Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Gulfport, Miss.  – A former Florida resident, who moved to Mississippi, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for failure to register as a sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and U.S. Marshal Mark B. Shepherd. 

Jason Marvin Kent, 43, was sentenced after pleading guilty on February 16, 2022, to failure to register as a sex offender, which is a federal felony under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), commonly known as the Adam Walsh Act. 

On July 22, 2021, Kent was arrested by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in Moss Point on a failure to register arrest warrant issued out of Walton County, Florida. Investigation revealed that Kent relocated from Florida to Mississippi in early 2021 to avoid being arrested on the Florida warrant.  Kent and his girlfriend had been working and living at a local motel.  Kent was convicted in 2002 of lewd or lascivious conduct in Walton County and was sentenced to three years’ probation and classified as a sex offender.  Florida is a lifetime registration state and, in 2015, Kent was convicted of failure to register in Florida, for which he was sentenced to three years’ probation. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Walton County Florida Sheriff’s Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TULSA, Okla. – United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the June 2022 Federal Grand Jury B.

The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.

Jacob William Paul Coombes. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. Coombes, 27, of Cushing, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Glock .45 caliber pistol and seven rounds of ammunition.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Quapaw Nation Marshal Service are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-189

Christopher Daniel Gilliam. Assault of a Spouse or Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Attempting to Strangle in Indian Country (Counts 1, 3); Assault by Striking, Beating, and Wounding (Misdemeanor) (Counts 2,4). Gilliam is charged with strangling and beating an intimate/dating partner on Dec. 2, 2021. Gilliam is further charged with strangling and beating a second intimate partner on June 6, 2022. The FBI, Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police Department, and Creek County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Briden is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-183

Jordan James Hodges. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition; Receipt of Stolen Property in Indian Country in Excess of $1,000. Hodges, 32, of Moore, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Remington .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle with a Bushnell scope and 35 rounds of ammunition on May 19, 2020. He is further charged with stealing an All-Terrain Vehicle, which was valued in excess of $1,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, and Oklahoma Department of Agriculture are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl L. Baber is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-184

Steven Alberto Juarez. Second Degree Murder in Indian Country. Juarez, 19, of Tulsa, is alleged to have intentionally run over Orlando Lorenz Lays Bad with his vehicle on May 20, 2022. The victim died at the scene. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon A. Skates is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-185

Millard Ray Laskey. Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; Maiming in Indian Country. Laskey, 51, of Bristow, allegedly assaulted the victim with a Bluetooth speaker and machete on May 21, 2022. He is further charged with maiming the defendant during the assault. The FBI, Bristow Police Department, and Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-186

Justin Eli Muncy. Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor; Commission of Felony Sex Offense Involving a Minor by a Registered Sex Offender. Muncy, 45, of Lawton, allegedly attempted to coerce an individual he believed to be a minor into engaging in sexual activity from Jan. 27, 2022 to April 14, 2022. Instead, he was messaging an undercover agent. Muncy committed the alleged crime while he was a registered sex offender. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Paisner is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-187

Jordan Tyler Nunn. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition (Counts 1-3). Nunn, 32, of Tulsa, allegedly was a felon in possession of a Ruger 9mm Luger caliber semi-automatic pistol and 12 rounds of ammunition on July 29, 2021. He is also charged with possession of a Taurus Armas 9mm Luger caliber semi-automatic pistol 12 rounds of ammunition on March 8, 2022. Finally, he is charged with possession of a Samsun Domestic Defense and Industry Corporation (Canik) 9×19 caliber semi-automatic pistol and 15 rounds of ammunition on June 1, 2022. The investigative agencies are the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Tulsa Police Department and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Luster is prosecuting the case.

Joshua Lee Ortiz-Hernandez. Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor (Counts 1); Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country (Counts 2-4); Production of Child Pornography (Count 5); Possession of Child Pornography (Counts 6). Ortiz-Hernandez, 36, allegedly sexually abused a minor between the ages of 12 and 16 on June 5, 2022. He is also charged with producing and possessing visual depictions of the alleged abuse. The investigative agencies are the FBI and Pryor Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Luster is prosecuting the case.

Joshua Cain Roets. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country. Roets, 34, transient, is charged with assaulting the victim with a knife on May 29, 2022. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Briden is prosecuting the case.

Richard Alan Sisney. Receipt and Distribution of a Visual Depiction of a Minor Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct; Possession of a Visual Depiction of a Minor Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct; Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography; Distribution of Child Pornography. Sisney, 68, of Tulsa, allegedly received, possessed, and distributed child pornography from May 29, 2021 to May 20, 2022. The investigative agency is the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle McWaters is prosecuting the case.

