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4 October 2018
Federal jury in Helena convicts two in home invasion caseRead the Press Release
A federal jury in U.S. District Court in Helena on Thursday convicted two defendants of robbery and firearms charges in a drug-related home invasion. The four-day trial that began on Monday.
The jury found Gabriel Elijah Kane Arkinson, 32, Billings, and Jamie Nicole Milsten, 35, Helena, each guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce, robbery affecting commerce and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Each defendant faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release for the conspiracy and robbery convictions, plus a mandatory minimum seven years to life in prison consecutive to any other charge on the firearm charge.
A third defendant, Melissa Dawn Shurtliff, 28, Helena, pleaded guilty earlier to robbery affecting commerce and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Prosecutors at trial presented evidence that Arkinson and Milsten entered the residence of a Helena drug dealer on April 23, 2017 to steal drugs and drug proceeds. Arkinson was armed with a sawed-off shotgun, and Milsten searched the residence for drugs and money. A small amount of methamphetamine, U.S. currency and a cell phone were stolen. Shurtliff planned the robbery and acted as the getaway driver.
Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell presided at the trial. Sentencing for the three defendants is scheduled for April 9, 2019. The defendants are in custody.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson and investigated by the FBI and the Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and to make communities safer. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department of Justice’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Federal District Court Upholds Forest Service’s Northfork Ecosystem Restoration ProjectRead the Press Release
Spokane– Joseph H. Harrington, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that United States District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest regarding an ecosystem restoration project challenged by the Alliance of the Wild Rockies.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, the Alliance filed a lawsuit in August 2016 challenging the Colville National Forest’s decision to approve the North Fork Mill Creek A to Z Project. That project had been carefully designed through cooperation between the Forest Service, timber industry, and a variety of environmental organizations that had formed the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition. The Forest Service used a Stewardship Contract authorized by the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) that proposed ecosystem restoration involving rebuilding of roads, fish habitat-improvement projects, thinning of overstocked stands of trees, pre-commercial thinning of young trees, and some aspen restoration in the North Mill Creek drainage of the Three Rivers Ranger District on the Colville National Forest. The Forest Service had approved the project in June 2016.
The Alliance sued the Forest Service in August 2016, claiming that the Forest Service had violated the NFMA by allowing Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company to select and pay for a contractor to conduct the environmental analysis and writing of an environmental assessment (EA) for the project. The Alliance also claimed that the project violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) because the EA did not properly disclose cumulative effects of the North Fork Project with other projects planned in adjacent watersheds, would not protect habitat for fisher and pine marten (two small forest carnivores) under the NFMA, would reduce snow-intercept cover used by deer and elk on winter range, and would increase sediment production that could injure fish species.
The Alliance previously sought a preliminary injunction from the district court, which Judge Peterson denied in October 2016. The Alliance appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, Washington. The Ninth Circuit ruled against the Alliance on August 1, 2017. The case then returned to the district court for a determination on the merits.
Judge Peterson first found that the awarding of the Stewardship Contract to Vaagen Brothers Lumber in Colville, Washington was based on open and fair bidding and did not violate the NFMA. Judge Peterson also found there was no conflict of interest in letting Vaagen Brothers select the subcontractor to prepare the EA under NEPA because the extensive record in the case showed that the objectivity and integrity of the NEPA process had not been compromised.
Judge Peterson also found that the Forest Service had not violated NEPA when it analyzed impacts of sedimentation in the streams in the North Fork drainage and that the cumulative effects analysis complied with NEPA. Judge Peterson determined the Forest Service’s approach to analyzing impacts to furbearing species such as pine marten and fisher was proper and complied with NEPA and NFMA.
Joseph H. Harrington stated, “Sound forest management benefits the American public and provides needed resources and recreational experiences close to our communities. Natural resource managers should be commended for developing this collaborative project which provides timber and jobs while protecting the natural environment.”
This case was defended by Rudy J. Verschoor and Vanessa R. Waldref, Assistant United States Attorneys in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Father Admits to Assisting Son with 17 RobberiesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Duane Loyd, 47, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to bank robbery and brandishing a firearm. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of seven years, in prison, a maximum penalty of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Felicetta, who is handling the case, stated that Loyd robbed the Key Bank located at 4248 Delaware Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda on December 7, 2015. In a rental car, the defendant drove his son Brandon, who was 19-years-old at the time, to the bank and provided him with a respirator mask and a firearm to commit the crime. Brandon Loyd pointed the firearm at the tellers and several bank customers before fleeing with money in his father’s waiting vehicle. Officers from the City of Tonawanda and the Town of Tonawanda Police Departments pursued the fleeing vehicle and tackled the defendant and his son after they crashed the rental car. Officers recovered the loaded firearm, a 9mm pistol, and the money stolen from the bank.
Following their arrest, Town of Tonawanda police officers and FBI and agents uncovered 16 additional robberies at local stores that the father and son committed prior to the bank robbery. In each of the robberies, the defendant drove the getaway car while his son entered the store and robbed the clerks of cash. Surveillance images assisted law enforcement with solving the previous robberies.
A total of approximately $4,500 was stolen during the course of the 16 robberies which occurred between November 22, 2015, and December 7, 2015, prior to the Key Bank robbery. In eight of those robberies, Brandon Loyd displayed a firearm to intimidate the clerk into handing over the cash. Duane Loyd also admitted his role in the 16 robberies.
Brandon Loyd was previously convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Duane Loyd’s plea is the result of an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Jerome C. Uschold, III; the City of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Strassburg; the Town of Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; the Village of Kenmore Police Department, under the direction of Chief Peter Breitnauer; the Town of West Seneca Police Department, under the direction of Chief Daniel Denz; the City of Lackawanna Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Michel; the Town of Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack; and the Erie County Crime Analysis Center.
Duane Loyd is scheduled to be sentenced on January 25, 2019, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
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Eighth Member of Southeastern New Mexico Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Robert C. Ponce, 43, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to drug trafficking and firearms offenses. Ponce is the eighth of the ten defendants charged as the result of a multi-agency investigation into a criminal organization that was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and firearms in southeastern New Mexico to plead guilty.
The investigation initiated by the DEA, ATF and the HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and initially targeted a methamphetamine trafficking organization operating in southeastern New Mexico that was supplied by Daniel P. Bruton, 39, of Artesia, N.M., and Marcos A. Martinez, 31, of Roswell, N.M. The investigative team quickly expanded to include HSI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, and the investigative targets expanded to include other drug traffickers in Eddy and Chaves Counties. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. During the investigation, law enforcement authorities seized more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 44 firearms.
Ponce, Bruton and Martinez were charged along with seven other co-defendants in a 34-count indictment filed on Oct. 3, 2017. The indictment alleged that Martinez, Bruton and their co-defendants conspired to violate the federal narcotics trafficking and firearms laws from May 2017 through Oct. 2017 in Eddy and Chaves Counties and elsewhere in New Mexico. The indictment includes 55 overt acts that discussed the conspiracy’s operations, including the quantities of methamphetamine, ranging from multiple ounces to five pounds, allegedly distributed by the defendants on a routine basis. It also describes the firearms, including assault rifles that allegedly were to be smuggled into Mexico, allegedly used by the defendants in relation to their drug trafficking activities.
During today’s proceedings, Ponce pled guilty to conspiracy, use of a communication facility to further the commission of a drug trafficking crime, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In entering the guilty plea, Ponce admitted that during July 2017, he conspired with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine in Eddy County. Ponce further admitted that on July 28, 2017, he was in possession of approximately two ounces of methamphetamine and a loaded firearm located in his vehicle when he fled from law enforcement officers. Ponce admitted that if the methamphetamine had not been seized by law enforcement, it was his intention to distribute the methamphetamine to other individuals. Ponce acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition in July 2017, because of his prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, being a felon in possession of a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and forgery.
At sentencing, Ponce faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.
Seven of Ponce’s co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and three have been sentenced: Chelcy A. Vasquez, 26, of Dexter, N.M., pled guilty on Feb. 5, 2018, and was sentenced on July 18, 2018; Erick L. Miranda-Santos, 22, of Artesia pled guilty on April 5, 2018, and was sentenced on Sept. 18, 2018; Kenneth R. Dickerson, 57, of Carlsbad, pled guilty on June 27, 2018, and was sentenced on Sept. 6, 2018; Isela Hernandez, 27, of Roswell pled guilty on April 16, 2018; Martinez pled guilty on June 14, 2018; Linda M. Watts, 28, of Carlsbad pled guilty on June 20, 2018; and Burton pled guilty on July 6, 2018.
Sentencing hearings for Ponce, Burton, Martinez, Watts and Hernandez have yet to be scheduled.
Two co-defendants, Jerry O. Twaddle, 38, and Ethan G. Watts, 28, both of Carlsbad, have entered pleas of not guilty to the charges against them. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
These cases were investigated by the DEA, ATF, HSI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the HIDTA Region VI Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clara N. Cobos and Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the cases filed as the result of the investigation.
The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Eight Therapists Arrested in Scheme to Defraud Program for Developmentally Disabled ChildrenRead the Press Release
A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Kaderrah Doyle, Cara Steinberg, Marina Golfo, Ego Onaga, Lyubov Beylina, Danielle Scopinich, Patricia Hakim and Enock Mensah with stealing more than $600,000 in funds from Medicaid and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene through fraudulent billing practices in connection with the New York State Early Intervention Program (EIP). The EIP is a New York State program that provides remedial services to developmentally delayed children from birth to age three. The defendants, all EIP therapists, were arrested earlier today and are scheduled to make their initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants defrauded government agencies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds designated for therapeutic care for developmentally disabled children,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The victims of this fraud include not only the children and their families who were deprived of the therapeutic care that these defendants claimed to have performed, but ultimately the taxpayers whose taxes support Medicaid. This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring that those who defraud benefit programs will be held accountable.” Mr. Donoghue also expressed his appreciation to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for its assistance during the investigation.
“As we allege today, these defendants stole hundreds of thousands of government dollars from a program designed to aid some of our city’s most vulnerable residents,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Rather than provide honest services, they chose to line their own pockets at the expense of taxpayers and the developmentally-delayed children and their families for whom these funds were targeted. Today’s arrests should serve as a reminder that the FBI will continue to be vigilant in our effort to root out fraud and abuse in programs intended to serve the public when these programs are corrupted by greed.”
“These eight therapists shamefully benefited by stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds while developmentally disabled and delayed children in their care were denied thousands of crucial therapy sessions, according to the charges,” stated DOI Commissioner Peters. “DOI thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for its prosecution of these crimes.”
According to the complaint, between approximately 2012 and 2018, the defendants submitted thousands of fraudulent session notes and accompanying invoices for non-existent EIP therapy sessions. As a direct result of their fraudulent submissions, the defendants received hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements from Medicaid and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. On many occasions, the defendants were not present at the place where the therapy sessions supposedly occurred, including instances in which they were outside of New York State or even outside of the United States. For example, Beylina allegedly submitted approximately 51 fraudulent invoices for EIP therapy sessions that purportedly occurred when she was in the Dominican Republic. On other occasions, the defendants submitted documentation containing the forged signatures of the children’s caretakers, including parents, guardians, teachers and daycare providers. In other instances, the defendants falsely claimed to have performed EIP therapy sessions for two different children at two different locations at the exact same time. Many of the defendants also falsely claimed to have performed EIP therapy sessions when they were, in fact, at work elsewhere, including as full-time teachers with the New York City Department of Education.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Harris and Erin Reid are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
KADERRAH DOYLE
Age: 41
Bronx, New YorkCARA STEINBERG
Age: 40
Old Bridge, New JerseyMARINA GOLFO
Age: 44
North Pelham, New YorkEGO ONAGA
Age: 45
Staten Island, New YorkLYUBOV BEYLINA
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New YorkDANIELLE SCOPINICH
Age: 35
Ozone Park, New YorkPATRICIA HAKIM
Age: 54
Forest Hills, New YorkENOCK MENSAH
Age: 58
Mount Olive, New JerseyE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-MJ-927
East Lyme Man Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Heroin to Overdose VictimRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHRISTOPHER STEVENS, 27, of East Lyme, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing heroin to an overdose victim.
This prosecution is part of an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.
According to court documents and statements made in court, early in the morning of June 4, 2016, East Lyme Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a vehicle parked on the side of a road with its engine running and found a 25-year-old male slumped over dead in the driver’s seat, and a young child in the rear seat. Investigators also found a torn wax paper baggy in the man’s hand and several other baggies under his body.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Connecticut subsequently determined that the victim died from acute heroin and fentanyl toxicities.
The investigation revealed that, shortly before he overdosed, the victim met STEVENS at STEVENS’ East Lyme residence, and STEVENS provided heroin to the victim at that time.
STEVENS was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 8, 2016. On May 11, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin.
STEVENS who is released on a $50,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on November 8.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force with the assistance of the East Lyme Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Laraia.
Eagle Butte Man Sentenced for Malicious MischiefRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Malicious Mischief was sentenced on October 2, 2018, by U.S. District Court Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Lawrence Parker III, age 27, was sentenced to 3 years of probation, restitution in the amount of $2,536.24, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Lawrence Parker III, was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 12, 2016. He pled guilty on July 23, 2018.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on June 4, 2016, when Parker used an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) belonging to the State Bank of Eagle Butte to attempt to withdraw money from his account. When he was unable to do so, due to reaching his daily withdrawal limit, Parker destroyed the screen on the ATM.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Parker was released following sentencing.
Drug Dealer Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Heroin that Killed Hoover ManRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Birmingham man to 24 years and four months in prison on charges that included selling heroin that caused the death of a 22-year-old Hoover man, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced EDWARD LEE HENDERSON JR., 31, for selling heroin on Dec. 30, 2016, that caused the Hoover man’s death. The young man’s father found his son unresponsive in the parking lot of a Hoover business on Jan. 2, 2017. Forensic medical examination concluded the man would not have died “but for the heroin” found in his system.
Judge Bowdre also sentenced Henderson for distributing heroin and cocaine and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Henderson, also known as Hot Boi Eddy, pleaded guilty to the charges in April.
“Overdoses from heroin and other opioids killed more people in America in 2017 than either car crashes or guns,” Town said. “This defendant pushed his deadly poison hard. My office and our law enforcement partners are deep into the fight against the country’s opioid epidemic. Drug dealers should be getting the message that if they cause an overdose death, they will spend time, possibly the rest of their lives, in federal prison.”
“The successful prosecution of Edward Lee Henderson should put others who engage in this type of activity on notice: if you sell drugs, and that drug causes a death, you will face federal charges and a lengthy prison sentence,” Hamilton said. “This ‘career offender’s’ sentence in federal prison sends a message of our unending resolve to pursue drug traffickers who wreak havoc in our communities.”
According to evidence presented in court, the overdose victim was a heroin addict who checked himself out of a rehabilitation facility in Bessemer on Dec. 7, 2016. On Dec. 30, 2016, he traveled to Birmingham to buy heroin from Henderson, whose number was saved in the victim’s cell phone as Hot Boi Eddy.
Investigators found text messages to and from Henderson on the victim’s phone discussing the potential sell of heroin between Dec. 24, 2016, and Dec. 27, 2016, according to evidence in court. One of the texts from Henderson said: “Christmas Eve deals goin today but deals only start when u get 3 or[sic] them today!”
A Christmas Eve text from the victim to a friend asked the friend to call 911 if he had not heard back from him in 15 or 20 minutes. The victim gave his friend an address for his location. The address was Henderson’s residence, according to evidence.
About a month after the victim’s overdose death, a Birmingham Police detective began making undercover drug buys from Henderson, according to evidence. The officer bought heroin from Henderson three times that February. In May 2017, the undercover bought heroin and cocaine from Henderson.
On July 4, 2017, when Birmingham Police stopped Henderson riding an all-terrain vehicle on Sixth Avenue South, he had a Smith & Wesson pistol in his waistband. Henderson had a previous felony conviction in Jefferson County Circuit Court in April 2012 for discharging a firearm into an occupied building, and an October 2010 conviction in Jefferson County District Court for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler prosecuted the case.
Dozens Arrested in and Around City of Lawrence as Part of Project Safe Neighborhood SweepRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Dozens of individuals were arrested today on federal drug, firearms, and immigration offenses, as well as state warrants. In addition, 11 criminal aliens were arrested and will be processed administratively. Today’s sweep, netting more than 35 criminals in and around the City of Lawrence, is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative (PSN), which aims to bring together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime.
As part of today’s sweep, approximately 35 defendants were charged with federal and state offenses, and nine are still at large. Eleven criminal aliens were arrested by ICE and will be processed administratively for removal from the United States, and 13 are currently at large.
The arrests are the culmination of a number of federal investigations dubbed Operation Law and Order, which targeted impact players and repeat offenders in and around the City of Lawrence, all of whom have prior convictions for acts of violence, firearm offenses and/or drug trafficking, and those with criminal records who are in the United States illegally.
