Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Will Thompson will hold an event on Monday, February 6, 2023, at 2 p.m. to honor officers from the Summersville Police Department who saved the life of a suspect after he ingested fentanyl.

WHAT: Recognition of Summersville Police Officers

WHEN: Monday, February 6, 2023, at 2 p.m.

WHERE: Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse, 300 Virginia Street East, 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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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal criminal complaint was unsealed charging Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell, 27, of Orlando, Florida, with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility. 

The defendants were arrested on Feb. 3. Clendaniel will make her initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson. Russell will make his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd.

“Driven by their ideology of racially-motivated hatred, the defendants allegedly schemed to attack local power grid facilities,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen.  “The Justice Department will not tolerate those who threaten critical infrastructure and imperil communities in the name of domestic violent extremism.”

“This alleged planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “We are united and committed to using every legal means necessary to disrupt violence, including hate-fueled attacks.”

“Attacks on multiple electrical substations in Maryland would have caused suffering to thousands of Americans going about their everyday lives, but the FBI and our partners put a stop to that threat,” said Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “According to the criminal complaint, the defendants allegedly were taking specific steps to carry out their plans, including selecting targets and trying to illegally acquire a rifle. The FBI and our partners will hold accountable all those who commit criminal acts that threaten the safety of those in our communities, regardless of their motivations.”

“The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is evolving and persistent,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to identify and disrupt any potential threat to the safety of our citizens.”

As alleged in the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint:

From at least June 2022 to the present, Russell conspired to carry out attacks against critical infrastructure, specifically electrical substations, in furtherance of Russell’s racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs. As alleged, Russell encouraged the use Mylar balloons to short out a power transformer and, in a conversation on Oct. 25, 2022, Russell encouraged an attack be carried out “when there is greatest strain on the grid,” like “when everyone is using electricity to either heat or cool their homes.”

In his conversations on encrypted communications applications, Russell posted links to open-source maps of infrastructure, which included the locations of electrical substations, and he described how a small number of attacks on substations could cause a “cascading failure.” Russell also discussed maximizing the impact of the planned attack by hitting multiple substations at one time. 

A Maryland-based woman identified as Sarah Beth Clendaniel, collaborated on a plan to carry out the attacks. Specifically, Clendaniel discussed her desired rifle for the attack. In later conversations, Clendaniel allegedly stated that if they hit a number of electrical substations all in the same day, they “would completely destroy this whole city,” and that a “good four or five shots through the center of them . . . should make that happen.” She further added, “[i]t would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.”

If convicted, Russell and Clendaniel each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The FBI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and Tampa, Washington and New York Field Offices as well as the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin for the District of Maryland is prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Hoffman for the District of Maryland and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOISE – Joseph Alan Hoadley, 42, of Caldwell, was sentenced to three months in federal prison for falsifying a record or document in a federal investigation, witness tampering by harassment, and destroying a record to impair its use in an official proceeding, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.  The Honorable Scott W. Skavdahl, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Wyoming, sitting by designation, also ordered Hoadley to serve 12 months of supervised release following his release from prison.

In September 2022, Hoadley, a former Caldwell Police Department Lieutenant, was convicted after a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Skavdahl.  The jury found Hoadley not guilty of willful deprivation of rights under color of law.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, while employed as a Lieutenant with the Caldwell Police Department, Hoadley used force against B.H. in Caldwell in 2017 while he was detained and handcuffed.  Hoadley falsified a subsequent police report detailing his actions during the incident.  In 2021, knowing that he was the target of an FBI investigation, Hoadley harassed and intimidated C.H. with the intent to dissuade him from cooperating with the FBI investigation.  In April 2022, after being indicted by a federal grand jury, Hoadley destroyed data on his city issued laptop and cellphone one day before turning them over to the acting Caldwell Police Chief, who had placed Hoadley on administrative leave because of the charges.

“This case is about an officer who criminally violated the oath he took to uphold the law,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit.  “In falsifying reports and tampering with a witness, the defendant offended the principles of the Caldwell Police Department and of law enforcement officers everywhere.  This case shows that we will not hesitate to hold accountable police officers who violate the law—just like we do for everyone else.  At the same time, it is important to emphasize that this investigation occurred because several Caldwell police officers refused to tolerate the defendant’s violations and stood up to his abuse of power.  The integrity and bravery of these officers is something that the community can be proud of.”

“As law enforcement, we are bound by an oath to serve all citizens with equal compassion, professionalism, dignity, and respect,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennis Rice of the Salt Lake City FBI.  “When a police officer commits a crime, it undermines the hard work of all officials and erodes the public’s trust. Today’s sentencing reinforces that no one is above the law.”

U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its thorough investigation and thanked the Caldwell Police Department for its cooperation.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Maine: A Belgrade man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for bank robbery.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Clinton Damboise, 47, to 98 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $3,179 in restitution. Damboise pleaded guilty on September 27, 2021.

According to court records, in September 2016, Damboise entered the Camden National Bank in Manchester, Maine, telling the teller, “This is a robbery, not a joke.” He gestured to the waistband of his jacket and said he had a gun. The teller handed Damboise cash, and he fled. Damboise, who was not wearing a mask, was identified by the teller and by the bank’s security camera footage.

The FBI, Maine State Police, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and Southington (Connecticut) Police Department investigated the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three more defendants have been indicted in a 10-person conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in northwest Missouri.

Kaden Bernard, 22, of St. Joseph, Mo., Raymundo Felix-Perez, 31, a citizen of Mexico who resided in Bethany, Mo., and Joshua Stramel, 26, of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a 13-count second superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 24, 2023.

That indictment replaced a previous indictment and retained seven co-defendants who previously had been charged: Craig Austin Troester, 24, and Cassidie Bumgarner, 21, both of Spickard, Mo., Troy Lee Palmer, 24, of Trenton, Mo., Dallas Hughs, 27, of St. Joseph, Jessica Nicole Moody, 30, of Bethany, Dakota Morris, 25, of Liberty, Mo., and Lucas Ryan Coltrain, 23, of Newtown, Mo.

The federal indictment alleges that Troester and Felix-Perez led the conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, for which all 10 defendants are charged, beginning on Oct. 27, 2020.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Troester, Felix-Perez, Bumgarner, Coltrain, and Moody are charged together in one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering from March 1, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2022. They allegedly collected proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy and wired the money to Sinaloa, Mexico.

Bernard is also charged with two counts of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, two count of distributing fentanyl, and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Bernard allegedly was in possession of an FNH .45-caliber pistol, an FNH 9mm pistol, and a Century Arms 7.62×39 pistol on March 17, 2022.

Palmer is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Palmer allegedly was in possession of a Cricket .22-caliber bolt-action rifle, a Rossi .22-caliber rifle, a Rossi .410-gauge shotgun, a Ruger .410-gauge shotgun, a Hiawatha 12-gauge shotgun, and a Ruger .223-caliber rifle on Dec. 8, 2020.

Hughs is also charged with three counts of distributing fentanyl.

Stramel is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Brackett. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Grundy County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Trenton, Mo., Police Department, the Northwest Missouri Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Mercer County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Grundy County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and IRS-Criminal Investigation.