Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Javier Correa, age 41, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on January 3, 2023, to 210 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, for possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and more than 400 grams of fentanyl.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, on April 29, 2021, following a confidential tip, state parole and Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched Correa’s Scranton residence and seized 174 grams of methamphetamine, 611 grams of fentanyl, a loaded Bersa 9mm handgun, firearm magazines, ammunition, and $30,427.25.  

This case was investigated by DEA, the Scranton Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Parole officers.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey W. MacArthur and Brian Gallagher prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

This case is also 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.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Norfolk man last Friday on charges of abusive sexual contact of a minor.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in 2019, Donald Gene Ferguson II, 51, was working as a civilian Department of Defense employee in Iwakuni, Japan. During the summer of 2019, while in military housing in Iwakuni, Ferguson forced an 11-year-old minor to touch his genitals. While the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was investigating the abuse, they discovered Ferguson also sexually abused a 12-year-old in the summer of 2012 while living in Florida. 

Ferguson faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on May 9. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi and Trial Attorney Alicia A. Bove of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

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. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-49.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Daniel Gibbs, 37, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, was sentenced on Friday, January 6, by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 121 months in federal prison for distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Gibbs pleaded guilty to this charge on September 14, 2022. 

Gibbs sold one pound of methamphetamine to a confidential source on three separate occasions at a residence in Sun Prairie in August and September of 2021.   On November 10, 2021, agents executed a search warrant at the residence where Gibbs had previously sold methamphetamine to the confidential source.  During the search, agents found approximately four pounds of heroin, a kilogram press, and a loaded firearm. 

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Peterson stated that Gibbs had committed “a very serious drug trafficking crime” by distributing significant quantities of methamphetamine and heroin.  Judge Peterson also noted that Gibbs had previously served substantial time in federal prison for a violent crime involving kidnapping and extortion.

The charge against Gibbs is the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Sun Prairie Police Department.  The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations.  The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Ray Ramirez-Bueno, 59, a federal inmate, pleaded guilty today to possession of a weapon while an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 10, 2021, a FCI McDowell staff member conducting a pat-down search of Ramirez-Bueno found a handcrafted weapon commonly known as a “shank” on his person. The object was a piece of metal approximately four inches long, sharpened to a point on one end. Ramirez-Bueno admitted to possessing the object and further admitted that it was designed and intended to be used as a weapon.

Ramirez-Bueno is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is prosecuting the case.

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. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-210.

 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Brandon Lamarr McCauley, also known as “Louie,” 30, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute heroin.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 12, 2022, law enforcement officers pulled over a vehicle driven by McCauley on Fifth Avenue in Huntington. McCauley admitted that he possessed approximately 62 grams of suspected heroin, which he had divided into multiple bags for distribution, that officers found during the traffic stop. The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory confirmed the controlled substance was fentanyl.

McCauley further admitted to aiding and abetting another individual in the distribution of additional quantities of heroin totaling  9.5 grams on Sixth Street in Huntington on May 12, 2022.

McCauley is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Courtney L. Cremeans is prosecuting the case.

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. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-187.

 

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