 22, 2022, he was stopped by St. Louis police in a vehicle with an expired temporary tag. After officers discovered that he had given them a false name and had an active arrest warrant, they arrested him and found a loaded Glock 29 10mm pistol.
On April 16, 2025, Boyd-Barnes was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for having an improper license plate. St. Louis police officers again learned that Boyd-Barnes had an active arrest warrant and found a loaded Palmetto State Armory Dagger 9mm handgun.
On Nov. 12, 2025, St. Louis police pulled Boyd-Barnes over in a Jeep after he ran three stop signs. When officers asked him to get out of the vehicle, he sped off, eventually stopping at his girlfriend’s house in St. Louis County. Multiple police agencies responded to the scene. Boyd-Barnes refused multiple times to leave the house and then escaped. Police found 29 firearms in the home, including AR-style pistols and rifles, a shotgun, multiple stolen pistols and five pistols that had been illegally converted into fully automatic weapons with a machinegun conversion device.
Boyd-Barnes is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
Ohio Man Sentenced to 160 Months in Prison for Sex with Missouri TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced an Ohio man to 160 months in prison for engaging in sex acts with a Missouri minor.
Andrew Raymond Crum, 33, of Toledo, originally met the girl on an online gaming platform when she was 14 years old, in 2021. Crum began driving to Missouri to have sex with the girl in February of 2024, when she was 16. He also exchanged sexually explicit images and videos with the victim via Snapchat, where he used the name “Sassy Man.”
The FBI was alerted in October of 2024 about Crum’s plans to return to Missouri and located and contacted the victim and her mother.
“Thanks to an anonymous tip to the FBI, we were able to stop Andrew Raymond Crum from continuing to sexually exploit a teenage victim,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Crum believed he would never be caught. He was wrong. Tips from the public are often the key to rescuing victims and identifying offenders. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who prey on children. When they are convicted in federal court, there is no parole.”
Crum pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in April to one count of coercion or enticement of a minor.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Jefferson County Man Admits Selling Fatal Fentanyl CapsulesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Jefferson County, Missouri on Monday admitted suppling the drugs that killed another man in 2024.
Daryn Joshua Odell Karnes, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of distribution of fentanyl. He admitted driving to a home in Jefferson County on Jan. 5, 2024, and selling $100 worth of capsules containing fentanyl, heroin and xylazine to a couple, including a woman who had previously purchased fentanyl from him. The couple did not have enough money for the drugs and wrapped a $1 bill around paper to make it appear as if it was a wad of currency. The male later overdosed and died of fentanyl, heroin and xylazine intoxication. Under the plea agreement, Karnes agreed that the male would not have died but for the fentanyl. First responders found seven remaining capsules.
The transaction was arranged via Karnes’ “Luh Daryn” account on Facebook, and he later demanded full payment from the male victim. He also told a third party that the victim and his girlfriend would get “hurt” for not paying for the drugs.
Karnes is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohsen Pasha is prosecuting the case.
Adult Day Care Provider Accused of $1.47 Million Missouri Medicaid FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – An adult day care provider has been indicted and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of $1.47 million.
Tony King, 63, was indicted July 22 on five counts of health care fraud. King turned himself in Thursday and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, where he pleaded not guilty.
The indictment says King operated Agape Love Adult Day Care LLC, holding out the company as a provider in Missouri’s Adult Day Care Waiver (ADCW) program. That program provides for continuous care and supervision of older and disabled adults for up to 10 hours per day, five days a week to provide a community-based alternative to those who might otherwise be placed in a nursing facility. The Missouri Medicaid Program reimburses for ADCW services including planned group activities, food service and transportation.
The indictment says King submitted false claims for reimbursement to Missouri Medicaid for services that were never provided. King falsely claimed that Agape provided 10 hours of care per day when the company only provided half that amount, the indictment says. King also submitted claims for providing day care services to patients that were either not present at Agape or were hospitalized. The indictment says that King submitted a total of $1.47 million in false claims from at least as early as February 2021 through March 2026.
King, formerly of St. Louis County, now lives in Georgia.
Health care fraud is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. Restitution is mandatory.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Schute is prosecuting the case.
Florissant Woman Admits Theft of $170,000 in Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A woman from Florissant, Missouri on Wednesday admitted stealing $170,000 in Social Security benefits after the death of a relative.
Laneka Holmes, 45, of Florissant, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of theft of government money. She admitted that the death of a relative on May 23, 2017, was not reported to the Social Security Administration, as required. The relative’s Social Security payments were being deposited into an account held jointly with Holmes, and Holmes took those funds from May 2017 until April 2025. Holmes admitted unlawfully receiving a total of $170,574.
At her October 21 sentencing, Holmes faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine. She will also be ordered to repay the money.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.
Missouri Man Sentenced to Prison for Threatening Social Security Administration EmployeesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man who threatened employees of the Social Security Administration twice in 2025 was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in prison.
After his release from prison, Timothy Wells Stevens, 57, will be on supervised release for two years.
On Oct. 1, 2025, Stevens was told in a phone call with an SSA employee in Pennsylvania that there was no record showing that he was due payments. Stevens said that if he did not receive payments, “I’m commin’ gunning for you all.” The employee told Stevens that the SSA takes all threats seriously, and he responded “No, I am going gunnin’ trust me, and I’m going to blow up every (expletive) office around here.”
