Defendant - Shore News Network

Defendant Charged with Distributing Fentanyl that Resulted in Overdose Deaths of Two People

Indira PatelApril 26, 20240

SAN DIEGO – Scott Anthony Sargent of San Diego appeared in federal court today to face charges that he distributed the fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of two victims in North Park in 2022. During the same incident, Sargent and another person also overdosed but survived. NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 25, 2024 San Diego Police officers along with investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team responded to a 911 call just before 6 a.m. on November 10, 2022. When they arrived, four individuals were found lying on the floor of a bedroom. Two of the individuals,

‘Special Criminal Defendant’: Former Federal Prosecutor Says Bragg Took ‘Vindictive Action’ Against Trump

The Daily CallerApril 14, 20240

A former federal prosecutor said on Saturday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took a “vindictive” approach against former President Donald Trump. Bragg secured a grand jury indictment against Trump in March 2023 on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a case centered around a $130,000 payout to [censored] star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Alex Little, a former federal prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney, said that Bragg’s approach to Trump’s case was not uncommon. “The fact that the prosecutor is taking misdemeanors, turning them into felonies unfortunately happens in courtrooms across the country,” Little told “Fox

Last Defendant Sentenced to More than 10 Years for Robbery of a Pharmaceutical Van Driver and Possession of a Machinegun

Indira PatelMarch 16, 20240

Champion, aka “Big Money,” pleaded guilty on December 19, 2023, to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (known as conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery) and unlawful possession of a machine gun. In addition to the 10-years plus one-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Champion to serve three years of supervised release. WASHINGTON D.C. – Juwuan Edward Francis Champion, 24, of Bowie, Md., was sentenced to 121 months in prison today for his role in the felony armed robbery of a pharmaceutical van driver and possession

Ninth Defendant Pleads Guilty in Large-Scale Sacramento Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

Indira PatelDecember 15, 20230

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tyrone Anderson, 43, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to traffic at least 5,000 grams of cocaine and 280 grams of cocaine base and one count of conspiracy to traffic heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Anderson is among the 15 federal defendants arrested in 2021 and charged in a 45-count indictment for trafficking narcotics as part of a DEA-led multi-agency operation targeting cocaine and heroin traffickers in North Sacramento. Anderson was intercepted during wiretaps in 2018 and 2019 trafficking kilograms of cocaine and heroin and was arrested

Lead Defendant Sentenced To Over 11 Years In Prison For Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy

Indira PatelDecember 13, 20230

LAS VEGAS – An Arizona resident was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Judge Cristina D. Silva to 135 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, Mateo Vailon-Ramirez, aka Juan De Dios Yuen Felix, 38, conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine and launder monetary proceeds in Las Vegas. As part of the conspiracy, customers living in Las Vegas would place orders for methamphetamine with Vailon-Ramirez who lived in Arizona. Vailon-Ramirez would dispatch couriers to deliver the methamphetamine to these customers. In November

Final Defendant Sentenced in Large-Scale Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy

Indira PatelDecember 12, 20230

LONDON, Ky. – A Somerset, Ky., man, Dennie Smith, 50, was sentenced to 217 months on Monday, by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier, for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Smith is the last of six defendants sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy. According to his guilty plea agreement, between November 2021 and May 2022, Smith developed a relationship with a methamphetamine supplier from Pulaski County and regularly obtained pound quantities of methamphetamine, for resale. Smith also assisted this supplier in obtaining multi-pound quantities of

Judge Sentences Defendant to Five Years for Role in Drug Trafficking Around 7th & O Streets, NW

Indira PatelOctober 13, 20230

WASHINGTON – Harold Augostus Stone, 48, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Acting Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Stone is one of 20 defendants charged in connection with a wide-ranging drug trafficking investigation centered on the area of 7th and O Streets, in Northwest Washington, D.C. He pleaded guilty on June 23, 2022.

New York Attorney General Brings Trump Case to Twitter to Rally Support Against Defendant

Conservative TimesOctober 12, 20230

NEW YORK, NY – New York Attorney General Leticia James took her courtroom to Twitter this week to rally support against defendant Donald J. Trump. In an unusual gesture during a trial, the state’s head law enforcement official brought the matter into the public court of opinion in a time when governments usually tell reporters they can’t talk about ongoing litigation, James, pleaded her case before the global denizens of Twitter (X). “Today was the seventh day of our trial against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. For years, Trump evaded justice for his repeated fraud, and as we continue

‘Entitled To A New Trial’: Jan. 6 Defendant Alleges Even More Undercover Informants

