Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, convicted a former Kay County Oklahoma supervisory corrections officer of violating the civil rights of three pretrial detainees held at the Kay County Detention Center (KCDC). Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Troester of the Western District of Oklahoma made the announcement.

The jury convicted Matthew Ware, 53, of willfully depriving two pretrial detainees of their right to be free from a corrections officer’s deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm and of willfully depriving a third pretrial detainee of the right to be free from a corrections officer’s use of excessive force.

“This high-ranking corrections official had a duty to ensure that the civil rights of pretrial detainees in his custody were not violated,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant abused his power and authority by ordering subordinate corrections officers to violate the constitutional rights of several pretrial detainees. The Civil Rights Division will continue to hold corrections officials accountable when they violate the civil rights of detainees and inmates.”

“Criminal conduct by any corrections employee violates the public trust and unfairly tarnishes the reputation of all corrections officials who honorably perform their important work each day,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “This verdict demonstrates our continuing commitment to protect the civil rights of all Oklahomans, including those in custody. I commend the outstanding work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Barry and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson, who vigorously prosecuted this case, and the FBI Special Agents and other law enforcement officials who conducted this investigation.”

“The preservation of civil rights and the investigation of color of law violations are of utmost priority for the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Ed Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “If we don’t hold our very own law enforcement officials accountable, those sworn to protect and serve, what hope will the American people have? Mr. Ware’s actions were impermissible and undignified, particularly given his leadership role. His conviction is a prompt reminder that no one is above the law.”

The evidence and testimony revealed that, on May 18, 2017, while Ware served as the Lieutenant of the KCDC, he ordered lower-ranking corrections officers to move two Black pretrial detainees, D’Angelo Wilson and Marcus Miller, to a cell row housing white supremacist inmates whom Ware knew posed a danger to Wilson and Miller. Later that same day, Ware gave lower-ranking officers a second order: to unlock the jail cells of Wilson and Miller, and those other white supremacist inmates at the same time the following morning. When Ware’s orders were followed, the white supremacist inmates attacked Wilson and Miller, resulting in physical injury to both, including a facial laceration to Wilson that required seven stitches to close.

The evidence and testimony also revealed that, on Jan. 31, 2018, while Ware served as the Acting Captain of the KCDC, he ordered lower-ranking corrections officer to restrain another pretrial detainee, Christopher Davis, in a stretched-out position — with Davis’ left wrist restrained to the far-left side of the bench and his right wrist restrained to the far-right side of the bench — in retaliation for Davis sending Ware a note that criticized how Ware ran the KCDC. Davis was left restrained in this position for 90 minutes, resulting in physical injury.

Ware faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $ 250,000 for each violation. Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.

The case was investigated by the Oklahoma City FBI Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Barry of the Western District of Oklahoma and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, and Enfield Police Chief Alaric Fox today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an indictment charging BRANDON BLANKS, 36, of Springfield, Massachusetts, with unlawful possession of a firearms and ammunition by a felon, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The indictment was returned on April 6.  Blanks appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven, entered a plea of not guilty, and was ordered detained.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, Blanks was arrested on November 2, 2021, after he broke into an Enfield apartment carrying a loaded firearm and threatened an individual.  Responding officers located a polymer80 9mm firearm (“ghost gun”) with an extended magazine containing 24 rounds of ammunition.  In Blanks’ car, officers found and seized a loaded Ruger 9mm firearm and a bag containing a quantity of crack cocaine and approximately 400 bags of para-Flourofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue.

It is alleged that Blanks’ criminal history includes convictions for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, carrying a firearm without a license, and multiple drug offenses.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Enfield Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Durham.

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. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Two members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club (GJOMC) were sentenced to life in federal prison yesterday for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a former club member.

GJOMC Portland clubhouse president Mark Leroy Dencklau, 61, of Woodburn, Oregon, and member Chad Leroy Erickson, 51, of Rainier, Oregon, received life sentences after being convicted at trial in December 2021 of murder in aid of racketeering; kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death; kidnapping resulting in death; and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death. Additionally, Dencklau was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

According to court documents and trial testimony, the GJOMC is a criminal organization wherein members and associates maintain their position and status in the organization by participating in, directly or indirectly, various acts of violent racketeering activity including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and witness tampering. From 2003 until his arrest in 2018, Dencklau served as the president of the GJOMC’s Portland chapter.

According to evidence presented at trial, on July 1, 2015, the body of Robert Huggins, an estranged member of the GJOMC Portland chapter, was found lying in a field in Clark County, Washington. Huggins’ body was badly beaten, and appeared to have been tortured prior to his death. Huggins was previously stripped of his club membership for allegedly stealing from the club and from Dencklau in particular. Following this robbery, Dencklau directed GJOMC members to find Huggins.

According to testimony presented at trial, on the evening of June 30, 2015, Dencklau and others kidnapped Huggins from a residence in Portland and transported him to a rural property in Southwest Washington. Over the course of several hours, Huggins was severely beaten and tortured. He sustained numerous injuries to his head and face, including a fractured skull, as well as lacerations to his chest and torso. Trial evidence showed that Erickson, who took part in the torture of Huggins, slashed Huggin’s tattoo with a knife and then stabbed him in the leg. He then helped load Huggins into a vehicle and left him in a field. A medical examiner ruled that Huggins’ death was caused by multiple blunt and sharp force injuries.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon, and Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Seattle Field Division made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and ATF, with assistance from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and the Oregon and Washington State Crime Labs.

Trial Attorney Damaré Theriot of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leah K. Bolstad and Steven T. Mygran for the District of Oregon prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal grand jury returned a fifteen-count indictment charging Eiahnna Pique, 42, of Cleveland, with aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false and fraudulent income tax return.

According to the indictment, the defendant acted as a tax return preparer and operated two tax preparation franchises.  The indictment states that the defendant collected information from clients, including income, names, addresses, social security numbers and dates of birth, to use when preparing tax returns.

The indictment states that for the tax years 2015-2018, the defendant used information obtained from clients to file false and fraudulent tax returns in the names of clients and charged a fee for these services.  It is also alleged that the defendant added false Schedule C expenses and fictitious business losses to client tax returns and submitted at least one return with a false dependent.  Additionally, the defendant is accused of depositing a portion of refunds received from client returns into bank accounts controlled by the defendant without client approval or knowledge.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violation.

In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn  G. Andrachik.