About 30 minutes later Stevens called again and reached an SSA employee in California. During that call, he said, “Cause I’m telling you now, if I have to sell my place I’ve owned for 17 years and go live under a bridge, I’m hunting every last one of you (expletives) down and I’m gonna blow you up,” his plea agreement says.
Stevens, of Wayne County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to two counts of transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.
The Federal Protective Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.
Former Missouri Police Officer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Assaulting Handcuffed ManRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former Northwoods, Missouri police officer was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for the assault of a handcuffed man in 2023.
Jurors in April found Samuel Davis, 28, guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, one count of witness tampering by way of misleading conduct for making a misleading statement to a police dispatcher and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation for turning off his body-worn camera.
“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s crime,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “Law enforcement officers are given immense public trust to discharge their vital duties. We will hold accountable those who violate that trust and abuse their authority.”
“Civil rights crimes by police erode the public’s trust in law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “We will continue to hold law enforcement officers to high standards and protect the civil rights of all people.”
"Samuel Davis flagrantly violated the law he swore to uphold. The victim complied with officers' commands and was already in handcuffs, yet Davis still chose to beat and tase him," said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. "Every law enforcement officer has a duty to enforce the law while safeguarding the constitutional rights and dignity of every person. Davis' actions betrayed that responsibility and undermined the public trust that officers work tirelessly to earn. That is why the FBI remains steadfast in investigating allegations of excessive force and holding those who abuse their authority accountable."
Northwoods police were called to a Walgreens store on the evening of July 4, 2023, about C.G., a man accused of shoplifting and trespassing and someone known to Davis. Davis handcuffed C.G., who was compliant and cooperative, and then placed him in Davis’ police vehicle. Evidence and testimony at the trial showed that instead of taking him to jail, Davis turned off his body worn camera, drove C.G. to an empty field in a desolate area of Kinloch, pepper-sprayed him in the eyes, threw him to the ground and struck him repeatedly in the body and face with his metal baton, breaking his jaw and causing him extreme pain. When Davis spotted a passerby, he shocked the victim with a Taser and threatened to kill him if he returned to Northwoods. He then falsely told his dispatcher that C.G. was not present when he arrived at the Walgreens. When the passerby returned to the scene of the attack, she found C.G., bloodied and crying out for help.
Davis beat C.G. because he wanted to scare him and ensure that he would not return to Northwoods, a sentencing memorandum filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office says. The victim was smaller and weaker than Davis, was left in an isolated area and had no cell phone or way to call for help after the beating. Davis “hurt him with almost every tool at his disposal,” then lied to a dispatcher, supervisors, investigators and the jury about the attack, Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section said in court Thursday.
The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug for the Eastern District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
Three Sentenced for Stealing Drugs from Missouri, Kansas PharmaciesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Three men from Texas have been sentenced for stealing tens of thousands of pain pills and other controlled substances from three pharmacies in Missouri and Kansas last year.
Anthony Ray Venwright, 33, and Jonathan Fore, 30, were sentenced Wednesday to 120 months and 87 months in prison, respectively. Erik Dewayne Lyons Jr., 21, was sentenced last week to 46 months in prison. All three were ordered to pay restitution of $62,708.
The three men traveled from the Houston, Texas area to Lee’s Summit, Missouri on July 29, 2025. The next day, Lyons waited in a Toyota RAV4 nearby while Venwright and Fore broke into a pharmacy and stole drugs. They then broke into a pharmacy in Overland Park, Kansas. The following day, they broke into a Maryland Heights pharmacy. Maryland Heights police identified the RAV4 and learned that it was in Arkansas. After the Arkansas State Police stopped the RAV4 and another vehicle, investigators found two trash bags containing the drugs that the men had stolen from the third pharmacy and evidence linking them to all the burglaries.
The men admitted stealing a total of 25,610 doses of pain pills and other controlled substances.
All three men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substance and entering a pharmacy with the intent to steal controlled substances.
The case was investigated by the Maryland Heights Police Department, the Arkansas State Police, the Clark County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Department, the Lee’s Summit Police Department and the Overland Park (Kansas) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Man Admits Trying to Have Sexual Contact with Jefferson County TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County on Wednesday admitted being caught trying to have sexual contact with a Jefferson County 14-year-old in 2025.
Tay’vion K. Like, 25, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. He admitted communicating with the teen via Snapchat in July of 2025. Like requested sexual contact with the victim, even after she told him that she was 14. He claimed he was 17. Like then told her that he wanted to come to her house to engage in sexual activity. She told him not to come, and that she would call police. When she discovered that he was outside her house on July 15, 2025, she tried to get him to leave and then told her father. Her father called the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies caught Like near the victim’s home.
Like also admitted communicating with other underage girls on Snapchat.
Sentencing is set for October 22. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Trafficking on Eve of TrialRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Memphis on Tuesday admitted prostituting a teen in St. Louis.
Mack Mitchell, 35, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Mitchell admitted meeting the victim on Tag, a social media app, when she was about 14 years old. They corresponded for several years. On Feb. 23, 2024, the victim, who knew Mitchell had recently traveled from Memphis to St. Louis, contacted him and asked her to pick him up from foster care. Within 30 minutes after finding out her location, Mitchell had an Uber pick her up and deliver her to a gas station in south St. Louis. He picked her up and took her to a casino hotel, where an associate took photos of her and posted them online. The victim engaged in commercial sex acts at the casino hotel, gave the money to Mitchell’s associate, who gave the money to Mitchell.
