Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

 

Memphis, TN- Joshua Henley, 33, formerly of Benton County, Tennessee, and Evansville, Indiana, pled guilty Monday in federal district court to an eight-count indictment, admitting that he produced child sexual abuse material involving three minors, transported a minor interstate with the intent to engage in sexual activity with the minor, sent obscene videos and images to a minor, and possessed and transported child sexual abuse material. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney, announced the conviction today.

According to information presented in court, beginning in 2018, Henley was the pastor at Holladay Church of Christ in Benton County. He also coached the Holladay Elementary School girls’ basketball team. In April 2021, Henley took a position at a church in Evansville, Indiana. In June 2021, Henley drove back to Tennessee to pick up a female identified as “Minor C” and took her back to Indiana so she could help at his Vacation Bible School there. While in Indiana, Henley had sex with her. Minor C had just turned fifteen. Minor C later disclosed that Henley had been engaging in sexual activity with her since she was thirteen and asked her to take sexually explicit pictures and send them to him via a chat application.

While Henley was in Indiana with Minor C, another female, “Minor B,” disclosed to a trusted adult that in 2020, Henley had asked her to create and send sexually explicit images too. Minor B was fifteen.

Henley was arrested on June 18, 2021, as he was driving Minor C back to Benton County. Investigators found a cell phone in his possession and obtained a warrant to search it and found sexually explicit images of Minor C and Minor B, as well as video of Henley having sexual intercourse with another female—Minor A. Metadata indicated the image was produced on November 6, 2020, just a few months after Minor A turned fourteen.

Henley has worked with young people in several other states, including Indiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Sentencing is set for August 23, 2022, before Chief United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson in Jackson, Tennessee. Henley will be incarcerated for at least fifteen years and may be sentenced to a term of up to life in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Task Force in partnership with the Benton County Sheriff’s Department, the Evansville Police Department, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Technical Services Unit.

Assistant United States Attorney Debra Ireland is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

 

Memphis, TN – Jerry Moore, 36, has been sentenced to 125 months in federal prison for being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition, and for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney, announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, on August 11, 2020, members of Memphis Police Department Organized Crime Unit conducted a traffic stop of Moore’s vehicle after observing him engaged in a hand to hand drug transaction at a gas station parking lot. A search of the vehicle revealed 78.5 grams of marijuana, 5.6 grams of cocaine, 34.16 grams of methamphetamine, 13.979 grams of fentanyl, and ammunition.

While on release for the above offense, a second traffic stop was conducted of a vehicle in which Moore was the driver. A subsequent search revealed 30.73 grams of methamphetamine, 24.36 grams of marijuana, and 12. 39 grams of fentanyl.

In September 2021, a federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment against Moore charging violations of possession with intent to distribute and for being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.

On January 20, 2022, the defendant pled guilty to the nine-count indictment.

On May 13, 2022, United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Moore to 125 months imprisonment, to be followed by four years supervised release. Moore was determined to be a career offender. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, a defendant who is convicted of a controlled substance offense and has at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense is subject to an enhanced penalty. Prior to the commission of this offense Moore had been convicted

of Robbery and Criminal Attempt Voluntary Manslaughter. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department Organized Crime Unit.

Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Kimbril-Parks prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

 

Jackson, TN- Anthony Ray Phoenix, 37, of Decatur County, has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for resisting arrest by a federal officer. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney, announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, in November of 2019, officers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service in locating and apprehending Anthony Ray Phoenix on active warrants for fleeing from patrolmen. Additionally, the Marshals determined Phoenix was wanted for a Tennessee State Probation violation, assault, and battery in Kentucky, resisting arrest in Texas, and a probation violation in Idaho. Phoenix was known to be affiliated with the Aryan Nation Gang as well.

On December 2, 2019, members of the United States Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, along with local law enforcement and special agents of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, located Phoenix at a residence in Decatur County, Tennessee. Upon approach, Phoenix was observed in a white Ford Expedition parked outside of the residence.

Phoenix fled from law enforcement officers through the backyard, a barbed-wire fence, and down a road at a high rate of speed before turning around and heading back through the same backyard towards the residence. Phoenix continued traveling at a high rate of speed, through another fence, into the original backyard and directly toward a Deputy U.S. Marshal and a Special Agent with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. With a fence to the Deputies’ right and the residence behind, the Deputy Marshal had no way to escape and in fear for his safety, fired his weapon in the direction of the vehicle.

