Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Nikko Drake, 33, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault while armed for shooting a woman outside a Northwest Washington nightclub, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Drake was also found guilty of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and related firearms offenses.  The verdict was returned on June 17, 2022, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Maribeth Raffinan set sentencing for Sept. 23, 2022.

            According to the government’s evidence, at 11:25 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2020, Drake got into an argument with the female victim, who was then 21, outside a nightclub in the 1900 block of 9th Street NW, in the Shaw area.  Drake punched the victim, knocking her to the ground.  After a physical struggle, Drake shot her twice in the abdomen.  The victim was taken to Howard University Hospital, where she required emergency trauma surgery.  MPD officers spotted Drake in the area in response to a look-out and apprehended him within fifteen minutes of the offense.

            Drake was arrested on Jan. 24, 2020.  He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Chrisellen Kolb, Chief of the Appellate Division; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia Long, Mark Hobel, and Daniel Lenerz; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Fretto Lingwood; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist R. Renee Prather; Lead Paralegal Specialist Tameka S. Garcia; Paralegal Specialists Crystal L. Waddy and Debra McPherson; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames; Victim/Witness Program Specialist Karina Hernandez; Litigation Technology Supervisor Leif Hickling, and Litigation Technology Specialist Maisha Treadwell.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul V. Courtney and Nicole G. H. Conte, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

INDIANAPOLIS – Demario Barker, 33, of Kokomo, Indiana, was sentenced late last week to twenty-five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of distribution of methamphetamine.   

According to court documents, law enforcement officers began investigating Barker’s drug trafficking activities in 2019. On June 22, 2020, and July 31, 2020, Barker distributed methamphetamine from his residence in Kokomo. On November 30, 2020, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and Kokomo Police Department officers executed a search warrant at Barker’s Kokomo residence, and a second Kokomo residence that Barker used in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. During the execution of those search warrants, law enforcement officers seized approximately one pound of methamphetamine, as well as seven firearms.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Indianapolis Field Office, and Kokomo Police Chief Douglas Stout made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Kokomo Police Department investigated the case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. As part of the sentence, Judge Barker ordered that Barker be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for five years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Brady who prosecuted this case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Marion Michael O’Steen (43, Cross City) guilty of interfering with commerce by extortion and failing to timely file a Form 8300 reporting the receipt of more than $10,000 in currency. O’Steen faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and may be required to forfeit at least $60,000 in proceeds received. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 12, 2022.

According to evidence presented at trial, O’Steen was a criminal defense attorney who represented clients being prosecuted by former State Attorney Jeffrey Alan Siegmeister’s office in the Third Judicial Circuit. Siegmeister was previously charged and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use a facility of commerce for unlawful activity, conspiracy to commit extortion, wire fraud, and tax fraud. Testimony at trial established that O’Steen requested official acts from Siegmeister—including the favorable disposition of charges filed against his client, and the delay of official actions–in order to enable O’Steen to obtain additional “fees” from at least one of his clients. On August 17, 2018, O’Steen told his client that if the client paid him an additional $60,000 fee, O’Steen would use up a “favor” with the state attorney to make “everything go away,” representing that O’Steen had favors with Siegmeister for which people would pay him. O’Steen told his client he could “go to trial and fight em’ out, which I don’t think you can win.” He further advised his client that he would not get the same results from another attorney.

O’Steen received two payments of $30,000 each from his client. Evidence at trial established that O’Steen knew the reporting requirements but failed to timely file a Form 8300 with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.        

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly S. Karase and David B. Mesrobian.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOSTON – A Braintree man pleaded guilty on June 16, 2022 to trafficking cocaine and illegally possessing ammunition.

Martin Angomas, 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and to possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Oct. 19, 2022.

Angomas was charged in July 2020 along with 24 others as part of “Operation Snowfall” – a multi-year investigation into drug trafficking activities by a drug trafficking organization (DTO) comprised of Boston-based street gang members and associates. According to the charging documents, beginning in November 2018, law enforcement investigated drug trafficking activities gang members and associates in the Commonwealth Development in Brighton, formerly known as Fidelis Way, a multi-apartment public housing development. It is alleged that the defendants, through their drug trafficking activities, assumed control over multiple apartments, where they stored, cooked, packaged and sold drugs. As a result, their activities caused a blight of the development and reduced the quality of life of the other residents.

The investigation also targeted large-scale drug suppliers and their associates. It is alleged that the targets continued to distribute cocaine and cocaine base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.

