title: Sixth Tri-Cities cocaine trafficker sentenced to 16 years in federal prison

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: RICHMOND, Va. – A Hopewell man was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine throughout the Tri-Cities region of Central Virginia. According to court documents, from at least May 2021 through October 2023, Cleveland Lamont Parson, 51, conspired with Aaron Larde Heath, 39, of Chester, and others to broker the purchase of kilogram quantities of cocaine from various sources in Virginia, North Carolina, Mexico, and elsewhere and to coordinate cocaine shipments. Parson used his residence in Hopewell as a stash house to distribute, store, and transfer the cocaine. Parson and Heath were held responsible for distributing between 50-150 kilograms of cocaine during the course of the conspiracy. On May 18, 2023, Jerrell Stanley Bugg, 46, of Chester, purchased three kilograms of cocaine from Parson. After Bugg left Parson’s residence with the cocaine, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop, during which Bugg recovered a 9mm semi-automatic handgun to law enforcement. When a K-9 unit alerted to narcotics in the vehicle, Bugg attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended at the scene. Law enforcement then recovered the cocaine from the vehicle. On Dec. 8, 2023, Bugg pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and, on May 7, was sentenced to seven years in prison. In August 2023, Parson and Heath received 18 kilograms of cocaine, but upon inspection, determined a portion of the cocaine was of poor quality and decided to return that portion. On Aug. 6, 2023, couriers Jose Misael Reyes, 33, of El Salvador, and Corina Chavez, 31, of Bailey, North Carolina, transported the low-quality cocaine to their residence in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. On Aug. 7, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the cocaine. On Jan. 12, Reyes pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and, on June 13, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison. On Jan. 19, Chavez pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and, on June 13, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison. On Aug. 20, 2023, Heath traveled from Virginia to Charlotte, North Carolina, and acquired 20 kilograms of cocaine. Heath recruited Antonio Shaw, 61, of Hopewell, to serve as a courier for Heath and agreed to pay Shaw to transport the cocaine to Virginia. At a hotel in Charlotte, Heath provided the 20 kilograms of cocaine to Shaw. As Shaw traveled to Virginia, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop in Randolph County, North Carolina, and recovered the cocaine from the trunk of Shaw’s vehicle. On Jan. 16, Shaw pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and, on July 12, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. On Oct. 25, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Parson’s residence. During the search, law enforcement recovered a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a .38 caliber revolver, a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended 30 round magazine, a .762 caliber AK-47 semiautomatic rifle, two shotgun magazines, a money counter, $37,261, and multiple cellphones. On Dec. 5, 2023, Heath pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and, on May 3, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik S. Siebert, Shea M. Gibbons, Jessica Wright, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Hubbard, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, prosecuted the case. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation Deep Dope Well. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-133.


title: Second Former Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights and Conspiracy Charges Tied to Death of Tyre Nichols

component: USAO - Tennessee, Western

body_text: Memphis, TN – A former Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department (MPD) officer facing federal civil rights charges for the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols pleaded guilty in federal court today. Emmitt Martin III, pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges arising out of the Jan. 7, 2023, incident. Martin is the second MPD officer to plead guilty in this case. On Sept. 12, 2023, a federal jury returned a four-count indictment against Martin and four co-defendants. The charges included using excessive force resulting in the death of Nichols; aiding and abetting each other in using that excessive force; failing to intervene to stop the excessive force; failing to render medical aid; and conspiring or taking action to cover up their misconduct. On Nov. 2, 2023, co-defendant Desmond Mills entered a guilty plea to civil rights and conspiracy charges. The remaining three defendants will face a federal trial scheduled for Sept. 9. In today’s court appearance, Martin pleaded guilty to counts one and three of the indictment. Count one charged Martin with using excessive force and failing to intervene in the unlawful assault. Count three charged Martin with conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force by omitting material information and by providing false and misleading information to his supervisor and to others. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Memphis Field Office made the announcement. The FBI Memphis Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Pritchard and Elizabeth Rogers for the Western District of Tennessee and Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert, Trial Attorney Andrew Manns and Deputy Chief Forrest Christian of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case. ### Topic CIVIL RIGHTS Components Civil Rights Division Civil Rights - Criminal Section Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) USAO - Tennessee, Western Press Release Number: 24-1049


title: Rosebud Man Convicted for Abusive Sexual Contact

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Eugene Hollow Horn Bear, age 64, of Rosebud, South Dakota, of two counts of Abusive Sexual Contact following a two-day jury trial in federal district court in Pierre, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on August 21, 2024. The charges carry a maximum penalty of three years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Hollow Horn Bear was indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2024. According to the evidence presented at trial, the victim awoke to Hollow Horn Bear touching her vagina and breasts after she had gone to sleep in an abandoned carwash in Mission, South Dakota, within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. The victim called out for help and another individual pulled Hollow Horn Bear off the victim and forced him to leave the carwash. This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court. This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A sentencing date has not been set.


title: Nevada, Mo., Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Leading Meth Conspiracy

component: USAO - Missouri, Western

body_text: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Nevada, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for leading a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Trenton D. Wallace, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to 20 years in federal prison without parole. On Dec. 14, 2023, Wallace pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and attempting to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. An Oklahoma State Highway Patrol trooper stopped Wallace, who was driving a Chevrolet Impala, on Interstate 44 on Feb. 16, 2022. Wallace denied being in possession of any firearms, but the trooper seized a Freedom Arms .22-caliber pistol (disguised to look like a belt buckle) when Wallace reached for it as a drug-sniffing dog was being deployed. Wallace also was in possession of $4,206 in cash. When a police dog alerted to the presence of drugs, troopers searched the vehicle and found a duffel bag that contained approximately 25 pounds (9.9 kilograms) of methamphetamine, packaged in 10 large plastic bags. Troopers also found a loaded H&K 9mm semi-automatic pistol under the driver’s seat and a loaded Sig Sauer .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol under the passenger’s seat. According to court documents, Wallace is an admittedly active and high-ranking member of the Southwest Honkey’s prison gang. The methamphetamine seized from Wallace would be enough to supply two doses (.25 grams) of methamphetamine to every man, woman, and child in Vernon County, Mo. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team.


title: United States Attorney Martin Estrada Announces Implementation of New Whistleblower Pilot Program to Facilitate Increased Prosecutions of High-Level Wrongdoers

