Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

 FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – United States Attorney Michael Easley, along with representatives from the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will hold a press conference on Friday, August 26 to announce the sentence of Reshod Everett, a convicted armed drug trafficker who ran his operation out of his home, which he also operated as a daycare center.

WHERE: Council Chambers in City Hall – 433 Hay Street, Fayetteville

WHEN: TOMORROW (FRIDAY) at 11:00 a.m.

Media, please arrive at by 10:30 a.m. for set up.

Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend. For additional information, please e-mail Don Connelly at usance.PublicInfoOfficer@usdoj.gov.  Please RSVP your intentions to attend the event.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Havelock  man was sentenced to 180 months in prison for trafficking fentanyl and heroin from June 2017, through July 10, 2019.  On March 29, 2021, Michael Lamar Hill pled guilty to the charges.

According to Chief Chris Morning of the Havelock Police Department, this sentence represents “one small victory for the citizens of Havelock and surrounding counties.  The war on drugs may never be won, but with strong partnerships between local, state and federal agencies, we can make a difference in our community, one conviction at a time.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Hill, who was convicted of federal drug trafficking and a gun crime in 2012, was released from federal prison in April 2017, to begin a five-year term of supervised release.  Once back in the community, Hill quickly began trafficking in fentanyl and heroin and also opened a business named Havelock Super Tire Store.  Hill used drug proceeds as the seed capital to fund the opening of his business.  Hill also used his supply of fentanyl as a means of securing an inventory of new tires.  Specifically, Hill made it known that he would pay one gram of fentanyl for each pair of new tires, which his drug customers would then steal from local businesses.  Hill also used Havelock Super Tire Store to store and distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.  Hill assigned a store employee to assist in the drug distribution. 

In 2018 and 2019, Havelock Police Department conducted numerous controlled purchases of fentanyl from Hill, both directly and through his employee.  On July 10, 2019, Havelock Police Department and the DEA conducted a search of Havelock Super Tire Store and recovered 161 grams of fentanyl and 267 grams of cocaine.  A search of Hill’s car resulted in the seizure of $10,000 in cash, a Rolex watch, and the vehicle titles having an aggregate worth in excess of $85,000.  Judge Boyle sentenced Hill to 144 months on the new criminal conduct and 36 months’ imprisonment for the violation of supervised release, to be served consecutive to each other for a total sentence of 180 months. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Havelock Police Department, Carteret County Sheriff’s Department, the DEA Wilmington Resident Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis M. Duffy and Lucy Brown prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-CR-00018-BO.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a former BBVA branch manager for embezzling funds from the bank where she was employed, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Davis.

U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze sentenced Dorinda Lynn Lumpkin, 48, of Gadsden, to twelve months and one day in prison for embezzlement. Lumpkin pleaded guilty to the charge in January.

According to the plea agreement, Lumpkin was employed as a branch manager at a BBVA bank in Gadsden.  Between January 2017 and June 2020, Lumpkin stole at least $184,250.00 from BBVA accounts associated with a deceased customer and her daughter. To do so, she prepared and approved debit tickets authorizing the transactions, which were purportedly signed by the deceased customer’s daughter. The defendant then withdrew the funds from those accounts and converted them to her own use.

“The defendant abused her position as a bank employee and used it to steal money from a grieving family,” U.S. Attorney Escalona said. “We thank our outstanding law enforcement partners at the United States Secret Service for bringing her to justice and for their continued efforts to safeguard America’s financial systems.”  

“For more than three years, the defendant violated the trust that had been bestowed upon her by her employer and those customers she served,” SAC Davis said. “It is appalling that an individual would take advantage of a family during their darkest time.   The U.S. Secret Service is committed to bringing these types of individuals to justice.”  

The U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAIME HOLT, 39, of Bloomfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 76 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for drug distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 31, 2021, Bloomfield Police stopped a vehicle Holt was driving for a traffic violation.  After a narcotics K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics, a search of the vehicle revealed approximately 114 grams of crack cocaine, a quantity of marijuana, items used to package drugs for street sale, five cell phones, and a loaded 9mm handgun.  The firearm was reported stolen in 2020.

Holt’s criminal history includes 12 felony convictions, including convictions for firearm, assault, drug and larceny offenses.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Holt has been detained since March 31, 2021.  On April 25, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”), and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Bloomfield Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.

This prosecution 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.  In May 2021, the Justice 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

PORTLAND, Ore.— The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced today that Idaho Power Company, a Boise, Idaho-based utility that provides electricity to several states, including Oregon, has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle allegations by the United States relating to the May 2014 Powerline and August 2015 Lime Hill fires in Baker County, Oregon.

The Powerline Fire ignited on May 31, 2014, and burned approximately 5 acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Lime Hill Fire ignited on August 5, 2015, and burned approximately 2,592 acres of federal land managed by BLM and 9,337 acres of privately-owned land.

Idaho Power Company has a utility right-of-way on BLM land in Baker County on which it owns and operates its 138kV Ontario-to-Quartz transmission line. The United States contended in the civil action that the Powerline and Lime Hill fires were caused by the failure of structures on the Ontario-to-Quartz transmission line. The settlement reached is not an admission of liability by Idaho Power Company and the company denies the United States’ contentions.

This case was investigated by BLM with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service. The United States was represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carla McClurg and Alexis Lien for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Oregon.