Today’s operation involved over 200 federal law enforcement agents from all over New England, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; Homeland Security Investigations; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
During the investigations, law enforcement officers bought or seized approximately 10 kilos of fentanyl.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; United States Marshal John Gibbons of the District of Massachusetts; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett made the announcement today.
The federal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit, Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit, and the Major Crimes Unit. The state cases are being prosecuted by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. Administrative arrests made by ICE will be handled in Immigration Court.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Oct. 3, 2018, marked one year since Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The following defendants were charged in federal court:
- Johan Abreau, 23, a Dominical national, of Lawrence, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Sabrina Aixa Ramos, 27, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl, two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl and heroin – aiding and abetting;
- Carolina Alonzo, 36, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments;
- Oscar Antigua, 37, of Lawrence, charge with distribution of 40 or more grams of fentanyl;
- Jose Aquino Camilo, a/k/a “Keko,” a/k/a “Kiko,” 39, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin;
- Santo Eulogio Baez-Calbojal, a/k/a “Jamaican Freddy,” 47, of Haverhill, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Juan Brito, a/k/a “Juan Bota,” a/k/a “Manual Lugo,” a/k/a “One Eye,” a/k/a “Bolivar Cruz,” a/k/a “Roberto Quinonez-Pomale,” 36, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien;
- Edilberto Calle-Alvarez, 23, of Lowell, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Antonio Camillo, 21, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Rafael Cintron, 25, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Carlos Cosme Cuevas, 34, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin;
- Caonabo Cruz, 52, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Yunior De La Cruz-Zapata, 20, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Jesus Figueroa , a/k/a “Chuy,” a/k/a “Chuito,” 28, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin;
- Cesar Franco Lara, 34, Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with one count of misuse of Social Security number and aggravated identity theft;
- Identity unknown, of Lawrence, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments;
- Jose Hernandez, a/k/a “Fatty Mexicano,” 40, of Lawrence, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Elvi Lajara, 23, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Franklyn Laras, 21, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition;
- Sergio Manuel Lara-Suarez, a/k/a “Sergio Manuel Lara-Juarez,” 42, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, was charged with charged with heroin and fentanyl distribution offenses;
- Alan Christopher Pascual Sanchez, 30, a Dominican national formerly residing in Lawrence, currently in ICE custody, charged with one count of illegal reentry;
- Juan Algenis Perez Bernabel, 36, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with drug offenses, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine;
- Kadeem Pimentel, 23, of Haverhill, currently in state custody, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun;
- Jonathan Platon, 31, of Lawrence, charged with various drug offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
- Daniel De Jesus Polonia Morillo, 57, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with one count of false statement on an application for Social Security benefits and aggravated identity theft;
- Manuel Rivera, 35, of Lawrence/Lynn, for federal probation violation resulting from a felon in possession of a firearm convictions;
- Wilmer Rogue, 22, of Lawrence, currently in state custody, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm;
- Leonardo Santos, 47, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with a drug offense, specifically cocaine; and
- Isua Torres-Pineda, a/k/a “Edwin Carmona,” 26, of Salem, charged with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
The following defendants were arrested on state charges:
- Nick Castillo, 29, a Canadian national, charged with fentanyl conspiracy;
- Celestino Escalera, 24, of Lawrence, for assault to murder – firearm;
- Luis Enrique Herrera, 26, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
- Roberto Estrada-Alfaro, 54, of Haverhill, for failure to register as a sex offender;
- Paul Lapointe, 55, of Lawrence, for failure to register as a sex offender; and
- Jose Mulero-Nieves, a/k/a “Flaco,” 37, of Methuen, charged with drug offenses.
In addition, approximately 11 criminal aliens, all of whom have prior convictions for offenses ranging from drug distribution to assault and battery, were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and will be processed administratively.
District Man Pleads Guilty to Charges in Fatal Stabbing at Northwest Washington Bar and GrillRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antoine Byrd, 38, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to fatally stabbing one man and wounding two others at a bar and grill in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Byrd pled guilty on Oct. 3, 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of voluntary manslaughter while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence in the range of 10 to 14 years. The Honorable Craig Iscoe set a hearing for Jan. 11, 2019, to determine whether to accept the plea and sentencing range.
According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, the stabbing took place at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2016. That evening, the homicide victim, Robinson Pal, 32, had been with friends at the “Bar Code” bar and restaurant, in the 1100 block of 17th Street NW. Byrd was also at the club that night. At some point during the evening, Mr. Pal pointed out Byrd to his friends, and accused Byrd of having previously robbed him.
A short time later, Mr. Pal and Byrd encountered one another again. This time, they got into a physical altercation, and at some point, Byrd yelled, “I’m going to kill you.” Byrd then stabbed Mr. Pal one time in his chest area. Mr. Pal slumped over and fell to the floor. During that altercation, Byrd also stabbed a second man in the back, and a third man in the hand. Both of those victims survived.
Byrd then fled the scene on foot. He was later identified by individuals who had been at the establishment that night. DNA evidence also linked Byrd to the handle of the knife that was recovered on scene from underneath Mr. Pal. Byrd was arrested on Feb. 17, 2016, and has been in custody ever since.
Mr. Pal died from his injuries on Feb. 1, 2016.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura A. Bach and David Gorman, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, and Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Nestler, Alicia Long, and Ellen D’Angelo, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
District Man Charged in Investigation of Illegal Posting of Restricted Personal Information of U.S. Senators on WebsiteRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A volunteer on the staff of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives made his first court appearance today on charges stemming from the illegal posting of restricted personal information of five U.S. Senators on the Wikipedia website, as well as related conduct.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu and Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.
Jackson A. Cosko, 27, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on Oct. 3, 2018 by the U.S. Capitol Police. He is charged in a criminal complaint with five federal offenses: making public restricted personal information; making threats in interstate commerce; unauthorized access of a government computer; identity theft; and witness tampering. The complaint also charges him with second-degree burglary and unlawful entry, both District of Columbia offenses.
Cosko appeared this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The judge ordered that Cosko remain detained pending a hearing set for Oct. 9, 2018.
According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, the U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation on Sept. 27, 2018, after it was determined that the Wikipedia pages of three U.S. Senators had been edited to include restricted personal information without their knowledge or permission. This information included home addresses and personal telephone numbers. These edits took place roughly contemporaneously with public – and highly publicized – Senate proceedings related to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Then, on Oct. 1, 2018, according to the affidavit, similar information was posted on the Wikipedia pages of two additional Senators.
“Doxxing” is the act of gathering, by licit and illicit means, and posting on the Internet personal identifying information (“PII”) and other sensitive information about an individual.
On the night of Oct. 2, 2018, according to the affidavit, a witness saw Cosko at a computer in the office of a U.S. Senator who had once employed him. The witness confronted Cosko, who left the office. An investigation led to Cosko’s arrest by the U.S. Capitol Police.
The charges in criminal complaints are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The statutory maximums for the crimes are as follows:
Federal Offenses:
Making public restricted personal information – five years.
Threats in interstate commerce – two years.
Unauthorized access of a government computer – one year.
Identity theft – five years.
Witness tampering – 20 years.
District of Columbia Offenses:
Second-degree burglary – 15 years.
Unlawful Entry – Six months.
The maximum statutory federal sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any federal offense, a sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the U.S. Capitol Police. The case is being prosecuted by the Cyber Crime and National Security Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Detroit City Council Member Indicted for Taking BribesRead the Press Release
Today a federal grand jury indicted Detroit City Council Member Gabriel Leland, 35, of Detroit, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.
Schneider was joined in the announcement by Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the Indictment, beginning in May 2017, and continuing through August 2017, Councilman Leland conspired with Elisa Grubbs, a campaign worker, to solicit and accept bribes consisting of $15,000 in cash and free auto body work from a local business owner. The indictment further alleges that Leland agreed to help delay or prevent the City’s sale of property that the business owner believed he owned in exchange for the bribes. Leland is charged with taking a $7,500 cash bribe on
August 4, 2017, just four days before the primary election for Detroit City Council.
United States Attorney Schneider stated, “A sitting member of the Detroit City Council engaging in bribery is an extreme breach of the trust of the people of Detroit that badly undermines their faith in local government. As was starkly demonstrated by the prosecution of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and several corrupt members of his Administration, federal law enforcement is dedicated to rooting out and severely punishing corruption at every level of City governance.”
“The public demands and is entitled to honest public servants. Today’s indictment of Detroit City Council Member Gabriel Leland underscores the fact that individuals who hold a position of public trust - and who betray that trust - will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater, FBI Detroit. “The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating allegations of public corruption. If you are aware of a government official engaging in illegal conduct, I encourage you to notify the FBI’s multi-agency Public Corruption Task Force.”
Leland faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for each bribery count, and up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the bribery conspiracy count.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Michael Bullotta and Steven Cares.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Hickey of the National Security Division Delivers Remarks at CyberNext DCRead the Press Release
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Thank you, to the Cybersecurity Coalition and the Cyber Threat Alliance, for the invitation to speak at CyberNext DC.
When I was preparing my remarks, I noticed that the theme of the conference is “Privacy, Partnerships, Protection.” That’s a helpful framework for my remarks today, because I want to talk about all three of those.
Protection
I will start with protection, which is at the core of law enforcement’s mission. Investigating crimes, building cases, and holding individuals, entities, and even nations, accountable, is a large part of how the Justice Department protects the public and contributes to cybersecurity.
It is fairly straightforward why: criminal prosecution is a means of reinforcing the difference between right and wrong, between acceptable state behavior, on the one hand, and that which violates accepted norms of conduct on the Internet.
And imposing consequences, whether through imprisonment, fines or sanctions, or other tools, is a way of deterring malicious conduct, by raising its costs (personal, reputational, financial, and otherwise). As the First Pillar of the Administration’s recent National Cyber Strategy puts it, “Law enforcement actions to combat criminal cyber activity serve as an instrument of national power by, among other things, deterring those activities.”
The last year has seen significant prosecutions of foreign hackers, including those acting on behalf of foreign governments, for computer intrusions and attacks. It is worth recounting some of them, for what they show about the Department’s priorities and the lengths we will go in doing our part to enforce the law and protect the public.
Boyusec
In October 2017, the Department announced charges against three Chinese nationals and residents who worked for a purported Internet security firm known as Guangzhou Bo Yu Information Technology Company Limited (a/k/a “Boyusec”).
The defendants are accused of computer hacking and trade secret theft between December 2015 and March 2016. Among other things, the indictment alleges they stole a prominent economist’s e-mail messages and trade secrets related to global navigation technology that “had no military application,” but was marketed to construction, land survey, and agricultural sectors.
Now, the Indictment does not allege action by the Chinese state. But what made the defendants’ alleged trade secret theft notable (besides the fact that they worked for a firm that marketed its cybersecurity services), was that it continued after China committed in September 2015 (1) not to steal trade secrets or confidential business information “with the intent of providing competitive advantages” to its own companies, and (2) to cooperate with requests to investigate cybercrimes emanating from its territory, which this did.
The September 2015 commitment ushered in broad, public acceptance of a norm against computer espionage for economic benefit (soon accepted by all of the other members of the G-20). And it was incumbent on the U.S. government to hold China to the commitments it made.
As we previously revealed, the Boyusec indictment was returned under seal, while we sought China’s assistance in investigating and putting a stop to Boyusec’s activities. When we received “no meaningful response” to those requests, there was no longer a basis to keep the charges sealed, and we made them public.
Thereafter, the U.S. Trade Representative cited the Boyusec indictment in its March 2018 study of China’s trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which concluded that a combination of China’s practices are unreasonable, including its outbound investment policies and sponsorship of unauthorized computer intrusions.
In this way, you can draw a direct line from the DOJ’s indictment of China’s military officers in 2014, through China’s commitments in 2015, to our monitoring for compliance with those commitments, and this Administration’s response to China’s economic aggression, which includes state-sponsored theft of intellectual property.
Mabna Institute
In March of 2018, the Department announced charges against nine Iranian nationals associated with the Mabna Institute in Iran for a massive coordinated hacking campaign that targeted intellectual property and other research at more than 300 colleges and universities around the world.
The very purpose of the Mabna Institute, according to the indictment, was to assist Iranian universities and scientific and research organizations obtain access to scientific resources outside Iran. It contracted with the Iranian government (including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.) as well as private organizations, and it sold some of the stolen data on websites marketed to Iranian customers.
The indictment alleges the campaign was executed in three phases:
- First, the defendants researched which university professors were doing work of interest to the Iranians. The defendants targeted data across all fields of research and academic disciplines, including science and technology, engineering, medicine, and the social sciences.
- Next, they e-mailed the authors, feigning interest in their work, and tricking them into clicking on malicious links, and stealing their credentials.
- Finally, they used those credentials to steal academic journals, theses, dissertations, and books they would not otherwise have access to.
Over the course of four years, the Mabna Institute and these nine individuals are accused of stealing more than 31 terabytes of academic data, intellectual property, and communications. That amounts to 7.75 trillion sheets of paper. (And that’s printing double-sided.) U.S. universities had collectively spent $3.4 billion to have access to that intellectual property.
The charges themselves virtually guarantee the defendants cannot leave Iran without arrest. And on the day they were announced, the Department of the Treasury, leveraging our investigation, sanctioned the Mabna Institute and the defendants “for engaging in malicious cyber-enabled activities related to the significant misappropriation of economic resources or personal identifiers for private financial gain,” under a provision of Executive Order 13694 (2015).
DPRK
In September, the Department unsealed a massive complaint, outlining some of the government’s proof behind its prior, higher-level attribution that North Korea launched a destructive malware attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, stole $81 million from the Bank of Bangladesh in 2016 (and attempted to steal at least $1 billion from other banks), and created the malware used in the WannaCry 2.0 global ransomware attack last year.
The complaint lays out more than 170 pages of evidence that a single conspiracy, backed by the North Korean government, was responsible for those crimes among others, and it identifies one of the men who was a member of that conspiracy.
As the complaint makes clear, however, the U.S. government was not alone in this investigation. The complaint cites to security researchers whose expertise and dogged pursuit of the threat was critical to the allegations of the complaint. Our investigative efforts not only validate theirs, they yield specific information that expanded the security community’s understanding of the Lazarus Group (a popular name for the intrusion set) and how best to protect against it.
USADA, et al.
Finally, this brings me to this morning’s announcement of an indictment in Pittsburgh (where the first public national security cyber case was unsealed in 2014).
A grand jury there has indicted seven Russian GRU officers with an international hacking conspiracy targeting international anti-doping organizations, among others.
Among the conspiracy’s goals: to publicize stolen information as part of an influence and disinformation campaign designed to undermine, retaliate against, and otherwise delegitimize those organizations, which had publicly exposed Russia’s state-sponsored athlete doping program; and to damage the reputations of athletes around the world by falsely claiming that such athletes were using banned or performance-enhancing drugs.
The indictment also alleges how, when the efforts to obtain remote access failed to achieve their objectives, the GRU sent several of the defendants to locations where their targets were physically located. Then, using specialized equipment, those close access teams hacked the WiFi networks used by the victim organizations or their personnel (like hotel networks where they were staying).
There are some who question this approach, of criminally investigating and charging hackers sponsored by foreign states, often because we have not yet arrested the defendants I have described above.
It is probably easy to forget that, until relatively recently, such charges were unheard of, because for a long time, we viewed the problem of foreign state-sponsored hacking through the lens of intelligence collection alone, without regard to disruption and deterrence (which are our objectives in confronting terrorism, espionage, and other challenging national security threats).
But imagine a world in which there are no criminal charges, no detailed, formal allegation of wrongdoing (which the government is prepared to stand behind in court). The private sector would be left alone to accuse the guilty, without recourse. What message does that send to a foreign hacker?
Certainly not the same message we have sent to Karim Baratov, the 23-year-old hacker who worked with FSB officers to hack into e-mail accounts around the world, who was recently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after being arrested in Canada and waiving extradition. Or to Ardit Firizi, the Kosovar who was arrested in Malaysia, pled guilty here, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, for giving ISIS PII for 1,300 military and government personnel, which he stole from the network of a U.S. retailer. Or to countless other hackers arrested on purely criminal charges, who thought they were safe from the consequences for their actions, because they operated under regimes that ignored (if not sponsored) their crimes.
And even in the cases above (where we have yet to apprehend a defendant), the charges were never the end of the story: whether it is trade remedies, sanctions, contributions to network defense, or diplomatic efforts to rally likeminded nations to confront an adversary together, all of those charges served a greater purpose.
Privacy
So often, privacy is spoken about as if it is a value opposed to law enforcement. But each of the cases I described vindicates the right to privacy, whether it is the right of a company to control who has access to its trade secrets, or of professors to prevent their hard-earned research from being stolen, preempted, and plagiarized; the expectation of privacy we have in our e-mail communications or our medical records.