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: POLICY LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Martin Estrada today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California (USAO-CDCA) has implemented a new Voluntary Self-Disclosure, Whistleblower Pilot Program encouraging individuals to disclose criminal conduct undertaken by or through companies, exchanges, and other institutions. The program, which is effective immediately, is designed to prompt individuals to come forward about previously unknown fraud, bribery, and other misconduct. It does so by setting forth conditions under which the voluntary self-disclosure (VSD) of misconduct to the USAO-CDCA, coupled with the agreement to fully cooperate in the investigation of others involved, may make the disclosing individual eligible to avoid prosecution. The program applies to circumstances where an individual voluntarily discloses to the USAO-CDCA information regarding criminal conduct undertaken by or through public or private companies, exchanges, financial institutions, investment advisers, or investment funds involving fraud or corporate control failures or affecting market integrity, or criminal conduct involving state or local bribery or fraud relating to federal, state, or local funds. It is designed to facilitate the investigation of misconduct that is not already known to the USAO-CDCA and target those equally or more culpable in the misconduct, and only offers benefits to those who did not play a leading role in the misconduct, and who are not corporate CEOs or those in similar positions of control or federal, state, or local officials. This Pilot Program provides transparency regarding the circumstances in which USAO-CDCA prosecutors will offer deferred or non-prosecution agreements (DPAs or NPAs) to incentivize individuals (and their counsel) to provide original and actionable information. Receiving such information will help us investigate and prosecute criminal conduct that might otherwise go undetected or be impossible to prove, and will, in turn, further encourage companies to create compliance programs that help prevent, detect, and remediate misconduct and to report misconduct when it occurs. Under the VSD pilot program, the USAO-CDCA will enter into a DPA or NPA in exchange for the individual’s cooperation where the following conditions are met: The misconduct has not previously been made public and is not already known to our Office or to any component of the Department of Justice; The individual voluntarily discloses the criminal conduct to our Office and not in response to a government inquiry, and prior to imminent threat of disclosure or government investigation; The individual is able to provide substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of at least one equally or more culpable persons, did not play a leading role in the disclosed conduct, and is prepared to cooperate fully with this Office in its investigation and prosecution of the disclosed conduct, including by providing testimony if requested; The individual truthfully and completely discloses all criminal conduct in which the individual has participated and of which the individual is aware; The individual is not a federal, state, or local elected or appointed and confirmed official; not an official or agent of a federal investigative or federal law enforcement agency; or is not the CEO or equivalent, or a person who otherwise exercises primary control – regardless of title – over the operations of a public or private company; and The individual has not engaged in any criminal conduct that involves: the use of force or violence, any sex offense involving fraud, force, or coercion, or a minor, any offense involving terrorism or implicating national security or foreign affairs and does not have a previous felony conviction or a conviction of any kind for conduct involving fraud or dishonesty. In instances in which an individual discloses such information, but does not meet the above requirements, prosecutors may consider exercising – with supervisory approval – discretion to extend a DPA or NPA. To self-disclose pursuant to this policy, please email: USACAC.VDP@usdoj.gov .


title: U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures Guilty Plea in Shiprock Assault Case

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock man has pleaded guilty in federal court to a single assault charge related to a brutal attack that left his victim with life-threatening injuries. According to court documents, on January 1, 2024, Tyrell Jordan Benally , 25, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted Jane Doe at a residence in Shiprock, New Mexico, by repeatedly striking her with a closed fist and strangling her until she lost consciousness. The assault caused Jane Doe to suffer serious bodily injury, including life-threatening injuries from the strangulation. At sentencing, Benally faces up to 10 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case. # # #


title: Two Men Indicted For Damaging Rock Formations At National Recreation Area In Nevada

component: USAO - Nevada

body_text: LAS VEGAS – A federal grand jury indicted two Henderson men for allegedly damaging ancient rock formations at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada. According to allegations contained in the indictment, on April 7, 2024, Wyatt Clifford Fain (37) and Payden David Guy Cosper (31) pushed large chunks of ancient rock formations over the edge of a cliff onto the ground below while on or near the Redstone Dunes Trail at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, resulting in damages in excess of $1,000. Fain and Cosper were each charged with one count of injury and depredation of government property and one count of aiding and abetting. They were arrested by the United States Marshals Service, and they made their initial court appearance today before United States Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe. A jury trial has been scheduled for October 8, 2024, before United States District Judge Jennifer Dorsey. If convicted, the defendants each face up to ten years imprisonment. United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and United States Marshal Gary Schofield for the United States Marshals Service made the announcement. The National Park Service investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Skyler Pearson is prosecuting the case. If you see something suspicious in any National Park location, or if you have information that could aid an investigation, call the NPS-wide Tip Line at 1-888-653-0009 or submit a tip online at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/submit-a-tip.htm . An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###


title: San Diego Man Charged with Using Explosives to Burglarize ATMs

component: USAO - California, Southern

body_text: NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 23, 2024 SAN DIEGO – Son Nguyen of San Diego was arrested early today and charged in federal court with two counts of damaging property in connection with using explosives on two ATMs. Nguyen, who unsuccessfully attempted to steal money from the machines, was tracked through surveillance video, vehicle registration and facial features, the complaint said. He was taken into custody by the FBI at his Mira Mesa residence and is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court Monday. According to the complaint, at approximately 3:24 a.m. on June 8, 2024, Nguyen drove up to an ATM outside of California Coast Credit Union on Governor Drive in San Diego. Nguyen got out of his car and brought a five-gallon blue plastic container with a white spout to the area in front of the ATM. He then appeared to insert a black polyvinyl chloride plastic (“PVC”) hose into the ATM. A short time later, a small explosion occurred inside the ATM. Despite efforts to pull money out of the machine, Nguyen left empty handed. San Diego Police officers responded to an alarm at the credit union and observed a white PVC pipe connected to a black PVC pipe with two batteries taped to it. They also observed pieces of what looked like a blue balloon around the ATM. Approximately 20 feet from the ATM was another plastic pipe. According to the complaint, a few weeks later, at approximately 2:10 a.m. on June 28, 2024, Nguyen drove up to another ATM in Rancho Bernardo outside of a First Citizen’s Bank branch in San Diego. He then repeated the same steps. After electrical components caught fire and smoke started coming out of the ATM, Nguyen returned and attempted to extract cash from the machine but was unsuccessful. Investigators used surveillance camera video to track the defendant and his vehicle. While serving a court-authorized search warrant at Nguyen’s home, investigators found gas, black powder, potassium nitrate sulfur, explosive pre-cursor chemicals, a paper that explains how to make black powder and a firearm in Nguyen’s residence, among other equipment and clothing items consistent with those used during the attempts. “Fortunately, neither of these incidents resulted in injury or successful theft of cash,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “With the discovery of chemicals and equipment in the search today, future attempts were also thwarted.” This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Sherwood and Shital Thakkar. DEFENDANT Case Number 24-mj-03215 Son Thanh Nguyen Age: 44 San Diego, CA SUMMARY OF CHARGES Use of an Explosive to Damage Property – 18 U.S.C., Section 844(i) Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison INVESTIGATING AGENCIES Federal Bureau of Investigation San Diego Police Department San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad City of San Diego’s Hazmat Team A complaint itself is not evidence that the defendant committed the crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent until the Government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.


title: Fort Dodge Man to Federal Prison for  Illegal Purchase of Firearm Conviction

component: USAO - Iowa, Northern

body_text: A man who illegally purchased three firearms was sentenced on August 20, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City. Hunter Collier, 22, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty on April 1, 2024, to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Collier, a marijuana user, purchased a .380 ACP pistol in July of 2022, from a federally firearms licensed business, in Fort Dodge. At the time of the purchase, Collier represented on the federal purchasing form that he was not a marijuana user, and that he was purchasing the firearm for himself, when in fact he was purchasing the firearm for another. The next day, Collier illegally purchased two additional firearms in Des Moines, Iowa. Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Collier was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment and must serve a two-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Collier was taken into U.S. Marshals custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Webster County Sheriff’s Office. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl . The case file number is 23-3035. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.


title: ST. THOMAS DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN $2.1 MILLION DOLLAR COCAINE SEIZURE CASE

component: USAO - Virgin Islands


title: Omaha Man Sentenced for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that John C. Shores, Jr., age 55, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for attempted sexual exploitation of a child. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Shores to 240 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Shores’ release from prison, he will begin a 20-year term of supervised release. Shores was also ordered to pay $7,600 in special assessments as part of his sentence. In pronouncing his sentence, Chief Judge Rossiter told Shores “I don’t discount what you’ve done with the community in the light, but what you’ve done here was in the dark.” From August 4, 2023, through August 10, 2023, Shores used his cell phone to engage in an online conversation via the chat application Whisper and text messages with an undercover officer who was purporting to be a 13-year-old girl. During the conversations, Shores asked who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl to exchange naked and sexually explicit pictures for the purpose of masturbation. Shores also sent sexually explicit images to the other user. On August 10, 2023, Shores made arrangements to meet with who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and arrived at the meeting location in Omaha as arranged. Law enforcement contacted Shores and seized four cell phones from Shore’s vehicle. Forensic examinations of Shore’s cell phones revealed numerous sexually explicit online conversations to include conversations with individuals claiming to be as young as 11 years old. In one conversation, occurring primarily between July 7, 2020, and July 27, 2020, Shores contacted and conversed with 13-year-old female who resided in southeastern Nebraska. This case was investigated by law enforcement agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office as part of the Omaha FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.


