Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Assistant U. S. Attorney Amanda L. Griffith (619) 546-8970    

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 24, 2022

SAN DIEGO – Ramsey Manuel Cervantes faces federal kidnapping charges in connection with the abduction and sexual assault of a 16-year-old Oklahoma girl who had been reported as a missing runaway by her father on June 15.

The victim was rescued from her alleged captor’s North Park home by San Diego police after she was able to use his cell phone to call for help. Cervantes was subsequently arrested. He made his initial appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Butcher. A detention hearing is set for June 30 at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard Skomal.

According to the complaint, the victim met 22-year-old Cervantes on a social media application several months ago. The victim believed Cervantes was 17 years old, and they eventually met when Cervantes drove from San Diego to Oklahoma to meet her in person. Cervantes visited her approximately four times over the following six months. The victim eventually broke up with Cervantes after he became abusive. They were separated for two months. About a week ago, they reconnected and started talking again, including using social media apps to exchange messages.

According to the complaint, Cervantes drove to Oklahoma on June 15 to talk to the minor victim in person to discuss their relationship. They planned for him to pick her up at her residence in Oklahoma. When the girl got in Cervantes’ vehicle, he told her she was coming with him back to San Diego. When she tried to leave the vehicle, Cervantes put a knife to her side and told her he would kill her if she tried to leave. 

Cervantes used duct tape to restrain the girl and transported her from Oklahoma to California. While traveling from Oklahoma to California, Cervantes assaulted the victim many times. The victim reported that Cervantes repeatedly forced her to consume vodka while en route to San Diego, keeping her in a constant state of heavy intoxication.

When they arrived in San Diego on June 19, Cervantes locked the victim in his bedroom for four days.  The victim saw her captor place the black knife with a silver blade in a desk drawer.

On June 22, Cervantes left the residence to go to the store.  Cervantes accidentally left his cell phone in the residence, which the victim used to call her father and law enforcement. Officers responded to Cervantes’ residence and rescued the victim and Cervantes was arrested.

The San Diego Police Department Domestic Violence detectives responded to the scene. FBI agents were called in to assist because Cervantes traveled to Oklahoma and kidnapped the victim, transporting her in interstate commerce from Oklahoma to California.  During the commission of the crime, Cervantes also used his cellular phone which is an instrumentality of interstate commerce.

“The allegations against this defendant highlight the digital and physical vulnerability of our nation’s children,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will do everything we can to prevent children from becoming victims, and to seek justice if they do. It is important that all of us remain vigilant regarding online activity. Not everyone is who they claim to be in cyberspace.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team, the San Diego Police Department, the FBI, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and the Norman, Oklahoma Police Department for their efforts to save this victim and to bring her attacker to justice.

“The defendant is faced with allegations that he committed heinous crimes stemming from an online encounter,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “There is no higher priority than protecting children in both physical and virtual worlds. I want to thank the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California for their commitment, partnership, and swift action in rescuing the victim, taking the defendant into custody, and filing charges.”

“We are grateful that this case had a positive ending with the young victim back with her loved ones,” said Chief of Police David Nisleit. “This is a sad reminder to all of us to be careful who you trust online.”

For more information and resources for kids, teens and parents on internet crimes against children, pleas see https://www.sandiego.gov/sdicac.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 22mj2288                                               

Ramsey Manuel Cervantes                             Age: 22                                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Kidnapping – Title 18, U.S.C. § 1201(a) and (g)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years to life in prison

AGENCY

FBI

San Diego Police Department

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

Norman, Oklahoma Police Department

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A Brookhaven man pled guilty today to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Richard Butler, 42, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Jackson.  According to court documents, on September 25, 2019, following an investigation into sources of methamphetamine, ATF special agents and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents conducted a controlled purchase of 54 grams of methamphetamine from Butler in Brookhaven.  Following this purchase, agents, using a cooperating person, purchased additional methamphetamine from Butler.  Butler, a convicted felon, possessed a firearm when he was arrested.

Butler is scheduled to be sentenced on September 28, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bert Carraway is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Memphis, TN – Demario Davis, 35, of Memphis has been sentenced to 204 months in federal prison for 
distribution of heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.  Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney, 
announced the sentence today.

According  to  information  presented in  court,  on  February  12,  2018,  members of  the Memphis 
Police  Department’s – Organized Crime Unit  responded to an overdose that occurred at a hotel room 
on Madison Avenue.  Davis was identified as the source of these narcotics.

In December 2019, a  federal grand jury  returned a six-count indictment against Davis, charging 
violations  including possession with intent  to distribute  heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.

The  defendant pled  guilty  on  February  24,  2022,  to  three  counts  of  the  six-count 
indictment.

On June 23, 2022, United States District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr.  sentenced Davis to 204 months 
imprisonment to be followed by three years’ supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal 
system.

This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department Heroin Opioid Response Team.

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

A man was sentenced Friday in federal court for a 2017 attack in which he picked up a fellow student and slammed the student’s head onto the ground, leaving him paralyzed, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Jace Christian Williams, 23, of Miami, Oklahoma, to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Frizzell will determine restitution at an Aug. 26 hearing.

Prosecutors had argued for a ten year federal prison sentence, which is an upward departure from the federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors stated that both the extreme nature of Williams’ criminal conduct and the victim’s resulting physical and mental suffering warranted the departure.

“Jace Williams’ intentional, violent attack has forever changed the life of the victim in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “His egregious actions are inexcusable. This type of criminal conduct cannot and will not be tolerated.”

“In a cowardly attack, Mr. Williams blindsided and paralyzed a fellow student, then remorselessly bragged about his crime,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “We hope that today’s sentence serves as a warning for other individuals who think they can harm their fellow citizens without facing any repercussions.”

In February, a federal jury found Williams guilty of maiming in Indian Country and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.

The victim and defendant attended the same technical school in Afton and knew one another prior to the incident. In the days leading up to the crime, Williams repeatedly expressed anger toward the victim because he felt the victim had interfered and ruined Williams’ chances of having a sexual encounter with two women. Williams went as far as to tell one student that he would to make sure the victim couldn’t “use his arms or legs for five months.”

On Nov. 3, 2017, a classmate drove Williams and two friends to E. 200 Rd in Afton, in order to watch an unrelated fight between two different men. After arriving, the driver remained in his truck, scrolling through his phone. Other students, including the victim, also drove to the location in order to watch the fight.

While the victim and other students assembled in a circle waiting for the fight to begin, multiple witnesses from different vantage points saw Williams suddenly attack the victim from behind.

In a maneuver similar to what is commonly referred to as a “suplex”, Williams wrapped his arms around the victim’s body, lifted him backward and slammed him head-first onto the ground. While the victim was on his stomach on the ground then, Williams proceeded to repeatedly spit on and punch him in the back.

Williams’ two friends then returned to the truck and told the driver Williams had jumped the victim and that it was bad. Soon after, Williams returned to the truck, breathing heavily, and demanded the driver take him home. The driver testified that Williams ripped off his own shirt and bragged that what he had done to the victim was “fun” and that he wanted to do it again. The driver said he feared the defendant at that point and complied.

A witness to the crime called 911 and waited for paramedics to arrive. The victim was transported to a hospital in Joplin, Missouri. The victim sustained a C6-7 fracture-subluxation with bilateral locked facets and paralysis. As a result of the injuries inflicted by Williams, the victim is a quadriplegic.

The crime occurred within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation reservation. The FBI and Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard M. Cella and Brandon A. Skates prosecuted the case.