Federal Jury Convicts Drug Trafficker For Providing Half-Million Dollars To Purchase 20 Kilograms of Cocaine

TOPEKA, KANSAS – A Topeka man was indicted in federal court today with distributing heroin, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

James Licht, 39, Topeka, Kan., was charged with one count of distributing heroin and one count of unlawful possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon.

According to documents filed in court, in October investigators served a search warrant at Licht’s residence in the 1400 block of SW 5^th Street in Topeka. Among the items seized were heroin, more than $1,500 in cash, a .45 caliber pistol, a 9 mm pistol, other firearms and drug paraphernalia.

Licht was paying $1,500 to $2,000 an ounce to buy 1 to 2 ounces of heroin each week.

Licht was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a felony conviction in 2019 in Shawnee County District Court.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the heroin charge and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the firearm charge. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas Highway Patrol investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Debenham is prosecuting.

FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY – A Frankfort man, Ricky Joe Cornish Jr., 33, was sentenced to 120 months in prison on Tuesday, by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, after previously pleading guilty to using the internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

According to his guilty plea agreement, on May 16, 2019, Cornish contacted an individual, who self-identified as a 15-year-old female living in Franklin County, Kentucky, using the MeetMe/Skout messenger application over the Internet, on his cellular telephone.  The person Cornish contacted was, in reality, an investigator with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Branch. The investigator communicated that they were also with a 17-year-old female, and Cornish expressed interest in having sex with the 17-year-old.

Later that same day, Cornish drove to an agreed-upon hotel, in order to meet the minor and engage in criminal sexual activity.  When Cornish arrived at the agreed-upon meeting place in Franklin County, he was arrested by law enforcement officers.  An examination of Cornish’s cell phone revealed the conversation with the investigator, as well as a similar conversation with another individual, who is believed to be a minor female.

Cornish pleaded guilty in July 2020.

Under federal law, Cornish must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 20 years.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Ralph Gerds, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Louisville Field Division; and Daniel Cameron, Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, jointly announced the sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by United States Secret Service and Kentucky Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Branch. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Marye and Tashena Fannin.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men from Las Vegas, Nevada, responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine to the Shreveport/Bossier City area have been sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr.

Rodolfo Baires, a/k/a “Seiko,” 33, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 151 months (12 years, 7 months) in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

James Lee Logan, 59, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 63 months (5 years, 3 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

According to evidence introduced in Court, during the month of May 2017, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that an individual from Las Vegas with the nickname “Seiko” was planning to send a large quantity of methamphetamine to the Shreveport/Bossier City area sometime during that month. Law enforcement agents learned that someone named “James” would be delivering the narcotics, as well as a description of the vehicle he would be driving.

During the early morning hours of May 26, 2017, a Louisiana State Police Trooper conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle for a traffic violation. The vehicle was being driven by James Lee Logan. Logan advised law enforcement officers that he was traveling from Las Vegas to Shreveport. An open-air search was conducted by a K-9 officer which resulted in a positive indication of the presence of narcotics on a spare tire located in the rear of the vehicle. A search of the spare tire revealed eight packages of suspected methamphetamine wrapped in cellophane and brown tape, weighing 6,100 grams. The narcotics were sent to the DEA Crime Lab and tests confirmed that it was in fact methamphetamine.

Utilizing an informant after Logan’s arrest, agents received several recorded phone calls from “Seiko” inquiring as to the whereabouts of “James.” Agents were able to confirm that “Seiko” was in fact Rodolfo Baires and he was living in Las Vegas. Agents obtained a photo of Baires and a confidential source confirmed that Baires and “Seiko” were in fact one in the same and he was the individual responsible for sending 6,100 grams of methamphetamine that was seized from James Lee Logan in the Western District of Louisiana.

The DEA and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS  — A suburban Chicago man was arrested on a federal firearm charge after law enforcement this week seized machine guns and more than 100 “switch” devices from his home.  Each device is capable of converting a semi-automatic pistol into a machine gun.

LEONARD D. JOHNSON, also known as “Scrap,” 32, of Robbins, is charged with one count of illegal possession of a machine gun.  Johnson was arrested Monday after agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives executed a search warrant at his home.  The agents seized five firearms, including three machine guns, and approximately 117 “switch” devices, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Johnson made an initial court appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert in Chicago and was ordered to remain in federal custody.  A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday at 1:00 p.m.

The arrest was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of ATF.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Lansing Police Department and Midlothian Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Mulaney.

Holding illegal firearm offenders accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the Guardian and PSN programs to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

“Machine guns pose a dangerous threat to public safety and have no place on Chicago-area streets,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “Federal law enforcement will act swiftly to neutralize the threat posed by illegal machine guns and keep our communities safe.”

“This case is an excellent example of continued partnership,” said ATF SAC deTineo.  “ATF agents, in coordination with local law enforcement and federal prosecutors, will investigate and prosecute those in possession of these illegal firearms.”

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The charge in the complaint is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.