Privacy isn’t dead, but it is under attack, and much of what we are doing through law enforcement honors the privacy of innocent persons, by investigating those who would breach it. As the Sony case as well as the GRU cases illustrate, data breaches are not just trees that fall in forests when no one else is around; their consequences are often painfully visible to their victims (and the rest of the world).
But leaving aside these examples of DOXing, I want to shift gears for a moment, to talk about the Department of Justice’s changing approach to personal privacy, and why the privacy of your personal information can be a matter of national security.
This portion of my remarks comes from a different vantage point, from my experience with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (or CFIUS), where I represent the Department.
Now CFIUS, for those of you who are not familiar, is a committee of federal departments that reviews foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses for national security risk. When it finds risks that cannot be mitigated, it recommends actions to the President, who has the authority to prohibit a transaction.
CFIUS does not review the vast majority of foreign investments in the United States. Even among those transactions we do review, we usually conclude that there are no unresolved national security concern.
A classic example of the risk CFIUS examines arises when the target of an acquisition is in close proximity to a DOD facility. But an increasing focus of DOJ’s work on the committee relates to data security, to the potential national security consequences of personal information ending up in the wrong hands. The kind of information I am talking about is collected every day, from thousands or even millions of consumers. Transaction information, PII, health information, even smartphone habits.
Now you might ask why the security of that kind of consumer data would be relevant to CFIUS, whose mission is to protect national security. And ten years ago, or so, such information did not seem like it would be. But a few things have changed.
First, the volume and variety of data has increased exponentially. Information that was not previously stored in a digital form now is. And the rate at which data are being created, the velocity of data growth, is increasing.
Consider the increasing connectedness of physical devices and sensors, often referred to as the Internet of Things. Everything from medical devices, such as pacemakers, to fitness trackers, to the control systems that deliver water and power to our businesses and homes. One estimate predicts the number of Internet-connected devices will reach more than 20 billion by 2020. These Internet-connected devices have increased the volume, variety, and velocity of information.
Take cars, for example. Not long ago, a car was essentially a mechanical device, an engine with seats that moved you from point A to point B. Whatever limited electronic components it had were self-contained.
Today’s cars, by contrast, contain communication devices, sensors, GPS navigation, and other computers with a variety of functions. They allow drivers to check fuel levels and tire pressure on their cell phones, track a stolen vehicle over the Internet, call for help from the car in an emergency, and access the same entertainment they’re used to enjoying in their home.
Another example: the universe of health information is rapidly expanding. More people are taking advantage of DNA testing to learn about their health, longevity, paternity, and ancestry. According to one 2017 report, the market for testing has become an $830 million industry. Meanwhile, our smartphones and watches are accruing ever more precise information about our health and habits.
New forms and pools of data merely add to what has been collected for years, and it remains possible for a determined adversary to steal it, given enough time and resources.
A second insight we have developed is that information that seems unimportant, or purely personal, or irrelevant, can, in fact, be used to threaten national security.
In January, a 20-year-old Australian student discovered that open source maps of where Fitbit and other fitness device users frequently go could be used to identify military facilities in remote areas. As the Washington Post put it, “In war zones and deserts in countries such as Iraq and Syria, the heat map becomes almost entirely dark — except for scattered pinpricks of activity. Zooming in on those areas brings into focus the locations and outlines of known U.S. military bases, as well as other unknown and potentially sensitive sites — presumably because American soldiers and other personnel are using fitness trackers as they move around.”
Some data might be valuable, in and of themselves, like a military secret or the admin password to an industrial control system. But other data are valuable because they are part of what a hacker or other malicious actor needs to achieve their objective, to get to their target.
The information a modern car collects provides insight into the users’ network of contacts, entertainment preferences, driving habits, and locations visited on a regular basis.
In the aggregate, this information provides commercial and cultural insights that might have monetary or other use. But this information about the “pattern of life” of a company’s CEO or government official could also be used to target that individual.
By themselves, the music you favor, your children’s birthdates, your anniversary, and the addresses you’ve lived at—these are not national security secrets.
But with that information, a criminal hacker could answer password reset questions or use a password cracker to obtain control of your accounts. And even if it is a personal (as opposed to a professional) account, and I might not care about the last photo you posted from your vacation, masquerading as you online makes it that much easier to trick the people who know you into clicking on a link or otherwise compromising their network security.
Our third insight is this: the fact that most people in a data set might not be targets themselves (in fact, that only a few might be) provides little comfort. Anyone on any form of social media has learned that we are more connected than it seems. In 2016, Facebook reported that its American users were separated by fewer than 3.5 degrees of separation on average. Extrapolating what that means offline, anyone’s information can be useful more for what it tells us about her brother, the CISO at a major bank, or her aunt in the intelligence community.
Our concerns are exacerbated by the fact that traditional methods of de-identification of data (such as anonymization or encryption of content) may be defeated, by, for example, sensor and geolocation data, or by cross-referencing sanitized data sets against others.
Researchers from two studies several years ago reported that, with a sufficient pool of data, they could distinguish a unique user of a cellphone, or a credit card, based on just four geolocations or transactions, respectively, with at least 90 percent accuracy. I cannot vouch for the methodology of those studies, but they give me pause when I think about the potential that nefarious actors could have access to large pools of such data without legal process.
What does this mean for companies, and the way they should think about their data?
First, and most important, they should not assume that hackers are not interested in the data or that it cannot be used to threaten national security.
Second, cybersecurity policies and practices need to keep pace as businesses grow and deploy new technologies, such as biometric identification or artificial intelligence.
Third, joint ventures or other arrangements with foreign parties may provide network access or other elements of control over data. Businesses should consider the ways an aggressive foreign intelligence service could exploit that data, in light of other data it might have from other sources.
Fourth, and finally, report computer intrusions, because the breach you think is merely a private matter, may in fact be a matter of national security.
Partnerships
This brings me to the final theme, partnerships. The cases we bring require true partnerships, between law enforcement and the victims who cooperate with us; between us and the intelligence community and other components of the government; and, increasingly, between our government and the governments of likeminded nations, whether in gathering and sharing information, validating our conclusions, extraditing defendants, or imposing other consequences.
But as much as I believe in the value of criminal prosecutions, we have always known that we will not prosecute our way to cybersecurity. The partnership that may be most critical to our future is among the professionals in and out of government who share common goals. Which is why one of the National Security Division’s greatest successes this year did not result in a criminal charge.
In May, agents of the FBI were tracking a virulent botnet infecting home and office routers around the world, attributed to the same group responsible for today’s indictment, known to some as “Fancy Bear.”
The botnet was growing at an alarming rate by that point, and private sector researchers studying it told us they felt an increasing urgency to publish what they knew, so that affected router manufacturers, ISPs, and others could take steps to protect the public before it was too late.
There was no easy technical solution to this pernicious malware. Its second stage (which could steal information and even brick the device) could be cleared from memory with a simple restart, but if a router were infected, complete mitigation could be virtually impossible, short of replacement, because the first stage of malware (the actors’ toe-hold in the system) would just call out for instructions to reinfect.
With no time to waste, in little more than a week (including late nights and a weekend), agents and prosecutors devised the best mitigation plan they could under the circumstances.
In a coordinated action,
- one company would shut down the accounts that would be the primary means of reinfection, if the second stage of the malware were purged;
- the FBI obtained an order, allowing it to seize control of a domain that was the secondary means reinfection, and allowing it to record the IP addresses of routers that attempted to reinfect;
- finally, by partnering with the non-profit Shadowserver Foundation, FBI ensured that IPs of infected devices would be shared with those who could best assist their remediation, including foreign CERTs and ISPs.
Researchers drew attention to the botnet at the same time that the FBI executed the orders and blasted out a public service advisory to restart your router, purging the second stage of malware and causing the first stage to call out for instructions, now to the FBI’s server, so that help could be alerted. These efforts were our best effort to identify and remediate the infection worldwide in the time available, before Fancy Bear actors learned of the vulnerabilities in the C2 infrastructure through the research firm’s imminent announcement.
Last week, Cisco Talos, the research firm I mentioned, published a follow-up to its original report. It found that the VPNFilter malware possessed even greater capabilities than previously identified, in the form of third-stage malware modules that provide additional capabilities to map networks, exploit systems connected to infected devices, and obfuscate or encrypt malicious traffic.
But Cisco Talos also reported, based on information from partners as well as its own analysis, that “it appears that VPNFilter has been entirely neutralized since” the effort I described earlier by a coalition of international partners (which included the Cyber Threat Alliance). So far, they said, there have been no signs of the actors attempting to reconnect with the devices that remain infected with the pernicious first stage of the malware. Not bad, for the first (but I promise you, not the last) effort to mitigate a botnet tied to nation-state actors.
Once, there was no one. Attribution was whispered in classified channels alone. We spoke, haltingly at first, of cyber threats “emanating from Asia.” Then the U.S. led the way, calling out the malicious behavior of specific foreign states, first in speeches, then by indictment.
Today, we are joined by three other nations in attributing specific conduct to Russia.
I cannot tell you where our commitment to partnership will take us next. But I can tell you, based on this, that there is reason for hope, and to continue working together to maintain an “open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet.”
Defendants in Three Separate Cases Plead Guilty to Federal Fentanyl Distribution ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Over the past three days, three separate defendants have pleaded guilty to federal charges relating to the distribution of fentanyl. First, Leslie Patillo, Jr. age 36, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl. Second, on October 3, 2018, Kamalah Nicole Cordell, age 31, also of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to the federal charge of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Third, on October 2, 2018, Robert Luke Simpson, age 24, of Gambrills, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose. Each of these three defendants distributed at least 32 grams of fentanyl, or enough to kill 16,000 people.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr.; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.
U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution. We’re also targeting drug dealers who use guns and increase the risk of gun violence in Maryland, as well as those who buy fentanyl on the dark web and re-sell this poison to our citizens. Working together with our local, state, and federal partners, we are determined to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Maryland.”
Kamalah Nicole Cordell
According to her plea agreement, from at least 2017 through January 2018, Cordell conspired with others, including Antoine Henderson, to distribute fentanyl and other drugs in the area of Washington County, Maryland. In August and September 2017, investigators conducted at least six controlled purchases of either fentanyl or crack cocaine from Cordell and/or Henderson. According to their plea agreements, the controlled purchases were supposed to be heroin, but lab results showed that the substances provided by Cordell and/or Henderson were in fact fentanyl, not heroin. On January 17, 2018, search warrants were executed at two locations and three vehicles associated with Cordell and Henderson. At the stash house, located on Atlantic Drive in Hagerstown, agents recovered 80.22 grams of fentanyl, located in the bottom compartment of a Coca-Cola vending machine in the garage. Cordell and Henderson own and operate a vending machine company. The agents also recovered 9 mm ammunition, a drug press, digital scales, cellular phones, and other drug paraphernalia. At Cordell and Henderson’s primary residence, located on Lantern Lane in Hagerstown, the agents recovered additional cellular phones, a currency counter, jewelry, and a garage opener that opened the garage at the stash house. Cordell admitted that her participation in the conspiracy involved at least 32 grams but less than 40 grams of fentanyl.
Leslie Patillo, Jr.
Patillo was part of the same drug organization and admitted that he distributed fentanyl and other drugs in the Washington County, Maryland area. According to his plea agreement, on April 10, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Patillo’s residence and recovered 99.44 grams of a combination of fentanyl and heroin, as well as drug paraphernalia. In addition, a knotted baggie was found on Patillo’s person that contained .82 grams of a combination of heroin and fentanyl. Investigators also recovered $26,680 in cash from the home, believed to be the proceeds of Patillo’s drug distribution. A storage unit in Patillo’s name was also searched and three guns, each packaged with a loaded magazine, were seized from the unit. One of the magazines, packaged with a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, was loaded with six rounds of hollow-point ammunition.
Robert Luke Simpson
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Simpson’s residence and found 6,200 fentanyl pills weighing approximately 369 grams, in a hidden compartment in a wall-mounted shelf and on a desk. Officers also found $8,578 in cash, as well as cell phones, computers, iPads, and Bitcoin cryptocurrency mining equipment. Simpson admitted that he purchased 10,000 fentanyl pills from a dark web marketplace for approximately $10,000 worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Simpson sold the fentanyl pills for $5 to $10 each to customers in Maryland. Simpson admitted that he sold between 400 grams and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl.
Antoine Jamel Henderson, age 35, of Hagerstown, Maryland previously pleaded guilty. Henderson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Henderson will be sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for both Cordell and Patillo on January 3, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively. Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.
U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for Simpson on March 2, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; and Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr. for their work in the Cordell and Patillo investigation. U.S. Attorney Hur commended HSI Baltimore, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for the work in the Simpson investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joan C. Mathias and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting the Cordell and Patillo Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas A. Mitchell, who is prosecuting the Simpson case.
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Dallas Texas Man Sentenced to over 6 Years in Federal Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Juan Francisco Alcocer, age 32, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to 75 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, during January 2018, investigators received information that Alcocer was distributing methamphetamine in Northwest Arkansas. During the course of the investigation, probable cause was established to support a search warrant for Alcocer’s hotel room. During the search of the hotel room, law enforcement officers revealed pipes, digital scales, and bags of methamphetamine. The DEA Crime Lab results confirmed that the substance seized weighed and contained 480.03 grams of actual methamphetamine.
Alcocer was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2018 and entered a guilty plea in June 2018.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Springdale Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Driver prosecuted the case for the United States.
DOJ Awards more than $3.5 Million to Improve Forensic Science and Address DNA BacklogRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice has awarded grants worth more than $3.5 million to improve forensic science and address DNA testing backlogs in Washington State, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. The grants will help the Washington State Patrol keep up with an increasing number of referrals for DNA testing, and will improve toxicology testing related to the opioid epidemic.
“We are seeing how advanced DNA testing is leading to major breaks in long unsolved criminal investigations,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “These Department of Justice grants will increase the capacity of WSP and will assist individual counties as they complete investigations. In addition, the funding for quicker turnaround of toxicology screening is critical to all of our efforts to address the impact that fentanyl and other dangerous drugs are having on Washington communities.”
The Washington State Patrol Crime Labs will receive a total of $2,347,180 to enhance their capacity to analyze DNA and reduce a backlog of samples waiting for analysis. There are five casework DNA laboratories in Washington: Seattle, Tacoma, Marysville, Vancouver and Spokane. The grant monies will pay for new equipment and space renovation in the Vancouver lab to increase capacity, and will pay additional staff to work there. The grant will also pay for training for workers on the latest DNA advances and will pay for overtime to keep up with cases.
Despite an increase in productivity, the backlog of cases waiting for analysis continues to increase. In 2017, the backlog of cases waiting for analysis increased from 3,168 to 4,562 and the number of new cases sent to the lab was 5,197. The number of new cases was just slightly below the number of new cases submitted in 2016. The turnaround time for requests increased from 83 days to 208 days.
Legislation in 2015 and 2016 increased the number of sexual assault kits that must be analyzed for DNA with the resulting data entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. The DOJ funding is critical for the WSP labs to keep up with the increased caseload.
A second $500,125 grant is aimed at post-conviction testing of DNA for cases where such testing may exonerate a wrongfully convicted individual.
Finally, a $250,000 grant will pay for additional staff and equipment for the WSP Toxicology Laboratory. The lab currently has a backlog of more than 2,650 cases with a turnaround of 75 days. The opioid crisis has increased requests for analysis 45 percent over the last five years. The lab is critical to identifying new synthetic opioids that are being trafficked in our communities.
Additional information about the grant and WSP forensic laboratories please contact WSP’s Phil Hodge (206) 262-6020 or Mary Keller (206) 262-6005.
Continued Increase in Federal Regional Violent Crime ProsecutionsRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – The United States Attorney’s Office will prosecute aggressively violent criminals and drug dealers. Federal prosecution is a powerful tool in the fight to reduce violent crime. At least 85% of federal sentences must be served; there is no parole in the federal system. None. Sentences are served in prisons far from St. Louis. Below is a list of defendants prosecuted federally in September as a result of the hard work of police and agents:
Charles T. Currie, 30, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Adam Francisco, 34, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Derrick Franklin, 29, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Shawn Gordon, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Earl Murray, 37, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm.
Myron Coffee, 26, Creve Coeur, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one felony count of possession of felon in possession of a firearm.
Stanford Morris, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl and cocaine base (crack).
Quincy Nelson, 38, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Jametric A. Steele, 48, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Akenele Williams, 32, University City, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Melvin Willis, 47, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of one or more firearms; possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base; and possession of one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Antonio Ball, Jr., 20, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Jermaine Clay, 22, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Damon Douglas, 30, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
William Jones, 27, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Clyde Lockett, 46, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Malachiah Williams, 22, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Carman Ford, 38, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Manuel Francisco, 47, Edgar Springs, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm; unlawful to receive a firearm not registered; and fraud and misuse of Visas/Permits.
Reginald Holmes, 36, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of one or more firearms.
