Month: June 2022

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Security News: Boone County Man Sentenced to 280 Months for Fentanyl Trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COVINGTON, Ky.— A Florence, Ky., man, William Freddy Jackson, 43, was sentenced to 280 months in federal prison on Tuesday, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, with a prior conviction for a serious drug felony.

 According to Jackson’s plea agreement, he was the subject of a domestic violence call to law enforcement, on January 24, 2021.  Law enforcement then found Jackson in possession of 45.8 grams of fentanyl.  Jackson admitted to possession the fentanyl with the intent to distribute it.

Jackson had previously been convicted of two serious drug felonies.  Jackson was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine on two separate occasions.  

Jackson pleaded guilty in February 2022.

Under federal law, Jackson must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for eight years.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Kent Kleinschmidt, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Detroit Filed Office; and Chief Tom Grau, Florence Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Florence Police Department.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Bracke.

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Security News: Slidell Man Charged with Possession of Files Depicting the Sexual Victimization of Children

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW ORLEANS –  U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that BROCK TAYLOR GUILLOT, age 24, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was charged on Thursday, May 26, 2022, by a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Louisiana in a one-count indictment with possession of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of twelve years old, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ‘ 2252(a)(4)(B). 

GUILLOT faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years.  GUILLOT also faces up to a lifetime of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, a mandatory $100 special assessment fee,  and he can be required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.

 

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Security News: Pharmacist Convicted of Unlawfully Distributing Controlled Substances

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury in the Southern District of Texas convicted a Texas pharmacist on May 27 for unlawfully distributing controlled substances from a now-shuttered Houston pharmacy.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hieu “Tom” Truong, 58, of Houston, was the pharmacist-in-charge of S&S Pharmacy in Houston. In just 18 months, Truong and his co-conspirators unlawfully distributed over 750,000 doses of controlled substances, including over 500,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills. Trial evidence showed that S&S Pharmacy unlawfully dispensed controlled substances in bulk for cash, based on forged or stolen prescriptions brought in by street-level drug dealers.

Truong was convicted of three counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances. He faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.

To date, seven other co-conspirators, including the owner and manager of the pharmacy, have pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing controlled substances.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery for the Southern District of Texas; and Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Houston Division made the announcement.

DEA Houston investigated the case, with assistance from the Conroe Police Department, Houston Police Department, and Harris County Constables Office.

Trial Attorneys Devon Helfmeyer, Courtney Chester, and Andrew Tamayo of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson for the Southern District of Texas is handling forfeiture.