Month: March 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG, PA —The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Clearbrook Treatment Centers, located in Laurel Run, Pennsylvania, and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc., located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, have agreed to pay the United States civil penalties for their alleged failures to comply with dispensing, distribution, and recordkeeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act.   Clearbrook Treatment Centers will pay $300,000, and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. will pay $250,000 in civil penalties.

The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. sections 801 et seq. (CSA), was passed to combat illegal distribution and abuse of controlled substances, including prescription medications.  The CSA’s registration, dispensing, distribution, and recordkeeping requirements are designed to prevent the diversion of controlled substances for illegal purposes.  The CSA is enforced by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division, whose mission is to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of controlled pharmaceuticals and listed chemicals from legitimate sources while ensuring adequate and uninterrupted supply for legitimate medical, commercial, and scientific needs. 

The CSA regulates how medical facilities can stock and dispense, and how pharmacies can dispense and distribute, controlled substances.  The CSA also requires the maintenance of complete and accurate records of each substance manufactured, received, sold, delivered, dispensed, or otherwise disposed of.  These requirements play a vital role in ensuring the appropriate handling, accounting, and distribution of controlled substances.  The CSA provides for civil monetary penalties for violation of these requirements. 

According to Unites States Attorney John C. Gurganus, between December 2016 and April 2021, Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. dispensed prescriptions or made distributions of controlled substances to Clearbrook Treatment Centers in violation of the CSA.  During that same time, Clearbrook Treatment Centers received distributions from Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. and maintained a general stock of controlled substances for dispensing without being properly registered with the DEA.  Both Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. and Clearbrook Treatment Centers also allegedly failed to keep complete timely and accurate records of their respective distribution and dispensing of those controlled substances. 

This settlement addresses the independent obligation of Clearbrook Treatment Centers and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. to ensure they have adequate systems in place to prevent improper distribution, maintenance of a general stock, or dispensing of controlled substances, as required by 21 U.S.C. §§ 822, 829, 842, and associated regulations.

“Both Clearbrook Treatment Centers and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. have fully cooperated with investigators and are working to enhance their internal compliance with the CSA,” said United States Attorney John C. Gurganus.  “Fortunately, there are no allegations that any controlled substances were diverted for illegitimate use, and both companies are taking their responsibilities seriously and being proactive to strengthen their systems to protect the proper dispensing of drugs under their control from diversion.”    

“Pharmacies and rehabilitation facilities such as Andrew Brown’s Drug Store and Clearbrook are businesses that are integral to the health and overall well-being of our communities.  As such, they are also entrusted to properly distribute and keep track of the controlled substances they maintain,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division.  “Civil penalties such as these help to insure adherence to the requirements of the Controlled Substances Act.”

This Settlement Agreement is neither an admission of liability by Clearbrook Treatment Centers or Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc., nor is it a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.

The investigation was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard D. Euliss, Tamara Haken, and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the DEA Philadelphia Field Division.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Irving man who carjacked a woman at gunpoint was sentenced this week to 14 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Markus DeWayne Vine, 28, pleaded guilty in May 2021 to carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.  

According to plea papers, Mr. Vine admitted that on Aug. 20, 2020, he carjacked a woman entering her Toyota Highlander outside a grocery store in Irving.

When the victim noticed him approaching, she attempted to get into her vehicle and lock the doors. Mr. Vine, however, pointed a 9mm pistol at her head and demanded she exit the vehicle. She complied, and he drove away.

Mr. Vine then drove the car to a nearby gas station, where pointed the pistol at the clerk and fled with the money from the cash register. Roughly 15 minutes later, he drove to another gas station, pointed the pistol at that clerk, and made off with even more cash.

He was arrested two days later entering the stolen vehicle, which was parked at an Irving apartment complex. Police recovered the pistol from inside an apartment where he’d been staying.

After his arrest, Mr. Vine claimed the pistol was inoperable. Task Force officers inspected the firearm and determined that while the pistol appeared to be missing parts in both the trigger and firing pin assemblies, it qualified as a firearm under federal law.

