Month: March 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Patrick J. Freaney, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service (“USSS”), Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today that SILFREDO CASTILLO MARTINEZ was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and production of child pornography as well as receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography.  CASTILLO MARTINEZ will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Silfredo Castillo Martinez’s primary responsibility as a daycare provider was to watch over neighborhood children.  Instead, he allegedly abused that role in order to sexually exploit one of the minors under his care.  During the time when he was supposed to be protecting children, he also allegedly received, distributed, and possessed tens of thousands of images of child pornography.  Castillo Martinez’s alleged conduct was unconscionable, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect the children of our community.” 

USSS Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Freaney said: “The charges brought forth today allege reprehensible violation and exploitation committed by an individual who was expected to provide extraordinary trustworthiness and protection to the most vulnerable.  Our expert investigators and partners assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force have successfully brought this individual before our justice system to face these allegations.  I am thankful for their continued dedication and unending work in our shared investigative priority to keep our children safe from harm.”

FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “The crimes Castillo Martinez stands charged with today are nearly unimaginable.  As alleged, while operating a licensed day care facility, he enticed an 11-year-old child to engage in sexually-explicit conduct and made recordings of the conduct.  Our children are some of our society’s most vulnerable members, and protecting them from predators remains a top priority for the FBI.  We encourage anyone who believes they may have information relevant to this investigation to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.”

NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “This investigation highlights the most important function of law enforcement in our society: protecting the vulnerable against criminal predators who would seek to abuse, exploit, and harm them.  Today’s charges affirm, again, that the NYPD and our partners will never abate our efforts to keep children safe – and we will relentlessly pursue anyone who targets them.  To that end, I thank and commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District, the United States Secret Service, the New York Field Office of the FBI, and every investigator who worked on this important case.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:^[1]

From in or about July 2015 through in or about at least May 3, 2022, CASTILLO MARTINEZ operated a licensed daycare facility for children at his residence in the Bronx, New York (the “Daycare Facility”). 

From at least in or about May 2018 through at least in or about July 2018, CASTILLO MARTINEZ induced an 11-year-old minor (“Minor Victim-1”) who attended the Daycare Facility to engage in sexually explicit conduct at the Daycare Facility, and CASTILLO MARTINEZ recorded that conduct on his cellphone and camera.

On or about May 3, 2022, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at CASTILLO MARTINEZ’s residence and seized several electronic devices belonging to CASTILLO MARTINEZ.  Those devices contained, among other things, several images and a video containing child pornography depicting Minor Victim-1 and approximately 9,800 other images depicting child pornography.

*                *                *

CASTILLO MARTINEZ, 32, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison; and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 

The minimum and maximum potential penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Any individuals who believe they have information that may be relevant to this investigation should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or https://tips.fbi.gov.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the USSS’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the FBI, and the NYPD.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackie Delligatti is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

           Montgomery, Alabama – Today, United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced that William Kennedy Allen, II, 37, from Montgomery, Alabama, received a 23-year prison sentence for carjacking and federal gun crimes. The judge also ordered that Allen serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

            According to Allen’s plea agreement and other court records, on August 9, 2021, an Alabama State Trooper attempted to stop a motorcycle traveling through Chilton County on Interstate 65 with no tag. The motorcycle driver, later found to be Allen, refused to stop and accelerated to speeds in excess of 140 miles per hour. The trooper followed and the pursuit continued as Allen exited the interstate and drove into a Clanton mobile home park. There, Allen abandoned the motorcycle and fled on foot. By this time, other law enforcement officers were assisting in the pursuit. One officer caught up with Allen and took him to the ground. Once on the ground, Allen discharged a shot from a pistol he was holding in his hand. Luckily, the bullet did not strike anyone.