Mitchell’s trial was scheduled to start Wednesday. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21. The charge carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
The St. Louis County Police Department Special Investigations Unit and the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dianna Edwards and Michael Hayes are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Maplewood Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison After Being Caught Again with Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine on Wednesday sentenced a Maplewood sex offender to 15 years in prison after he was caught again with child sexual abuse material.
Judge Divine also sentenced Michael R. Throm, now 46, to an additional 18 months for violating his supervised release from a prior case. Throm was convicted of possession and receipt of child pornography in 2014 and sentenced to 65 months in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. On June 9, 2025, Throm’s probation officer visited his apartment and spotted two unauthorized smart phones. Both phones contained child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and evidence that Throm tried to text CSAM to his downstairs neighbor, another sex offender on supervised release.
Throm pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receipt of child pornography.
The U.S. Probation Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Illegal Immigrant Caught with Guns and Drugs Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Monday sentenced a man caught in an abandoned hospital with a machete and two firearms to 46 months in prison.
Arlin Alexis Bustillo, 34, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court to one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a false permanent resident card. He admitted being caught on July 31, 2025, by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers in St. Alexius Hospital and arrested for trespassing. He had a large machete on the left side of his waistband and a stolen pistol on the right side. In a backpack, officers found a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle. He also had a fraudulent Social Security card and permanent resident card. Bustillo is a native of Honduras and will be deported when he completes his sentence.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip Voss and Ricardo Dixon prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
Felon who Arranged Murder of St. Louis County Man Sentenced to Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a felon to life in prison for arranging the 2011 murder of a St. Louis County man to get a share of an insurance payout.
Judge Fleissig ordered the sentence to run consecutive to the 226-month federal prison sentence Michael Grady is already serving for aiding a large-scale, violent drug conspiracy by trying to determine who was cooperating with investigators and prosecutors.
Grady, now 71, was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in March of one count each of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, aiding and abetting murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Evidence and testimony at the trial showed that Grady hatched the plot against Charles Harris III to aid Harris’ financially struggling fiancée, Victoria Rena Williams.
In 2010, Grady prompted Williams to get a $250,000 accidental death policy on Harris, evidence and testimony showed. She did so without Harris’ knowledge, after confirming that it would pay out if he was killed during a robbery. Williams then arranged a meeting between Harris, who worked for an alarm company but sold suits out of his home on the side, and the shooter or shooters, who posed as suit customers. On Oct. 5, 2011, Harris was fatally shot in his home on Langford Drive in St. Louis County. After a dispute with the insurance company, Williams received $224,444 and then obtained a cashier’s check for $110,000 payable to Grady’s wife. Williams also received $175,762 from another insurance policy.
The shooter or shooters have not been identified, according to trial testimony.
“Charles Harris was a hardworking man. He was a good man,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj, one of the prosecutors who worked on the case, in court Wednesday. “Mr. Grady is the polar opposite.”
Williams, 68, pleaded guilty to the same charges that Grady was convicted of and was sentenced in March to 225 months in prison.
"This is not the first time the FBI has investigated Michael Grady. He is currently serving a 19-year federal prison sentence for providing long-term support to some of the St. Louis area's most prolific and violent drug traffickers," said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. "But a prison sentence was never going to shield him from accountability. When evidence of his involvement in this murder surfaced, the FBI and St. Louis County Police remained steadfast in our commitment to securing justice for the victim and ensuring Grady answered for this crime."
The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finlen, Nino Przulj and Donald Boyce prosecuted the case.
Home Health Care Operator Sentenced for Defrauding Missouri MedicaidRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a woman who defrauded Missouri Medicaid with false home health care claims to 15 months in prison.
Camille S. Childress, 41, was also ordered to repay $174,496 to Missouri Medicaid. Childress submitted fraudulent documents to enroll her home health care company, Inspiring Angels LLC, with Missouri Medicaid. The paperwork falsely claimed that someone else owned the company. Childress was trying to conceal her ownership due to a 2012 criminal conviction that would have disqualified her from participating.
Childress then submitted fraudulent claims to Missouri Medicaid seeking reimbursement for home healthcare services that were never provided. On numerous occasions, clients were in the hospital and could not have received any health care services at home. On other occasions, Childress submitted claims when the company did not have any timesheet records or documentation of the services. Missouri Medicaid paid $174,496 for claims submitted in 2021 and 2022.
“Health care providers who try to enrich themselves by submitting false claims to Missouri Medicaid not only drain taxpayer funds but also undermine the integrity of safety net programs designed to provide services to patients who genuinely need them,” said Special Agent in Charge Linda T. Hanley of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Today’s sentencing shows the unwavering commitment of HHS OIG and our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of fraud. We are proud of our work to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes that put both patients and public resources at risk.”
Childress pleaded guilty in March to one count of health care fraud.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.
Employee who Embezzled $1 Million from St. Louis County Restaurant Sentenced to 21 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Tuesday sentenced a man who embezzled just over $1 million from a St. Louis County restaurant to 21 months in prison.
