Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA —Tavius Cortez Wiggins, a/k/a “Black,” 30, of Columbia was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Evidence presented in court showed that on July 30, 2019, an officer with the South Carolina Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle for speeding on Interstate 95 in Florence County. Upon contact, the trooper noticed a strong odor of marijuana emanating from within the vehicle and determined the driver did not have a valid driver’s license.  Wiggins was a passenger.  The trooper separated the three occupants of the vehicle, and responses to the trooper’s questions led the officer to believe there was evidence of criminal conduct in the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle produced cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and three firearms, one of which was stolen, plus ammunition and extended ammunition magazines. The firearms included a loaded .40 caliber handgun with an extended magazine, a loaded 9mm handgun, and a .22LR caliber firearm with a 125-round drum magazine attached. 

FBI received information that Wiggins was facilitating the commercial sexual exploitation of a female passenger in the vehicle, that he supplied her with drugs, and that prior to the traffic stop he pointed a firearm at her head multiple times.  The government presented other evidence at sentencing that Wiggins was involved in human trafficking: witnesses disclosed to the FBI that Wiggins prostituted women at hotels in the Columbia area, and that he did so by using physical violence, pointing firearms, and by withholding drugs causing “dope sickness.”  At sentencing, Wiggins contested that evidence but conceded that the Government had enough evidence to support a sentencing enhancement based on that conduct. 

Wiggins was prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based on numerous prior felony convictions, including trafficking crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, two burglary convictions related to home invasions, escape from custody, identity fraud, and resisting arrest. Wiggins’s convictions began in 2008 and they also include multiple drug possession convictions.

United States District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs sentenced Wiggins to 9 years in prison on a charge that carried a maximum of 10 years in prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.

The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Elliott B. Daniels prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Sabrina Kingsbury, 40, of Burlington, Vermont has been charged under the federal Hobbs Act with obstructing commerce by robbery. Kingsbury appeared today in U.S. District Court in Burlington for an initial appearance. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle granted the government’s motion for detention and ordered Kingsbury detained until trial, which has not been scheduled.

According to court records, the government alleges that on April 18, 2022 at approximately 4:00 p.m., Kingsbury entered the Black Diamond store at 17 Church Street and gathered about $1,200 worth of merchandise, including clothing, a backpack, and a headlamp. Kingsbury then attempted to leave the store without paying for these items. After store employees confronted her, she threatened to stab one of them. Soon after, officers from the Burlington Police Department arrested Kingsbury with the merchandise near the bus stop located at St. Paul and Pearl Streets. At the time of her arrest, Kingsbury possessed a Gerber Leatherman knife on her person. 

The complaint is an accusation only and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. If convicted, Kingsbury faces a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment and three years of supervised release, which would follow any sentence of imprisonment. Any actual sentence will be determined with reference to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Burlington Police Department are investigating this case. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. Kingsbury is represented by Sara Puls, Esq. of the Federal Public Defenders Office.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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 https://www.justice.gov/psn

Source: United States Department of Justice News

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – An inmate at Cambria County Prison pleaded guilty in federal court in Johnstown to a charge of possession of a prohibited object in prison, and immediately following, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Peter Augustus Wright, 43, pleaded guilty to Count One of the Indictment before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines.

In connection with the guilty plea, on October 22, 2020, Wright, while an inmate at Moshannon Valley Correctional Center, possessed a cellular telephone, as well as, a six-inch sharpened toothbrush, a weapon.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Ms. Chung commended the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wright.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Kentucky man pleaded guilty today to a role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana in Parkersburg and elsewhere.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Robert Sanders, Jr., 31, of Ashland, Kentucky, admitted to supplying Matthew Edward Depew and Carlo Ramsey with methamphetamine that was then re-distributed by Depew and Ramsey in the Parkersburg area between June and September 2021. Depew previously admitted to acquiring several pounds of methamphetamine on consignment from Sanders and distributing it to third-party customers.

Sanders pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 3, 2022, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison as well as least five years of supervised release and a $10 million fine.

Depew, Carlo Ramsey, Floyd Dermonta Ramsey, Era Dawn Corder, and Ambera Roberts previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, as a result of a nearly year-long investigation dubbed “Long Time Coming.” All defendants are awaiting sentencing. The investigation also resulted in more than a dozen arrests on state criminal complaints in Wood County.

United States Attorney William S. Thompson made the announcement and commended the excellent investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force (PNTF), the Parkersburg Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Vienna Police Department, the Williamstown Police Department, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Boyd County, Kentucky, Sheriff’s Department, the Russell, Kentucky, Police Department and the Raceland, Kentucky, Police Department.

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is handling the prosecution.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-163.

 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – A Providence resident who sold crack cocaine on at least three occasions while under surveillance by members of the FBI’s Safe Street Task Force was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Michael Rodriguez, 26, pled guilty on August 31, 2021, to two counts of distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base.

According to court documents, on July 30, 2020, Rodriguez cooked crack cocaine inside a family member’s Providence apartment while two children were inside the apartment. Rodriguez later sold the crack cocaine, engaging in one transaction that day, and two other sales on later dates.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., today sentenced Rodriguez to 60 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ly T. Chin.

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