The investigation identified Angomas as a drug distributor and supplier. During intercepted communications between Angomas and co-defendant Hassan Monroe, a wholesale supplier and distributor within the DTO, Angomas coordinated providing Monroe with cocaine to be given to Kenji Drayton, one of the DTO’s principal suppliers and distributors. Angomas and Monroe were later observed meeting at an agreed-upon location, getting into a vehicle and driving to meet Drayton for the deal. They then left in separate vehicles.

During a search of Angomas’ residence in June 2020, ammunition, cocaine base (crack cocaine), two loaded firearms and over $360,000 were recovered. Angomas’ residence also contained an elaborate hide. At the time of the offense, Angomas had a prior conviction punishable by a more than one year in prison. 

Angomas is the 13^th defendant to plead guilty in the case. Seven of the defendants have been sentenced. Of the remaining defendants, three are pending trial and one defendant remains at large.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of possessing ammunition as a convicted felon provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Douglas Bartlett, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistance in the investigation was provided by the Braintree, Cambridge, Canton, Randolph and Weymouth Police Departments; the Suffolk, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorneys’ Offices; and the Suffolk, Plymouth and Norfolk County Sheriffs’ Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Timothy E. Moran, Chief of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ATLANTA – Quantavious Cedron Arnold and Ericka Brewster have been sentenced to federal prison for carrying out a two-week crime spree during which they robbed a bank and fled in a car Arnold had stolen at gunpoint just two days earlier.

“Outstanding coordination between the FBI and local law enforcement ended Arnold’s crime spree,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This office will continue to target individuals like Arnold and Brewster who perpetrate, abet, and seek to profit from violent crime in our community.”

“Both Arnold and Brewster have extensive violent criminal histories, and once again put innocent civilians at risk during the span of their two-week crime spree,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to work with our local law enforcement partners to convict these repeat offenders at the federal level, where they face stiffer penalties and no opportunity for parole.”

“Keeping the citizens and visitors of the City of Atlanta is a priority for the Atlanta Police Department. The convictions of Quantavious Cedron Arnold and Ericka Brewster sends a resounding message to criminals that violent crimes will not be tolerated in our city,” said Atlanta Interim Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “The Atlanta Police Department is proud of the effort put forth by investigators to bring these criminals to justice. The sentencing of repeat offenders proves the effectiveness of our law enforcement partnerships, the dedication of the members of the various agencies, and our commitment to solving and closing cases.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On November 12, 2019, Arnold and two other people perpetrated a carjacking outside a convenience store in southwest Atlanta. Arnold threatened his victim with a semiautomatic pistol equipped with an extended magazine before he and his accomplices stole the man’s car.

Two days later, on November 14, 2019, Arnold used the stolen car to drive himself and his girlfriend, Brewster, to a bank branch in DeKalb County, Georgia. Arnold and Brewster entered the bank and waited in line until Arnold approached the teller counter, pulled out a gun, and threatened to kill people unless the teller surrendered thousands of dollars of cash. After pocketing the money, Arnold and Brewster fled from the bank and back into the stolen car, which they later abandoned.

A week later, an Atlanta police officer located and arrested Arnold in a wooded area down the block from the store where Arnold had committed the carjacking just ten days earlier. At the time of his arrest, Arnold had the gun used during the bank robbery, a distribution quantity of crack cocaine, and a digital scale. FBI agents arrested Brewster later.

Both Arnold and Brewster are convicted felons with extensive criminal histories. Brewster’s history includes convictions for fraud, theft, and forgery offenses. Arnold’s history includes repeated convictions for unlawful gun possession, drug trafficking, and violent crimes, such as aggravated assault, battery, and burglary. Both defendants were serving multiple terms of state probation when they committed their federal crimes. Arnold had been sentenced to two of those probation terms less than four months before he committed the carjacking and bank robbery.

U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced the defendants as follows:

• Quantavious Cedron Arnold, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on June 14, 2022, to 25 years of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,200.00 in restitution. Arnold was convicted at trial on January 14, 2022, of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Before the trial, he pled guilty to carjacking, armed bank robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

• Ericka Brewster, 31, of Jonesboro, Georgia, was sentenced on November 12, 2020, to four years, six months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,200 in restitution. Brewster pled guilty on November 6, 2020, to one count of armed bank robbery.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Atlanta Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodore S. Hertzberg and Annalise K. Peters prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.