Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MINNEAPOLIS – A Red Lake man was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for shooting two individuals on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on May 5, 2021, Brennon Allen James Sayers, 21, was arguing loudly with his girlfriend in a vehicle outside a residence in the Ponemah area of the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Victim J.L.Z., who lived across the street, came out of his residence and began telling Sayers to stop arguing and fighting with his girlfriend. Victim C.T.G., who was walking down the road, encountered the interaction between Sayers and J.L.Z. As the confrontation between Sayers and J.L.Z. escalated to yelling and assaultive threats, Sayers pulled a firearm from his waistband and began shooting at both J.L.Z. and C.T.G. as they ran back towards J.L.Z.’s house. Both J.L.Z. and C.T.G. were struck by gunfire. After the shooting, Sayers fled the area and was located several hours later at his mother’s residence on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Sayers was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Chief Judge John R. Tunheim. On January 20, 2022, Sayers pleaded guilty to two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAVANNAH, GA:  Four defendants are among those facing federal charges including drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent actions in U.S. District Court include guilty pleas and criminal sentences related to illegal gun possession. 

The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally carry guns.

“In our continuing battle against violent crime in the Southern District, an essential element is the removal of guns from the hands of convicted felons,” said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “The message is clear: We and our law enforcement partner will not tolerate these threats to our communities.”  

In the past four years, more than 760 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony.

Defendants named in federal indictments from the June 2022 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury include:

• Deon Brown, 30, of Augusta, charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of Firearms by a Convicted Felon;
• Alonzo Ware Henderson, 37, of Augusta, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
• Cody Truitt Devore, 23, of Sylvania, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and,
• Harry Telfair, 60, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Additional defendants recently have been adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:

• B’Quan Ferguson, 31, of Savannah, was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers found a pistol in Ferguson’s car during an October 2020 traffic stop. Ferguson has multiple prior state felony convictions, including violent felonies with firearms.
• Kenya Leon Parker, 33, of Savannah, was sentenced to 115 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. Savannah Police officers arrested Parker in February 2021 after finding a pistol in his possession during a traffic stop.
• Tommy Greene, 34, of Savannah, was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Eutylone (Bath Salts) and Methamphetamine, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The Savannah Police Department Violent Savannah Police officers arrested Bennett in January 2020 when they found him in possession of two pistols during a traffic stop.
• Rasheen Dyshawn Stephens, 30, of Savannah, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers investigating a domestic disturbance on June 7, 2021, found a pistol and an extended magazine in Stephens’ pockets.
• James Kenneth Merritt, 35, of Waynesboro, Ga., was sentenced to 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Burke County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Merritt in December 2020 after Merritt drove away and then ran from an attempted traffic stop, dropping a pistol as he fled.
• Calvin Jerrod Hendrix, 24, of Savannah, was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. He was charged after Savannah Police officers found a pistol in his apartment in July 2020, and learned the gun had been stolen in Clayton County.
• Hunter Cole Reavis, 25, of Savannah, was sentenced to 44 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Reavis was on probation in March 2021 when agents from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision found a pistol during a search of his Savannah hotel room. 
• Jervario Melton, 30, of Kingsland, Ga., was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Melton was found in possession of a firearm during an Aug. 28, 2020, traffic stop by Port Wentworth police.
• Fredrick Connell Blount, 38, of Augusta, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Blount was arrested after a traffic stop in August 2020 when Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies found a pistol in the vehicle Blount was driving.
• Barry McCormick, 26, of Savannah, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. McCormick was charged after a pistol fell down his pants leg during a November 2020 traffic stop by Savannah Police officers.
• David McCain III, 35, of Hephzibah, Ga., was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He was arrested on New Year’s Day 2020 when Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies investigating reports of celebratory gunfire found McCain, a convicted felon, in possession of an AR-15 style rifle with a high-capacity magazine. 
• Ziquane Sandford, 24, of Hephzibah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Engaging in the Business of Dealing in Firearms Without a License. Sandford faces a statutory sentence of up to five years in prison after admitting he sold firearms on four occasions without the required license.  
• Willie Joe Liddell, 38, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies were assisting the U.S. Marshals Service in arresting Liddell on an outstanding warrant when they discovered a pistol in Liddell’s jacket pocket.
• Kevin Shawn McGahee, 47, of Stapleton, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. As part of his plea agreement, McGahee forfeits 21 guns found during a law enforcement search of his residence in April. 

Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the DEA, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Jeremiah L. Johnson, Henry W. Syms Jr., and Tania D. Groover, with firearms forfeitures coordinated through the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Recovery Unit.

Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense. 

For more information from the ATF on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Dangelo Dontae Cornish, age 36, of Greensburg, to 14 months in federal prison following his conviction for possessing pit bulls for use in a dogfighting venture.  The Court further sentenced Cornish to serve two years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Cornish admitted that five pit bulls found at his home in Greensburg, Louisiana, were being held and trained for dogfighting. Cornish was found to be discussing dogfighting with members of the Valley Street drug distribution ring operating out of Baton Rouge, when his telephone calls with a member of the ring and others were intercepted during a wiretap.  Cornish discussed gambling on dogfights, breeding dogs, and training dogs for dogfighting.  In October 2017, federal law enforcement agents obtained a search warrant for Cornish’s residence.  At his home agents found five pit bull-type dogs kept in a manner consistent with dogfighting.  The dogs were restrained with heavy chains and either weighted dog collars or ankle weights.  Agents also found rudimentary outdoor shelters, veterinary supplements manufactured and distributed in interstate commerce, and a treadmill, which was designed to force dogs to exercise.  As part of his plea, Cornish admitted he knowingly possessed each of these five dogs for the purpose of animal fighting ventures, and the dogfighting paraphernalia was possessed for the purpose of training and preparing the dogs for participation in animal fighting ventures. The investigation revealed that dogfights were being conducted in Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi.

In all, from the drug ring case and the animal-fighting venture Cornish is the sixth person to be sentenced to date.

This operation is being investigated the FBI Baton Rouge Capitol Area Gang Task Force, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the United States Marshal Service.  This matter is being prosecuted by Matthew D. Evans, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Washington D.C., and Assistant United States Attorney Lyman E. Thornton III.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            CONCORD – Sean Crockett, 40, of Lebanon, Maine, pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to bank fraud, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, Crockett used other people’s identities to open merchant accounts and used those accounts to process fraudulent credit card payments.  Merchant accounts are bank accounts for businesses that allow them to accept payments by debit or credit card. 

            In 2015, Crockett used altered bank and incorporation records, false tax documents, and other persons’ identities to apply for and open merchant bank accounts for companies Crockett controlled.  Crockett paid some of these persons to use their identities to open these accounts.  Others did not know Crockett and never gave permission to him to open the merchant accounts.

            Crockett then used stolen credit card information to process fraudulent transactions.  Crockett withdrew the funds soon after they were deposited. Later the credit card holders disputed the transactions, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of “chargebacks” to those merchant accounts.  Normally, when chargebacks occur the funds are withdrawn from the merchant account.  In this case, however, because Crockett had already withdrawn the funds, the bank was forced to pay the chargebacks.  Because of this, the bank routinely closed Crockett’s merchant accounts.  To continue the scheme, Crockett opened new merchant accounts using other peoples’ identities. 

            Crockett is scheduled to be sentenced on September 29, 2022.  

            This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Hunter and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen.

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