Judge Sippel also ordered Matthew Braasch, 48, to repay the money.Braasch pleaded guilty in April to one count of wire fraud. He admitted that while a manager of a restaurant in Grantwood Village, in St. Louis County, Missouri, he misused the company credit card to make personal purchases. Braasch was supposed to only use the company credit card for food and to pay state liquor and other taxes. Instead, Braasch spent $81,965 at Target, $29,801 at the Vineyard Vines clothing store, $39,634 at Amazon and over $10,000 on local hotel stays for an acquaintance. Due to the embezzlement, the restaurant lacked money to buy food and pay state taxes. During a state investigation, Braasch posed as the restaurant’s owner to conceal his crime, his plea says.
Braasch began stealing to enrich himself during the pandemic, when many restaurants struggled and closed, a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman says.
In court, Wiseman said Braasch was the gatekeeper of the restaurant’s funds, and no money would have been stolen without him “allowing it to happen.” Braasch stole from the restaurant and then pretended to be the owner and took out loans “all to conceal his theft,” Wiseman said.
“Matthew Braasch’s greed didn’t just betray the trust placed in him, it nearly cost an iconic restaurant its future. By stealing more than $1 million, he inflicted a financial blow that almost put the business under,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Strong financial controls are key to prevent the opportunity to embezzle. When the same employee is responsible for both authorizing and reconciling payments, it creates an opportunity to cook the books. Separating those responsibilities is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent fraud.”
The FBI, with assistance from the Missouri Department of Revenue, Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Felon Who Laundered Drug Proceeds Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis felon involved in a drug and money laundering conspiracy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday.
From at least 2016 to 2021, Derek Rockette, 53, and others engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy, including the sale of cocaine, according to his plea agreement. Rockette laundered drug proceeds from at least 2017 to 2021 but lost more than $1.5 million of the proceeds gambling. He began repaying the money in installments to two money laundering organizations working on behalf of Rockette’s drug source. In May 2018, he paid one man $200,000. In July of 2018, he paid the man $158,720, but the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Illinois State Police intercepted the cash on its way to Chicago. On Aug. 2, 2018, Rockette paid $59,114, which was quickly deposited in a bank and transferred to Mexico. In late August, Rockette gave a DEA confidential source $100,000 to transfer to Chicago. Investigators tracked it to a Chinese money laundering group and seized $222,300. In October 2018, Rockette gave $59,800 to a confidential source working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations).
Money received by the Chinese money laundering group was deposited into an account used to pay off credit card charges for airline tickets sold in China in a trade-based money laundering scheme. The Mexican based-money laundering group deposited cash via ATMs into an account and then quickly transferred the money to Mexico.
Rockette was caught with a firearm after fleeing from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers and the DEA on March 25, 2019. He is a felon, having pleaded guilty in 2008 to a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. On March 23, 2021, he was caught by St. Louis with $2,000 cash, 236 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of fentanyl, and 12 grams of a substance containing heroin, fentanyl and cocaine during a traffic stop.
Rockette pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Delworth prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
St. Louis County Felon Caught Twice with Guns and Drugs Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon caught twice with guns and drugs to 10 years in prison.
Melvin Nelson, 42, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in April to one count each of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Sept. 4, 2024, the Florissant Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service were serving an arrest warrant at his home in the 2200 block of Gadbury Drive and found a handgun, $38,892 in cash and meth in pill form weighing at least 219 grams in his bedroom. The basement contained scales, empty pill capsules and other drug paraphernalia, and an AR-style pistol and body armor in the garage. Bags containing cocaine and fentanyl were in the backyard.
On August 26, 2025, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served arrest and search warrants at Nelson's home and found a rifle, a pistol,
at least 500 grams of a fentanyl mixture and drug paraphernalia.The case was investigated by the Florissant Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ricardo Dixon prosecuted the case.
Southeast Missouri Man Admits Trying to Arrange Wife’s MurderRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A Dexter, Missouri man on Monday admitted trying to arrange for the murder of his estranged wife.
Matthew R. Alsup, 52, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to a murder-for-hire charge. He admitted traveling to Mississippi on two occasions in early August of 2025 to try to recruit a former tenant of the RV park that he owned to kill his wife. The FBI learned of the plot, and an undercover police officer met with Alsup on August 14. Alsup told the undercover officer that he wanted his wife killed because she planned to file for divorce. He showed the officer a map of the property where his wife was living in Ohio, recommended the best way to approach the house to avoid detection, and provided a .22 Magnum rifle to use and a $1,720 advance. Alsup agreed to pay a total of $5,000 for the murder of his wife and “a couple extra grand” to kill his mother-in-law if she was also there.
Alsup is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.
The FBI and the Poplar Bluff Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Shelton prosecuted the case.
Local Home Healthcare Company Owner Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for $210,000 FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The owner of a home healthcare company was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday for defrauding the Missouri Medicaid Program and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of $210,000.
U.S. District Judge Maria A. Lanahan also ordered Natavia Boyd-Wells, 42, to repay the money.
While owner of Touch of the Heart Home Health Care LLC, Boyd-Wells submitted hundreds of fraudulent reimbursement claims to the Missouri Medicaid Program and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care Network. Missouri Medicaid and the VA pay for home healthcare services so patients can remain in their homes instead of hospitals and nursing homes.
Boyd-Wells submitted claims for services on dates when the veterans were in the hospital and could not have received home services. She also submitted claims knowing services were not provided and that she did not have any documentation of the services.
In February of 2022, Missouri Medicaid officials conducting an audit requested documentation of the services that Boyd-Wells claimed were provided to a Medicaid patient. No documentation existed so Boyd-Wells caused fraudulent documentation to be submitted to Medicaid in response to their request.