title: Omaha Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Production of Child Pornography

body_text: United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Neon Chang, age 41, of Omaha, Nebraska was sentenced on August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for production of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Chang to 210 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Chang will be required to complete a 10-year term of supervised release. Chang was also ordered to pay a special assessment in the amount of $5,000 pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Victim Assistance Act of 2018. An investigation into the online sharing of child pornography led law enforcement officers to obtain a warrant for the search of Chang’s residence in November 2023. Chang was not present but was later interviewed at his place of employment. Chang told investigators that he used a specific software program to receive and download child pornography. Among the child pornography files made available for sharing by Chang through the peer-to-peer program included prepubescent minors, minors under the age of twelve, and files showing sexual abuse or exploitation of toddlers. Chang also admitted that in 2019, he recorded sexual encounters involving himself, his spouse, and a minor victim. Investigators were able to locate 28 video files on a computer seized from the basement of the residence. The investigator viewed the video files and found they were created in January and February of 2019, when the minor victim was approximately thirteen years old. The videos corroborated Chang’s statements regarding the sexual encounters involving him, his spouse, and the minor victim. One of the videos recorded from a stationary camera depicts the minor victim having sexual intercourse with Chang’s spouse at Chang’s direction, while Chang was also using a cell phone camera to record the sexual encounter. During the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Rossiter characterized Chang’s conduct as “beyond horrible.” 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 United States Attorney’s 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. This case was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Omaha Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.


title: Romanian Man Sentenced for Possession of Device Making Equipment and Aggravated Identity Theft

component: USAO - Nebraska

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Ciprian Amariutei, 37, a Romanian citizen whose address is unknown, was sentenced on August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for possession of device making equipment with intent to defraud and aggravated identity theft. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Amariutei to 16 months in prison for possession of device making equipment with intent to defraud and a consecutive 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft. There is no parole in the federal system. After Amariutei’s release from prison, he will begin a 2-year term of supervised release. On March 8, 2024, Amariutei’s co-defendant, Mona Maria Tataru, 32, also a Romanian citizen, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for possession of device making equipment with intent to defraud and a consecutive 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft, to be followed by two years of supervised release. In April 2023, surveillance video showed Amariutei, accompanied by Tataru, placing a skimming device and pinhole camera on an ATM in Omaha. Omaha police officers found the vehicle shown in the video and contacted Amariutei and Tataru at a local motel. Officers located in Amariutei’s and Tataru’s possession more skimming devices and cameras, equipment to generate phony debit and ATM cards, and several cards that had been encoded with stolen bank account information that enabled them to be used as ATM cards. In total, officers located approximately 220 sets of bank account information corresponding to accounts at more than a dozen different banks. This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Omaha Police Department.


title: Winnebago Man Sentenced for Domestic Assault by an Habitual Offender

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Kelton Chilson, age 29, of Winnebago, Nebraska, was sentenced on August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for domestic assault by a habitual offender in Indian Country. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., sentenced Chilson to 24 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Chilson’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release. In September 2023, Chilson physically assaulted a female victim known to him by punching the victim in the face. A witness to the assault notified local law enforcement, who arrived on scene to find the victim lying in a roadway with much of her clothing torn off and obvious injuries to her head and face. The victim was transported by ambulance for emergency medical care and found to have suffered a broken nose. Prior to his assault on the victim in September 2023, Chilson had already been convicted on multiple occasions of domestic violence offenses in state and tribal courts. This case was prosecuted in federal court because the offense was a felony and occurred on the Winnebago Indian Reservation in Nebraska. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.


title: Umatilla Man Faces Federal Charges for Making Threats of Sexual Violence Against Children and Possessing Dozens of Photos and Videos Depicting Child Sexual Abuse

body_text: PORTLAND, Ore.—A Umatilla, Oregon man who is alleged to have made several hoax phone calls threatening sexual violence against children and possessed dozens of photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse has been indicted in federal court. Thomas Loren Goatley, 20, has been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography and making interstate threats. According to court documents, between approximately January 5 and April 30, 2024, Goatley is alleged to have made more than 60 phone calls to various schools, police departments, emergency lines, and animal shelters in at least 12 states. During many of these calls, Goatley claimed that he was sexually assaulting a child, or that he was about to do so. While investigating these threats, special agents from the FBI discovered Goatley was also the subject of numerous CyberTipline Reports submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) indicating that he was active in receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material. On July 22, 2024, investigators executed a federal search warrant on Goatley’s person and residence in Umatilla, and he was placed under arrest. A later search of Goatley’s cell phone revealed dozens of illicit images and videos depicting child sexual abuse. On July 23, 2024, Goatley made his initial appearance in federal court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge and was detained pending further court proceedings. He was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty. A four-day jury trial is scheduled to begin on October 22, 2024. Receiving and possessing child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison with a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. Transmitting interstate threats is punishable by up to five years in federal prison. This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Umatilla Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Mira Chernick, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov . This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Latham Man Sentenced to More Than 8 Years for Possessing Child Pornography

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Scott Weinbloom, age 49, of Latham, New York, was sentenced today to 97 months of imprisonment, to be followed by 20 years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement. As part of his guilty plea, Weinbloom admitted that on May 18, 2022, he possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on a USB flash memory stick found in his residence and that two computers recovered from his residence had also been used to store and view child pornography. In addition to the imprisonment and supervised release terms, Weinbloom was ordered to pay a total of $72,000 in restitution to child victims depicted in the files he possessed, and will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from imprisonment. The FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated this case. The Task Force includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Colonie Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin C. Segovia prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locates, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Omaha Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Conspiracy

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Anthony Stephens, age 38, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, for his involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Stephens to 188 months’ imprisonment. Stephens also agreed to the forfeiture of $10,500. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a 10-year term of supervised release. On September 9, 2022, law enforcement was called to the Microtel Inn and Suites in Bellevue, Nebraska to remove a party from one of the rooms. The hotel manager informed the officers that a male occupant in the room had rented the room for one night and was supposed to check out by noon but had not. The manager and officers went to the room. After gaining access, they found Stephens unresponsive with no pulse. Defendant was ultimately shaken awake. In the hotel room, officers located $10,500 in United States currency, drug paraphernalia, a black baton, brass knuckles, baggies, two vehicle fobs, digital scales, two cell phones, approximately 465.5 grams of marijuana, 851 grams of pure meth, and a smattering of pills. Stephens was arrested and told officers that he had been dealing pound quantities of meth since April 2022. This case was investigated by the Bellevue Police Department.


