Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man was sentenced to 175 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, also referred to as “crack”, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   

According to court documents, Kenneth Lofton, 44, and his co-defendants negotiated and conducted the sale of cocaine base in the Jackson area in January 2020.  Surveillance, confidential source information and additional intercepted communications also revealed that Lofton and his co-defendants distributed various quantities of other controlled substances, including cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. 

In addition to his prison sentence, Lofton was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.

Lofton pled guilty on June 22, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

The case is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed “Hailstorm,” which began as an operation targeting illegal drug trafficking in the Jackson, Mississippi area. “Hailstorm” is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, 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.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jackson Police Department and the Ridgeland Police Department.   The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Keesha Middleton.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice announced today that it has opened an investigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into whether the Commonwealth of Kentucky subjects adults with serious mental illness living in the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro area to unnecessary institutionalization, and serious risk of institutionalization, in psychiatric hospitals. The investigation will examine whether Kentucky unnecessarily segregates people with serious mental illness in psychiatric hospitals and places them at risk of law enforcement encounters by failing to provide integrated community-based mental health services needed to avoid these results.

“When people do not receive the community-based mental health services they need, they often get caught in a cycle of psychiatric hospital stays,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This investigation also seeks to ensure that people with serious mental illness are not unnecessarily brought into contact with law enforcement. The Civil Rights Division is committed to enforcing the ADA so that people with disabilities are able to receive the services they need and qualify for, and that their civil rights are protected.” 

“A state must make reasonable accommodations and provide appropriate community-based services to people with disabilities,” said U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett for the Western District of Kentucky. “Our office will vigorously enforce the ADA. Our fellow citizens with mental health disabilities deserve nothing less.”

This investigation is separate from the Justice Department’s ongoing pattern or practice investigation into the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (Louisville Metro) and the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). That investigation is examining several issues, including Louisville Metro and LMPD’s systems for responding to people experiencing behavioral health crises. The Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, in Washington, D.C., and the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, in Louisville, are jointly conducting both investigations.

Prior to the announcement, the department informed the offices of Kentucky’s Governor and Attorney General of the investigation’s initiation. 

Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the department via email at Community.Kentucky@usdoj.gov or through the Civil Rights Division’s Civil Rights Portal, available at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s ADA enforcement is available on its website at https://www.ada.gov/olmstead/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Memphis, TN- Amiri Johnson, 28, has been sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison for possession of a stolen firearm. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney, announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, on March 12, 2019, at approximately 8:00am, detectives with the Multi-Agency Gang Unit and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Apprehension Team executed a search warrant at an address on E. Belle Haven Road for Amiri Johnson. Johnson was wanted for aggravated burglary and robbery. Detectives were allowed into the residence by the homeowner who gave consent to search the home.
During the search, detectives found a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol underneath a mattress in the master bedroom. Johnson was discovered hiding inside a compartment of cabinets and was immediately placed into custody.
The gun recovered was loaded with six live rounds of .40 caliber ammunition and had been reported stolen during a residential burglary. Johnson claimed ownership of the gun. In 2013, Johnson was convicted on two counts of aggravated burglary, and in 2016, he was convicted for robbery. As a result of his felony convictions, Johnson is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition.
On May 18, 2022, United States District Judge Mark S. Norris sentenced Johnson to 120 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Memphis Police Department, the Multi-Gang Unit, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The PSN initiative is a program bringing
together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent
crime and make our communities safer for everyone. In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated 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.
Assistant United States Attorney Raney Irwin prosecuted this case on behalf of the United
States.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

LAREDO, Texas – A 36-year-old former Border Patrol (BP) agent has been ordered to federal prison for conspiring to transport an undocumented alien within the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Rodney Tolson Jr., Laredo, pleaded guilty July 15, 2021.

Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana ordered him to serve a 21-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, Judge Saldana noted Tolson’s actions were extremely egregious and that he had abused the public’s trust while committing this offense as a federal agent.

At the time of his plea, Tolson admitted he conspired with others to permit the passage of undocumented aliens into the country. He used his position as a BP agent by coordinating lane assignments at the IH-35 BP checkpoint north of Laredo.

His co-conspirators paid him for each non-U.S. citizen he allowed through the checkpoint.

Previously released on bond, Tolson was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the future.

The Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General and Customs and Border Protection – Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno prosecuted the case.