Calvin Johnson, 60, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Harold Lee, 26, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Herbert Palmer, 57, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Lavon Washington, 32, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Wilton Fortson, 61, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Myron Gunter, 37, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Wendell Corey Jones, 58, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Arvell Keithley, 21, Woodson Terrace, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Marqus Parker, 19, Ferguson, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Braylon Roberts, 31, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of armed robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Charles Lamar Roby, 30, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm; possessed one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Angelina Jones, 36, Florissant, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Calvin Monger, Jr., 32, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Earnest Harris, 27, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Tyrone Davis, 46, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Darion Johnson, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Lorenzo Luna-Espinoza, 22, Midland, TX, pled guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by illegal immigrant.
Glenn Reynolds, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Marquise Q. Dukes, 28, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Dirrell Taylor, 26, Wentzville, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Jamel Green, 27, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Deandre Johnson, 24, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Glenn Reynolds, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Robert Goss, 23, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Darian Clark, 25, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Terry Stubblefield, 47, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Daylin L. Crafton, 30, Florissant, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Terry Parker, 34, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Savon Durphey, 24, pled guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possessing with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Rafael Foster, 32, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
William C. Howard, 26, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
David Staples, 49, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Vergil Thomas, 29, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Roland Garner, 33, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Charles G. Ivy, 46, Sullivan, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Jeremiah Hart, 22, St. Peters, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Armon Harris, 39, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
Ernis Basic, 30, St. Louis, pled guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of one or more drug trafficking crimes.
Michael Brown, 21, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Ameche W. Baldwin, 32, Olivette, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Bryian T. Fips, 37, St. Louis, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.
Terrence Akins, 26, St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Darkel D. Martin, 32, East St. Louis, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Cortez Cooper, 38, St. Louis, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Andre Legardy, 25, St. Louis, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for stealing a firearm which is moving in interstate commerce.
Devoshia Gray, 20, St. Louis, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Marlon Adams, 37, St. Louis, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Charles D. Smith, 29, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Deandre Thompson, 46, St. Louis, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Terran Eggleston, 32, St. Louis, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Michael Guest, 61, St. Louis, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Markquis Bryant, 29, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Acotra Weaver, 28, St. Louis, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Andre Adams, 33, St. Louis, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Maurice Cooper, 38, St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Deon D. Story, Jr., 38, St. Louis, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Justin I. Morrow, 20, St. Louis, was sentenced to 144 months in prison for robbery and discharging a firearm during the commission of a federal crime.
Darrius T. Shannon, 37, St. Louis, was sentenced to conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Christopher Wilson, 29, Omaha, NE, was sentenced to 38 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Darryl E. Allen, 50, was sentenced to 13 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Tito Santiago, 34, St. Louis, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
Kevin Nailor, 24, St. Louis, was sentenced to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and felon in possession of a firearm.
Trevon Sykes, 26, St. Louis, was sentenced to 180 months for felon in possession of one or more firearms.
Cleveland man sentenced to 12 ½ years in federal prison for stealing a firearm from a gun show in BereaRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was sentenced to 12 ½ years in federal prison for stealing a firearm from a gun show in Berea.
Anthony Lett, 41, was convicted by a jury earlier this year on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of being in possession of a stolen firearm following a two-day trial in U.S. District Court.
"This is a person with a long history of violence who has no business having a firearm," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. "Our community is safer with him behind bars."
Lett stole a Kahr Arms .45-caliber pistol from a gun show in Berea on April 30, 2016. Lett has prior convictions that make it illegal for him to have a firearm, including convictions for kidnapping, felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon, drug trafficking and other crimes, according to court documents.
Lett is currently serving 20 years in state prison for unrelated convictions including attempted murder, aggravated robbery and other crimes, according to court documents.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Galvin and Elliot Morrison following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Berea Police Department, with assistance from the Cleveland Division of Police.
Citizen of Honduras Pleads Guilty to Reentering U.S. after Being DeportedRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAVIER VASQUEZ MARTINEZ, 39, a citizen of Honduras last residing in Meriden, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to one count of reentry of a removed alien.
According to court documents and statements made in court, VASQUEZ MARTINEZ was deported from the U.S. to Honduras in May 2016 following two state convictions for operating under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, and one conviction for failure to appear.
VASQUEZ MARTINEZ subsequently reentered the U.S. illegally.
On July 2, 2018, VASQUEZ MARTINEZ was arrested by the West Haven Police Department and charged with two counts of evading responsibility resulting in injury/property damage and one count of operating a motor vehicle without a license.
The investigation revealed that VASQUEZ MARTINEZ, using the name “Merary Vasquez,” also had two state convictions in 2007 for operating under the influence.
Judge Hall scheduled sentencing for December 20, 2018, at which time VASQUEZ MARTINEZ faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
VASQUEZ MARTINEZ has been detained since his arrest.
The state charges from July 2018 are pending.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Slater.
Chalmette Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Drug Conspiracy and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, EDLA announced that U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier sentenced CHRIS WELLS, age 35, of Chalmette, Louisiana, to 240 months imprisonment and 8 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to several drug charges, including conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute one hundred grams or more of heroin. WELLS also pled guilty to firearms offenses, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, In March of 2017, members of the NOPD/HIDTA Task Force received information from a source of information that three individuals, including WELLS, were heroin distributors in the area of Mandeville Street and Derbigny Street in New Orleans. Based on that information, officers conducted surveillance in that area.
On Thursday April 13, 2017, officers observed WELLS conduct hand-to-hand narcotics transactions in the area of Mandeville Street and Derbigny Street. Afterward, officers observed WELLS drive to his residence at 406 E. Liberaux Street in Chalmette, Louisiana, then return to North Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans where he picked up an individual. After observing WELLS drive in a manner as if to avoid being followed, officers suspected that WELLS conducted a narcotics transaction with the individual.
After the individual exited WELLS’ vehicle, he attempted to flee from the officers but fell and spilled approximately an ounce of heroin he purchased from WELLS. Officers arrested the individual and seized additional heroin from his pockets.
Officers and DEA Special Agents obtained a search warrant for WELLS’ residence. During the search, officers and agents seized approximately 33 grams of crack cocaine, 70 grams of heroin, and a semi-automatic pistol.
Through further investigation, officers learned that WELLS and his associates used one telephone to conduct heroin transactions. Customers would call the one telephone number and WELLS or his associates would conduct the sale.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
U.S. Attorney’s Office praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Orleans Police Department, and the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys André Jones and Nicholas D. Moses were in charge of the prosecution.
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Caldwell Man Sentenced to over 21 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine in IdahoRead the Press Release
BOISE – Ray Perales, 43, of Caldwell, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 262 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. A federal grand jury indicted Perales on September 14, 2017, and he later pleaded guilty on July 13, 2018. Perales was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Nye.
According to court records, investigators received information in July 2017 that Perales was distributing large amounts of methamphetamine. On July 19, 2017, Perales was arrested for violating his parole. At the time of his arrest, he had a loaded pistol and over $13,000. On August 9, 2017, investigators searched Perales’ mobile home in Homedale, Idaho. During the search, investigators found approximately five pounds of methamphetamine, a digital scale, and $18,231. Perales’ co-defendant, Ricardo Renteria-Castillo, was also in the mobile home.
Perales has a lengthy criminal history with at least four prior felony convictions, including distributing controlled substances. At the time he committed this offense, he was on parole for attempted strangulation. Because of his criminal history, he faced a sentence of at least twenty years in prison.
Perales’ co-defendant, Renteria-Castillo, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. He is scheduled for sentencing on December 6, 2018 before Judge Nye at the Federal Courthouse in Boise. That crime is punishable by at least 10 years up to life in prison.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, and the Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. The following law enforcement agencies also participated in the search of the mobile home in Homedale: Homedale Police Department, Boise Police Department, Valley County Sheriff’s Office, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mini Cassia Drug Task Force.
This indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking the Mother of His ChildrenRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Mark Bieniek, 45, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to cyberstalking. The charge carries a minimum penalty of one year in prison, a maximum of five years, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant and Victim 1 were once partners and had children together. On April 25, 2017, Victim 1 received an order of protection against Bieniek, prohibiting the defendant from communication with Victim 1, except as permitted by order of a family or supreme court.
Between January 25, 2018, and February 19, 2018, Bieniek resided in North Richland Hills, Texas, while Victim 1 resided in Erie County, NY. In violation of the order of protection during this period, the defendant sent several hundred electronic messages to Victim 1 with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or cause substantial emotional distress to Victim 1 or to place Victim 1 in reasonable fear of the death of or serious injury to herself or her partner, Victim 2. Among the messages:
• “I got [Victim 2]..” “I may spend the rest of my life in prison. But it’ll be worth it…I can’t wait to see him…Texas has lots and lots of pawnshops”
• “Hi [Victim 2]! Looking forward to meeting you…My brother killed someone…so can I (expletive)”
• “I like the pictures you posted. I’m coming fir you [Victim 2]. Now I know exactly what you look like. I’ll see you soon.” “(Expletives) I’m going to murder your boyfriend while you watch.”
• Images of the defendant holding an object resembling a black pistol along with the message, “It’s time [Victim 1]. I’m going to let you make the decision.”
• Photos of the outside of Victim 1’s place of employment with the message, “I’m wondering…Are you planning on coming out?”
• “I am here and I will get you. Maybe tonight I’ll just torch the place or ill wait to see the looks on your faces.”
• “see i paid a lot to put this whole plan together and i sawed off the end of my attitude adjuster. i have patience. be sure to look over your shoulder mother fucker because there will be dead bodies when I’m thru. Starting with your face getting a few slugs.”
• “I have nothing left [Victim 1]. You took it all. Idc what i have to do. You will hear my cries.” “I have two things i must do. Get you. No matter what. Then get myself.”
• “I know that you are alone and scared up there.”
• “I can feel the the hate for me. I can smell your feae.” “Fear.”
• “[Victim 2] you and [Victim 1] are going to die”, “Tomorrow”, “I promise you this sir”, “You are both dead”
• I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER CAROLS LAST BREATH IF SHE WERE TO ASK ME HER LAST DYING WISH TO NOT DO ANYTHING TO HURT OR SCARE YOU...LIKE SHE HAS BEFORE BUT YOU DONT CARE. IF SHE ASKED ME FOR THAT ONE LAST WISH BEFORE SHE TOOK HER LAST BREATH I'D LOOK HER IN HER EYES AND TELL HER I CANNOT CAN NOT GIVE YOU THIS WISH.The defendant has a history of domestic violence-related conduct towards Victim 1. On December 17, 2011, he was arrested for assaulting, including choking and kicking, Victim 1 with intent to cause physical injury. As a result, Victim 1 feared death or serious injury to herself and Victim 2 and suffered substantial emotional distress.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, with assistance from the FBI in Fort Worth, Texas.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 28, 2019, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
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Bowie County Felon Guilty of Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
TEXARKANA, Texas – A 79-year-old Hooks, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to federal firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Robert D. Whittington, III, a retired Lt. Colonel with the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of ammunition today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven.
According to information presented in court, on Mar. 7, 2018, federal agents executed a search warrant at Whittington’s residence on Avenue D in Hooks, Texas. During the search, officers discovered 119 firearms and over 19,000 rounds of ammunition. Whittington was convicted of terrorizing on Jan. 3, 2011 in Bossier Parish, LA, and as a convicted felon is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. Whittington was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas on May 16, 2018.
Under federal statutes, Whittington faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
Boston Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Distributing Drugs in and Around Public Housing DevelopmentRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston gang member pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to distributing crack cocaine in a Jamaica Plain housing development.
Dominique Finch, aka “Heff,” 27, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a public housing facility. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Jan. 9, 2019.
Following a two-year investigation, Finch and eight co-defendants were charged in January 2018 in connection with illegal drug distribution and firearm possession within and near the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments in Jamaica Plain, formerly known as the Bromley Heath Housing Development. On July 6, 2016, Finch, a member of the Heath Street Gang, conspired with his brother to distribute crack cocaine inside the development. According to court records, Finch has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, witness intimidation, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Finch was on pretrial release in Suffolk Superior Court at the time he and his brother made the drug sale.
The investigation and arrests sought to reduce violence and improve the quality of life for residents of the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments by removing individuals who trafficked drugs and who were involved in gang activity in and around the development.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base within 1000 feet of a public housing facility provides for mandatory minimum sentence of one year and no greater than 40 years in prison, a minimum of six years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $2 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the Boston Housing Authority’s Department of Police and Public Safety.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Bluefield Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A Bluefield man pled guilty today to a federal gun charge, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Tykeem Freeman, 25, entered his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“What can I say? Another convicted felon. On parole. With a firearm,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “These cases just keep coming and we keep prosecuting them. Now, he is still a felon, no longer on parole, and no longer possessing a firearm.”
Freeman admitted that April 19, 2018, agents with the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives executed a search warrant at the house he was living in with his brother. When the agents entered the residence, Freeman was in possession of a Ruger, LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol. He admitted that he attempted to hide the pistol from law enforcement officers because he knew he was not supposed to possess any firearms because he was a convicted felon. He also admitted that at the time he committed this offense, he was still on parole out of the state of Virginia. Freeman was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of a 2016 drug-related felony conviction in Tazewell County, Virginia.
Freeman faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on January 31, 2019.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is responsible for the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
SDWVNews and USAttyStuart
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Benton County Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Anthony Monjure, age 23, of Bentonville, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison followed by twenty-five years of supervised release on one count of Accessing the Internet with the Intent to View Child Pornography. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, in April of 2017, the FBI conducted a nationwide undercover investigation into individuals utilizing the internet to post, download, and have discussions about child pornography. During the investigation, the FBI located a social media group that was created and maintained solely for like-minded individuals to share child pornography. While monitoring the group, FBI agents determined that one member, who utilized the screen name of “horneyaf3785,” was from Northwest Arkansas. Ultimately, law enforcement identified the individual from Northwest Arkansas, as Anthony Monjure, a sex offender from Bentonville. In August of 2017, a federal search warrant was executed at Monjure’s residence. During the execution of the warrant, the FBI located in Monjure’s possession a cellular phone, which had the user ID of horneyaf3785 saved to the device.
In June of 2018, Monjure pleaded guilty to Accessing the Internet with the Intent to View Child Pornography. During his change of plea, the Government provided the Court with evidence that Monjure had previously been convicted of an offense related to the Possession of Child Pornography.
This case was investigated by the Federal bureau of Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.
Attorney General Sessions Issues Statement in Support of the Administration’s National Counterterrorism StrategyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement in support of the Administration’s release of a National Counterterrorism Strategy:
“The first duty of any government is to keep its citizens safe,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “The terrorist threat to this nation remains serious, but under President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice has done its part to protect the American people. Every day, our officers are working around the clock and around the world to identify, disrupt, and investigate terrorists and their enablers. This past Christmas we successfully thwarted an alleged planned attack on San Francisco. Today, the Trump administration takes an historic next step by releasing its National Counterterrorism Strategy. I applaud President Trump’s leadership on this issue as well as the principles laid out in the Strategy, and the American people can be assured that it will help this administration keep them safe.”
Anchorage Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Robbing Same Bank Three Separate TimesRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that an Anchorage man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in three separate bank robberies of the same Wells Fargo branch on Debarr Road, occurring on July 7, 2017; April 3, 2018; and April 16, 2018.
Christopher Hatting, 38, of Anchorage, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason, to serve four years in prison for each bank robbery, to be served concurrently, followed by five years of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty as charged to three counts of bank robbery. Hatting’s co-defendants from the April 3, 2018, robbery were sentenced last week. Bethany McKeel, 31, of Anchorage, was also sentenced to serve four years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to one count of bank robbery. Derrick Moore, 29, of Anchorage, was sentenced to serve 56 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to one count of bank robbery.
According to court documents, on April 3, 2018, Hatting, Moore, and McKeel drove together to the Wells Fargo branch on Debarr Road in a GMC Yukon SUV. As McKeel parked and waited at a nearby cul-de-sac, Moore and Hatting ran inside the bank. Hatting, wearing a camouflaged jacket, entered the bank wielding a realistic air-pistol, with Moore, who was wearing a dark jacket and holding a bag. The two stole approximately $15,316 from several teller stations by threatening tellers and clientele with the pistol wielded by Hatting, while Moore went from teller to teller collecting the stolen money into his bag. Hatting and Moore then rejoined McKeel in the Yukon and left the area. The three then abandoned the vehicle, which was discovered the following day by APD officers. The vehicle was found to contain evidence linking the three to the bank robbery, including the jackets they wore, the air-pistol, and a credit card in Hatting’s name.
McKeel and Moore were arrested on April 25, 2018, and Hatting was ultimately arrested on May 15, 2018, while hiding in a secluded property in Eagle River. After Hatting was arrested for his role in the April 3, 2018, bank robbery, it was revealed that that he was responsible, along with other individuals, for two other robberies of the same Wells Fargo branch location – one committed the previous year on July 7, 2017, and the other committed on April 16, 2018.
