Month: July 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Following a seven-day trial, a federal jury today found defendant Julio Ruiz Chuta, 35, guilty of smuggling an unaccompanied child into the United States for financial gain. The jury found Chuta not guilty of forced labor and confiscating the child’s passport and other immigration documents.

According to the evidence presented in court, the defendant was familiar with the child victim and his family since they were from the same village in Guatemala. Because of the limited opportunities in Guatemala and because the defendant had lived in the United States, the family turned to the defendant for help. Based on the defendant’s promise to care for the minor, the boy’s parents allowed him to travel to the United States and permitted the defendant to act as his guardian in the United States. The defendant imposed a debt upon the boy and his family, charged them interest and pressured them to pay, causing the boy to work instead of attending school. The defendant also caused the family to hand over the deed to property they held in Guatemala as collateral for the outstanding debt.

“This defendant used a false promise of a better life in the United States to defraud a Guatemalan child and his family, and then callously caused the child to work long hours for his own financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is firmly committed to prosecuting perpetrators who lure unaccompanied minors into the United States only to turn around and exploit them for their own profit.” 

“This is one of those cases that we constantly warn people about, the dangers of placing the life of a loved one into the hands of a human smuggler,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami. “The school age victim came here with hopes of living the American dream which quickly turned into a nightmare when Chuta forced the minor to work instead of attending school. HSI will continue to target organizations and individuals that exploit and profit off of innocent people.”

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled in this matter. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

This case was investigated by HSI and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man has pleaded guilty to robbery and gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.

Henry Sirnard Russell, 42, pleaded guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco to the charges of Interference with Commerce by Robbery and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

He entered his plea pursuant to a binding Plea Agreement with the government, in which the parties jointly agreed to a sentence of 240 months (20 years) in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for October 26, 2022.

According to the Plea Agreement, on October 12, 2021, Hoover Police responded to the Chevron convenience store in Hoover.  The clerk of the store reported an armed male stole an undisclosed amount of money.  The clerk saw the suspect leave in a grey SUV, and the police issued a BOLO to surrounding agencies.  Vestavia Hills officers saw a vehicle matching the BOLO and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle.  Henry Sirnard Russell was the sole occupant of the vehicle and appeared very nervous and was shaking.  Russell was asked to exit his vehicle, but he refused and drove away.  A short pursuit ensued, and Russell stopped his vehicle and fled on foot.  Various law enforcement agencies arrived on scene, set up a perimeter, used a drone, a K-9, and a helicopter to assist in locating Russell.  The search continued throughout the night until a Hoover Police Officer notified dispatch that he observed Russell on the northbound side of I-65 toward Hoover from Homewood.  Officers immediately converged on the area and Russell fled into the wood line where he was arrested.

“Federal and local law enforcement agencies prioritize resources on individuals and factors that drive violent crime in communities and that pose a continual threat to public safety,” said United States Attorney Prim F. Escalona. “People who persistently cause harm in our communities will receive the full attention of federal law enforcement.”

Russell has prior felony convictions for Domestic Violence, Assault (Second Degree), and Robbery (First and Second Degree).

FBI investigated the case along with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Homewood Police Department, Hoover Police Department, and the Vestavia Hills Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Darius Greene prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five members of the transnational street gang La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, were convicted late yesterday by a federal jury for their roles in the kidnapping and murder of two adolescent boys in 2016.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, MS-13 gang members Elmer Zelaya Martinez, Ronald Herrera Contreras, Henry Zelaya Martinez, Pablo Velasco Barrera, and Duglas Ramirez Ferrera, along with their co-conspirators, targeted E.E.E.M., a 17-year-old resident of Falls Church, who they erroneously suspected was a member of the rival 18th Street gang. On the night of August 28, 2016, the gang lured E.E.E.M. to Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Fairfax County under the pretense that there was going to be a gang meeting there. Instead, in a wooded area of the park, gang members restrained, attacked, and killed E.E.E.M., stabbing and chopping him more than 100 times with knives, a machete, and a pickaxe. Afterwards, the gang broke one of E.E.E.M.’s legs so that his body would fit into the pre-dug hole that was nearby.