title: Owner of North Carolina High Performance Car Business Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Crime

component: Tax Division

body_text: WILMINGTON, N.C. – North Carolina businessman George William Taylor Jr. of Wilmington pled guilty today to not paying more than $2 million in employment taxes and not filing employment tax returns. “The vast majority of working Americans pay their fair share in taxes, supporting our nation’s infrastructure, education, and national security. But for years this businessman took millions from employees’ paychecks, supposedly for taxes, and spent it to pad his business and personal expenses,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Tax cheating like this undermines faith in our system and can’t be tolerated in honest business. Hardworking taxpayers won’t stand for it, and neither will the IRS.” According to court documents and statements made in court, Taylor, owned and operated National Speed, a high-performance automotive services business. As the chairman and president of National Speed, Taylor was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from employees’ wages and paying those taxes to the IRS. From 2014 through 2021, Taylor withheld the taxes, but did not pay those withholdings over to the IRS, nor did he file the necessary employment tax returns. During the same period, he also did not pay the employer’s share of those taxes to the IRS. In total, Taylor caused a tax loss to the IRS of $2,272,072. “Employment tax evasion results in the loss of tax revenue to the United States government and can cause financial hardship to employees in the form of lost or delayed social security or Medicare benefits,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins, Charlotte Field Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Failure to pay over withheld taxes is a serious offense. Business owners have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the IRS. CI special agents will pursue anyone who collects these taxes and uses the funds for their own personal gain.” Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley, of the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Trial Attorney Brian Flanagan of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Ontjes of the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.


title: Sevierville Man Sentenced To Over 12 Years Imprisonment For Receipt Of Child Pornography

body_text: KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On August 21, 2024, Ronnie Joe Maples, 47, currently of Sevierville, Tennessee was sentenced to 151 months by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Following his incarceration, Maples will be on lifetime supervised release and will be required to register with state sex offender registries and to comply with special sex offender conditions. As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Maples pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2). According to documents filed in the case, Maples and another individual discussed actively molesting children and producing child pornography on the internet. During these discussions, Maples received child pornography from this individual. In November 2022, the individual with whom Maples was communicating began cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service (USSS). Law enforcement subsequently obtained a search warrant for Maples’ Facebook account and cellular phone, which confirmed that Maples received child pornography. U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Tennessee, Francis M. Hamilton III, and FBI Special Agent in Charge, Joseph E. Carrico made the announcement. The criminal information was the result of an investigation by the FBI and the USSS. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.” ###


title: Tennessee Man And Company Plead Guilty To Violating The Clean Water Act

component: USAO - Tennessee, Eastern

body_text: KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On August 20, 2024, Christopher Domermuth, 49, and Domermuth Environmental Services, LLC (“DES”), based in Knoxville, both pleaded guilty today to violating the Clean Water Act by knowingly discharging pollutants into a navigable waterway without a permit, in violation of 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311 and 1319(c), in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Mr. Domermuth faces a maximum term of up to three years in Federal prison, followed by a term of supervised release of up to one year. According to court documents, Mr. Domermuth operated DES, which was engaged in the business of processing petroleum-contaminated soil and water in Knoxville. On July 26, 2018, DES workers rolled over a previously exhumed underground storage tank which spilled a mixture of petroleum and water onto a concrete pad at the facility. DES employees and Mr. Domermuth threw absorbent pads into the spilled mixture and then used a portable pump to pump the petroleum-contaminated mixture over a retaining wall at DES. The oily mixture flowed over a neighboring property and into a culvert leading to the Holston River. “Domermuth Environmental Services and Christopher Domermuth were engaged in a business that was supposed to be cleaning up contaminated water and soil to protect the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim. “Their actions instead led to the discharge of pollutants into the environment they were supposed to help protect. These felony guilty pleas represent our commitment to enforcing the Clean Water Act.” “Our office is committed to protecting our natural resources in East Tennessee,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “I applaud the collaborative efforts of the federal and state law enforcement agencies that brought these violators to justice.” This prosecution was the result of a joint investigation between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Criminal Investigation Division, EPA - Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Tennessee Valley Authority-OIG, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Matthew T. Morris of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy S. Dykes are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. ###


title: New York Man Sentenced To Seven Years For Interstate Travel In Aid Of Drug Trafficking And Violating His Supervised Release

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle

body_text: HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Marcello Whyte, age 40, of Queens, New York, was sentenced on August 21, 2024, to five years imprisonment for interstate travel in aid of drug trafficking and an additional two years of imprisonment for violating the terms of his supervised release on his prior federal drug conviction. According to United States Attorney Gerard Karam, Whyte was convicted in federal court in 2011 for conspiring to distribute between 100 and 400 kilograms of marijuana and sentenced to serve 70 months’ imprisonment to be followed by four years of supervised release. Approximately five months after his release from federal prison, and while on supervised release, Whyte was stopped on March 18, 2016, by Pennsylvania State Police Troopers on I-81 driving a rented vehicle from New York to Pennsylvania. Troopers recovered approximately 249 grams of cocaine inside the vehicle and Whyte pled guilty to interstate transportation in and of drug trafficking in 2019 and remained free pending sentencing. In July 2020, Whyte was arrested in New York and found to be in possession of a loaded firearm and marijuana. Whyte posted bail for that offense but failed to appear for his federal sentencing. He remained a fugitive for approximately four years, until March 23, 2024, when he was arrested in New York and charged with controlled substance offenses. The New York charges remain pending. 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Drug Enforcement Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Behe and Assistant United States Attorney Bruce Brandler. ###


title: Bowie County woman sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for fentanyl overdose death

body_text: TEXARKANA, Texas – A Texarkana woman who sold multiple fake oxycontin pills containing fentanyl has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. Nickie Jo Mattison, also known as Nickie Hall, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 204 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, on August 21, 2024. According to information presented in court, between September 2021 and August 2022, Mattison conspired with at least three others, to distribute fentanyl. Mattison and her co-conspirators distributed thousands of blue pills stamped to mimic 30mg oxycontin pills, known on the streets as “M-30s.” however, the pills were counterfeits that contained fentanyl. As a result, three people died and one person was seriously injured after using the drugs. Mattison sold the pills that killed one of the overdose victims. Courtney Lewis was sentenced to 120 months and Darrell “Monty” Trotter was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for their roles in the conspiracy. Christopher “Candyman” Candelaria and Kolton Saulsbury have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. This case was investigated by the Texarkana Texas Police Department, the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Locker and Jonathan Hornok.


title: Final Defendant Sentenced in $1M COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme

component: Department of Justice

body_text: ALBANY, Ga. – The final codefendant convicted of a fraud scheme that illegally sought more than $1 million from pandemic relief funds was sentenced to federal prison. Sharmaine Simpson, 37, of Pelham, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Aug. 15, after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. On March 13, co-defendants Jeremy Russell, 38, of Pelham, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud; Travon Duhart, 40, of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud; Mario Meadows, 46, of Albany, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud; and Johnderrious Lovett, 31, of Dacula, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner presided over the case. There is no parole in the federal system. “Pandemic relief funds were intended to provide critical help to small businesses, not enrich fraudsters,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “We will pursue justice against those who criminally abused this taxpayer funded program.” “So many businesses needed federal emergency assistance to stay afloat during the pandemic, and Simpson and his co-defendants misdirected that assistance money to line their own pockets,” said Rich Bilson, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of FBI Atlanta’s Albany office. “Their greed affects every American taxpayer, and the FBI will continue to hold accountable those who abused taxpayer dollars and diverted them from citizens who desperately needed them.” According to court documents and statements referenced in court, from March 2020 to at least April 2021, the defendants joined a conspiracy to collectively submit at least 25 different fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of companies they controlled individually or together, seeking a total of $1,079,233.02 plus unemployment benefits. In all, the defendants received and deposited $411,657.02 from the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a result of these falsified claims. The various loan applications were for corporations the defendants established, and included all manner of concocted information, including fabricated revenues, employees, payroll costs, rent, operational expenditures and fraudulent tax returns. The defendants continued to make false statements after several loans were denied due to fraud alerts and continued their attempts to gain funds through the SBA and other government entities. One example of the pandemic fraud scheme was a $100,000 loan received for J.T.L.S. Music Group. Russell, Duhart, Lovett and Simpson were listed as 25% owners of the business on their EIDL application and claimed to have ten employees. However, the Georgia Department of Labor reported that J.T.L.S. Music Group did not pay any wages or unemployment insurance to any employees from 2017 to 2022. J.T.L.S. Music Group also reported gross revenues of $250,000 for the 12-months prior to the “date of disaster” on its EIDL application but did not report any income or paid taxes to the State of Georgia from 2017 to 2022, nor did they file taxes with the IRS. After the $100,000 loan was deposited, Russell recalled someone texting “y’all betta get y’all money out because I got mine,” in a group text with him, Duhart, Lovett and Simpson. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted by Congress in March 2020, to provide emergency financial support to the millions of Americans suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this effort, the SBA was able to provide EIDLs to individuals, households and businesses in federally declared disaster areas. The PPP was established as a forgivable loan to small businesses for eligible expenses, like payroll. The case was investigated by FBI and the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG). Criminal Chief Leah McEwen prosecuted the case for the Government.