Brandon Michael Smart. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Attempting to Strangle in Indian Country. Smart, 33, of Tulsa, allegedly strangled an intimate/dating partner on June 8, 2022. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Briden is prosecuting the case. 22-cr-196

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – A Pawtucket man has been sentenced to thirty months in federal prison for his participation in a conspiracy to use stolen identities to create fraudulent drivers’ licenses and credit cards he and others used to rent cars and hotel rooms and to make multiple purchases throughout New England, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Hugh A. Martin, 33, and two other men were arrested by Warwick Police in the early morning hours of July 3, 2020, when they were found sleeping in a vehicle with a stolen license plate.  A bundle of eleven counterfeit credit cards were found tucked inside Martin’s sock.

 According to court documents, among the items recovered from the vehicle were eighteen mobile phones, a notebook containing handwritten entries of numerous identities and related personal identifying information, computers, a printer, SD cards, a laminating machine, a magnetic strip reader capable of reading and transferring data to the back of credit cards, and approximately $13,000 in crisp, clean U.S. currency in large denominations. 

Martin pleaded guilty on March 9, 2022, to conspiracy to possess fifteen or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices; possession of fifteen or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices; and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith on Thursday to 30 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release.

In November 2021, while on bail on state charges brought as a result of his initial arrest by Warwick Police in July 2021, Martin was found by a New York City Police Officer seated in a parked vehicle that displayed no registration plates. Martin was charged with criminal possession of a handgun, after the officer located a fully loaded semiautomatic handgun under the driver’s seat. A detainer has been lodged with the U.S. Marshals service, seeking Martin’s return to New York for prosecution on the firearm charge.

Courtney Hilaire, 29, of Providence, convicted for his role in the credit card fraud conspiracy and for fraudulently seeking more than $3.3 million dollars in small business loans earmarked for businesses impacted by the pandemic, was sentenced on May 5, 2022, to 60 months in federal prison.

A third defendant remains a fugitive.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William J. Ferland. Martin’s criminal conduct was investigated by the Warwick Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Pawtucket Police Department.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

           Montgomery, Alabama – On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, Kevin Wayne Willett, a 31-year-old from Dothan, Alabama, was sentenced to 210 months in prison for the attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor and attempted distribution of child pornography to a minor, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. Following his 17.5-year prison sentence, Willett will be on supervised release for five years and will be required to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.

            According to his plea agreement and other court documents, on May 3, 2018, Willett, using an online dating site, communicated with who he thought was a 14-year-old girl. In reality, Willett was communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as a minor. At some point during the exchange, Willett sent the agent an obscene image of an adult. Over the following days, Willet exchanged text messages with the undercover agent.  In those messages, Willet indicated his intent to share lewd and sexual images. Willett then sent the agent an image containing child pornography. On March 7, 2022, Willett pleaded guilty to the charges.

           This case was investigated by the FBI and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Assistant United States Attorney J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA — Brian Thomas Rogers, 53, of Anderson, owner of Rogers Environmental, LLC, was sentenced to three years of probation, to include the first six months on an overnight curfew, ordered to pay a $25,500 fine, and will perform 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to Making a False Statement in a Clean Air Act Document.

Evidence presented to the Court showed that on May 1, 2018, Rogers Environmental was contracted to perform an asbestos building inspection at Pratt Hall on the campus of Anderson University, Anderson County, South Carolina.  Rogers’ limited survey report stated that no asbestos containing material (ACM) was found in the materials sampled.  Based on the negative ACM survey, contractors commenced with demolition and renovation.

On June 20, 2018, while removing flooring from a bathroom, the sub-contractor encountered 9×9 floor tile and black mastic under the top layer of flooring, which it suspected to contain asbestos.

On June 21, 2018, Rogers was called back to the site and collected two additional samples. Rogers later provided the contractor, by email, with a lab report that showed the two additional samples did not contain asbestos. 

On June 22, 2018, after learning of Rogers’ negative asbestos report and doubting the result, the sub-contractor collected its own samples from the same room inspected by Rogers and sent the samples to the same lab for analysis. The lab report indicated that asbestos was present in the two samples.

Due to the discrepancies between Rogers Environmental and the subcontractor’s sampling reports, the sub-contractor notified the general contractor, who in turn brought in a new building inspection company to resample the entire building.

On June 25, 2018, the new company surveyed and collected samples from the entire site, which documented approximately 29 samples had positive asbestos results. The total amount of asbestos found was approximately 3,620 square feet. 

Investigators for DHEC later interviewed Rogers, who admitted changing the original lab results on one sample from 20% chrysotile (asbestos) to none detected.  Rogers also admitted that he emailed the manipulated false documents to the general contractor. 

United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins, Jr., ordered the sentence, recommending that Rogers perform his community service at Anderson University. Rogers will satisfy the fine in payments of $750 per month for roughly three years.

This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigative Division, and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston D. Holliday, Jr., is prosecuting the case.

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