Boyd-Wells pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Former FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Sentenced to 20 Years for Child Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man who was once on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for child sex trafficking has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday.
Donald Eugene Fields II, 62, provided sexual access to a child in exchange for cash and other items of value from a friend and co-defendant, Theodore “Ted” John Sartori Sr., beginning when the victim was 14 years old. From the winter of 2013 through the summer of 2016, Sartori engaged in illegal sexual activity with the minor and provided Fields cash, a car, a motorcycle, Christmas presents and vacations. In the summer of 2016, Sartori financed a vacation to Florida and drove the victim there with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with her. Fields told the minor to engage in sexual activity with Satori.
U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp told Fields during Thursday’s sentencing hearing that his crimes “warranted extreme punishment.”
Fields was indicted on federal charges on Dec. 7, 2022, after he failed to appear in Franklin County Circuit Court on pending charges there. He was arrested on Jan. 26, 2025, after a traffic stop by police in Lady Lake, Florida, when officers learned that he was on the Most Wanted list. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in April to one count of child sex trafficking.
"Donald Fields II believed he could outrun justice by fleeing to Florida after committing reprehensible crimes against a child in Missouri. He was wrong," said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. "Today's sentence holds Fields accountable for the lifelong trauma he inflicted on his young victim. I commend the remarkable courage of the victim, whose willingness to come forward made justice possible, and the unwavering dedication of FBI investigators and our law enforcement partners — especially the Lady Lake Police Department."
Sartori, now 65, is serving a 10-year prison term. He pleaded guilty in August of 2024 to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
The case was investigated jointly by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, with assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
St. Louis Gang Leader Sentenced to 200 months for Illegal Gun Sales, Robbery of ATF AgentRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Friday sentenced a gang leader and felon to 200 months consecutive in prison for illegally selling guns to an undercover agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives before setting up the agent’s robbery.
Joseph Burchett, 26, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in March to one count of aiding and abetting firearms trafficking, one count of robbery of an undercover federal agent and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to that plea agreement and a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj, Burchett sold a Glock to the agent on April 30, 2024. The agent was accompanied by Burchett’s co-defendant, Cryland Robinson, who was armed with an AR-style rifle. Burchett obtained the gun from fellow gang member Terrence Robinson. The agent had already bought three guns and methamphetamine from Cryland Robinson. At that meeting, Burchett said he had a fully automatic Glock for sale. Burchett then set up sales and used teenagers to conduct the transactions.
On May 14, Burchett arranged for the sale of a fully automatic Glock 19 equipped with a drum magazine.
Burchett next arranged for the sale of another fully automatic pistol and fentanyl, while secretly planning to rob the agent. On August 1, co-defendant Todd Lumpkins got into the back seat of the agent’s car. The agent, reluctant to hand over money without seeing the firearm, gave about half of the promised $1,100 to Lumpkins. Burchett and the agent were on the phone during the transaction. Lumpkins left the agent’s car and retrieved the pistol, while Burchett told the agent, “If I was you, I would have just gave it to him.” Lumpkins returned, opened the car door while brandishing the gun and stole the rest of the cash from the agent. That agent, in a letter to Judge Ross, wrote, “When Burchett said that to me over the phone, I thought there was a significant chance I was about to lose my life.” Burchett and his co-conspirators then fled from police.
“Joseph Burchett illegally sold fully automatic weapons and put society at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “When he set up the robbery of an undercover ATF agent, he risked the life of someone who was doing nothing more than trying to protect the rest of us. This sentence should send a message that this kind of conduct will not be tolerated.”
"This job asks a lot of the people who do it," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard "Butch" Hansen of the Kansas City Field Division. "These defendants showed they were willing to use violence to advance their criminal enterprise, even against a federal undercover agent. I am grateful our undercover agent walked away safely from a situation that could have ended very differently. ATF agents accept extraordinary risks to take violent offenders and illegal firearms off our streets, and today's sentencing ensures everyone who played a role in this case has been held accountable."
Burchett was one of four men to plead guilty in the case. Cryland Robinson, 36, of St. Louis, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Todd Lumpkins, 20, of St. Louis, was sentenced to eight years in prison. Terrence Robinson, 35, of St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months.
The case was investigated by the ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Farmington Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Supplying Fatal Fentanyl DoseRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a Farmington, Missouri man to 10 years in prison for supplying fentanyl to a friend shortly before the man’s overdose death.
Judge Limbaugh also ordered James B. Link’s sentence to run consecutive to any sentence he receives for 10 pending cases in state court.
On June 14, 2025, Link exchanged messages with the victim about fentanyl pills. Link’s vehicle was spotted leaving the victim’s home shortly before the death. The next day, investigators interviewed Link, who admitted delivering blue and yellow pills containing fentanyl to the victim shortly before he died. Investigators found those same blue and yellow pills in Link’s house.
Link, now 32, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of distribution of fentanyl.
The Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff’s Office, the Mineral Area Drug Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Shelton prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Area Man Sentenced to 200 Months in Prison for Conspiracy that Led to Overdose of Two TeensRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Cristian M. Stevens on Tuesday sentenced a man who was involved in a drug conspiracy that caused one fatal and one nonfatal overdose to 200 months in prison.
Haeder Jameel, 23, was also ordered to pay $51,005 in restitution to the parents of the teen who died.
