Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Gulfport, Miss.– A Houston, Texas man was sentenced to 132 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute a fentanyl analogue, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Ronald Coleman, 47, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.  

According to information presented to the Court, on September 21, 2021, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling East on Interstate 10 in Harrison County. Ronald Coleman was the driver of the vehicle. During the stop, officers discovered marijuana hidden in the trunk of the vehicle. They also discovered suspected heroin hidden in a natural void in the back of the front passenger seat.  Testing at the DEA laboratory revealed that the substances were over 400 grams of marijuana and over 500 grams of a fentanyl analogue.

The DEA and Harrison County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Buckner and Annette Williams prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Jackson Field Office. 

According to court documents, Jemarcus Demon Morgan, 32, possessed a firearm on November 13, 2019.  On that date, officers with the Jackson Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance at Morgan’s home. Officers recovered a .22 caliber rifle under the bed in the master bedroom, that was claimed by Morgan. He had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including possession of controlled substances, simple robbery, and possession of contraband in a correctional facility.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department investigated the case.

Criminal Chief Erin Chalk and Assistant United States Attorney Adam Stuart prosecuted the case.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Gulfport, Miss. – A Mexican citizen pled guilty to the federal felony offense of fraud regarding a visa, permit, or other immigration document.

U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca of the Southern District of Mississippi, Special Agent in Charge David Denton of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Jackson Field Office made the announcement. 

According to court records, Benito Moreno-Bernal, 30, who had been living in Colorado, was arrested on January 26, 2021, at a residence in Gulfport by members of the FBI Southeast Mississippi Safe Streets Taskforce on a State of Colorado arrest warrant.  The FBI requested assistance from Homeland Security Investigations in Gulfport regarding suspected fraudulent documents that Moreno-Bernal had in his possession.  The documents, both of which were imprinted with Moreno-Bernal’s name, were a purported U.S. Social Security Administration Card and a Permanent Resident Identification Card which also bore Moreno-Bernal’s photograph. 

Further investigation revealed that the number on the Permanent Resident Identification Card was a valid alien registration number assigned to a female, and the number on the Social Security Card belonged to another person other than Moreno-Bernal.  Computerized record queries also revealed that Benito Moreno-Bernal had been previously removed twice from the United States under the alias of Alejandro Moreno-Bernal.

Moreno-Bernal is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30, 2022. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Moreno-Bernal also faces Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings to remove him from the United States to his home nation of Mexico. 

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement officials in Colorado.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.                                                                           

###

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A California man was convicted Friday, August 26, 2022, by a federal jury for his involvement in a conspiracy to traffic over a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of methamphetamine and marijuana into the Natchez, Mississippi area, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to court documents, from 2016 through 2018, Arthur Wilson, 57, from Moreno Valley, California, conspired with Wesley Bell of Natchez, MS, Jimmie Lee Swearengen, Jr., of Mesquite, TX, Thomas Jerome Mitchell and Justine Chambers of Victorville, CA, and Kevin Singleton, formerly of Natchez, MS, to traffic kilograms of methamphetamine and marijuana into the Natchez area for distribution and sale.  Wilson was also convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in moving more than $345,000 in drug proceeds from Natchez to his drug suppliers in California.

Wilson will be sentenced on November 9, 2022.  He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fine.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. 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.

This OCDETF case is the result of an extensive investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force in Atlanta, GA, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and Pearl Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carla J. Clark and Clay B. Baldwin.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Richard G. Frohling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that Kevin J. Mueller (age: 60) of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was sentenced on August 30, 2022, to 180 months’ imprisonment by Senior U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach.

According to court documents, Mueller began exchanging instant messages in early May with an individual whom he believed to be the parent of a 13-year-old girl living in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Mueller expressed repeated interest in engaging in sexual activity with the 13-year-old. Mueller also sent pornographic images of himself which he wanted to be shared with the child.

In actuality, Mueller was communicating with a law enforcement agent assigned to an FBI. Task Force.  Mueller was arrested upon his arrival at the prearranged meeting spot in Winnebago County. Mueller is required to register as a sexual offender based on a 1989 First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child conviction in Milwaukee County.

In pronouncing sentence, Judge Griesbach noted the serious nature of the offense and Mueller’s previous conviction for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old child. He found a strong need for deterrence and to protect the community noting that Mueller would be well into his 70s when he is released from federal prison. Following his release, Mueller will be on supervised release for a period of 10 years and will continue to register as a sex offender.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood, marshals, federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Milwaukee Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

###

 

For further information contact: Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov

(414) 297-1700

Follow us on Twitter