The Daily CallerApril 11, 20230

‘Entitled To A New Trial’: Jan. 6 Defendant Alleges Even More Undercover Informants Trevor Schakohl on April 10, 2023 There were at least 10 to 12 undercover officers from the D.C. Metro Police Department’s Narcotics Special Investigation Division among the Proud Boys on Jan. 6, defendant Dominic Pezzola’s lawyer Roger Roots said Monday, demanding a new trial. Roots had previously claimed that at least other 40 government informants were doing Jan. 6 surveillance. “This brings the total number of informants among defendants on or around Jan. 6 to 50 or more,” Roots said. The D.C. Metro Police Department (MPD) had

Defendant Sentenced To 17 Years For Murder-For-Hire Scheme And Related Shooting In Poughkeepsie

DOJ PressMarch 7, 20230

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William V. Grady, the Dutchess County District Attorney, announced that JUSTTIN KENYOTTA HAYWOOD was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his participation in a murder-for-hire scheme and related shooting in Poughkeepsie in 2020 in which HAYWOOD, having been offered $5,000 to kill another individual, wrongly identified, pursued, and shot at a 17-year-old boy who had been playing basketball in a park with two friends

Recidivist Defendant Charged In Connection With Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme Targeting Senior Executives Of Investment Firms

DOJ PressFebruary 22, 20230

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a criminal Complaint today charging JONATHAN GHERTLER with engaging in a sophisticated scheme to impersonate senior leaders of two Manhattan-based investment firms, resulting in over $1 million in losses to their portfolio companies, and impersonating a partner of a global law firm on telephone calls with federal agents who were investigating the scheme. GHERTLER was arrested yesterday and will be presented

Defendant Convicted In Scheme To Steal Nearly $1 Million From Tech Company

DOJ PressFebruary 15, 20230

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against SURESH MUNSHANI on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. MUNSHANI is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who presided over the one-week trial. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Suresh Munshani and his brother thought they could get away with stealing nearly $1 million from his brother’s employer and laundering that money through a Canadian bank account, but today’s jury verdict shows

Defendant Sentenced In Groundbreaking Cryptocurrency Insider Trading Case

DOJ PressJanuary 10, 20230

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that NIKHIL WAHI was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska to 10 months in prison for his participation in a scheme to commit insider trading in cryptocurrency assets by using confidential information from his brother, a former product manager at Coinbase Global, Inc. (“Coinbase”), about which crypto assets were scheduled to be listed on Coinbase’s exchanges. WAHI previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “At a time when the cryptocurrency markets have been

Defendant Extradited to the United States from Mexico to Face Sex Trafficking Charges

DOJ PressJanuary 7, 20230

Leonardo Jimenez-Rodriguez was extradited to the United States yesterday and is scheduled to be arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr., at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on a six-count indictment charging him with sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate prostitution, alien smuggling and related offenses. The defendant was arrested in May 2022 in Mexico following a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Mexico City, HSI New York and the Mexican Federal Police. The defendant is charged in a superseding indictment together with his brother and co-defendant, Marcos Jimenez-Rodriguez, who was previously arrested in the

Final defendant sentenced in gang-related South Georgia meth-trafficking conspiracy

DOJ PressJanuary 5, 20230

SAVANNAH, GA: The final sentence in a major methamphetamine trafficking operation signals the end of a prosecution that saw nearly three dozen defendants sent to prison after pleading guilty. Kristin Sheppard, a/k/a “Kristin Shine,” a/k/a “K Shine,” 32, of Savannah, was sentenced 111 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 5 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Prior to Sheppard’s sentencing, Michael Brandon Sharpe, 46, of Pembroke, Ga., was sentenced to 210

Final Defendant In Michigan Governor Kidnapping Plot Sentenced To 235 Months In Prison

DOJ PressDecember 28, 20220

GRAND RAPIDS – Barry Croft Jr., 47, of Bear, Delaware, was sentenced today to 235 months (19 years 7 months) in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property, and knowingly possessing an unregistered destructive device, which was a commercial firework refashioned with shrapnel to serve as a hand-grenade. Croft was convicted by a federal jury in August 2022 during an 11-day retrial. According to court documents and evidence presented at

Final Defendant Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Leading Nationwide Wire Fraud Conspiracy Targeting Walmart

DOJ PressDecember 20, 20220

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced today that the last of seven defendants was sentenced for a retail theft and wire fraud scheme they executed at hundreds of Walmart stores in 38 states. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker sentenced the leader of the conspiracy, Adarius Ferguson, of Benton Harbor, to 144 months in prison. “This sentence marks the end of rampant crime sprees by six men who stole from and conducted fraudulent returns at over 300 Walmart stores across the nation,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten.