title: Federal Jury Convicts Prior Felon for Distributing Meth  and Possessing a Firearm

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Northern

body_text: TULSA, Okla. – After a three-day trial, a federal jury convicted Lee Holt, 60, of Collinsville. The jury found Holt guilty of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute after previously being convicted of a serious drug felony; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking Crimes. Prior to trial, Holt’s co-defendant, Jennifer Charisa Harrington, 49, of Collinsville, pled guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute and Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. “Guns, drugs, and felons are a volatile combination that hurt communities within the Northern District of Oklahoma,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “This verdict is the direct result of the collaborative efforts of law enforcement and prosecutors’ prioritizing violent crime prosecutions to help reduce crime and build safer communities.” In August 2023, law enforcement served a search warrant on Holt and Harrington’s home in Collinsville. Upon search of the home, agents found a firearm and ammunition, 110 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, scales, and cash. Laboratory testing determined the methamphetamine was 94% pure. During the trial, experts testified that 110 grams of methamphetamine could be more than 500 doses of meth with a street value of approximately $1,500. Court records show that Holt was previously convicted of several felonies, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and unlawfully possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. In Harrington’s plea agreement, she admitted to living with Holt and that they would distribute and use methamphetamine in their home. Harrington further admitted that they had a firearm, ammunition, scales, and cash from the proceeds of distributing methamphetamine. Homeland Security Investigations, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Collinsville Police Department, and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Flesher and Dennis Fries prosecuted the case. 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about PSN, please visit Justice.gov/PSN .


title: Frederick County Man Pleads Guilty To Coercion And Enticement Of A Minor

component: USAO - Maryland

body_text: Baltimore , Maryland – Michael Vance Culpepper, age 56, of Walkersville, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 21 to federal charges of coercion and enticement of a minor. The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Inspector General Teri L. Donaldson of United States Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General (DOE-OIG); Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Baltimore Field Office; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police (MSP); Paul Joey Kifer, Chief of the Hagerstown Police Department (HPD), and State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess of the Office of the State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County, Maryland. According to his guilty plea, in April and May 2023, Culpepper used mobile phones and online applications to persuade, induce, entice and coerce two victims whom he believed to be 13- and 14-year-old females to engage in sexual activity. As to the first victim -- an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 13-year-old girl -- Culpepper used the internet and his phones to exchange sexually explicit messages and request sexually explicit images. Culpepper encouraged the victim to hide her conversations from her parents, writing, “you DEFINITELY need to delete these texts when we are done.” On May 8, 2023, Culpepper drove approximately 50 miles to meet the victim at a restaurant in Hanover, Maryland. When he arrived, he was arrested. After Culpepper was released on May 9, 2023 with the condition that he have no further contact with minors, Culpepper initiated online contact with Jane Doe 1, a 14-year-old female. Culpepper used the internet to entice Jane Doe 1 to engage in sexually explicit conversations. Culpepper also sent Jane Doe 1 sexually explicit photos of himself and requested that Jane Doe 1 produce nude images of herself and send them to him. Culpepper arranged a meeting with Jane Doe 1 for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity. On May 28, 2023, Culpepper picked up Jane Doe 1 near her home, and then drove her around for approximately one hour before stopping at a park. Culpepper used ice cream, money, a hotel room and vaping devices to entice Jane Doe 1 to engage in sexual contact. Jane Doe refused, but following the meeting, Culpepper continued to use the internet to entice Jane Doe 4 to meet with him and engage in sex acts. Culpepper faces a maximum of life in federal prison and lifetime supervised release for coercion and enticement of a minor. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page. U.S. Attorney Barron commended the DOE-OIG, HSI, ARMY CID, MSP, HPD and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Reema Sood, who are prosecuting the case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach . # # #


title: St. Michael Woman Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse and Related Charges in Death of One-Year-Old

component: USAO - North Dakota

body_text: BISMARCK – United States Attorney Mac Schneider announced that Kenzie Rose Baker, age 27, from St. Michael, North Dakota, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 22, 2025, for her role in the death of a one-year-old child on the Spirit Lake Reservation. Baker appeared in federal court on August 16, 2024, in Fargo and pleaded guilty before District Court Judge Peter Welte to accessory after the fact, child abuse in Indian country, and child neglect in Indian country. “The abuse and death of this young child was senseless, wasteful, and utterly cruel,” Schneider said. “There is no undoing the disregard for life shown in this case, but by holding child abusers accountable in federal court we hope that future tragedies can be prevented. Our partners in federal law enforcement and career prosecutors will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect kids.” As noted in court documents, Baker called 911 on February 18, 2023, from a home in St. Michael on the Spirit Lake Reservation and reported a one-year-old child was not breathing. The child was transported to CHI St. Alexius in Devils Lake, North Dakota and was pronounced dead. An autopsy concluded the cause of death was “battered child” due to multiple, repeated injuries of various ages which were evident upon external and internal examination. The child’s internal injuries were untreated, giving rise to infection and sepsis. Baker admitted she observed swelling present for two weeks but failed to seek medical care. After the child’s death, Baker’s co-defendant, Collin Ray Delorme, claimed an external injury to the child’s back, which was above a spinal fracture, occurred when he misjudged a step and his boot slipped and a flashlight hit the child. Law enforcement attempted to locate and seize the flashlight and Baker said she would provide it, but she did not. Delorme, the co-defendant, is charged with four offenses including felony murder in Indian country, child abuse in Indian country, and child neglect in Indian country. Delorme is scheduled for jury trial on November 19, 2024. Baker and Delorme are detained in custody pending Baker’s sentencing and Delorme’s trial. The Indictment in this case pertaining to Delorme is not evidence of guilt, Delorme is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lori H. Conroy and SheraLynn Ternes. ######


title: Fayetteville Armed Drug Trafficker and Blood Gang Leader Sentenced to 30 Years