Specifically, on July 7, 2017, Hatting was driven to the Wells Fargo branch by another co-conspirator, who waited in the parked car in a nearby cul-de-sac. Hatting applied makeup on his face and put cotton balls in his cheeks in an attempt to disguise himself. Both the makeup and cotton balls had been shoplifted by Hatting shortly before the bank robbery. Once he entered the bank, Hatting approached a teller with a note demanding money, which he had created from letters cut out of a magazine. Hatting stole approximately $3,000 from the teller before exiting the bank and rejoining his co-conspirator. On April 16, 2018, Hatting again entered the same Wells Fargo branch, by himself, masked, and holding what appeared to be a pistol. He stole approximately $4,101 before leaving the area with a co-conspirator.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Alexander.
Amir Hossain Rasekh Sentenced to Serve 33 Months in Prison for Defrauding Social SecurityRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On October 2, 2018, Amir Hossain Rasekh, 40, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, to serve 33 months in federal prison for stealing Social Security benefits from unsuspecting seniors through a conspiracy involving theft of their personal information. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $547,719.20.
Rasekh pleaded guilty in May 2018, to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. From 2012 until his arrest in June 2017, Rasekh engaged in a scheme involving the theft of Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits from unsuspecting victims, including using their personal identification information (PII) to sign up for benefits online. He and other individuals, who are currently unknown to law enforcement, then directed the payment of the monthly SSA benefits to prepaid debit cards issued by Green Dot and under their control. Over the five-year period of the scheme, Rasekh stole $547,719.20 in SSA benefits.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to pursue prosecution of individuals who commit crimes against our district’s older residents,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey. “We encourage anyone near retirement age to protect themselves from fraudulent acts such as these by contacting the Social Security Administration to ensure that their personal identification information has not been used without their knowledge.”
Agencies involved in this investigation included the SSA, Office of the Inspector General and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Dale, Jr. and Jennifer Kolman represented the United States in court proceedings.
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Alleged Latin Kings Members Charged with Kidnapping and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Brian C. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Hartford Police Chief David Rosado today announced that, on October 2, 2018, a grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging five alleged members of the Almighty Latin Kings Nation (“Latin Kings”) with kidnapping a firearm offenses.
The four-count indictment charges each of the following individuals with one count of kidnapping, one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one count of carrying and using a firearm in during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence:
LUIS PITT, a.k.a. “Macho,”Cuz-o,” 23, of Hartford
JONATHAN OTERO, a.k.a. “Jax” 25, of Hartford
PEDRO CARILLO, a.k.a. “P,” 23, of Hartford
ANTHONY CARILLO, a.k.a. “Boogie,” 20, of Hartford
JOSUE FRANCO, a.k.a. “Sway,” 23, of HartfordPitt and Anthony Carillo were arrested today. They appeared before U.S. Magistrate Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and are detained. Otero, Pedro Carillo and Franco are incarcerated in state custody for unrelated offenses.
As alleged in the indictment, on January 26, 2018, Franco and Anthony Carillo lured an individual (“the victim”) to a residence on Benton Street in Hartford. When the victim entered the residence, Pitt and Otero were waiting. Pitt, Otero, Anthony Carillo and Franco then threatened, assaulted, and tortured the victim and prevented him from leaving the residence. After the victim was restrained, Pedro Carillo arrived at the residence and participated in the ongoing assault and torture of the victim. At times, the victim was threatened and assaulted with a firearm.
The indictment alleges that the defendants forced the victim to call his father and demand a ransom. The victim was threatened that, if the victim’s family did not pay the ransom, the victim would be harmed or killed.
It is alleged that the victim was moved to different locations in order to obtain the ransom. The victim eventually escaped.
The kidnapping charges carry a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and the firearm charges carry a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of seven years.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department. The Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes Division has provided critical assistance to the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin and Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – John Hanrahan, 57, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Hanrahan faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. However, if the court determines that Hanrahan is a career offender, he faces a prison sentence within the range of 30 years to a maximum of life imprisonment.
Hanrahan, whose prior criminal history includes felony convictions for conspiracy, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit fraudulent use of credit cards, aggravated battery on a police officer, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets violent, repeat offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target for federal prosecution violent or repeat offenders with the goal of making communities in New Mexico safer places for people to live and work.
DEA agents arrested Hanrahan in March 2016, when they executed a state search warrant at his residence and seized approximately 1961 grams of heroin, 128 grams of methamphetamine and more than $15,000 in cash.
Hanrahan subsequently was indicted on April 12, 2016, and was charged with possession of heroin and methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the indictment, Hanrahan committed the offenses on March 17, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
Hanrahan has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of the DEA and FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristopher N. Houghton and Alexander M. Uballez are prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Additional Charges Filed Against Plains Township Man Indicted for Firebombing the Luzerne County Children and Youth Office BuildingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment on October 2, 2018, charging Phillip Finn, Jr, age 48, of Plains Township, Pennsylvania, with interstate communications and using fire to commit a felony.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the superseding indictment charges Finn with using his email account to send a Luzerne County caseworker threatening emails between March 4, 2017 and March 5, 2017. It also alleges that on March 6, 2017, Finn used three Molotov cocktails to firebomb the Luzerne County Children and Youth Services building in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to commit the felony of stalking.
On July 11, 2017, Finn was indicted on charges of stalking, interstate communications and malicious damage to federal property by fire. The indictment alleged that between March 3, 2017 and March 6, 2017, Finn used Facebook, Google and his cell phone to engage in a course of conduct, to harass and intimidate two Luzerne County Children and Youth Services employees. The superseding indictment added the charge of use of fire to commit a felony and an additional count of interstate communication.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The combined maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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12 Defendants Charged in Federal Investigation Targeting Heroin Trafficking on West Side of ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Twelve individuals are facing federal charges as part of an investigation into heroin trafficking on the West Side of Chicago.
As part of the investigation, dubbed “Operation Dirty Ice,” law enforcement intercepted cellphone communications between the defendants, conducted extensive surveillance, and performed court-authorized searches of residences in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and west suburban Bellwood. During the probe, authorities seized one and a half kilograms of heroin, a half kilogram of crack cocaine, more than $892,000 in illicit cash proceeds, and a stolen handgun.
The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, whose principal mission is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges eleven defendants with conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, and one defendant with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. Many of the defendants were arrested Tuesday, and they have made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago.
The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Eddie Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The Illinois State Police provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Guzman and Rebekah Holman represent the government.
Charged in the drug conspiracy are DIAMOND LAKE, 42, of Bellwood; DARNELL HUDSON, 42, of Chicago; ANTWION WILLIAMS, 43, of Berwyn; DERRON BARTON, 42, of Chicago; STEVEN MOORE, 41, of Chicago; ROMELL RATLIFF, 40, of Chicago; DEANDRE HUGHES, 23, of Chicago; LAWRENCE JONES, 41, of Chicago; CLAYVON VIVETTER, 30, of Chicago; WILLIE BLAKE, 39, of Chicago; and EDDIE YOUNG, 39, of Chicago. Charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute is TYJUAN YATES, 36, of Chicago.
According to the charges, Lake operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed nearly 500 grams of heroin in the Chicago area on a weekly basis. The organization used Lake’s residence in Bellwood to store bulk quantities of heroin and to prepare the drug for street-level distribution, the complaint states. Lake, Williams and Hudson parceled the drug in distinctive packaging by wrapping it in tinfoil and stapling it inside mini Ziploc bags, the complaint states. Williams and Hudson then allegedly worked with Barton to bring the bags to street-level dealers, including Moore, Ratliff, Hughes, Jones, Vivetter, Blake and Young. After sales on the street, Williams, Hudson and Barton collected cash proceeds and delivered the money to Lake, the charges allege.
From May to October of this year, Lake’s organization distributed at least 10 kilograms of heroin to customers on the West Side of Chicago, the complaint states. Many of the sales allegedly occurred in the city’s Austin neighborhood, including in the 100 block of North LaPorte Avenue, the 5000 block of West Maypole Avenue, and the 4800 block of West Quincy Street.
The charge against Yates stems from a June 2018 seizure of heroin in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, the complaint states. Law enforcement discovered approximately 109 grams of packaged heroin in Yates’s vehicle in the 4400 block of West Fulton Street, according to the complaint.
The conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, while the possession charge against Yates is punishable by up to 20 years. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
3 October 2018
Zuni Pueblo Man Sentenced to Ten Years for 2nd Degree Murder ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Patrick Walela, 33, a member and resident of Zuni Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for his conviction on a second-degree murder charge in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M. Walela will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
The FBI arrested Walela on Dec. 29, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with second degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The complaint alleged that Walela killed a 45-year-old Zuni Pueblo man and seriously injured a 52-year-old Zuni Pueblo man on Dec. 20, 2017, when he caused a single motor vehicle crash in Zuni Pueblo on Dec. 20, 2017. According to the complaint, Walela was intoxicated while driving the vehicle in which the two victims were passengers at an excessive rate of speed. Information extracted from his vehicle’s event data recorder indicated that his vehicle was traveling at speeds between 86 and 97 miles per hour in the seconds leading up to the crash.
Walela was indicted in April 2018 and was charged with second degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The indictment charged Walela with committing the crimes on Dec. 20, 2017 in McKinley County, N.M.
On June 21, 2018, Walela pled guilty to the second-degree murder charge. In entering the guilty plea, Walela admitted killing the victim with malice aforethought. Walela admitted consuming alcohol to the point that he could not operate a vehicle safely, and that he drove a vehicle even though he previously had been convicted of three DUI-related offenses in Zuni Tribal Court and had completed both a “victim impact panel” and “first offender” program informing him of the dangers of drinking and driving. Walela admitted that at the time of the crash, he drove the vehicle in excess of the speed limit and lost control of the vehicle and the victim died as the result of injuries he sustained in the crash.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Zuni Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Murphy prosecuted the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets violent, repeat offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution offenders with the goal of making communities in New Mexico safer places for people to live and work.
Waterbury Man Charged with Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, today announced that a grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment yesterday charging PATRICK ROGERS, 38, of Waterbury, with one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon.
As alleged in court documents, ATF received information that ROGERS was distributing heroin and was interested in acquiring firearms. In August and September 2018, an ATF special agent working in an undercover capacity made two controlled purchases of suspected heroin from ROGERS. ROGERS then agreed to provide a quantity of heroin to the undercover agent in exchange for two firearms. ROGERS was arrested on September 26, 2018, after he met the undercover agent at a location in Waterbury and took possession of two firearms that he traded for 160 bags of heroin.
The indictment alleges that ROGERS was convicted in state court in 1998 of sale of a hallucinogen or narcotic and robbery in the second degree, in 2008 of violation of a protective order, and in 2016 of possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
The charge of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
ROGERS has been detained since his arrest.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Waterbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Virginia Man Sentenced to One-Year Prison Term for Real Estate Investment ScamRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – David Tipton, 52, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to a year and a day in prison for defrauding lenders who provided him with nearly $710,000 towards the purchase and renovation of a residential property in Northeast Washington.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Tipton pled guilty in May 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of mail fraud. He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $448,994 in restitution, as well as an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.
According to the government’s evidence, Tipton owned a company that was created to purchase, renovate, and sell residential real estate in the District of Columbia and Virginia. He signed a contract in January 2013 to purchase a property in the 500 block of 14th Street NE for $450,000 in cash, planning to renovate and sell the property for a profit. He falsely represented that he had the required funds available to close the cash transaction and created a false bank statement to back up the claim. In fact, almost all of the money for the purchase was coming from two unrelated private individuals whom he had met at a real estate investment seminar. Each of them provided Tipton with $224,497, for a total of $448,994, in return for Deeds of Trust securing their interest in the property. Tipton did not tell the settlement company about the loans. As a result, the Deeds of Trust were not recorded.
Additionally, Tipton later obtained $260,000 from a private money lender to renovate the property. Tipton did not disclose to the lender that two other individuals held Deeds of Trust in the property.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Marston, former Criminal Investigator Juan Juarez, Paralegal Specialist Aisha Keys, and former Paralegal Specialist Kristy Penny. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
United States Attorney recounts efforts to combat crime on Project Safe Neighborhoods anniversaryRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that after a year of increased firearm and violent crime prosecutions, that there has been a substantial reduction in violent crime throughout the Western District of Louisiana.
One year ago the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Throughout the past year, the Western District of Louisiana has partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. During this time, the Western District of Louisiana has quadrupled the number of violent crime and firearm prosecutions. And these prosecutions have shown results.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
“We have made reducing violent crime in our district a top priority,” Joseph stated. “Project Safe Neighborhoods is a program that helps our office work with local law enforcement to target the worst offenders. As a result of this, we’ve seen violent crime rates drop in many areas of our state. This program works, and we hope to continue this program to further reduce crime and protect the citizens of our communities. I want to thank each and every law enforcement officer, whether federal, state or local, as well as the prosecutors and Justice Department staff who have worked so hard during this last year to take violent offenders out of our neighborhoods.”
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
In the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana has prosecuted more than 200 defendants throughout the district for firearm related offenses, including felons and drug dealers in possession of firearms.
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office started its prosecutions a year ago with the announcement on October 5, 2017 of indictments of 16 defendants in separate cases across north Louisiana. For more information, see the news release here.
- Throughout the past year, the office has prosecuted firearms related cases under Project Safe Neighborhoods averaging at least one PSN prosecution a week. An example of such prosecutions can be viewed here.
- The U.S. Attorney announced increased prosecutions in Northwest Louisiana. Read more here.
- United States Attorney Joseph announced increased prosecutions in the Acadiana area. More can be learned here.
Community Partnerships
Since the reinvigoration of Project Safe Neighborhoods, these partnerships have been expanded to include the Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office in addition to other agencies.
- For the first time in its history, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Louisiana Attorney General announced a joint effort to increase violent crime prosecutions. See more here.
- The office announced grants available to local law enforcement. See more information here.
- As part of its community outreach efforts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has participated in a number of events and programs to educate and strengthen communities throughout the Western District of Louisiana such as National Night Out and drug prevention education events. See more here.
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration, the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
- With the increase of 200 defendant prosecutions throughout the district, it has resulted in a noticeable reduction in crime across the district. In Shreveport, violent crime has dropped by 13 percent and indications are that similar results are materializing in other communities throughout the district.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
United States Attorney Krueger Announces Progress in Making Communities Safer Through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger explained today that throughout the past year, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
“Every resident of our District deserves to live in a safe community,” United States Attorney Krueger said. “We recognize that reducing violence requires a comprehensive approach that involves all parts of our community. Through the PSN program, we are committed to working together with federal, state, local, and community partners to use all available tools to make our neighborhoods safer.” United States Attorney Krueger highlighted some of the District’s PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
A central focus of the PSN enforcement strategy is to prosecute the most violent groups and individuals who use firearms to commit crimes:
- On January 18, 2018, Joel Rivera was sentenced to 36 years of imprisonment for committing two armed business robberies in the City of Milwaukee. The case was investigated by the Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force, which is a collaboration of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Milwaukee Police Department. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/milwaukee-man-sentenced-36-years-federal-prison-armed-robberies
- On April 29, 2018, Otis Hunter was sentenced to a mandatory 107 years of imprisonment for committing three armed business robberies and two armed carjackings in Milwaukee. His co-actor was sentenced to a mandatory 32 years for committing two of those robberies. The case was investigated by the Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/milwaukee-man-sentenced-107-years-prison-five-armed-robberies
- On May 15, 2018, Elix Powell and Antonio Jamerson were charged with the armed robbery of the Swan Serv-U Pharmacy in the City of Wauwatosa. If they are convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. The case was investigated by the Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force and the Wauwatosa Police Department. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/two-men-indicted-federal-court-armed-robbery-wauwatosa-pharmacy
- On June 26, 2018, seven defendants were charged in a sixteen count indictment alleging, among other charges, a conspiracy to distribute heroin. On August 7, 2018, eight defendants were charged in a twenty-one count indictment for conspiring to distribute heroin as well. The arrest of these fifteen defendants in these two cases led to the recovery of fifteen firearms. The charges resulted from long-term federal, state and local drug investigations, including the Milwaukee Police Department, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (“HIDTA”), the United States Marshals Service, the Milwaukee Sheriff’s Department, the West Allis Police Department and the Wauwatosa Police Department. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/eight-milwaukee-defendants-charged-federal-court-heroin-conspiracy
- On August 1, 2018, Jimmy Desotell was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine while possessing a firearm in Brown County and other communities in Northeastern Wisconsin. The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) and the Brown County Drug Task Force. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/green-bay-man-receives-15-year-sentence-methamphetamine-distribution-and-firearm-charge
- On September 18, 2018, Nickie Foster, Marquel Johnson, and Martell Ford were indicted for committing a series of seven armed robberies of taxi cab drivers and gas station employees in the Milwaukee area. If convicted of all counts at trial, the defendants will face significant mandatory minimum sentences. They will also face a maximum of life in prison. The case was investigated by the Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/three-indicted-robberies-taxi-cab-drivers-and-gas-station-employees
Another significant aspect of the PSN enforcement strategy is to prevent violent crime by prosecuting the illegal proliferation of firearms. Intelligence from ATF and other local law enforcement partners allows criminal investigators to focus their efforts on finding, and ultimately prosecuting, unauthorized firearm dealers and straw purchasers of firearms. For example, on September 18, 2018, Rachel Morzfeld was indicted for falsely claiming that she purchased five firearms for herself, when, in fact, it is alleged that she purchased the firearms for others in Union Grove, Wisconsin. In addition, Federal and state prosecutors regularly communicate to determine the best venue to prosecute individuals who possess firearms illegally.