Phoenix was subsequently taken into custody; all parties were uninjured. While interviewed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agents, Phoenix admitted knowing law enforcement officers were pursing him, as he attempted to evade arrest.

On January 25, 2022, Phoenix pled guilty.

At sentencing, the Government sought, and the Court found, an increase in sentence because Phoenix created a substantial risk of bodily injury by driving his vehicle towards the Deputy Marshal and the TDOC Special Agent to evade apprehension by fleeing.

On May 9, 2022, Chief United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Phoenix to 100 months incarceration with three years of supervised release to follow. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Law enforcement are public servants that place their lives on the line every day, enforcing laws throughout our communities. Sadly, physical danger is part of what it means to wear a badge. But trying to hurt a Deputy United States Marshal has serious consequences. We are glad our Deputy Marshal wasn’t seriously injured, and this case has concluded,” said United States Marshal Tyreece Miller.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Department of Correction, Decatur County Sheriff’s Department, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Christie Hopper prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Ohio woman pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for selling marbled crayfish (also known as self-cloning crayfish) in interstate commerce. Marbled crayfish were recently declared an injurious aquatic invasive species under Ohio law.

According to court documents, Allison Spaulding, 46, knowingly sold marbled crayfish, Procambarus virginalis, in interstate commerce in violation of Ohio law. The marbled crayfish is considered a serious threat to aquatic biodiversity because of its high reproductive rate and the need for only one individual to start a population.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife added the marbled crayfish to the injurious aquatic invasive species list for Ohio in January 2020. Between August 2020 and June 2021, Spaulding sold marbled crayfish in 96 different transactions to buyers in 36 states for approximately $2,812.

“The Department of Justice is committed to preventing the spread of invasive species,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Marbled crayfish pose a unique threat to America’s freshwater ecosystems and the defendant’s sales had the potential to introduce this dangerous species throughout the country. Such conduct will be prosecuted and punished.”

Spaulding pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act violation. She is scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months and faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and up to $100,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section, and Ohio Assistant Attorney General Sally Smetzer Montell are prosecuting the case.

Learn more about the marbled crayfish and why it is an injurious aquatic invasive species at https://ohiodnr.gov/static/documents/wildlife/fish-management/OSU_AIS_FieldGuide_Web.pdf.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice today kicked off a two-day national summit on reducing violence and strengthening communities. The summit convenes more than 500 prosecutors, federal and local law enforcement officials, and community partners working under the auspices of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and the National Public Safety Partnership, two department-led initiatives that balance enforcement efforts with community engagement.

“The Justice Department’s strategy to disrupt violent crime is based on partnership: partnership among federal law enforcement agencies assisting in the fight against violent crime; partnership with the local communities facing the harm that violent crime causes them; and partnership with the state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies protecting those local communities every day,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Over the next two days, this summit will bring together our indispensable community and law enforcement partners from across the country to share best practices on disrupting violent crime and strengthen our coordinated efforts to keep our communities and our country safe.”

The Department of Justice is hosting the virtual summit amid increased gun violence affecting communities across the country. A report issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of firearm murders rose 35% from 2019 to 2020. Counties with the highest poverty levels had four-and-a-half times the firearm homicide rate as counties with the lowest poverty levels.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide initiative coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices that brings together federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders and other stakeholders to identify and address the most pressing violent crime problems in communities. Its fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions. In May 2021, the Department launched a Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime that articulates four core principles of PSN: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results of our efforts.

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction efforts to ensure alignment with the Department’s strategy. They are collaborating with law enforcement agencies and community organizations to pinpoint the drivers of violence in their districts and working together to develop community-based, data-driven solutions. The Bureau of Justice Assistance, a division of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, is making almost $18 million in PSN funding available to communities this year.

The Justice Department also announced its intention to select five additional jurisdictions to participate in the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP). PSP provides training, technical assistance and other resources from the department’s enforcement and grantmaking components to address community violent crime challenges. More than 50 cities have participated in the effort.

President Biden outlined his Administration’s approach to tackling violent crime during a February trip to New York City, where he discussed measures for holding accountable those who commit gun crimes and announced major investments in violence reduction efforts, community violence intervention programs, and services designed to help formerly incarcerated individuals make a successful return to their communities. “We have an opportunity to come together and fulfill the first responsibility of government and our democracy: to keep each other safe,” he said.

Joining the Attorney General during the summit are Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Office of Justice Programs Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon, Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys Monty Wilkinson and Bureau of Justice Assistance Director Karhlton F. Moore. The summit is organized by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.