component: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

body_text: RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville Blood gang member who led a drug trafficking organization that distributed thousands of pounds of high-grade marijuana was sentenced to 360 months in prison for drug trafficking and firearm charges. On May 24, 2023, Terrence Michael Pittman, age 29, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than one thousand kilograms of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. “The FPD continues to work collaboratively with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, we continue to aggressively combat Fayetteville's gun violence and narcotic trafficking,” said Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden. According to court documents and other information presented in court, in 2019, the Fayetteville Police Department began investigating Pittman after receiving information that he was trafficking significant amounts of marijuana out of a Fayetteville residence. One witness told police that Pittman was receiving as much as a hundred pounds of marijuana at a time. In surveilling Pittman’s residence, law enforcement observed individuals delivering large duffel bags believed to contain bulk marijuana to the house. Traffic stops of individuals associated with this drug trafficking organization yielded the seizure of over $165,000 from an individual seen leaving Pittman’s house in October 2019, and the seizure of 141 pounds of marijuana out of a vehicle on the way to Pittman’s house in November 2019. Witnesses who had been at the house when the duffel bags were delivered told law enforcement that the duffel bags contained bulk marijuana. Multiple witnesses also identified Pittman as the leader of a United Nation Blood gang subset. Investigators received a warrant to conduct a wiretap on Pittman’s phones for three months in 2020 and learned that he was operating three stash houses used to store and distribute drugs in Fayetteville. In intercepted phone calls, Pittman was heard arranging to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of marijuana at a time from suppliers with connections to Charlotte, Washington, D.C., New York, and California. Pittman was also overheard bragging that he made “a band” ($1000) on every “bag” (pound) of marijuana that he sold, further stating that he sold five hundred pounds per week. On November 12, 2020, investigators conducted searches at all three stash houses in Fayetteville and Pittman’s primary residence in Clayton and seized nearly $100,000 in cash, approximately $300,000 worth of gold and diamond jewelry, more than 90 pounds of marijuana and six firearms, including four 9mm handguns, a 7.62 caliber rifle with a large capacity magazine, and a 7.62 caliber pistol. Several other members of Pittman’s drug trafficking organization have been convicted, including Rahein Saekwan Little (5:22-CR-00138-D-RJ-2); Candace Cherelle Spencer (5:22-CR-00138-D-RJ-3); Maurice Manuel Charity (5:22-CR-00138-D-RJ-4); Jennifer Talbert (5:22-CR-00169-D), Donovan McCrimmon (5:22-CR-00151-D), and Shiiquan Anderson (5:21-CR-171-D). This investigation was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Fayetteville Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Webb prosecuted the case. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:22-cr-00138-D-1.


title: U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Conviction of Church Rock Man for Shooting at Law Enforcement

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A Church Rock man has pleaded guilty in federal court in federal court to charges related to attack on law enforcement officers on the Navajo Nation. According to court documents, in the early morning of July 22, 2023, the Navajo Police Department (NPD) received reports of a man identified as Elijah Touchine , 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, walking near his residence, shooting a gun, and threatening to hurt someone. Officers from the NPD and New Mexico State Police responded to the area and came under fire from an unknown direction, prompting them to take tactical action to protect themselves. Law enforcement could hear the bullets whizzing past and striking the ground nearby. They pursued the shooter into a canyon but had to discontinue the search after twelve hours due to dark conditions. Later that day, the FBI, with assistance from the Gallup Police Department, located Touchine at a local gun store in Gallup, NM. He was taken into custody without incident. During the investigation, it was determined that Touchine had forced his grandmother to purchase ammunition and an AR-15 firearm for him through threats of violence. When asked why he was buying a gun, Touchine replied, “I don’t know, shoot up any cop I see.” Law enforcement recovered a .40 caliber Taurus handgun and ammunition in a black bag from the trunk of his grandmother’s vehicle. At sentencing, Touchine faces 12 to 17 years in prison. Upon his release from prison, Touchine will be subject to up to five years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigation, New Mexico State Police and Gallup Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Marshall is prosecuting the case. # # #


title: Three Men Charged with December 2023 Armed Robbery of Lawrence Jewelry Store

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – Yesterday, a criminal complaint was unsealed charging three men with the December 2023 armed robbery of a jewelry store in Lawrence, during which they allegedly stole over $500,000 worth of jewelry and precious metals. Eric Rosario, a/k/a “Maniactico,” 26; Rosnel Polanco, 26; and Robert Santana, a/k/a “Amaury Perez,” a/k/a “Piccarine,” 29, all of Lawrence, were charged with one count each of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (commonly referred to as Hobbs Act robbery). Santana was arrested yesterday. Rosario and Polanco were previously arrested on related state charges and remain in custody. The defendants will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. According to charging documents, on Dec. 15, 2023, the defendants allegedly entered a Lawrence jewelry store armed with firearms. Numerous employees of the store were present at the time, and it is alleged that the defendants robbed them of their jewelry and cell phones. The defendants then allegedly pointed firearms at the victims’ heads and pressed the firearms to their backs as they brought the victim employees downstairs to the basement where the jewelry store’s office and safes were located. Once downstairs, the defendants allegedly forced the owner of the store to open the safes containing the jewelry and other precious metals. In total, approximately $500,000 in jewelry and precious metals are alleged to have been taken. The second safe could not be successfully opened. It is alleged that the defendants then fled the scene in a rented Nissan Altima that was later found burned and torched in a field in Maine the following day. The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; John E. Mawn, Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; and Lawrence Police Chief Millix Bonilla made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cumberland County (Maine) Sheriff’s Department (Maine) and the Norway (Maine) and Oxford (Maine) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case. 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.


title: Felon Convicted of Illegal Firearm Possession after Altercation with Police

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Western

body_text: OKLAHOMA CITY – A federal jury has convicted RONNIE GERALD WIGGINS , 60, of Norman, of illegal possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. On September 19, 2023, a federal grand jury charged Wiggins with being a felon in possession of a firearm. On August 14, 2024, a federal jury found Wiggins guilty on the charge. According to evidence presented at trial, on October 30, 2022, an officer with the Norman Police Department made contact with Wiggins after multiple concerned citizens called 911 to report his erratic driving. During the interaction, officers learned that Wiggins had a warrant for parole violation on a 2001 Texas murder conviction. When they began to arrest him, Wiggins became argumentative and attempted to run. Once he was in custody, officers found a pistol and two loaded ammunition magazines in his vehicle. Public record shows Wiggins has sustained multiple previous felony convictions including: First degree murder in Oldham County (Texas) District Court case number CR-01C-001; Felon in possession of a firearm in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma case number CR-00-74-C; Attempting to possess a prohibited object (heroin), in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas case number 93-30006-02; Armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in Bernalillo County (New Mexico) District Court case number CR-90-00165; Bank robbery in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico case number CR-89-517-02; Theft of a vehicle in Grants County (New Mexico) District Court case number CB 89-93-CR; and Robbery with a firearm in Cleveland County (Oklahoma) District Court case number CF-83-535. As a result of these prior convictions, Wiggins qualified as an Armed Career Criminal. At sentencing, Wiggins faces up to life in federal prison on this conviction. This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Norman Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Gridley and Danielle M. Connolly are prosecuting the case. 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. For more information about PSN, please visit https://justice.gov/psn and https://justice.gov/usao-wdok . Reference is made to public filings for additional information.


title: Major Enforcement Operation in Guatemala Secures Arrest of Human Smuggler Indicted by Joint Task Force Alpha for Links to 2022 Mass Casualty Event in Texas