Community Partnerships
In addition to efforts to prosecute violent offenders, district-based police and prosecutor teams work with community organizations to restore properties to their highest quality, assist residents and business owners in creating and enforcing positive neighborhood norms, and create neighborhood crime-reduction plans focused on prevention of gun violence.
PSN is also focused on positive prisoner reentry, which consists of regular face-to-face call-ins of individuals aged sixteen to twenty-six who recently were released from local, state, or federal correctional institutions. Notification sessions are organized and facilitated by community-based agencies that provide trauma-informed and healing-focused care to those involved in the criminal justice system. The program ensures connections to critical assistance and support to the returning offenders and community resources and services.
Yesterday, October 2, 2018, a Reentry Summit was hosted in Kenosha, featuring inspirational messages from previously incarcerated individuals on how to set returning citizens up for success through healing and right partnerships. The Summit also included networking events to introduce prospective employers to agencies that help prepare formerly incarcerated individuals for the world of work. A similar event was hosted in November 2017 in Milwaukee and was attended by 435 individuals.
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration, the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
- From October 1, 2017, to September 17, 2018, Milwaukee County law enforcement agencies have recovered 2,872 firearms.
- Homicides in the City of Milwaukee have decreased 8%, as of September 30, 2018, compared to the number of homicides committed a year ago at this time.
- Non-fatal shootings in the City of Milwaukee have decreased 16%, as of September 30, 2018, compared to the number of non-fatal shootings a year ago at this time.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
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For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig 414-297-1700
U.S. Marshals Target Violent Offenders in KC Metro AreaRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison and U.S. Marshal Mark S. James announced today the results of a law enforcement operation that resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of multiple firearms and illegal drugs as part of the district’s renewed Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
“One year ago, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the launch of a reinvigorated Project Safe Neighborhoods program nationwide,” said Garrison. “Operation Washout is one example of the strategies we are implementing to reduce violent crime and make every community safer – especially the neighborhoods hardest hit by violent crime.”
“This is but a preview of what is to come,” said James. “In conjunction with our partners at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and the other federal agencies, as well as members of the community, our deputies are working around the clock to rid the streets of these violent criminals victimizing our community.”
Operation Washout
For the past three weeks the United States Marshals Service conducted an enforcement operation in collaboration with the Kansas City and Independence, Mo., Police Departments, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in support of Project Safe Neighborhoods by tracking down some of the area’s most violent and persistent offenders in Operation Washout.
By the end of the three-week enforcement operation, deputy marshals, special agents and detectives arrested 56 people with state and federal felony warrants for violent crimes and drugs. The arrestees were among the most violent and active offenders in Kansas City. They are either known gang members, or subject to previous enforcement action through KC NoVA and KCPD, but continued to commit violent crimes. Officers also seized 10 handguns, two semi-automatic rifles, one shotgun, numerous rounds of ammunition and a variety of drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and cocaine.
The U.S. Marshals Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force-Kansas City division, operates in conjunction with members of the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department and other federal law enforcement partners. The task force objectives are to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug offenses, sex offenders and other serious felonies. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, seven regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.
USA v. Walton
Investigations are currently underway to determine how many of those arrested in Operation Washout will be charged in state or federal court with additional crimes. One defendant, however, was indicted this week after he rammed two law enforcement vehicles while attempting to escape capture.
Brandon L. Walton, 36, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018. The federal indictment charges Walton with one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal law enforcement officers.
Investigators had information that Walton, who had an active warrant for his arrest due to allegedly violating the conditions of his supervised release, was in possession of multiple firearms. Officers located Walton in the parking lot of a tire shop on Sept. 17, 2018, and attempted to pin in his vehicle in order to make an arrest. Walton accelerated, ramming into the front end of a Deputy U.S. Marshal’s vehicle and escaping. Walton accelerated at a high rate of speed while exiting the parking lot, crashed through the tires blocking the exit and traveled airborne before turning north on Troost Avenue. Another Deputy U.S. Marshal attempted to block Walton’s vehicle and their vehicles collided. Walton’s vehicle spun to a stop and was embedded in the fence of a neighboring day care center. Walton attempted to flee on foot, but fell to the ground.
Walton had a Sig Sauer .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in his pants pocket. Officers found two more firearms on the passenger floorboard, a loaded DPMS Panther Arms .223-5.56mm semiautomatic rifle with an extended magazine, and a loaded Micro Draco 7.62x39mm semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Walton has two prior federal felony convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, for which he was under supervised release at the time of his arrest.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Morgan. It was investigated by the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Operation Washout is part of a strategy to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in the Western District of Missouri. Friday, Oct. 5, will mark one year since Attorney General Jeff Sessions reprioritized and enhanced the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, making it the centerpiece of the department’s violent crime reduction strategy.
Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. Project Safe Neighborhoods empowers each U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop targeted, localized violent crime reduction strategies, tailoring solutions to each individual community with the resources of the Department of Justice and the cooperation of community members.
In support of these efforts, the Department of Justice has allocated more than 300 new federal prosecutor positions to the 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Four of those new positions were allocated in the Western District of Missouri, all of whom are now in place and joining the fight.
The Project Safe Neighborhoods effort in this district consists of the federal and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the Kansas City Crime Commission, and several prominent members of our community with law enforcement experience, including former Kansas City Police Department officials, former federal prosecutors, retired federal agents, and former U.S. Attorneys.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
U.S. Attorney’s Office promotes effort to fight violent crime at National Night Out events in Shreveport and AcadianaRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE, La. – U.S. Attorney’s Office staff members and local law enforcement and community leaders met in neighborhoods throughout Caddo, Bossier and Lafayette parishes Tuesday as part of their annual National Night Out crime and drug prevention events. The U.S. Attorney’s participation highlights the teamwork approach of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. This year’s National Night Out marked the one year anniversary of PSN’s reinvigoration.
United States Attorney David C. Joseph, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Cassidy and Leon Whitten, and legal assistants Mona Hardwick, Katina Freeman and Tanya’ Porter joined U.S. Marshal Henry Whitehorn, Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler, Shreveport Police Chief Alan Crump, Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator, the Shreveport Fire Department and other agency representatives for events in Caddo and Bossier Parishes. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamilla A. Bynog, Robert Abendroth, Desiree Williams and Dan McCoy joined the Lafayette Police Department, Lafayette Sheriff’s Department and other agencies for National Night Out events in Lafayette.
Residents unlocked their doors, turned on porch lights and spent the evening outside with family, friends, neighbors, emergency response personnel and city officials. Many neighborhoods throughout Caddo and Bossier parishes hosted a variety of special events such as block parties, cookouts, parades, flashlight walks, contests, youth activities and anti-crime rallies. In Lafayette, residents met at the Martin Luther King Center on Willow Street. The events included music, food, games, fun jumps and displays by the Lafayette Sheriff’s Office, the Lafayette Police Department SWAT Team, Horse Patrol, Motorcycle Unit and the Police Command Bus.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
Thousands of communities across the United States took part in the 35th Annual National Night Out starting in August. To find out more about National Night Out, visit the National Association for Town Watch at natw.org.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Commits to Help Further Reduce Chattanooga Violent CrimeRead the Press Release
Recently, the Chattanooga Police Department announced crime statistics showing reductions in violent crime from 2017 to 2018. According to the statistics, criminal homicides were down 61%; gang member involved homicides were down 53%; and non-fatal shootings involving gang members were down 35%. Overall, persons shot in Chattanooga, both fatal and non-fatal, were reduced by 27%.
These significantly reduced numbers are due, in part, to the collaborative efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement and state and federal prosecutors. Effective violence reduction depends on working in partnership with a wide range of engaged stakeholders.
While these numbers are encouraging, we cannot afford to be complacent. The violent crime rate is still too high. However, local, state and federal resources, working in partnership to address the drivers of violent crime in our communities, will continue to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. As United States Attorney, I am committed to working to drive down violent crime even further.
Last fall, Attorney General Sessions announced the expansion of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which encourages U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to work with the communities they serve to develop customized crime reduction strategies. The PSN program has always been strong in this district and will continue to thrive during this reinvigoration of our crime reduction strategy.
While PSN has been implemented by every U.S. Attorney’s office across the country, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution to reduce crime everywhere. It is about local needs, resources, and partners. Recently, the Eastern District of Tennessee formed a PSN Task Force consisting of representatives from local, state and federal law enforcement across our district. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the PSN Task Force includes representatives from the Chattanooga Police Department, Knoxville Police Department, Greeneville Police Department, First, Second, Sixth, and Eleventh District Attorney’s Offices, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Probation and Parole, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security, and U.S. Probation Office.
As a district, the plan is to attack the violent crime problem by identifying significant offenders and targeting them for either federal or state prosecution. By using the most effective tools and techniques, we target the offenders for prosecution in the jurisdiction that can provide the most certain and appropriate sanction.
One recent example of this was in March 2018, when 31-year old Chris Rayvon Starks of Shelbyville, Tennessee, was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act to serve 180 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in violation of the Gun Control Act. His sentence was enhanced based on his three prior convictions for aggravated robbery.
Since 2013, the City of Chattanooga has funded an attorney position that serves as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and focuses on violent crime cases to help lower shootings and overall violent crime in the City of Chattanooga. Under the reinvigorated PSN program, we hope to maintain this partnership for many years to come. Our goal is to continue working together with all of our law enforcement partners and community leaders and use all available resources to help reduce the violent crime statistics in Chattanooga even further in the coming year.
J. Douglas Overbey, United States Attorney, Eastern District of Tennessee
U.S. Attorney Williams Announces Progress in Making Community Safe Through Project Safe NeighborhoodRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the department’s violent crime reduction strategy.
PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
“Keeping our communities safe is the most sacred duty of law enforcement officials at all levels of government. It remains a key focus of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the entire federal law enforcement community,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “The revitalized PSN program focuses federal resources in support of our state, local and tribal partners’ ongoing effort to reduce violent crime in Oregon. Over the past year, we’ve seen many of the district’s most violent criminals brought to justice as a result of this program.”
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon works in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute the district’s most violent offenders under the PSN program. Recent prosecutions include:
U.S. v. Dencklau et al.
On June 28, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging three members and associates of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club (GJOMC) for racketeering, kidnapping and murder.
Mark Leroy Dencklau, 58, of Woodburn, Oregon; Earl Deverle Fisher, 48, of Gresham, Oregon; and Tiler Evan Pribbernow, 37, of Portland were charged with murder in aid of racketeering; kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death; kidnapping resulting in death and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death. Between June 30 and July 1, 2015, the defendants are alleged to have kidnapped, tortured, and murdered Robert Huggins, a resident of southeast Portland.
Huggins was a former treasurer of a local GJOMC chapter. The indictment alleges Dencklau, Fisher and Pribbernow engaged in the violent actions leading to Huggins’ death for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the GJOMC criminal enterprise.
A 10-day jury trial is scheduled for December 11, 2018.
Read More
U.S. v. Brockner
On August 14, 2018, Jesse Lee Brockner, 32, of Portland, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years’ supervised release for armed bank robbery and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
In August 2017, three men burglarized and stole a vehicle from a barn in Yamhill County, Oregon. Two of the suspects fled in a moving truck and a third in the stolen vehicle. After Yamhill County Sheriff deputies located, arrested and interviewed the two suspects who fled in the moving truck, they identified Brockner as the third suspect. During a search of the moving truck, deputies found a backpack containing approximately $4,000, drug paraphernalia, and Brockner’s driver’s license.
Later the same morning, Brockner robbed a U.S. Bank branch in Beaverton, Oregon wearing a welding mask and holding a firearm. During the robbery, Brockner made numerous threats of physical violence and pointed a handgun at the teller. A witness observed Brockner walk through a parking lot adjacent to the bank and enter a vehicle matching the description of the stolen vehicle.
Approximately two hours later, an FBI Task Force Officer with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) observed a vehicle matching the stolen vehicle’s description in Southeast Portland. After confirming Brockner’s identity, multiple marked PPB patrol units responded to assist the Task Force Officer. A high risk traffic stop was attempted and led to a vehicle pursuit. The pursuit ended in a crash and an officer involved shooting in Northeast Portland. Brockner was arrested and transported to a local hospital to receive medical attention.
Read More
U.S. v. Manzo
On August 27, 2018, Gonzalo Manzo, Jr., 33, of Fresno, California, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In 2017, Manzo coordinated the shipment of a kilogram of cocaine from California to Southern Oregon. Manzo and his co-conspirators sold the cocaine to undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Oregon in exchange for firearms and $21,000 in cash. Manzo intended for the firearms and cash to be transported back to California but agents arrested Manzo and his co-conspirators and the firearms were seized by law enforcement.
Manzo will be sentenced on December 11, 2018.
Read More
U.S. v. Fleet
On September 4, 2018, Christopher James Fleet, 23, of Portland, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for possessing distribution quantities of methamphetamine and two firearms.
On August 23, 2017, deputies from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigation Unit were conducting surveillance at a known drug and gang house in Portland. They observed a vehicle parked in front of the house they believed was connected with Fleet, a drug dealer with an outstanding arrest warrant. Upon leaving the house and attempting to drive away, deputies blocked Fleet using unmarked vehicles and approached him wearing marked law enforcement raid vests. After initially refusing to comply with the deputy’s commands to raise his hands and failing to find an escape route, Fleet surrendered.
During the arrest, deputies found a Kel Tec 9mm firearm and distribution quantities of heroin and methamphetamine on Fleet’s person. They also found a locked backpack in Fleet’s vehicle. The backpack was later found to contain .40 caliber Sig Sauer pistol, drug records, and a digital scale.
Read More
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
U.S. Attorney Murray Announces Progress in Making Our Communities Safer Through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Throughout the past year, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
“In this district, local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement have a long history of working together to protect our communities and reduce violent crime by identifying serial violent offenders, focusing on crime hot spots, and dismantling criminal enterprises,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “In addition to enforcement actions, as part of our strategy under the revitalized PSN program, we have expanded our existing partnerships and created new ones with important community stakeholders on our prevention, education and outreach efforts. Using the additional resources we have received from the Justice Department, will further our mission to increase safety and reduce violent crime in neighborhoods across Western North Carolina,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.
Enforcement Actions
Over the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to identify and prosecute the most violent individuals who use firearms to commit violent crimes:
- On September 25, 2018, three Gaston County drug traffickers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from nine to 17.5 years. The three men were responsible for trafficking multiple kilograms of crack cocaine. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized illegally possessed firearms, including one AK-47 assault rifle, one shotgun, four handguns, and ammunition.
- On September 10, 2018, Johnny Obrian Leach, 31, of Gastonia, N.C. was sentenced to 180 months for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Due to his prior offenses, that included Assault with Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury, Robbery with Dangerous Weapon, and First Degree Kidnapping, Leach received an enhanced sentence as an Armed Career Criminal.
- On September 4, 2018, two high-ranking leaders of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods street gang, including the “Godfather” of the set, who also served as “Chairman” of the UBN, and a second leader who held the rank of “Worldwide High” were each sentenced to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy.
- On August 23, 2018, 11 individuals were arrested on drug and gun charges as part of a PSN initiative in Mecklenburg County.
- On February 13, 2018, 44 individuals were arrested on federal and state drug and gun charges. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement recovered more than 27 firearms and illegal substances, including heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and MDMA (ecstasy) pills.
Community Partnerships
In addition to our law enforcement efforts to identify and prosecute violent offenders, as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s PSN strategy, we have partnered with area schools and community-based organizations on initiatives focusing on prevention and education.
In August 2018, we partnered with the Asheville Police Department and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office to conduct the Law Enforcement Guiding Adolescent Lives (L.E.G.A.L.) training program in Asheville. Volunteer officers and deputies, and 18 young men selected from the Asheville-based youth development program My Daddy Taught Me That, participated in this youth-oriented community outreach initiative, designed to foster positive interactions between young people and members of the law enforcement community.
In partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Schools, Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools, we continue to co-sponsor the Do the Write Thing writing challenge, which gives middle school students an opportunity to examine the impact of violence on their lives, by communicating what they have seen to be the causes of youth violence. By encouraging students to make personal commitments to do something about the problem, the program ultimately seeks to empower them to reduce violence in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with school districts to organize the Violence Prevention Youth Summits. These summits are designed to encourage middle school and high school students to discuss the culture and climate within their schools, to develop conflict resolution skills, to discuss strategies for dealing with social pressures, and to brainstorm on solutions for creating a positive and inclusive school environment for students. In addition to the summits, the Stand Up, Speak Out campaign, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office co-sponsors, encourages students to take the anti-bullying pledge and to make a positive change within their schools.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also working with faith-based organizations in the Asheville area to develop strategies for improving community relations and, specifically, relationships between law enforcement and minority groups.
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump
Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
- In Charlotte, homicides are down 37% compared to the same time last year, and violent crimes involving firearms are down 7%.
In support of the Department’s PSN programs throughout the country, the Attorney General also announced almost $28 million in grant funding to combat violent crime through PSN and another $3 million for training and technical assistance to develop and implement violent crime reduction strategies and enhance services and resources for victims of violent crime. Since the announcement of the reinvigoration of the PSN program in October 2017, the Justice Department has also increased the number of federal prosecutors focused on violent crime. North Carolina has received nearly $1 million in PSN grants, $311,781 of which will be allocated to the Western District. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was also allocated two Assistant U.S. Attorneys to focus on violent crime prosecutions.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
U.S. Attorney Lydon Announces Project Safe Neighborhoods Grants to Combat Violent CrimeRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, SC ------ United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated today the District of South Carolina has been awarded $547,945.00 in Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grants to combat violent crime. The South Carolina Department of Public Safety Office of Highway Safety and Justice Programs will serve as the fiscal agent for the funds, which will be awarded to sub-grantees in a competitive grant process to be announced shortly.
Attorney General Sessions has made PSN the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
South Carolina’s implementation of PSN is called Project CeaseFire. PSN has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs.”
Through the enhanced PSN, the Department of Justice is targeting the most violent criminals in the most violent areas, utilizing policing tools that did not exist even a few years ago. Tools like crime gun intelligence centers (CGIC), which combine intelligence from gunshot detection systems, ballistics, gun tracing, and good old-fashioned police work, help to develop real-time leads on the “traffickers and trigger pullers” who are fueling the violence in their communities. By using modern technologies and cutting-edge police work, the Department of Justice is deploying resources strategically to provide the greatest return on our community-based anti-violence efforts.
The grants announced today build on Attorney General Sessions’ commitment to reducing violent crime in America, as directed by President Trump’s February 2017 Executive Order. The Department has distributed additional resources and built up strong partnerships with local law enforcement in communities plagued by violent crime.
Since the announcement of the reinvigoration of the PSN program in October 2017, the Department of Justice has increased the number of federal prosecutors focused on violent crime by over 300, directed its resources to improving cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies, restored local control of police agencies by reining in excessive use of consent decrees, reformed civil asset forfeiture and restored asset-sharing with state and local law enforcement, and helped fund over 800 hundred officers in police departments across America.
United States Attorney Lydon announced that South Carolina recently received funding for three new violent crime federal prosecutors, as well as additional support staff. These positions will be added to the violent crime unit, which will continue to work alongside our federal, state, and local partners to address violent crime in our communities.
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U.S. Attorney Lydon Announces Progress in Making Our Communities Safer Through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, SC ------ United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated today that one year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
South Carolina’s implementation of PSN is called Project CeaseFire. PSN has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
Sherri Lydon, United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina, has quickly redoubled efforts and resources in combatting violent crime and securing our communities, recently adding federal prosecutors in the Columbia, Greenville, and Florence offices. “We are ‘all in’ with our state and local partners and committed to turning the tide of violence in South Carolina.”
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN/Project CeaseFire actions over the past year in South Carolina:
Enforcement Actions
Across the state, federal partners have worked hand in hand with local law enforcement agencies to make our communities safer by getting the most violent armed recidivists off our streets and out of our communities. One of the programs implemented under PSN/Project CeaseFire in South Carolina is “Operation Real Time,” which is designed to fast-track the most violent armed offenders to federal court, where many times they face stiffer penalties for firearm offenses and swift justice.
During 2017 – 2018, the USAO has prosecuted 533 armed offenders in 178 federal criminal complaints and 455 federal indictments. Below are some examples of armed felons successfully prosecuted under PSN/Project CeaseFire recently. Additional PSN/Project CeaseFire press releases may be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr.
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/columbia-man-sentenced-15-years-federal-firearms-charge
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/orangeburg-man-pleads-federal-firearm-charge-stemming-shooting-officers
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/rock-hill-man-sentenced-150-months-federal-firearm-and-drug-charges
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/federal-jury-finds-greenville-felon-guilty-firearm-trial
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/newberry-felon-sentenced-327-months-imprisonment-possessing-firearm-furtherance
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/lexington-man-sentenced-70-months-federal-prison-after-pleading-firearm-and-ammunition
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/orangeburg-man-pleads-federal-firearm-charge-stemming-shooting-officers
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/travelers-rest-woman-sentenced-15-years-imprisonment-being-felon-possession-firearm-and
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/north-carolina-man-sentenced-105-months-imprisonment-after-pleading-guilty-being-felon
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/convicted-felon-sentenced-188-months-federal-prison-gun-and-drug-charges
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/lexington-man-sentenced-15-years-federal-drug-and-firearm-charges
Community Partnerships
“National Day of Concern”: On Wednesday, October 17, 2018, the United States Attorney’s Office, along with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, will visit schools across South Carolina to meet with students as a part of our 17th annual Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. With a focus on keeping their schools and communities safe, students in middle school and high school are signing a voluntary pledge promising that they will never take a gun to school, will never resolve a dispute with a gun, and will use their influence to prevent friends from using guns to resolve disputes. Elementary school children are making a simpler commitment, pledging that if they see a gun they will not touch it, they will tell a teacher or a trusted adult, and they will assume that any gun they see might be loaded.
The Student Pledge Against Gun Violence is a national program that recognizes the role young people, through their own decisions, can play in reducing gun violence. The program provides a means for beginning the conversation with young people about gun violence and encourages important conversation among young people about gun safety and respectful ways to resolve disputes. Students from around the country will join together in pledging to do their part.
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/south-carolina-s-17th-annual-national-day-concern-student-pledge-against-gun-violence
'Focused Deterrence Models: Aiken Safe Communities and beyond”: In late 2012, the USAO-DSC partnered with the Aiken Department of Public Safety as well as numerous other federal, state, and local enforcement partners and community partners in their efforts to advance “Aiken Safe Communities.” This program entails inviting repeat offenders, many of whom are on state probation, to a public forum and allowing community partners, as well as law enforcement, to urge the offenders to not re-offend and to seize opportunities offered by the community. Officially launched in early 2013, the Aiken Safe Communities Initiative is a unified, proactive community approach to engage, educate, and encourage recurring offenders to change their behavior and make healthy life choices. The initiative also bands together local, state, and federal law enforcement to expedite the investigation and prosecution of individuals who reoffend in lieu of accepting opportunities and assistance offered by the community during public notification meetings held at Aiken City Hall several times a year.
From 2012-2013, the City of Aiken experienced an 86% reduction in murders. In 2014, the South Carolina Community Development Association presented the city of Aiken with its 2014 Award of Excellence, recognizing community development efforts that have significantly improved the quality of life in the community. “Safe Communities” continues to thrive with active involvement by the community, to include faith-based, non-profit, and business partners, as well as law enforcement at all levels. For those participants who did not avail themselves of the opportunities offered at the “call in” and reoffended thereafter, indictments followed. However, of the over 125 individuals who have participated in the program, the resulting recidivism rate is less than 18% compared to a national average of over 75%.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has also helped facilitate and initiate additional iterations in Conway (C-STAND), Columbia (Ceasefire Columbia), Hartsville (Hartsville Safe Communities), Greenville (Greenville Safe Communities), and Orangeburg (Orangeburg) Safe Communities.
“Operation ‘Home Front’”: Home Front is a focused deterrence-based initiative to combat domestic violence led by 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette. The initiative launched in December of 2016 and has the full support and partnership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Solicitor Barnette has detailed a career prosecutor from his office, Jennifer Wells, to serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney handling these cases for the 7th Circuit in United States Federal Court. Since early 2017, thirty-seven domestic violence defendants have been indicted and prosecuted as a part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s partnership with the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office to reduce domestic violence homicides and lower recidivism rates. Twenty-three of these defendants pled guilty to firearm related offenses. Two were found guilty at trial. To date, eleven defendants have been sentenced between 16 – 108 months in the Bureau of Prisons. The average sentence is 52 months.
Modelled after a program started in High Point, North Carolina, members of the Home Front task force began earlier this fall, meeting with representatives from every police department in Spartanburg county as well as the Sheriff’s Office. The Spartanburg County State Probation office and victim’s advocate stalwart, SAFE Homes, also serve as critical partners in this effort. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, domestic violence is a community crime problem that costs the United States over $5.8 billion every year. It is a major drain on law enforcement resources as domestic violence generates a high volume of calls and repeated calls to the same location. Domestic violence homicides make up 40–50 percent of all murders of women in the United States. Women who have experienced a history of domestic violence report more health problems than other women and they have a greater risk for substance abuse, unemployment, alcoholism, and suicide attempts.
Research shows that the repeat domestic violence offender tends to have a significant criminal history that includes a wide range of both domestic violence and non-domestic violence offenses. Most of these offenders are readily identified as they are known to the criminal justice system. The Home Front initiative exposes the repeat domestic violence offender to sanctions because of his pattern of criminal behavior. According to the 2015 Violence Policy Center “When Men Murder Women” report, South Carolina led the nation in rates of women murdered by men. Sixty-six percent (66%) of the victims were killed with a firearm and ninety-six percent (96%) of women murdered were killed by someone they knew. In Spartanburg County during the 2015 calendar year, SAFE Homes serviced 6726 victims of domestic violence. In the same time frame, the Spartanburg Police Department charged 907 domestic violence cases and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office charged 1068 domestic violence cases. There were fourteen (14) domestic related deaths in Spartanburg County in 2015.
Solicitor Barnette has had enough. “Domestic violence is violence, period. It continues to plague our community--so costly and harmful to families and children, persisting year after year. It is time for these offenders to get our best shot—our best efforts. That is Home Front.”
United States Attorney Sherri Lydon agrees. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office stands with Solicitor Barnette as well as local, state, and federal law enforcement in this innovative approach to stop the abuse and secure our victims and families from this continued cycle of horrific violence.”
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/spartanburg-initiative-combat-domestic-violence-results-108-month-federal-prison-sentence
Improvements to Community Safety
• The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
• The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of PSN, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
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U.S. Attorney Duncan Announces Progress in Making Communities Safer through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
Throughout the past year, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky has partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
In January 2018, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies created the Fayette County Violent Crime Task Force. The Task Force focuses investigative and prosecutorial resources on those individuals responsible for violent crime and significant drug trafficking in this area, particularly those who commit acts of violence while armed with a firearm and those who commit armed drug trafficking. The Agencies participating in this effort include the ATF, DEA, FBI, Lexington Police Department, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the Fayette County Detention Center, the Fayette County Public Schools Law Enforcement Division, the Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office.
“Combatting violent crime is a cornerstone priority for the Department of Justice and our Office,” said United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. “As part of the enhanced PSN efforts, federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel are working in partnership to reduce violent crime in Lexington and throughout the Eastern District of Kentucky. These law enforcement partnerships have been effective and have resulted in innumerous violent offenders being removed from our streets, making our communities safer. While we are encouraged by the successes thus far, we recognize there is more work to be done. We are committed to continuing in this important endeavor; it truly benefits us all.”
“Local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecutors are communicating and coordinating like never before in Fayette County and we are seeing some good results,” stated Lou Anna Red Corn, Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney.
“The partnerships fostered by the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, greatly enhances the total community public safety philosophy of the Lexington Police Department and the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government,” said Lawrence Weathers, Lexington Chief of Police. “Through partnering with the U.S. Attorney, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, the Fayette County Public School Police, as well as other Federal Law Enforcement agencies, concrete plans and actions have been developed that have led to effective and efficient enforcement measures which have had a direct impact on, not just violent crime, but overall crime as well.”
“Working with our law enforcement partners, ATF continues to drive the reduction of violent firearm crimes through technical expertise and by focusing investigations on trigger-pullers and traffickers who pose the greatest threat to our communities,” stated Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Louisville Division. “ATF remains committed to the continued success of Project Safe Neighborhoods and this comprehensive approach to public safety.”
“The PSN program has a proven track record of bringing together law enforcement agencies to share information, share resources, and work together to apprehend and prosecute the most violent offenders,” said Kathy Witt, Sheriff of Fayette County. “The revitalization and enhancement of PSN is a positive development for our community and communities across America.”
“The message should be clear; the FBI is fully committed to eliminating violent crime in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Michael A. Christman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Louisville Division, FBI. “As part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods, the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at the federal, state, and local levels to bring those who have not received this message to justice.”
Enforcement Actions
In marking the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are a few examples of law enforcement successes in Lexington, during the past year:
- Antoine Lamar Burns, 36, of Lexington, was sentenced on June 26, 2018, to 10 years in federal prison, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. In his guilty plea, Burns admitted to possessing a .380 caliber pistol, firing shots at someone he believed was cooperating with law enforcement, and pointing the firearm at a former girlfriend.
- Melvin Mahone, 31, of Lexington, was sentenced on June 29, 2018, to 15 years in federal prison, for trafficking in over 40 grams of fentanyl and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
- Michael D. Jackson, 37, and Brandi Stamper, 30, both of Lexington, were sentenced in July 2018, for their roles in conspiring to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Jackson was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, and Stamper was sentenced to 15 years.
- Devvin Anglen, 28, of Lexington, a convicted felon, pled guilty in Fayette Circuit Court to possession of a firearm and Persistent Felony Offender charges, after a traffic stop led to the discovery of a weapon in the car and social media video of him firing two handguns at a local range.
- Billy Lane, 36 of Lexington, pled guilty in Fayette Circuit Court to trafficking in controlled substances and Persistent Felony Offender charges, and was sentenced to serve 15 years in March of 2018. The execution of a search warrant in hotel room led to the discovery of heroin, cocaine, and other contraband that Lane was trying to destroy.
- Akeem Lyvers, 22, of Lexington, pled guilty in Fayette Circuit Court to felony trafficking charges, including forfeiture of approximately $3,000 and a handgun with a “drum” magazine that held dozens of rounds, and was sentenced to serve 8 years in prison.
Community Partnerships
“We recognize that enforcement alone is not enough, and sustained success requires a comprehensive approach,” said U.S. Attorney Duncan. “As part of that approach, Fayette County Violent Crime Task Force participants have engaged neighborhood organizations, to help us deter violent crime and prevent recidivism. As part of the PSN initiative, Fayette County Violent Crime Task Force participants have also worked in prevention and re-entry efforts, and are working with the Fayette County Public Schools’ after-school programs to provide tutoring and mentorship to children. This truly community effort is essential to combatting the threat.”
“As a prosecutor, holding offenders accountable is always my first priority, which usually means incarceration in gun violence cases,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Red Corn. “But my office, and other Task Force participants, are also very involved in PSN’s prevention, intervention, and re-entry work. Recently, in support of our PSN efforts, I attended a meeting of parolees and probationers who are beginning community supervision. The Public Library and a local mental health non-profit were also in attendance, sharing information about available education and mental health services. It is PSN’s comprehensive approach to violent crime reduction that I believe will make a long term difference in public safety in our community.”
“The Project Safe Neighborhoods partnership initiative has helped remove several violent offenders from our streets, while also helping to improve existing community relationships and create new ones,” said Chief Weathers. “This helps build community trust and government accountability by letting everyone in the community know that Project Safe Neighborhoods and its partners are serious about public safety.”
Improvements to Community Safety
Statistically, both nationally and locally, the PSN program is achieving positive results. For example:
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives reason for optimism and evidences that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Specifically, public data from 60 major cities shows that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
- According to publicly available crime data from the Lexington Police Department, for the period of January 1 – August 31, 2018, robberies, aggravated assaults, breakings and entering, larcenies, and auto thefts are all down, when compared to January 1 – August 31, 2017.
- Through September 15, 2018, there have been 62 assaults with firearms reported in Lexington. There were 94 assaults with firearms reported in 2017.
- In 2018 through, August 31, there have been 19 homicides in Lexington. In 2017, there were 28 homicides.
“The PSN program is based on strong partnerships,” said U.S. Attorney Duncan. “We will strive to build on our shared successes, recognizing there is still work to be done,” said U.S. Attorney Duncan. “We look forward to continued partnerships, to developing new ones, and to making further progress. This endeavor truly advances everyone’s interests.”
Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan Announces Progress in Making our Communities Safer through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program, proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
Throughout the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
“We cannot prosecute an end to violent crime in our South Florida communities,” stated U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan. “Only by reinforcing and amplifying our law enforcement and public partnerships can we collectively combat the violent threats to our safety, security and well-being. The Project Safe Neighborhoods program exemplifies the collective strategies that are needed in order to target the most egregious offenders, reinvigorate our neighborhoods and support our returning citizens. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida remains entrenched in our collaborative efforts to protect, educate and connect with our local residents.”