Jameel was one of three men charged in the case. He and Zaki Salman, 23, pleaded guilty to one of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises. Jameel also pleaded guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute MDMA and fentanyl. Salman pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl with a serious bodily injury resulting.
Aeman Ali, 23, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the maintaining of a drug-involved premises.
According to the plea agreements, Salman rented a home in the 4400 block of Ohio Street in St. Louis that was used for selling drugs from August 20, 2022, through Dec. 14, 2022. Salman and Jameel bought drugs in California. Salman advertised the drugs on social media and would “direct” the sale of the drugs. The men sold real Percocet pain pills and fake pills that contained fentanyl. When Salman was not at the home, Jameel or Ali would handle the transactions.
Salman delivered drugs to a minor on Sept. 18, 2022, who thought she was buying Percocet. The minor overdosed but was saved by multiple doses of Narcan. Salman and Jameel also admitted that the fentanyl purchased by a 16-year-old male at the Ohio Street residence on Nov. 19, 2022, resulted in his overdose death. Before his death, the teen exchanged messages with the conspirators regarding the purchase of Xanax or Percocet.
When law enforcement officers conducted a court-approved search of the home on Dec. 14, 2022, they found cocaine, MDMA, fentanyl, amphetamine and prescription pills. Jameel answered the door with a loaded .45-caliber handgun that he left on the kitchen table when he ran for the back door.
The 16-year-old victim was remembered by his mother at Tuesday’s hearing for his many good qualities, including his humility and intelligence. “He lived his life as if every person mattered,” she said.
“One decision, made by two different minors, resulted in a life cut short and another impaired by overdose,” Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Field Division Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer said. “Now, families are left to mourn the consequences of those decisions, while Haeder Jameel faces years in federal prison. This is a tragic and grim reminder of the potentially deadly impact of fentanyl. Don’t trust your eyes to determine if a pill is an actual prescription medication or counterfeit. Prescription pills should only be purchased through a licensed pharmacist; anything less puts your life in jeopardy.”
“Today’s sentencing is a warning that those who endanger our communities and tear families apart by distributing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs—especially to vulnerable individuals—will be held accountable,” said Homeland Security Investigations St. Louis Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gregory Paris. “Homeland Security Investigations remains vigilant and steadfast in working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt drug trafficking networks and protect the St. Louis area from the devastating impact of opioid abuse.”
Salman, of Hazelwood, was sentenced June 9 to 20 years in prison and was ordered to pay the same amount of restitution. Ali, of St. Louis, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Florissant Police Department, the O’Fallon, Missouri Police Department and the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.
Cape Girardeau County Man Admits Meth Possession, SaleRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A Cape Girardeau County man who led investigators to two pounds of methamphetamine in 2025 on Tuesday admitted possessing and selling the drug.
Billy R. Davis, 66, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. As part of his plea, he admitted that during a court-approved search of his home on Feb. 27, 2025, investigators found 43 baggies of meth weighing about 104.6 grams, drug paraphernalia, two rifles and two shotguns. Davis told investigators that he used about 1.5 grams of meth per week and had been selling it to Russell S. Jackman for the last 12 to 18 months. He then led investigators to his next delivery – 952 grams of meth.
Investigators were alerted to Davis’ home when someone working on behalf of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office tried to buy two ounces of meth from Jackman at Jackman’s home. Jackman did not have the meth on hand and traveled to Davis’ nearby home to resupply.
Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on October 15. The charge is punishable by 10 years to life in prison.
Jackman, 66, pleaded guilty in September to distribution of methamphetamine and is currently serving a 90-month prison sentence.
The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case.
Northeast Missouri Felon Caught with a Firearm and Methamphetamine Sentenced to 11 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Monday sentenced a felon from Palmyra, Missouri who was caught with a firearm, methamphetamine and other drugs to 11 years in prison.
On Oct. 4, 2022, the Northeast Missouri Drug Task Force (NEMO) learned that John R. Breault would be traveling to a home in La Belle, Missouri to sell meth. NEMO and Lewis County Sheriff’s deputies watched Breault as he spent time at the house and then went to a bank. They also watched as a known drug user withdrew money from an ATM and then got back into Breault’s vehicle. Investigators stopped the vehicle after it dropped off the drug user at his home. Breault unsuccessfully tried to get his driver to flee, attacking and kicking a NEMO special agent and then resisting arrest after he was removed from the vehicle. Investigators found meth, 282 morphine tablets and marijuana on Breault. They found a 9mm handgun, $746 in cash, drug paraphernalia, and a grocery bag containing about 381 grams of meth in the vehicle.
Breault, now 40, pleaded guilty in April to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The Northeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane prosecuted the case.
Alabama Man Admits Aiding Southeast Missouri Pharmacy Burglary that Netted 16,800 PillsRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – An Alabama man on Thursday admitted involvement in the burglary of a Kennett, Missouri pharmacy last year and the theft of 16,800 pills.
Cornelius Cardez Bray, 31, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to one count of intent to steal a controlled substance and one count of possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone. He admitted acting as the driver for David Jerome Evans, who broke into a pharmacy on March 13, 2025. A police officer responding to an alarm spotted a car with Tennessee license plates heading out of town and recalled that a few days earlier someone in a passenger car with Tennessee plates had been seen taking pictures of another pharmacy in town. The officer attempted to stop Bray but he sped away, eventually crashing the vehicle. Evans was arrested. Bray fled but was arrested later.
