Month: March 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced on March 21, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.

Cassius Farmer, age 28, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Farmer was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 9, 2021.  He pled guilty on December 30, 2021.

The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on October 21, 2021, in Mission, South Dakota.  On that date, United States Marshals Service personnel and Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel were searching for Farmer, who had an arrest warrant for a violation of federal supervised release.  Farmer was located at an apartment building in Mission, but gave a false name.  Farmer was detained, at which point he informed the officers he was carrying a handgun.  The firearm was seized, and Farmer then properly identified himself.   

Farmer was convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in 2018, making it illegal for him to possess firearms and ammunition.  Farmer will forfeit ownership of the handgun and ammunition to the United States.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

This case was investigated by the Dakota Territory Fugitive Task Force, the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

Farmer was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A Biloxi man was sentenced to three life sentences for discharging a firearm during the commission of a robbery that killed three people, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Joshua Michael Garcia, 42, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Jackson. Garcia was further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $35,070.40.

According to court documents, Garcia and co-defendant Jamison Layne Townsend went to Bill’s Coin & Jewelry on December 17, 2016, to rob the business by firearm.  During the robbery, Garcia shot and killed the owner and two co-workers. He and Townsend emptied the display cases of watches, rings, necklaces, bracelets, coins, and other items. Later that day, Garcia and Townsend entered a pawn shop in Mobile, Alabama, and pawned five items that were stolen from Bill’s  earlier that day.

On December 19, 2016, a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol attempted to stop Garcia and Townsend who were traveling in a red Dodge Charger on Interstate 24. A chase ensued and Garcia and Townsend escaped at a high rate of speed.  Two days later, Garcia and Townsend were arrested in Geary County, Kansas.  Officers searched the Charger and found numerous items that were stolen from Bill’s, including coins, watches, trays of jewelry, and many items that still contained the sales tags from Bill’s.  Additionally, four firearms, including a Les Baer. 45 caliber handgun (determined to be the murder weapon by the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory), ammunition, a cell phone, and numerous items of clothing were also recovered from the Charger.      

Garcia pleaded guilty on December 15, 2021, to discharging a firearm that resulted in the murder of three persons during the commission of a robbery.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department with assistance from Geary County, Kansas, Sherriff’s Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory, the United States Marshal’s Service, the Gulfport Police Department, and the Biloxi Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Erin Chalk.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Todd County, South Dakota, man convicted of Assaulting, Resisting and Impeding a Federal Officer was sentenced on March 21, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.

Alejandro Santistevan, age 21, was sentenced to 4 months in federal prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, with the first 4 months to be served on home confinement, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Santistevan was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 9, 2020. He pled guilty on December 30, 2021.

The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred in the early morning hours of May 18, 2020, in Todd County, South Dakota. On that date, Rosebud Sioux Tribe law enforcement officers responded to a report that Santistevan was drunk and causing a disturbance at a residence in the Okreek Community. Upon arrival to the residence, the officers found Santistevan lying under a tree. Santistevan did not respond to commands to show his hands, so one of the officers grabbed Santistevan’s foot to see if he was awake. Santistevan then became combative and assaulted one of the officers.

This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Department of Natural Resources and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

Santistevan was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Vancouver, Washington, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on March 21, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Aidan Gianni Carl Bratt, age 21, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Bratt was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 3, 2021.  He pled guilty on December 21, 2021.

The conviction stems from Bratt failing to register as a sex offender as required by federal law between October 11, 2020 and January 12, 2021.  Bratt had previously been convicted of a sex offense in the State of Washington.  On October 8, 2021, Bratt traveled to South Dakota from Washington State and began to reside in South Dakota.  He knowingly failed to register his change of residence in either South Dakota and/or Washington, within three business days of his relocation, as required by law.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Bratt was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHICAGO — A man involved in a shooting incident in a Chicago suburb has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for illegally possessing ammunition.

LAVOYCE BAYS was charged with illegally possessing four cartridges of .40-caliber ammunition on June 15, 2019, in Markham, Ill.  Bays was involved in a dispute with a man and others at a party and later saw the man at a gas station in the south suburb.  As the man attempted to drive away from the gas station, Bays fired multiple shots and wounded him.  The victim survived the shooting.  Law enforcement recovered ammunition casings from the crime scene, which led to the federal charges.

Bays, 32, of Markham, pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of illegal possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.  He had previously been convicted in state court of a felony criminal offense and was not legally allowed to possess ammunition or a firearm. 

U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman on Friday imposed a 102-month federal prison sentence.  Judge Coleman found that, in addition to illegally possessing the ammunition, the government met its burden in proving Bays possessed a firearm and committed the shooting at the gas station, conduct which supported an enhanced sentence.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The Markham Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Berry III.

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.