component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: Remote video URL On Wednesday, extensive coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department and its domestic and international partners resulted in a major enforcement operation that dismantled a human smuggling network based in Guatemala. In June 2022, this network smuggled people into the United States on a journey that ended with the deaths of 53 migrants in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. Twenty-one of the deceased migrants were Guatemalan. This case is part of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), created by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen U.S. enforcement efforts against human smuggling emanating from Central America. On Aug. 21, Guatemalan law enforcement executed multiple search and arrest warrants across Guatemala, working together with United States law enforcement agents. At the request of the United States, Guatemalan authorities arrested Guatemalan national Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, who has been indicted in the Western District of Texas in connection with the investigation. Six individuals arrested as part of the operation will be charged locally in Guatemala. Miranda-Orozco, 47, whose indictment was unsealed today, allegedly conspired with other smugglers to facilitate the travel of four migrants from Guatemala through Mexico, and ultimately, to the United States. He allegedly charged the migrants, or their families and friends, approximately $12,000 to $15,000 for the journey. The indictment alleges that three of these migrants perished in the tractor-trailer, and the fourth suffered serious bodily injury. Miranda-Orozco is charged with six counts related to migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious bodily injury. He faces maximum penalties of life in prison. “Over the past two years, the Justice Department has worked methodically to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific tragedy in San Antonio that killed 53 people who had been preyed on by human smugglers,” said Attorney General Garland. “With these arrests, the Justice Department and our partners in Guatemala have now arrested a total of 14 people for their alleged involvement in this tragedy. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners both in the United States and abroad to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama.” “Smugglers prey on migrants and seek profits with complete disregard for human life, as we saw in this tragic incident that killed 53 people,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The men and women at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) work every day to disrupt these sophisticated smuggling networks, and we will continue to work alongside our federal and international partners to dismantle them at every level of operation.” “In launching Joint Task Force Alpha three years ago, the Department of Justice directed every tool at our disposal to the dismantling of human smuggling networks across the continent. And after the tragic deaths of 53 migrants in June 2022, we pledged to hold accountable those responsible, no matter where they live or operate,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Today’s arrests in Guatemala are a continued fulfillment of that pledge. We will not rest in our efforts to disrupt the smuggling networks that capitalize on desperation and foster misery throughout the Western Hemisphere.” “As alleged in the indictment, Miranda-Orozco recruited some of the migrants who died in the back of a tractor-trailer near San Antonio, Texas, in June 2022, and worked with a network of smugglers to transport them from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This tragedy is a dire warning of the dangers that human smugglers cause by exposing migrants to life-threatening conditions for the smugglers’ financial gain. Dismantling human smuggling networks is a critical priority for the Criminal Division, and we will continue to work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these cases, no matter where the offenders may be found.” “This was a complex operation and a major success for the progression of this case — apprehending a key orchestrator of the horrendous smuggling operations in which families were charged thousands of dollars for trusted transport across the U.S. border from Guatemala and other countries,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “This significant development in the case demonstrates the commitment of this office, the Department of Justice, and our partners at all necessary levels, to ensure all 53 migrants who died in the 2022 tractor-trailer tragedy get their justice.” “HSI is deeply immersed in the global fight against human smuggling that includes our international operations within Central and South America. These arrests reflect the disruption of Central American human smuggling organizations that recruit, organize and transport people,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Combating this prolific, transnational crime is one of our top priorities. Our special agents and criminal analysts are actively engaged with law enforcement partners and task forces around the globe working to dismantle criminal networks that treat human life like a commodity. HSI will keep exhausting every resource available to bring human smugglers to justice.” “The men and women of CBP are unwavering in their commitment to combat and dismantle the human smuggling networks that ruthlessly exploit and endanger the lives of migrants — from the time of this tragic incident in San Antonio, to today’s important step in bringing those responsible to justice,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy A. Miller of the CBP. “Our collective work through Joint Task Force Alpha remains critical to our ongoing efforts at disrupting smuggling operations across the hemisphere and the world.” The human smuggling organization allegedly loaded 65 migrants into a tractor-trailer, which court documents allege lacked functioning air conditioning as it drove north on a Texas interstate. As temperatures rose, some of the migrants inside the trailer allegedly lost consciousness, while others clawed at the walls, trying to escape. By the time the tractor-trailer reached San Antonio, the indictment alleges, 48 migrants had already died. Another five migrants died after being transported to local hospitals. Six children and a pregnant woman were among the deceased. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas has previously charged seven other defendants for their alleged involvement in this smuggling event, including through indictments filed in 2022 and 2023 . Four of these seven defendants have pleaded guilty . The indictment against Miranda-Orozco and the cooperation between U.S. and Guatemalan authorities were spearheaded by JTFA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Given the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America with effects in the United States, JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks, or engage in other types of transnational organized crime. Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama; targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. JTFA is comprised of detailees from southwest border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, including the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California, and dedicated support for the program is also provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division that are part of JTFA — led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. HSI San Antonio investigated the case, with valuable assistance from HSI Guatemala and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. CBP’s National Targeting Center/Operation Sentinel; U.S. Border Patrol; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; San Antonio Police Department; San Antonio Fire Department; Palestine Police Department, OIA, and OPDAT provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department thanks Guatemalan law enforcement, who were instrumental in furthering this investigation. HRSP Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jose Luis Acosta, Eric Fuchs, Sarah Spears, and Amanda Brown for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Gran operación de las fuerzas del orden en Guatemala asegura la detención de un traficante de personas acusado por la Fuerza de Tarea Operativa Conjunta Alpha por sus vínculos con el suceso de víctimas masivas en Texas en 2022