Officers found numerous pill bottles in the wreckage, as well as a large blue crowbar, a black face mask and Bray’s wallet and cell phone. The men stole 16,800 pills, including 7,500 hydrocodone pills and 7,500 pills containing benzodiazepine drugs.
Evans, now 31, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to 78 months in prison.
Bray is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1.
The Kennett Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis is prosecuting the case.
Operation Patriot Shield Results in Arrest of 224 Fugitives in Missouri and IllinoisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The United States Attorneys and United States Marshals for the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri announced today the results of a regional public safety initiative led by the U.S. Marshals Service and its task force law enforcement partners.
The coordinated effort was executed over the month of June and was designed to promote safe communities in advance of our country’s 250th Birthday.
Since June 1, the U.S. Marshals Service and task force members have arrested 224 fugitives in both Missouri and Illinois during Operation Patriot Shield, clearing 290 outstanding felony arrest warrants. Sixteen of those arrested in Illinois and six in Missouri have been linked to gangs. About 31% of those warrants were for narcotics charges, 28% for weapons offenses and at least 20% for violent crimes including homicide. Deputy U.S. Marshals also seized fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamines, marijuana and 32 firearms.
Deputy Marshals also located three missing children.
“This work highlights the mission and accomplishments of the men and women of the United States Marshals Service and the great work in conjunction with our state and local partners through our Task Force Officer Program,” said U.S. Marshal Steven Lewis of the Eastern District of Missouri. “While our deputies are on the streets daily serving high risk warrants and taking truly dangerous criminals off the streets, the ability to perform operations such as Patriot Shield show the tenacity and capabilities of the United States Marshals Service. We are proud to contribute to a safer America.
“Operation Patriot Shield represented an intensive effort by the U.S. Marshals Service in the apprehension of the most violent offenders in the St. Louis Metro Area and the Southern District of Illinois,” said Southern District of Illinois U.S. Marshal David C. Davis. “The task force concentrated on arresting the most egregious defendants who were wanted for homicide, drug offenses, weapons offenses, and other violent crimes. The USMS was successful in this operation because of our dedicated task force partners who participated in this operation, and we are appreciative for their enduring support. We believe it is essential that U.S. Marshals Service continue to combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives to reduce violent crime in our communities.”
“Our goal with Operation Patriot Shield is to try to head off the typical summer surge in violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus of the Eastern District of Missouri. “The U.S. Marshals Service arrested fugitives with active warrants in state and federal court involving crimes ranging from criminal sexual assault to drug trafficking to murder. These are folks who have been actively evading capture, some through the use of an alias and others by fleeing the jurisdiction where they were charged. We have also sought and obtained federal indictments against nearly three dozen people during that period.”
Since June 3, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri has indicted 35 people for violent crimes, drug crimes and/or gun crimes. Most are alleged to have been found with drugs, guns or both during the investigation and some are felons previously convicted of violent crimes.
In June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois has indicted 11 defendants for violent crimes, including crimes involving firearms, assault, drugs, and child sexual exploitation.
“Those indictments represent just a snapshot of the work we do every day to try and keep the St. Louis area safe,” U.S. Attorney Albus said. “And those efforts aren’t stopping. We will continue to aggressively prosecute violent crime, and we have more anticrime efforts in the works.”
“Operation Patriot Shield is about more than arrests. It is about reclaiming safe communities — freedom from killers, shooters, sex offenders, and drug dealers — so Americans can enjoy the way of life envisioned by our Founders as we celebrate the blessings of liberty on America’s 250th anniversary,” said Southern Illinois U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
Some of these cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Some are also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF St. Louis comprises agents and officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Untied States Marshal Service (USMS); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Former St. Louis Tax Preparer Convicted of 16 Counts Related to False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Jurors on Wednesday convicted the former owner of a St. Louis tax preparation business of 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns.
Latasha L. Frison, 39, owned a tax preparation business in downtown St. Louis under various names including Taxed Rite. She lived in Cahokia at the time and now lives in Texas. Evidence and testimony at the trial, which started Monday, showed that Frison falsified information on more than a dozen tax returns of six taxpayers for tax years between 2020 and 2023, triggering hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds to which they were not entitled.
The investigation was triggered by red flags on hundreds of individual income tax returns that Frison prepared during that period, evidence showed. Returns prepared by Frison included an unusually high percentage of refunds, Schedule Cs (which are used to report an individual taxpayer’s yearly profit or loss from operating a small business) , COVID-19 family and sick leave credits and federal fuel tax credits, evidence and testimony showed. Evidence showed that between 2021 and 2024, Frison filed more than 680 individual income tax returns, all but two of which claimed a refund. In one of those years, the average refund amount for tax returns filed by Frison exceeded $14,000, while the national and state averages in Missouri and Illinois were around $3,400.
Numerous Frison clients testified that, unbeknownst to them at the time, returns filed by her on their behalf contained false information, including false income figures for small businesses that didn’t exist.
Frison is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30. Each count carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison. Frison also testified during the trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf said in court after the verdict was announced that the jury’s verdict suggests that she committed perjury during that testimony and could face a longer penalty due to that. She was taken into custody after the hearing.
The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Jonathan Clow are prosecuting the case.
Former St. Louis Building Inspector Admits $1.6 Million FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former building inspector with the City of St. Louis on Tuesday admitted steering $1.64 million meant for the repair of decrepit buildings in St. Louis to himself and relatives.
