Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HAMMOND- Milton Leroy Harvey, Jr., 42 years old, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after a jury found him guilty of  being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Harvey was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on August 1, 2016, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Harvey in Gary, Indiana.  As Harvey retrieved his identification from his pocket, an officer observed a butt of a handgun protruding from Harvey’s waistband which was a loaded semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number.  Harvey’s criminal history revealed he has a prior federal felony conviction for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, which prohibits him from possessing a firearm or ammunition.  

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force and the Gary  Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin F. Wolff and Nicholas J. Padilla.          

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

Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment last week charging a local woman with mailing communications containing threats to injure others in November and December of 2020.

According to court documents and statements made in court yesterday, Suzanne Craft, 54, sent multiple threating communications via the United States Postal Service to a family that lived in her neighborhood. Many of these communications contained threats of violence and racial slurs.

Craft is charged with five counts of interstate communication with threat to kidnap or injure in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 876(c). The defendant made her initial court appearance on August 19, 2022 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, and, after a hearing held yesterday, Craft was ordered detained pending trial. If convicted, Craft faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the Louisville Field Office, and U. S. Postal Inspector in Charge Lesley Allison of the United States Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tieke and Stephanie Zimdahl of the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Mary J. Hahn of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Derek Owens (34, St. Petersburg) to nine years and three months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The court also ordered Owens to forfeit a Smith & Wesson, M&P 40C semi-automatic pistol, 16 rounds of ammunition, and $1,073 in cash, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. Owens had pleaded guilty on January 23, 2019.

According to court documents, on August 14, 2018, law enforcement officers on routine patrol in St. Petersburg noticed a red Independent Taxi, without a public vehicle certificate displayed, commit a traffic violation. The officers initiated a traffic stop on the taxi. As the taxi slowed down, the rear passenger (Owens) began trying to exit the car. After failing to open the door from the inside, Owens reached his hand out of the window and opened the door from the outside. As Owens exited the moving car, the officers observed a black firearm and firearm holster on Owen’s person as he attempted to flee. The officers observed Owens discard the firearm as he ran towards an alley. The officers then gave chase to Owens on foot, eventually apprehending him approximately one block away from the initial traffic stop. After Owens was secured, an officer returned to the scene where Owens had discarded his firearm.

During a search of Owen’s person, an officer recovered $1,073, a plastic bag containing 82 grams of cocaine, a plastic bag containing 20 grams of cocaine, a plastic bag containing 8 grams of marijuana, and 2 cellphones. The officers also recovered the firearm and holster. Further investigation revealed that the firearm had previously been reported stolen.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

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

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Isaac Enriquez Oyando (34, Mexico), Romeo Santos Hernandez (36, Mexico), John Macias Agua (34, Ecuador), Jaime Velez Arcentales (40, Ecuador) and Eddy Anchundia Velez (32, Ecuador) guilty of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Each faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearings have been scheduled for November 18, 2022. The defendants had been indicted on January 21, 2021. A sixth defendant was severed due to a COVID-19 exposure during the trial.

According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants were part of a seven-person crew smuggling 760 kilograms of cocaine from South America to Mexico. On January 14, 2021, aerial surveillance spotted a suspicious vessel in international waters more than 200 miles south of Huatulco, Mexico. A law enforcement detachment from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Steadfast interdicted the vessel and found seven men onboard – including the five convicted at trial – in the process of trying to throw bales of cocaine overboard.

During the trial, the defendants from Mexico claimed that they were tricked into going on a drug trip and the defendants from Ecuador claimed they were adrift at sea and were rescued shortly before the USCG showed up. At trial, the jury heard evidence that investigators learned of a plan that one of the seven co-conspirators would plead guilty and then provide false information to law enforcement exonerating the others. Bran-Lopez was that person, and testified for the defense that he had tricked his co-defendants into thinking they were going on a fishing trip because his family had been kidnapped. However, the timeline of events in Bran-Lopez’s testimony did not match evidence obtained from searches of cellphones and GPS data showing that he and his coconspirators were at sea days before he claimed the kidnapping happened.

This case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of agents and analysts from the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Justin Heath Griffin (34, Ocklawaha) on an indictment charging him with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. If convicted, Griffin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Griffin has eight prior state felony convictions, including possession of a firearm by a violent offender (2006) and armed robbery (2007). On March 3, 2022, Griffin possessed a firearm and assorted ammunition. As a convicted felon, Griffin is prohibited from possession either firearms or ammunition under federal law.

An indictment is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a federal criminal offense. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the City of Ocala Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.

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.