Defendant Charged With Attempted Enticement Of Nine-Year-Old Boy

DOJ PressDecember 16, 20220

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced charges against EFREM ZELONY-MINDELL for attempted enticement of one minor boy in Manhattan, New York, and possession and distribution of child [censored]ography. ZELONY-MINDELL was arrested this morning and will be presented in Manhattan federal court today before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge James L. Cott. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Zelony-Mindell allegedly attempted to engage in sexual activity with a nine-year-old boy. The protection of children from

Defendant Sentenced For Role In Sophisticated International Scheme To Steal Money From American Consumers’ Bank Accounts

DOJ PressDecember 16, 20220

LAS VEGAS – A U.S. citizen who previously resided in Ukraine was sentenced to 42 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to court documents, Harold Sobel, 69, was a member of an international criminal enterprise that unlawfully debited money from the bank accounts of unknowing U.S. victims. Members of the criminal enterprise created shell companies for the purpose of receiving victim funds and created fake websites for the shell companies that claimed to offer products or services, such as cloud storage. Members then executed unauthorized debits against victims’ bank accounts,

“Operation River Fork” Defendant Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

DOJ PressDecember 12, 20220

PROVIDENCE – Michael Wilkerson, 38, of Woonsocket, one of eighteen individuals arrested in October 2020 as the result of a wide-ranging FBI Safe Streets Task Force Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation into the trafficking of drugs and firearms in four Rhode Island cities pleaded guilty today to federal cocaine trafficking charges, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “Operation River Fork” a ten-month investigation that began in Woonsocket and quickly expanded into Providence, Cranston, and Warwick, led to the identification of three drug and/or firearms trafficking conspiracies and eight individuals who were independently involved in the trafficking of drugs and/or firearms.

Defendant Convicted of Arson Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison

DOJ PressDecember 12, 20220

PROVIDENCE – A 23-year-old man who set three fires inside a Woonsocket mill-type building after breaking into the structure in April 2019, was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. Jacob E. Lahousse previously admitted to a federal judge that he gained access to the building by climbing a ladder and entering the rear of the structure, and then set fires to the inside of a desktop computer on the basement level; to a piece(s) of fabric on the basement level; and to a loveseat in a first-floor office. After receiving a

Montgomery Defendant Sentenced to 60 Years and Ordered to Pay Over $950,000 in Restitution for Sex Trafficking Scheme Involving Forced Prostitution

DOJ PressDecember 5, 20220

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA – Today, U.S. District Court Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. of the Middle District of Alabama, sentenced defendant Lonnie Mitchell, 36, of Montgomery, Alabama, to 60 years in prison for coercing several victims, including a minor, to engage in prostitution over the course of several years. There is no parole in the federal system. The judge also ordered the defendant to pay over $950,000.00 in restitution to the victims. In June 2022, following a five-day trial, a jury convicted the defendant of sex trafficking five victims by force, fraud and coercion. The jury also found the

Defendant in Murder-For-Hire Conspiracy Sentenced to Life in Prison

DOJ PressNovember 29, 20220

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Jose David Navarro Cervellon, age 41, of Norcross, Georgia, today to life in federal prison, on charges related to a murder-for-hire that occurred on November 30, 2016, in Hyattsville, Maryland. On July 20, 2022, after an eight-day trial, a federal jury convicted Navarro for a murder-for-hire conspiracy. Navarro was also convicted for the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire and for murder resulting from the use, carrying, brandishing and discharging of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The sentence was announced

Albuquerque defendant back in court after absconding while on pre-trial release

DOJ PressNovember 23, 20220

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced that a federal court has revoked the conditions of pre-trial release for Jason Smeltzer, 40, of Albuquerque. Smeltzer originally was arrested for and charged with five bank robberies. From Jan. 20 to Feb. 23, Smeltzer allegedly robbed four Albuquerque banks, one of which was robbed twice. On Jan. 21, the FBI received a tip through the National Threat Operation Center identifying Smeltzer as a possible suspect. Smeltzer was taken into custody

The Remaining Defendant in a 16-Member Drug Trafficking Organization With Ties to Grape Street Crips Gang Sentenced

DOJ PressNovember 18, 20220

Memphis, TN – A now-33-year-old former California native has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison following a year-long investigation by local state and federal law enforcement agencies into a drug trafficking organization with ties to the Grape Street Crips gang. In July 2019, a federal grand jury indicted 16 individuals in an eleven-count indictment for federal drug and gun charges. The indictment charged that the defendants conspired to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl. The defendants charged in the indictment were: • Travon Allen a/k/a “Little Y,” 30, Los Angeles, California