Adebanjo “Banjo” Popoola, 57, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of wire fraud. Popoola was a building division inspector with the City of St. Louis at the time and was responsible for managing important aspects of two programs designed to help stabilize and rehabilitate city properties, Stable Communities STL and Prop NS. Stable Communities STL was funded through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and intended for privately-owned properties. Prop NS was intended for residential properties owned by the City’s Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) and was funded through City issued general obligation bonds. Popoola was primarily responsible for identifying properties for rehab or stabilization; developing the scope of work; seeking, reviewing and awarding bids; inspecting the work that had purportedly been completed on each property and then certifying that the work had been completed so funds could be disbursed to the contractors.
On Tuesday, he admitted having his sister, a Texas resident who had never visited St. Louis, incorporate Farst Construction LLC, in Missouri in October of 2022. His future wife set up a different company in February of 2021, Premier Finish Contractors LLC.
From about June 12, 2023, through Nov. 22, 2024, Popoola caused Farst to be awarded $1.4 million in construction contracts as part of the City’s Stable Communities STL program. From about Feb. 22, 2023, through March 8, 2024, Popoola steered $339,500 in Prop NS contracts to Farst. From Oct. 9, 2023, through May 7, 2024, Popoola steered about $1.3 million from the Stable Communities STL program and about $853,100 from the Prop NS program to Premier. Of the $7.19 million ARPA funds disbursed through the Stable Communities STL program, Farst received $1.79 million and Premier received $1.53 million, or 42% of the total funds disbursed.
Private building owners and representatives of the LRA reported that on multiple projects, Farst and Premier failed to perform the rehabilitation and stabilization work for which the companies were paid but Popoola falsely certified that the work had been performed completely and properly.
After paying subcontractors for purported work on the stabilization projects, Popoola, his sister and wife shared in and personally used about $1.64 million. Popoola and his wife had joint bank accounts where the city funds were deposited and shared. He had the same arrangement with his sister. Popoola admitted using Prop NS and Stable Communities STL funds for residential mortgage payments, multiple vehicle purchases and repairs, travel expenses, his September 2023 Hawaii wedding, casino gambling, and other dining and entertainment expenses.
Popoola also admitted concealing his connection to the companies on city Employee Secondary Employment Questionnaires in 2022 and 2023. Popoola falsely stated that he had no personal interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract with the City of St. Louis and he also falsely represented that he had no interest in any business. His sister and wife falsely certified on contract documents that “No officer, employee, or member of the governing body of the City of St. Louis, Missouri who exercises any functions or responsibilities in connection with the carrying out of the Project to which this Contract pertains shall have any private interest, direct or indirect, in this contract.”
Popoola is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6. Wire fraud carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and fine. He will also be ordered to repay the money.
The FBI investigated the case, with substantial cooperation from the City of St. Louis Comptroller’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.
Felon who Fatally Shot St. Louis County Barbershop Patron Sentenced to 125 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a felon who fatally shot someone in a barbershop in 2023 to 125 months in prison.
Nolan Ryan Thomas, now 34, pleaded guilty in March in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Nov. 10, 2023, St. Louis County police were called to a barbershop in the 11600 block of West Florissant Avenue, where a patron had been shot in the leg. Police found Thomas hiding in a nearby wooded area, with suspected narcotics and near a handgun. The victim later died of his injury. While in jail, Thomas admitted shooting the victim but said he did so in self-defense. Thomas is a felon and is thus barred from possessing a firearm.
Judge Schelp ordered Thomas’ sentence to run consecutive to any sentence he receives for pending charges in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nichole Frankenberg prosecuted the case.
California Men Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced two California siblings to decades in prison for supplying dozens of kilograms of methamphetamine and other drugs to a criminal enterprise in southeast Missouri.
Judge Limbaugh sentenced Lorenzo A. Marquez, 32, to 360 months in prison and Adam A. Marquez, 28, to 204 months in prison. Jurors at the trial of both men in March found that they had supplied at least 500g or more of meth, 400g or more of fentanyl and 500g or more of cocaine to co-conspirators in Missouri. Jurors convicted each man of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Evidence and testimony during the trial showed that the Marquez brothers were the California-based suppliers of illegal drugs that were shipped, driven or smuggled via checked baggage on commercial airlines to Missouri. In Nashville, officers seized 2,973 fentanyl pills and 391 MDMA pills. Three drug couriers were intercepted in Detroit on their way to Southeast Missouri with about 60 pounds of meth and almost three pounds of cocaine. In Perry County, Missouri, investigators found about 20 pounds of meth, 4.5 pounds of cocaine, and 315 grams of fentanyl in a suitcase. The couriers didn’t just take three flights, they took hundreds, a sentencing memorandum filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton says. The memo says the Marquez brothers are likely the most prolific drug suppliers ever prosecuted in the history of the Southeastern Division of the Eastern District of Missouri.
The Marquez brothers were indicted along with six others on July 11, 2023. All others pleaded guilty. Javontrey L. Wiley, 25, who admitted providing security for the conspiracy leaders, drugs and cash; managed lower-level participants and personally engaged in drug trafficking, was sentenced to 144 months. Oluwasegun Odumuyiwa, 52, who was also a California-based supplier, was sentenced to 76 months in prison.
The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office, the Perry County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Department of Public Safety, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety and the Cape Girardeau Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Shelton and Paul Hahn are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.