body_text: Remote video URL El miércoles, una extensa coordinación y colaboración entre el Departamento de Justicia y sus socios nacionales e internacionales resultó en una gran operación de las fuerzas del orden que desmanteló un red de tráfico de personas basada en Guatemala. En un viaje en junio de 2022, esta red introdujo ilegalmente a los Estados Unidos a 53 migrantes en un camión de remolque que terminó con su muerte en San Antonio, Texas. Veintiuno de los fallecidos eran guatemaltecos. Este caso es parte de la Fuerza de Tarea Operativa Conjunta Alpha (JTFA, por sus siglas en inglés), creada por el fiscal general Merrick B. Garland en junio de 2021, en asociación con el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, con el objetivo de fortalecer los esfuerzos de las fuerzas del orden de los EE. UU. contra el tráfico de personas que proviene de Centroamérica. El 21 de agosto, las fuerzas del orden guatemaltecas ejecutaron múltiples órdenes de cateo y detención en toda Guatemala, trabajando conjuntamente con agentes de las fuerzas del orden de los Estados Unidos. A solicitud de los Estados Unidos, las autoridades guatemaltecas arrestaron al ciudadano guatemalteco Rigoberto Ramón Miranda-Orozco, imputado por el Distrito Oeste de Texas, en conexión con la investigación. Seis personas arrestadas como parte de la operación serán imputadas en Guatemala. Miranda-Orozco, 47, cuya acusación formal se hizo pública hoy, presuntamente conspiró con otros traficantes para facilitar el viaje de cuatro migrantes de Guatemala a través de México con destino final a los Estados Unidos. Presuntamente cobró a los migrantes, o sus familias y amigos, aproximadamente entre $12,000 y $15,000 dólares estadounidenses por el viaje. La acusación formal alega que tres de estos migrantes fallecieron en el camión de remolque, y el cuarto sufrió graves lesiones corporales. Miranda-Orozco está imputado por seis cargos relacionados con el tráfico de personas migrantes que resultó en muertes o graves lesiones corporales. Enfrenta una pena máxima de cadena perpetua. “En los últimos dos años, el Departamento de Justicia ha trabajado metódicamente para que los responsables paguen por la horrible tragedia en San Antonio que mató a 53 personas víctimas de los traficantes de personas”, dijo el fiscal general Garland. “Con estas detenciones, el Departamento de Justicia y nuestros socios en Guatemala hemos llegado a un total de 14 detenidos por su presunta participación en esta tragedia. Estamos comprometidos a continuar el trabajo con nuestros socios tanto aquí en los Estados Unidos como en el extranjero para identificar a los más prolíficos y peligrosos grupos de traficantes de personas que operan en México, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia y Panamá”. “Los traficantes abusan de los migrantes y buscan ganancias con total desprecio por la vida humana, como vimos en el trágico incidente que mató a 53 personas”, dijo el secretario de Seguridad Nacional Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Los hombres y mujeres de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional (HSI, por sus siglas en inglés) y el Servicio de Control de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de los EE. UU. (CBP, por sus siglas en inglés) trabajan cada día para desmantelar esas redes sofisticadas de traficantes, y seguiremos trabajando junto con nuestros socios federales e internacionales para desmantelarlas a todo nivel de operación”. “Al lanzar la Fuerza de Tarea Operativa Conjunta Alpha hace tres años, el Departamento de Justicia organizó todas las herramientas a nuestra disposición para desmantelar las redes de traficantes de personas en todo el continente. Después de la trágica muerte de 53 migrantes en junio de 22, prometimos llevar ante la justicia a los responsables, sin importar dónde viven o dónde operan”, dijo la fiscal general adjunta Lisa Mónaco. “Las detenciones de hoy en Guatemala son la culminación continua de esa promesa. No descansaremos en nuestros esfuerzos para desbaratar las redes que se aprovechan de la desesperación y fomentan la miseria en el Hemisferio Occidental”. “Como se alega en la acusación formal, Miranda-Orozco reclutó algunos migrantes que murieron en la parte trasera del camión con remolque cerca de San Antonio, Texas, en junio de 2022. Él trabajo con una red de traficantes para transportar a los migrantes desde Guatemala a través de México con destino final a los Estados Unidos”, dijo la fiscal general adjunta principal Nicole Argentieri, jefa la División Penal del Departamento de Justicia. “Esta tragedia es una funesta advertencia de los peligros que causan los traficantes de personan al exponer a los migrantes a condiciones que ponen en peligro sus vidas a cambio de ganancias para los traficantes. Desmantelar las redes de tráfico de personas es una prioridad principal de la División Penal y seguiremos trabajando con nuestros socios de las fuerzas del orden nacionales e internacionales para investigar y enjuiciar estos casos, independientemente de dónde se encuentren los delincuentes”. “Esta fue una operación compleja y un gran éxito para el progreso de este caso. Detuvimos a un organizador clave de esta horrible operación de tráfico de personas en la que se cobraba miles de dólares a las familias por un transporte seguro a través de la frontera de los EE. UU., desde Guatemala y otros países”, dijo el fiscal de los EE. UU., Jaime Esparza, del Distrito Oeste de Texas. “Este significativo desarrollo del caso demuestra el compromiso de este oficina, el Departamento de Justicia y nuestros socios a todos los niveles necesarios, para garantizar que los 53 migrantes fallecidos en la tragedia del camión con remolque en el 2022 reciban justicia”. “HSI se ha comprometido profundamente en la lucha global contra el tráfico de personas que incluye nuestras operaciones internacionales en Centroamérica y Sudamérica. Estas detenciones reflejan el desmantelamiento de organizaciones centroamericanas de tráfico de personas que reclutan, organizan y transportan personas”, dijo la subdirectora ejecutiva de HSI Katrina W. Berger. “Combatir este prolífico crimen transnacional es una de nuestras principales prioridades. Nuestros agentes especiales y analistas penales están activamente en comunicación con nuestros socios de las fuerzas del orden y las fuerzas de tarea operativa en todo el mundo que trabajan para desmantelar las redes criminales que tratan la vida humana como una mercancía. HSI seguirá utilizando todos nuestros recursos disponibles para llevar a los traficantes de personas ante la justicia”. “Los hombres y mujeres del CBP son firmes en su compromiso de combatir y desbaratar las redes de traficantes de personas que inescrupulosamente explotan y ponen en peligro la vida de los migrantes, desde el momento de este trágico incidente en San Antonio hasta el importante paso dado hoy de llevar a los responsables ante la justicia”, dijo el oficial sénior ejerciendo los deberes del comisionado Troy A. Miller del CBP. “Nuestro trabajo colectivo a través de la Fuerza de Tarea Operativa Conjunta Alpha sigue siendo crítico a nuestros esfuerzos continuos para desbaratar las operaciones de tráfico de personas en todo el hemisferio y en el mundo”. La organización de tráfico de personas presuntamente cargó a 65 migrantes en un camión con remolque que, se alega en los documentos del tribunal, no tenía un sistema funcional de aire acondicionado mientras conducía hacia el norte por una carretera interestatal de Texas. Al aumentar la temperatura, algunos de los migrantes dentro del remolque presuntamente se desmayaron, mientras que otros arañaban las paredes intentando escapar. Al momento que el camión con remolque llegó a San Antonio, alega la acusación formal, 48 de los migrantes ya habían fallecido. Otros cinco migrantes murieron después de ser transportados a hospitales locales. Seis niños y una mujer embarazada estaban entre los fallecidos. La fiscalía de los EE. UU. para el Distrito Oeste de Texas, ya imputó a otros siete acusados por su presunta participación en esta operación de tráfico de personas, lo cual incluye acusaciones formales presentadas en el 2022 y 2023 . Cuatro de estos acusados se han declarado culpables . La acusación formal contra Miranda-Orozco y la cooperación entre las autoridades de los EE. UU. y Guatemala fueron lideradas por la JTFA y la Fiscalía de los EE. UU. para el Distrito Oeste de Texas. Dado el aumento en las prolíficas y peligrosas operaciones de tráfico de personas desde Centroamérica con efectos en los Estados Unidos, el objetivo de la JTFA es interrumpir y desmantelar las redes de tráfico de personas que operan en El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Colombia y Panamá, centrándose en redes que ponen en peligro, abusan y explotan a los migrantes, presentan riesgos a la seguridad nacional o participan en otros tipos de delincuencia organizada transnacional. Desde su creación, la JTFA ha aumentado la coordinación y colaboración entre el Departamento de Justicia, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y otros organismos encargados del orden público, además de los socios de las fuerzas del orden extranjeras de El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Colombia y Panamá; se ha enfocado en aquellas organizaciones con mayor impacto en los Estados Unidos; y ha coordinado esfuerzos significativos para presentar acusaciones formales y lograr la extradiciones de traficantes de personas en las fiscalías de los EE. UU. La JTFA está compuesta por agentes de las fiscalías de los EE. UU. de la frontera suroeste, incluidos el Distrito Sur de Texas, el Distrito Oeste de Texas, el Distrito de Arizona y el Distrito Sur de California. También prestan apoyo específico al programa numerosos componentes de la División Penal del Departamento de Justicia que forman parte de la JTFA, dirigidos por la Sección de Derechos Humanos y Procesamientos Especiales (HRSP, por sus siglas en inglés), y con el apoyo de la Oficina para el Desarrollo, Asistencia y Capacitación, la Sección de Estupefacientes y Drogas Peligrosas, la Sección de Lavado de Dinero y Recuperación de Activos, la Oficina de Operaciones de Aplicación de la Ley, la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales (OIA, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de Justicia y la Sección de Delitos Violentos y Delincuencia Organizada. La JTFA es posible por la gran inversión en las fuerzas del orden que realizan el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, el FBI, la Administración para el Control de Drogas y otros socios, HSI de San Antonio investigó el caso, con la valiosa ayuda de HSI de Guatemala y la Unidad de Tráfico de Personas de HSI en Washington, D.C. El Centro Nacional de Objetivos/Operación Centinela de CBP; la Patrulla Fronteriza de los EE. UU.; la Oficina de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos; el Departamento de Policía de San Antonio; el Departamento de Bomberos de San Antonio; el Departamento de Policía de Palestine, la OIA y la OPDAT proporcionaron una valiosa ayuda. El Departamento de Justicia agradece a las fuerzas del orden guatemaltecas que fueron instrumentales en el avance de esta investigación. La abogada litigante de HRSP, Alexandra Skinnion, y los fiscales auxiliares de los EE. UU., José Luis Acosta, Eric Fuchs, Sarah Spears y Amanda Brown del Distrito Oeste de Texas están procesando el caso, con la ayuda de la historiadora y especialista en Latinoamérica de HRSP, Joanna Crandall. Una acusación formal es solamente una alegación. A los acusados se les presume inocentes hasta que se demuestre que son culpables más allá de toda duda razonable en un tribunal de justicia