Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

McALLEN, Texas – A 61-year-old McAllen resident has been arrested for coercion and enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Fabian Vela is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano at 9 a.m. Authorities took him into custody yesterday as he re-entered the United States at a Port of Entry in Hidalgo County.

The criminal complaint charges Vela with coercion and enticement of a minor from on or about Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2022.

Vela allegedly coerced and enticed a minor victim through the use of the WhatsApp messaging application and a cellular telephone. He persuaded the victim to send multiple nude and sexually explicit images in exchange for payment, according to the charges.

If convicted, Vela faces up to life in prison.

Homeland Security Investigations – Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigations Task force conducted the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service and the San Juan Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Mitchell and Devin Walker are prosecuting the case which is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Daniel King, 41, of Westminster, Vermont, was sentenced yesterday to serve 66 months of imprisonment for conspiring to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery, in violation of the Hobbs Act.  Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered King’s sentence to begin yesterday and ordered King to serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration.

According to court records, King forcibly entered a Westminster man’s residence, intending to rob the man of heroin and money King believed to be proceeds from heroin sales.  King picked his target because of his belief that the resident of the house was an easy mark.  King also recruited an accomplice, Jacquelyn Fougere, 29, of Springfield, Vermont, to help him with the robbery. King obtained supplies for the robbery (including zip ties to use as hand restraints and a fake firearm), and King planned with Fougere to forcibly enter the man’s home, restrain and rob him.  On the morning of March 14, 2022, King broke open the door to the man’s residence while holding the fake firearm. The homeowner then discharged a firearm at King striking him.  King and Fougere then fled the scene.

King’s sentence was informed by the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines, which factor in a defendant’s criminal history. King’s significant criminal history dates back to 1998 and includes felony convictions in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Fougere has pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct commerce by robbery. Fougere’s sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for March 3, 2023.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Vermont State Police and the Federal Burau of Investigation.
  
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Ophardt. King is represented by Devin McLaughlin, Esq. Fougere is represented by Robert S. Behrens, Esq.

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

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Duvany Zambrano, age 43, of Hamilton, New Jersey, and Sergio Jara, age 37, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, were indicted on January 4, 2023, by a federal grand jury for defrauding the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. 

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that beginning in 2018, Zambrano, Jara and others began acquiring thousands of E-Z Pass transponders from retailers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  They then registered the transponders using false personal information and false credit card information.  They sold the transponders to truckers in the New Jersey area who travelled on the Pennsylvania Turnpike hauling materials. In doing so, the indictment alleges that Zambrano, Jara, and others avoided paying approximately $1,000,000 in tolls.

The indictment was unsealed following Zambrano and Jara’s initial appearances.  Defendants are currently scheduled for trial on March 4, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, the Department of Justice announced it has submitted to the Federal Register the “Stabilizing Braces” Final Rule, which makes clear that when manufacturers, dealers, and individuals use stabilizing braces to convert pistols into rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches, commonly referred to as a short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the laws that regulate those rifles, including the National Firearms Act (NFA). In April 2021, at an event with President Biden, the Attorney General directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to address the issue of stabilizing braces.

“Keeping our communities safe from gun violence is among the Department’s highest priorities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Almost a century ago, Congress determined that short-barreled rifles must be subject to heightened requirements. Today’s rule makes clear that firearm manufacturers, dealers, and individuals cannot evade these important public safety protections simply by adding accessories to pistols that transform them into short-barreled rifles.”

“This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago. In the days of Al Capone, Congress said back then that short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns should be subjected to greater legal requirements than most other guns. The reason for that is that short-barreled rifles have the greater capability of long guns, yet are easier to conceal, like a pistol,” said ATF Director Steven Dettelbach. “But certain so-called stabilizing braces are designed to just attach to pistols, essentially converting them into short-barreled rifles to be fired from the shoulder. Therefore, they must be treated in the same way under the statute.”

Since the 1930s, the NFA has imposed requirements on short-barreled rifles because they are more easily concealable than long-barreled rifles but have more destructive power than traditional handguns. Beyond background checks and serial numbers, those heightened requirements include taxation and registration requirements that include background checks for all transfers including private transfers. Often, when pistols are converted to rifles by the use of a stabilizing brace covered by the rule, they have barrels less than 16 inches in length and must comply with the same heightened requirements that apply to short-barreled rifles under the NFA.

The rule goes into effect on the date of publication in the Federal Register. The rule allows for a 120-day period for manufacturers, dealers, and individuals to register tax-free any existing NFA short-barreled rifles covered by the rule. Other options including removing the stabilizing brace to return the firearm to a pistol or surrendering covered short-barreled rifles to ATF. Nothing in this rule bans stabilizing braces or the use of stabilizing braces on pistols.

On June 7, 2021, the Department of Justice issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, and during the 90-day open comment period, the ATF received more than 237,000 comments.

The final rule, as submitted to the Federal Register, can be viewed here: https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/factoring-criteria-firearms-attached-stabilizing-braces

To learn more about the rulemaking process, please see: https://www.federalregister.gov/uploads/2011/01/the_rulemaking_process.pdf

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Demetrius Thompson, aka “Tone,” 44, of Brooklyn, New York was arrested yesterday in Rutland, Vermont. On December 14, 2022, Thompson had been indicted by the federal grand jury for distributions of fentanyl and cocaine base.  Thompson is scheduled to be arraigned later today before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle.

According to court records, Thompson is alleged to have distributed controlled substances on three occasions during the month of September 2022.  Last night, Rutland City Police, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, executed a state search warrant at a residence in Rutland City.  During the execution of that warrant, Thompson was located inside the residence. Also located inside the residence was approximately $4,000 of cash, a quantity of controlled substances, and a firearm.

The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an Indictment contains allegations only and that Thompson is presumed innocent until and unless he is convicted of a crime.  Thompson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment on each count of distributing controlled substances.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Rutland City Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. 
 
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt.  Thompson is represented by Katina Ready, Esq.