Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Memphis, TN – Michael Ransom, 34, has been sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for being a 
convicted felon in possession of a firearms as well as being in possession of those firearms after 
having a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. United States Attorney Kevin Ritz announced the 
sentence today.

According to information presented in court, in May 2020, Memphis Police Officers responded to an 
armed party call that two men were seen near Annie Street carrying assault rifles to a red car. 
When officers arrived, Michael Ransom got out of the red car and immediately started running from 
police. Still seated alone inside the red car, were Ransom’s two minor children.

Officers recovered from the front seat a Taurus 9mm handgun and a Smith and Wesson assault rifle. 
Both guns were loaded with one round of ammunition in the chamber and multiple rounds in the 
magazines. Officers also recovered a plastic bag containing 4.3 grams of cocaine from the driver’s 
side door. Ransom was caught and arrested on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault.

Ransom had previously been convicted in March of 2010 of facilitating carjacking. He was also 
convicted in October 2017 of misdemeanor domestic assault with bodily harm. As a result of these 
convictions, Ransom is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition.

On October 27, 2022, United States District Court Judge Mark S. Norris sentenced Ransom to 96 
months in federal prison to be followed by three years’ of supervised release. There is no parole 
in the federal system.

This case was investigated by Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Memphis Police
Department and the ATF. PSN is 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.

United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Raney Irwin and Special 
Assistant United States Attorney Sam Winnig, who prosecuted this case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at 901-544-4231 or cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow@WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/MONROE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Cytheria Jernigan and Karen King will lead the efforts of this office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election.  AUSAs Jernigan and King have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Western District of Louisiana, and in that capacity are responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” said United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence.  The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.  The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.  The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.  The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).  

“The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSAs/DEOs Jernigan and King will be on duty in this district while the polls are open.  AUSA Jernigan can be reached by the public at our Shreveport office at 318-676-3600 and AUSA King can be reached at our Lafayette office at 337-262-6618.”

For those who may have complaints regarding violations in the Shreveport, Monroe, and Alexandria areas, please contact AUSA Cytheria Jernigan at 318-676-3600. Those who may have complaints involving violations in the Lafayette or Lake Charles areas, please contact AUSA Karen King at 337-262-6618. You can also email us with any complaints at: usalaw.election-fraud@usdoj.gov.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.  The local FBI field office can be reached by the public in Shreveport at 318-861-1890, Monroe at 318-387-0773, Alexandria at 318-443-5097, Lafayette at 337-233-2164 and Lake Charles at 318-433-6353.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov.  

United States Attorney Brown stated: “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate.  It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”

Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities.  State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

For more information about federal elections, please go to our website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla/election-fraud and click on the Federal Election Fact Sheet.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced today that Maurice Pompey, 34, of Columbia, South Carolina, Christopher Moton, 29, of Columbia, South Carolina, and Danielle Richardson, 30, of Rutland, Vermont, were arrested on October 27, 2022 following the execution of a federal search warrant at 116 State Street, Apartment #4, in Rutland Vermont.  All three defendants were charged with violating the Controlled Substances Act.   Defendant Richardson appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle on October 28, 2022, and was released on conditions pending trial.  Defendants Pompey and Moton appeared this afternoon before Judge Doyle for their initial appearances.  Moton was detained pending trial, and the Court will hold a hearing to address the government’s motion for the detention of Pompey on November 3.  

According to court records, law enforcement conducted multiple covert purchases of controlled substances from Pompey and Richardson between August and October of 2022.  Both defendants were linked to 116 State Street, Apartment #4, in Rutland, Vermont.  On October 24, 2022, a federal search warrant was obtained authorizing the search of the apartment.  The search resulted in the seizure of two handguns and suspected cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl.  Richardson was arrested during a traffic stop and found in possession of suspected cocaine base at the time of her arrest.

The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that a criminal complaint contains allegations only and that all three defendants are presumed innocent until and unless convicted of a crime.  

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the coordinated investigatory efforts of the Rutland Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Southern Vermont Drug Task Force, the Vermont State Police, and the Manchester Police Department.  

The prosecutors are Assistant United States Attorneys Zachary Stendig and Jonathan Ophardt.  Pompey is represented by Richard Bothfeld, Esq.  Moton is represented by Kevin Henry, Esq.  Richardson is represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender.  

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.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeffrey James Bray, 37, of Stockton, was sentenced today to nine years and two months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Bray sold eight firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition to an undercover agent or confidential source in 2019. During the investigation, Bray was arrested on unrelated state charges. While in custody on those state charges, Bray used jail phone calls and directed others to continue his illicit firearms business. Bray cannot lawfully buy or possess firearms or ammunition himself because he has sustained numerous felony convictions, including evading a police officer, vehicle theft, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and twice for second degree burglary.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Yuba City Police Department, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alstyn Bennett 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 U.S. Department of Justice 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

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Antonio Vergara, 29, of Walden, VT, was charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.  Vergara was arrested on October 26, 2022, and made his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle on October 28, 2022.  Vergara was ordered detained pending trial.

According to court records, police in Massachusetts attempted to stop Vergara as he was driving on Interstate 91.  Vergara fled at speeds of over 120 miles per hour and was ultimately apprehended approximately 130 miles away, in Newbury, VT.  Police discovered 5,500 bags of fentanyl in the car Vergara was driving, and later discovered an additional 5,000 bags of fentanyl in the median near the location where Vergara was stopped.  In total, the fentanyl seized by law enforcement weighed more than 200 grams.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Vermont State Police.

Major Dan Trudeau of the Vermont State Police stated, “This case is a great example of how State, Federal, and Local law enforcement is working together to combat the influx of dangerous drugs, and associated violence, from coming into Vermont.  We will continue to deploy our resources to intercept and mitigate drug trafficking organizations from continuing to prey on Vermonters.” 

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation and Vergara is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted of the charged offense, Vergara faces up to 40 years of imprisonment, with a five-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, and a mandatory three years of supervised release. 

The Assistant United States Attorney handling the prosecution is Nate Burris.  Vergara is represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender and Evan Barquist, Esq.