Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the Department of Justice is now accepting nominations for the Sixth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing. Through this award, the Department of Justice honors the incredible work our nation’s law enforcement does to keep our communities and our country safe.

“Every day, law enforcement officers across the country work to forge and maintain strong community ties that are essential for ensuring public safety,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Department of Justice cannot fulfill its public safety mission without such critical efforts, and this award is just one way the Department says ‘thank you’ to our law enforcement partners.”

The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing recognizes individual state, local, Tribal, and territorial police officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded officers, deputies, and troopers will have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: innovations in community policing, criminal investigations, or field operations. Within each category, an award will be given to law enforcement agencies serving small, medium, and large jurisdictions. Those agency sizes are defined as follows:

1. Small: agencies serving populations of fewer than 50,000.
2. Medium: agencies serving populations of 50,000 to 250,000.
3. Large: agencies serving populations of more than 250,000.

By acknowledging and rewarding these efforts, the Department strives to promote and sustain its commitment to community policing and to advance proactive policing practices that are fair and effective. With the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, the Justice Department recognizes that the nation’s law enforcement agencies, officers, deputies, and troopers continue to work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.

The deadline for nominations is Sept. 23, 2022 at 8 p.m. (ET). More information and the application for nominees can be found at: www.justice.gov/ag/policing-award.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COVINGTON, Ky.— Two Cincinnati men, Taravon Geer, 28, and Keith Upshaw, 26, were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, after previously pleading guilty to their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.  Geer was sentenced to 216 months in prison and Upshaw was sentenced to 60 months in prison.  A third member of the conspiracy, Radaja Ford, was sentenced to 228 months in prison.   

According to court documents, the Geer and Upshaw conspired with Ford to distribute a large amount of fentanyl, by selling a combination of fentanyl and heroin on multiple occasions.  Law enforcement made sixteen controlled drug buys from the group, in June and July of 2020.  They arranged each transaction by calling a common cellular number and arranging the transaction with either Ford or Geer.  At his arrest, Geer was found in possession of 16.251 grams of fentanyl, more than $3,500, digital scales, baggies, and two cellular phones.  At his arrest, Ford was found in possession of more than $4,000 in cash, twenty oxycodone tablets, and three cellular phones.  At his arrest, Upshaw was found in possession of a loaded Glock 19 handgun, a digital scale, and 3.955 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and a fentanyl analogue.  Upshaw admitted to his involvement in distributing over 40 grams of fentanyl and Geer admitted to participating in the distribution of over 400 grams of fentanyl.  Geer has prior convictions for drug trafficking, residential burglary, and burglary while in possession of a firearm and was on parole at the time of these offenses.      

Under federal law, each Defendant must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence.  Upon release from prison, Geer and Upshaw will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisville Field Division; and Rob Nader, Covington Police Chief, jointly announced the sentences.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Covington Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.   

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Fargo – United States Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl announced that Matthew Kraft, Age 31 of Fargo, ND, appeared before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte, U.S. District Court, Fargo, ND, and was sentenced to 30 months in prison for the Possession of Firearms by a Convicted Felon; Receipt or Possession of Firearms Made in Violation of National Firearms Act; Receipt of Possession of Unregistered Firearms; and Illegal Importation of Firearms. Judge Welte also sentenced Kraft to 3 years of supervised release and a $400 special assessment.

This case came to the attention of law enforcement after the United States Customs and Border Protection intercepted a package from China headed to Fargo, North Dakota, that contained a firearm silencer. On June 28, 2021, federal and state law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the home of Matthew Kraft. During the search, law enforcement found an arsenal of weapons, to include short-barreled rifles, ghost guns, and over 20 firearm silences. Most of the firearm suppressors were illegally imported from China.

“It is extremely dangerous to have unregulated firearms, such as ghost guns, circulating throughout the community,” said acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Saint Paul Jamie Holt. “It’s not just the unregistered weapons themselves that present an obvious danger, but the criminal networks who are profiting from the sale of these illegal arms. HSI, and our law enforcement partners will continue our work to remove these unlawful guns from the streets and bring all of those involved in their trade to justice.”

“Through his previous convictions, Mr. Kraft has demonstrated his lack of public trust,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge William McCrary, of the St. Paul Field Division. “Circumventing the law to obtain firearms, silencers or any other controlled item as a person prohibited from possessing such items cannot and will not be tolerated. We are grateful to our partners for their work in the case and applaud the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its successful prosecution of this investigation.”

“This case represents our commitment to reducing gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in our region,” said United States Attorney Jennifer Puhl.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection; ND Bureau of Investigations; Cass County Sheriff’s office; Cass County Drug Task Force; and Fargo Police Department and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s office, with Assistant United States Attorney Richard Lee assigned to the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Claremore man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court for sexually abusing a child starting when the victim was nine years old and until she was 13, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Raymond Dale Dudley, 60, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under 12 in Indian Country and sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country.

The plea agreement calls for Dudley to serve between 40 and 45 years in prison. A federal judge will determine whether to accept the plea agreement at a sentencing hearing to be held at a later date.

In his plea agreement, the defendant admitted that he sexually abused the victim repeatedly between 2009 and 2013. Dudley continued to abuse the victim until 2013, when her older sister, who was no longer living at home, reported that she (the older sister) had been sexually abused by Dudley. The younger victim later reported that Dudley promised her in 2013 that he would stop abusing her if she hid the sexual abuse from child protective services workers. She complied, denying any abuse when she was interviewed at the home in 2013. A child forensic interview was not done at the time.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services believed the older sister’s allegations were unsubstantiated and closed the case. In 2015, she again disclosed that Dudley abused her, but the referral was closed, citing the 2013 investigation.

In 2021, the younger victim, now an adult, spoke about the abuse with an individual she trusted. She stated the abuse would often happen when no other adults were in the home and sometimes it would happen with other children nearby. The individual spoke with Dudley about the allegations. Dudley eventually admitted to the abuse but minimized his actions, suggesting the victim had “egged some of it on.”

Soon after, the victim reported the crimes to the Claremore Police Department. She disclosed that the abuse happened approximately twice a week starting when she was nine years old. Investigators also spoke to the older victim who had reported being abused by Dudley. She stated that Dudley had started sexually abusing her when she was about 14 years old and until she was 18 years old.

Child abuse experts state that disclosure is almost always a process for victims of childhood sexual abuse. Children may not tell for a variety of reasons. These include threats, gifts, or promises to the child, fear of the perpetrator, a lack of opportunity, a lack of understanding of child sexual abuse, or a relationship with the perpetrator. Impediments to disclosure include shame and fear of causing trouble in a family.

Victims most often disclose only when they feel they are in a safe environment.

It is rare for victims to disclose all the details of their abuse to any one person, and even rarer for victims to disclose every incident of abuse at one time. Sometimes, disclosure can take months or even years. Disclosure is determined by an interplay of child characteristics, family environment, community influences, and societal attitudes.

The FBI and Claremore Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chantelle D. Dial and Valeria G. Luster are prosecuting the case.