In order to amplify the enforcement and community impact of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida spearheaded, and has continued to support, the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP). Through the VRP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal, state and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks that plague communities throughout the Southern District of Florida using a three-prong, holistic approach. First, in order to advance our enforcement efforts, Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) are specially assigned to handle matters within designated “hot spot” areas. Working with their law enforcement partners, the AUSAs facilitate community relations, gather intelligence, and identify the most prolific, violent offenders for prosecution. The collective mission is to ensure the safety of our community. Second, the VRP supports community based programs and initiatives designed to educate the public and prevent participation in criminal activity. Third, the VRP provides services to inmates scheduled to return to the community (returning citizens) so that they have the resources, support and skills needed for a successful reintegration.
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, provides additional crime-fighting support in South Florida. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, let us highlight some of the recent local enforcement actions and community impact initiatives:
Enforcement Actions
Last month, a federal jury returned convictions against ten members and associates of a violent criminal enterprise that was the focus of VRP and OCDETF enforcement initiatives (U.S. v. Glass, et al, Case. No. 17cr20307). According to evidence introduced at trial, the racketeering enterprise, which used names such as the Dub Side Blood Family (DSBF), conducted unlawful business practices and controlled the South Gwen Cherry Housing Complex in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami for over seventeen years. The criminal enterprise members routinely robbed victims at gunpoint and sold narcotics. The enterprise’s criminal spree included armed robberies of drug dealers and five commercial robberies. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/miami-based-violent-criminal-enterprise-members-and-associates-convicted-trial.
The following are examples of PSN sentencings during September 2018:
- A Fort Lauderdale resident was sentenced to over 92 years in prison, after having been convicted at trial of three armed robberies, a carjacking and brandishing a firearm during the commission of a violent act. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/fort-lauderdale-resident-sentenced-92-years-prison-armed-robberies-and-carjacking
- A Miami resident was sentenced to 32 years in prison for committing a string of armed robberies. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/serial-robber-sentenced-32-years-prison
- A Fort Lauderdale resident was sentenced to 27 years in prison for committing two armed iPhone robberies. During the second robbery, the defendant discharged the firearm and struck the victim in the face. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/iphone-robber-sentenced-27-years-prison-0
- A Miami-Dade resident was sentenced to 22 years in prison for robbing a convenience store and two gas stations. In each robbery, the defendant approached the cashier, stated that he had a firearm, and demanded money from the cash register. During the convenience store robbery the defendant displayed part of a firearm that was in his jacket pocket. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/miami-dade-county-resident-sentenced-22-years-prison-multiple-robberies-commercial
- A Tamarac resident was sentenced to over 12 years in prison for being a felon unlawfully in possession of a loaded firearm, while being the subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/tamarac-resident-sentenced-over-12-years-prison-being-felon-unlawfully-possession
In July, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that since April of 2017, sixteen Saint Lucie County Residents had been sentenced to federal prison on firearms and drug trafficking charges as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative to combat violent crime in the northern area of the federal district. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/sixteen-saint-lucie-county-residents-sentenced-federal-prison-firearms-and-drug
Community Partnerships
Simultaneously, and equally as important as the VRP’s law enforcement efforts are the U.S. Attorney’s Office community outreach and crime prevention initiatives.
Project Sentry and Project Safe Childhood: During interactive programs, volunteers teach students to avoid violence by recognizing dangers in the community, reporting problems and peacefully resolving issues. The Project Sentry program focuses on guns, gangs, and violence deterrence, while Project Safe Childhood educates the youth regarding bullying, cyberbullying, and internet safety. The programs are approved in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County schools.
Making Smarter Choices Fieldtrips: Volunteers speak to middle school students, who visit the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Miami federal courthouses, about the importance of “Making Smarter Choices.” During the program, students participate in mock trial exercises.
Drug Education For Youth (DEFY) Summer Camp: This overnight camp provides at-risk youth, ages 9-12 years, with the self-esteem, leadership and teamwork skills needed to resist drugs, gangs, violent behavior, bullying, and cyberbullying.
Pre-K Reading Program: During monthly reading sessions, governmental, law enforcement and public sector volunteers engage with 3 to 5 year olds in disadvantaged communities. At the end of every reading session, each child is given a book to take home. More than 11,000 books have been shared with our local children.
Peace Ambassadors Leadership Program: The Peace Ambassadors Leadership Program empowers high school juniors to be "change agents" in their family, school, and community. Academic excellence, courage, character, compassion, self-esteem, and personal responsibility are championed.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS): Volunteers mentor and provide educational assistance to students at local schools through BBBS.
United Way Reading Pals Program: During the academic year, volunteers read to and mentor Pre-K students at the Culmer Head Start Preschool in Overtown.
Monthly Community Resource Fairs and Food Distribution Programs: The programs provide free food and essential services to local residents.
Additional information regarding the VRP initiatives is available at [email protected] (link sends e-mail) or by calling (305) 961-9134.
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
- Attorney General Sessions announced today that the Southern District of Florida has been allocated $733,871 in PSN funding.
- Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced grants that will directly impact our local schools.
- The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) awarded grants to implement school safety measures including coordination with law enforcement, training for law enforcement to prevent student violence against others and self, target hardening measures, and technology for expedited notification of law enforcement during an emergency. The grant recipients included: the Village of Miami Shores; the City of Pembroke Pines; City of Homestead and Broward County.
- The School Board of Broward County, Florida received two grants from the Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA):
- A $379,346 grant under the Threat Assessment and Technology Reporting Program will support training to create and operate threat assessment and crisis intervention teams and to develop technology for local or regional anonymous reporting systems. This technology may be in the form of a mobile phone application, hotline, or website.
- A $500,000 grant under the Prevention and Mental Health Training Program will provide training and education on preventing violence and effectively responding to related mental health crises.
- OJP BJA also announced yesterday that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was awarded a $733,871 grant under PSN to create and foster safer neighborhoods through a sustained reduction in violent crime, including, but not limited to, addressing criminal gangs and the felonious possession and use of firearms and projects that support innovative cooperative efforts and partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement engaged in a unified approach led by the U.S. Attorney to identify and prevent violent crime.
- On October 1, 2018, the Department of Justice announced grant awards under BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to state, local and tribal jurisdictions to develop and implement efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by the opioid epidemic.
- A number of awards were given to our South Florida partners, including: the City of Miami ($883,586 to provide staffing and treatment resources within our nation’s jails and upon reentry into the community, as well as funding to support opioid courts which connect new arrestees to treatment services immediately upon arrest and $750,000 under the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program), Miami-Dade County ($1,000,999 under the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative) and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America ($1,250,000 to provide mentoring services to children impacted by the opioid epidemic).
- On September 25, 2018, OJP BJA announced that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was awarded a $1,000,000 grant under the PSN Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction Program (CBCR). The CBCR program supports local and tribal communities to effectively target and address violent crime issues in distressed, high-crime neighborhoods through coordinated cross-sector approaches that are linked with broader neighborhood revitalization efforts. The goal of CBCR is to reduce crime, increase trust, and improve community safety as part of a comprehensive strategy to rebuild and revitalize neighborhoods. Through a broad cross-sector partnership team, including neighborhood residents, CBCR grantees target neighborhoods with hot spots of violent and serious crime and employ data-driven, cross-sector strategies to accomplish this goal.
- In addition, the City of Miami was recently chosen to be a National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) city, one of 31 cities chosen to participate in a coordinated effort to reduce violent crime. The PSP was established in June 2017 under the direction of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in response to President Trump’s Executive Order on a Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, which emphasizes the role of the Department of Justice in combating violent crime.
Many of these enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods visit https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-sessions-announces-reinvigoration-project-safe-neighborhoods-and-other and https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-sessions-announces-reinvigoration-project-safe-neighborhoods-and-other.
U.S. Attorney Announces Safer Communities Through Project Safe Neighborhoods ProgramRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and, partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. Throughout the past year, the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) has partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
In support of the Department’s PSN programs throughout the country, the Attorney General today also announced awards of almost $28 million in grant funding to combat violent crime through PSN and another $3 million for training and technical assistance to develop and implement violent crime reduction strategies and enhance services and resources for victims of violent crime. As part of those awards, the MDFL will receive $1,129,811 to continue implementing PSN strategies within its district.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
“Public safety is everybody’s business,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners at every level and with our citizens to rid our streets of violent crime. We will not rest until our communities are safer places to live, work, and play.”
Since 2001, the MDFL has been a leader in implementing the PSN program. As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
The mission of the MDFL’s PSN program is to prosecute dangerous offenders, dismantle drug trafficking organizations, build proactive conspiracy cases against violent gang members, and support the U.S. Attorney’s crime prevention strategy. U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates the district’s PSN efforts with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to ensure that resources are strategically directed against violent offenders. MDFL PSN efforts are districtwide, with a special focus placed in Tampa through the Tampa Bay PSN Task Force; in Jacksonville, through the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Gun Unit; and in Fort Myers, through the Violent Crime Working Group. Interagency coordination, cooperation, and training has resulted in significant outcomes. A few highlights include:
- United States v. Isaac Thomas (Tampa Bay) – defendant was a previously convicted felon who got into a fight at a high school basketball game and was removed; he then fired a gun at law enforcement. Thomas was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon and in a school zone. (Link to press release)
- United States v. Alejo Guerrero (Fort Myers) – defendant was prosecuted for multiple drug and gun offenses and was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. (Link to press release)
- United States v. Christopher Bentley (Jacksonville) – defendant was a pimp, convicted felon, and drug dealer. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. (Link to press release)
- United States v. Roderick Lester (Jacksonville) – defendant was a convicted felon sentenced to over 8 years in federal prison for armed robbery of a local tire store. (Link to press release)
Community Partnerships
The MDFL employs a three-pronged approach as part of its violent crime reduction strategy. In addition to enforcement and prosecution, key partnerships with schools, faith institutions, and other community organizations are continuous to support local prevention, intervention, and reentry programs. Through various yearlong community events, thousands of citizens have been engaged to create safer communities. Some key events and partnerships include:
- National Night Out
- Guns, Gangs and Goals
- Courageous Conversations: Gun Violence
- National Gun Pledge
- Great American Teach-In
- Guys with Ties
- Royalty (Girls) Program
- Federal Intensive Reentry Courts (Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville)
- Federal Correctional Complex (Coleman, FL) Community Relations Board
- Pinellas Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition
- Hillsborough Ex-Offender Network
- Abe Brown Ministries/Ready4Work
- Jacksonville Reentry Center
- Operation New Hope/Ready4Work
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration, the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly 1½ percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
MDFL Highlights
- In FY2018, the Tampa Bay PSN Task Force indicted 168 federal cases.
- In partnership with federal, state, and local agencies, violent crime in the City of Tampa was reduced by 27% (2015 benchmark data).
- In 2017, 11 members of the violent “Manche Boys Mafia” gang were indicted on white-collar offenses (including conspiracy, credit card fraud, aggravated identify theft, and tax crimes). Their sentences ranged between 4 and 8 ½ years’ imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Announces Progress in Making our Communities Safer through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. We have seen a double-digit decrease in violent crime in Wheeling alone.
Throughout the past year, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
“The first year of the revitalization of PSN is just the beginning. As we see strides in reducing violent crime in our communities, the work has only just started. It our mission to continue to build on our law enforcement partnerships and to keep the residents in our district safe. Our PSN Coordinating Assistant United States Attorney, Dave Perri, has done an excellent job,” said Powell.
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
The Northern District of West Virginia has strong, reinvigorated partnerships with the task forces, sheriff’s offices, and police departments across the 33 counties in our district. As a collective force, law enforcement and our office have prosecuted more than 300 violent crime offenders since the PSN revitalization one year ago.
For example, Gregory Keith Clinton, of Kearneysville, West Virginia, was sentenced in August 2018 to 22 years incarceration for drug and firearm charges. After a three-day trial in April 2018, a jury found Clinton guilty of one count of “Armed Career Criminal Act,” and other drug charges. Read more here.
Also in August 2018, Emory Chiles, of Steubenville, Ohio, was sentenced 30 years incarceration for drug and firearms charges. A jury found Chiles, age 43, guilty of one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin,” one count of “Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Offense,” and one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in April 2018. Read more here.
These cases are just a few examples of PSN at work in the Northern District.
Improvements to Community Safety
The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
The Northern District of West Virginia is experiencing similar results in many communities. For example, the City of Wheeling, our target enforcement area, in partnership with the Wheeling Police Department, has seen a 12% decrease in violent crime from 2017 to 2018 during the same period. With PSN partnerships in our communities, the district is encouraged by this trend.
Community Partnerships
Reentry education and assistance is an important part of the PSN initiative and vital to ensuring communities are safer when those incarcerated return home. The Northern District of West Virginia is active in the community in its reentry efforts, providing reentry presentations and simulations to community groups across the district. The Reentry Simulation is now being used as an educational tool at all Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities within the district. Our office has provided the necessary simulation kits, training, and support for the simulations to be implemented as inmate-run programs. The office has also offered the same for the West Virginia Division of Corrections.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
U.S. Attorney Announces Progress in Making Our Communities Safer Through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. The PSN strategy empowers each district to develop targeted, localized violent crime reduction strategies, tailoring solutions to each individual community. PSN has been proven to reduce violent crime since it was launched in 2001, and the revitalized version has been enhanced with new technologies and a redoubling of efforts to strengthen partnerships with local communities.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “Our office has a strong track record of working with our federal, state and local partners to prosecute cases aimed at reducing violent crime in our communities. We have developed a model that targets the most violent street gangs plaguing counties in our district, and we have focused on stemming the tide of illegal firearms flowing into our communities, prosecuting those who manufacture, distribute, and possess those weapons. We have deployed this strategy in the Counties of Fresno, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Kern, Solano and Tulare, and we are working to spread this model throughout the district. Project Safe Neighborhoods is alive and well in the Eastern District of California.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office works regularly with District Attorney’s Offices in Fresno, Sacramento, Kern, Stanislaus, Solano, and Tulare Counties, and partners with local law enforcement and federal agencies to target drivers of violence in those communities, including gang members and those who inject illegal firearms into the hands of criminals. This team collects and analyzes statistical and anecdotal data to refine the targeted use of pooled resources. Since the revitalization of PSN in October 2017, almost 200 defendants have been indicted federally for charges arising from PSN investigations. Sixty-four of those stemmed from investigations in Sacramento, Solano, Shasta, and San Joaquin Counties. In 2018, a total of 60 PSN defendants were sentenced to between two and 15 years in prison in the Eastern District of California.
Project Safe Neighborhoods has helped to reinvigorate existing partnerships in our district, which has a history of successful collaborations with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Those collaborations have resulted in several large-scale, long-term, multidefendant gang cases, with many arrests, guilty pleas, and sentencings occurring over the past year. Below are examples.
Operation Silent Night involved a coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement officers who conducted 69 searches at various locations throughout Northern California. Officers arrested 25 defendants on federal charges. In addition, local officials arrested more than 10 individuals on state charges. The investigation, led by the FBI, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Woodland Police Department, focused on coordinated criminal activity that centered in Yolo County but extended to other Northern California counties and prisons.
Three Stockton residents were charged with unlawful dealing in firearms in February 2018. One defendant allegedly sold 50 firearms, including machine guns, stolen firearms, firearms with obliterated serial numbers, and assault rifles manufactured from unfinished lower receivers with no serial numbers. At the time of his arrest, he possessed one handgun, eight machineguns, and five machine gun-conversion devices. Another allegedly manufactured and sold approximately 15 assault rifles. The third defendant allegedly sold eight firearms, including five assault rifles manufactured from unfinished lower receivers with no serial numbers. None of the defendants is licensed to deal in firearms.
A Grass Valley man was sentenced to five years in prison for unlawful manufacturing and dealing in firearms. He contacted a firearms vendor on the dark web seeking to sell AR-15-style “ghost” guns. Firearms without serial numbers are sometimes referred to as ghost guns. The firearms vendor was in fact an undercover agent. He manufactured and sold eight AR‑15‑style firearms without serial numbers to the undercover agent in exchange for payment in bitcoin.
A Vallejo man was sentenced to five years in prison for being a felon in possession a firearm. On July 26, 2017, officers executed a search warrant at Andrews’ home in Vallejo and at a hotel in Fairfield where. When officers arrived at the hotel parking lot, they confronted the defendant, who discarded a .40‑caliber semi-automatic handgun under a car. The gun was loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition, including seven rounds of hollow point ammunition. The defendant could not lawfully possess firearms because he has previously been convicted of felony offenses, including a January 2016 conviction in Solano County for assault with a firearm on a police officer.
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately 1 percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly 1.5 percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities, including Sacramento and Fresno, show that violent crime was down by nearly 5 percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.