Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that STEPHFAN SANDERSON, also known as “Birdy” and “Beans, 24, of Covington, Georgia, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to a firearms trafficking offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service and Bridgeport Police have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, murder and other acts of violence.  From at least 2017 until his arrest on November 12, 2020, Sanderson, who formerly resided in Bridgeport, procured at least 25 firearms in Georgia and Alabama and distributed them to individuals he had reason to know would commit felonies with those firearms, including members of the “Greene Homes Boyz” (“GHB/Hotz”) and Original North End (“O.N.E.”) street gangs in Bridgeport.  Some of the firearms he trafficked were capable of firing multiple bullets with the single pull of the trigger.

Sanderson pleaded guilty to one count of crossing state lines with the intent to engage in the unlicensed dealing of firearms, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.  A sentencing is not scheduled.

Sanderson has been detained since his arrest. 

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the Bridgeport State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory and the Stratford and Naugatuck Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, Stephanie T. Levick and Karen L. Peck.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities.  Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it.  If a group member elects to engage in gun violence, the focused attention of federal, state and local law enforcement will be directed at that entire group.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Daniel Stephen King (28, Kissimmee) guilty of possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. King faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 23, 2023.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on April 23, 2022, the Osceola County Sherriff’s Office was called to King’s residence due to a domestic disturbance. When the deputies arrived, a resident of the house frantically ran out with her four-year old daughter. The deputies were informed that King had a large number of firearms and ammunition in the house and that King had strapped on a bullet proof vest. At the time, King was a convicted felon who was on probation and prohibited from possessing guns or ammunition. The deputies surrounded the house, and after about two hours, they were able to persuade King to come out and surrender. A warrant was obtained to search the residence and nine firearms were recovered, including three rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a ballistic vest. A rifle safe, multiple gun lockboxes, magazines, and an ammunition can were also recovered from inside of the house.

King will have to forfeit all of the firearms and ammunition which were part of the offense.

This case was investigated by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John M. Gardella.

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

EVANSVILLE – Justin Owens, 63, of Evansville, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, in October 2020, law enforcement officers received information that Owens was distributing child sexual abuse material using Instagram Direct. On May 11, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Owens’ Evansville residence to locate additional evidence of Owens’ distribution of child sexual abuse material. During the search of the residence, a 12-gauge shotgun and assorted ammunition was recovered. Owens said the shotgun was his and further stated that he possessed a loaded .22 caliber handgun and ammunition inside a camper that was located on the property. Officers additionally seized more ammunition and 18 loaded .223 magazines for an AR15 style rifle inside a safe in a detached garage. 

Owens is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms due to a 1999 Vanderburgh County, Indiana, felony conviction for child molestation. Based on this prior conviction for an offense involving the sexual abuse of a minor, Owens was subject to an enhanced penalty under U.S. law for the distribution of sexually explicit material involving minors. 

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI investigated the case and the Evansville Police Department provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. As part of the sentence, Judge Young ordered that Owens be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 20 years following his release from federal prison. Owens must also register as sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school, as required by law.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger who prosecuted this case.

In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the Southern District of Indiana was second out of the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc

Source: United States Department of Justice News

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Columbia County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to methamphetamine distribution.

Bobby Lewis Sturkey, 51, of Harlem, Ga., was sentenced to 120 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Sturkey to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Meth is a deadly, dangerous and highly addictive drug that increasingly is present in fatal overdoses,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Bobby Sturkey helped fuel this epidemic and the violent crime it supports, and he is being held accountable.”

According to court documents and testimony, Sturkey’s illegal activities came to the attention of law enforcement authorities in early 2020. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, along with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served a search warrant on Sturkey’s rural home in January 2021, finding high-grade methamphetamine and firearms in the residence. Sturkey has previous felony convictions involving methamphetamine, along with felony convictions for armed robbery and burglary.

“It’s never a matter of ‘if’ a drug dealer will get caught, but rather ‘when,’ said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “And when that time comes, they’ll face severe consequences as is the case for this defendant whose lengthy sentence behind bars is indicative of the damage he caused individuals and the community by dealing dangerous drugs like ‘meth.’”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah L. Johnson.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Will Thompson will join Mission West Virginia and other officials to help celebrate National Adoption Month on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at 11 a.m. at Bible Center Church.

Thompson will speak along with a youth who has experienced adoption firsthand, parents in the foster care system, and a representative from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

WHAT: National Adoption Month Press Conference

WHEN: Thursday, November 17, 2022, at 11 a.m.

WHERE: Bible Center Church, 1100 Bible Center Drive, Charleston

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

 

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