“Mr. Vine is one of the reasons as to why ATF exists. ATF and our partners, like the Irving Police Department, are dedicated to taking the worst of the worst off of our streets. He was the definition of a menace to society: a carjacking followed by a gas station robbery. We are safer with him behind bars,” stated ATF Dallas Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C Boshek II. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Irving Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McKay prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

INDIANAPOLIS – Irving Gomez, a/k/a John Mendez-Rodriquez, 29, of Indianapolis, was sentenced late yesterday to 303 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to committing three commercial robberies and brandishing a firearm during those crimes of violence.

According to court documents, on January 24, 2021, Gomez entered an O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store in Indianapolis, brandished a loaded rifle at the employees, and demanded money from the store’s safe and registers. After receiving the money, Gomez fled the business. The employees at the store recognized the robber as possibly being Irving Gomez, a former employee. 

On February 6, 2021, Gomez entered a CVS in Indianapolis, brandished a rifle at an employee and demanded money from the cash register. Gomez hit the employee several times with the muzzle of the rifle when the employee did not immediately comply with his demands. The employee then opened the cash register drawer, and Gomez fled the store with the stolen money.

On March 1, 2021, Gomez returned to the same O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Indianapolis wearing the same clothing he wore during his previous robbery of the store. Gomez again brandished a rifle and demanded money from employees. During the robbery, an employee grabbed the rifle and pinned Gomez against a nearby wall, leading Gomez to lose control of the rifle. Gomez then grabbed a metal rod from the wall and struck the employee over the head multiple times. During the struggle Gomez brandished a pocketknife and attempted to stab the employee, but the employee was able to disarm Gomez. Gomez then threatened the employee by telling him that he would kill him and his family if he did not let him go. Officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department arrived and took Gomez into custody.

Evidence was presented during the sentencing hearing that the defendant committed two additional robberies of CVS stores in the Indianapolis area on January 30 and February 20, 2021, and Gomez was ordered by the Court to pay restitution to those establishments.

“Mr. Gomez chose to engage in a series of violent attacks against innocent victims,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to concentrate our efforts on identifying and arresting those individuals that commit or threaten violence while engaging in this type of illegal activity. The serious sentence imposed today should send a message that violent offenders who disrupt the safety of our communities will be held accountable for their actions.”

“I would like to thank the IMPD officers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Attorney’s Office for getting Mr. Gomez off the streets of Indianapolis. A violent perpetrator is behind bars, and our community safer because of their due diligence and hard work,” said IMPD Chief Randal Taylor. “This case is just the latest example of the value our federal partners bring to fighting violent crime. May the affected families get the peace they deserve.”

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II. As part of the sentence, Judge Sweeney II ordered that the defendant be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years following his release from federal prison and was ordered to pay $4,325.00 in restitution, reflecting losses relating to five separate robberies.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence D. Hilton who prosecuted this 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LOUISVILLE, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned two separate indictments on March 16, 2022, charging two Louisville men with carjackings and business robberies, including one carjacking resulting in a serious bodily injury. 

According to court documents, on October 26, 2021, Eder Mayorga-Sanchez, 19, carjacked a vehicle in Louisville, and during the carjacking, shot and caused serious bodily injury to a minor, C.A.  Thereafter, on November 8, 2021, he robbed The Home Depot on Preston Highway and a Valero convenience store on Terry Road, in Louisville, Kentucky, while brandishing a firearm.

Aries Taylor, 18, in a separate indictment, is also charged with carjacking a vehicle in Louisville on September 19, 2021. 

Mayorga-Sanchez is currently detained on state charges and will be arraigned once he is transferred to federal custody.  Mayorga-Sanchez was indicted on one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. 

If convicted of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, Mayorga-Sanchez faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.  If convicted of interference with commerce by robbery, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  If convicted of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison to run consecutively with all other penalties.  If convicted of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 7 years in prison for each count of conviction, to run consecutively with all other penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Taylor was indicted on one count of carjacking. He made his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on March 23, 2022.

If convicted of carjacking, Taylor faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The charges were announced by Michael A. Bennett, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. 

The charges were the result of a joint federal and local initiative to investigate and prosecute carjackings in Louisville.  The initiative includes the United States Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Blaylock is prosecuting the Mayorga-Sanchez case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Gomez is prosecuting the Taylor case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Identifies List of Cars, Handbags, Jewelry and Other Luxury Items That Are Forfeited as Part of Plea Agreement