Court records and evidence presented at trial also established that the same gang members, along with their co-conspirators, targeted S.A.A.T., a 14-year-old resident of Alexandria, who they erroneously suspected was a police informant. On the evening of September 26, 2016, the gang told S.A.A.T. that there was going to be a gang meeting later that night and encouraged him to attend. Not long thereafter, S.A.A.T. went outside in his pajamas, telling his mother he was just taking out the trash. Eventually, several gang members picked up S.A.A.T. and drove him to the same park where they had killed E.E.E.M. The gang members restrained, attacked, and killed S.A.A.T., stabbing and chopping him with knives, machetes, and a pickaxe. They also filmed the murder with a cell phone so that they could prove to gang leaders in the United States and in El Salvador that they deserved to be promoted in rank. Once S.A.A.T. was dead, the gang broke his legs and tied him up with his own pajama pants so that he would fit into the shallow grave that was dug for him that night.

To date, a total of 17 defendants have been charged in this case. Of those, five defendants went to trial and were convicted of all charges. Nine defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial. See the table below for additional information on the defendants who were convicted at trial.

Name	Age	Country of Origin	Convictions	Sentencing Info
Elmer Zelaya Martinez	31	El Salvador	Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death	Faces mandatory life
Ronald Herrera Contreras	24	El Salvador	Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death	Faces mandatory life
Henry Zelaya Martinez	28	El Salvador	Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death	Faces mandatory life
Pablo Velasco Barrera	24	El Salvador	Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death	Faces mandatory life
Duglas Ramirez Ferrera	25	El Salvador	Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death	Faces mandatory life

 

Each of the defendants convicted today faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for murder in aid of racketeering activity and for kidnapping resulting in death, in addition to the sentences they receive for conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity and conspiracy to kidnap, the maximum sentences for which are ten years and life, respectively. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. accepted the verdict.

The FBI Washington Field Office, the Fairfax County Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Washington Field Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alexandria Police Department, the Prince William County Police Department, the Montgomery County (MD) Police Department, and the Marin County (CA) Sheriff’s Office provided significant assistance on the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebeca H. Bellows, Alexander E. Blanchard, and Cristina C. Stam are prosecuting the case.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-123.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been arrested on a federal firearm charge for allegedly illegally possessing a handgun equipped with a device converting it into an automatic weapon.

An indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges PARIS SHEPHERD, 31, with one count of illegal possession of a firearm.  Shepherd had previously been convicted of a felony and was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

The indictment accuses Shepherd of illegally possessing the loaded semiautomatic handgun in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago on June 14, 2022.  The gun was allegedly equipped with a conversion device, also known as a “Glock switch,” which transforms firearms into automatic weapons capable of shooting more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger.

Shepherd was arrested this morning.  He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert.

The indictment and arrest were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Steindorf and Paul Schied.

“The illegal possession of firearms equipped with conversion devices poses a grave threat to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Our office is using every available federal law enforcement tool to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands.”

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The charge in the indictment is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Xzavier Dyson, 23, of Abbeville, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge R. Summerhays to 42 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on firearms charges.

Dyson was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2021 and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty to the charge on March 23, 2022. The charge stems from an incident that occurred on May 26, 2020 when Dyson was the rear passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation in Abbeville. The driver consented to a search of the vehicle and a pat down search was conducted by law enforcement officers of each occupant of the vehicle. The deputy found a Cobra .380 pistol on Dyson’s person and seized the weapon.  Dyson had a previous felony conviction for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and illegal carrying of a weapon in 2018 and was on probation when this offense occurred. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from having a firearm or ammunition in his possession.

The case was investigated by the ATF and the Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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