            Roughly one month later, on September 10, 2021, agents with the United States Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force were looking for Allen to arrest him pursuant to a state warrant. Agents observed Allen driving in east Montgomery and attempted to block Allen’s car with their vehicles. Allen rammed the law enforcement vehicles and struck at least two other cars before leaving his vehicle behind and running through an assisted living facility located off Taylor Road. Allen then stepped into the middle of Taylor Road and forced a man out of his truck by pointing a gun at him. Once the man was out, Allen sped away in the victim’s vehicle. Next, Allen drove to Tuskegee and stopped at a gas station. There, he approached a man who was getting into his car. Allen grabbed the car door handle and put a gun in the man’s midsection, then Allen drove away in the vehicle. Law enforcement officers responding to the Tuskegee carjacking pursued Allen on Interstate 85. Eventually, Allen crashed the second stolen car and officers then took him into custody.    

           On September 1, 2022, Allen pleaded guilty to carjacking, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. On March 8, 2023, the judge imposed the 23-year sentence.

           “The disregard for the safety of others in this case is disturbing,” stated United States Attorney Stewart. “During just a few weeks, Allen endangered the lives of so many individuals.  I am grateful for the combined effort of the local, state, and federal law enforcement officials involved.  Together, they apprehended a dangerous person and made multiple communities safer as a result.” 

            The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Clanton Police Department, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Montgomery Police Department, and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Justin L. Jones prosecuted this case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Became Known for Carrying Tamborine During Breach

            WASHINGTON – A New York woman was found guilty in the District of Columbia today of felony and misdemeanor charges for her actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Sara Carpenter, 53, of Richmond Hill, New York was found guilty yesterday after a trial in U.S. District Court of civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, both felonies, and five misdemeanors. U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg scheduled sentencing for July 14, 2023.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, 2021, Carpenter, who once served as a police officer in New York City, was captured on CCTV in the Capitol Rotunda and elsewhere. Carpenter confronted a line of police officers inside the Capitol, shook her tambourine and screamed “I’m a f**** animal,” pushed up against the officers who were guarding a hallway to the Senate chamber, and also slapped the arms of law enforcement officers who were trying to hold her back from further intruding into the Capitol. Despite being told to leave, and despite enduring the effects of chemical irritants, Carpenter remained in the Capitol for 34 minutes. Upon exiting, Carpenter stated: “The breach was made. It needs to calm down now. Congress needs to come out. They need to certify Trump as president. This is our house.” Before exiting, Carpenter raised and shook her tambourine above her head. .

            Carpenter was arrested on March 23, 2021, in Jamaica, New York.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s New York Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Metropolitan Police Department. 

            In the 26 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 999 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, TN – Preston Antwan McNeal, 36, of Jackson, Tennessee, was found guilty on four counts of a seven-count indictment and sentenced to 35 years for trafficking methamphetamine. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today.

According to U.S. Attorney Ritz and information presented in court, from 2016 to 2019, McNeal formed, and was the leader, of a large methamphetamine trafficking operation in West Tennessee. In 2017, as the Lexington Police Department conducted a traffic stop on McNeal’s vehicle, he threw a bag containing 44 grams of methamphetamine, 16 grams of cocaine, and one gram of crack cocaine into a nearby yard. A total of $1,281 in cash, a drug ledger, and a digital scale were found in the car.

In 2019, the Chester County Sheriff’s Department arrested McNeal at a traffic stop. The deputy searched the vehicle and found a baggie under the driver’s seat containing 14.3 grams of methamphetamine, plus $3,000 in cash in the front passenger floorboard. A total of 57.34 grams of methamphetamine was recovered. The passenger of the car testified at trial that McNeal gave her four baggies of methamphetamine to hide on her person. One of McNeal’s co-conspirators also testified that from late 2017 until February 2019, McNeal provided the witness with over 5 kilograms of methamphetamine for redistribution.

United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced McNeal to 420 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Lexington Police Department, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Davis and Josh Morrow, who prosecuted this case for the government, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case.

###

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

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Darryl Colton Frazer, age 34, of Silver Spring, Maryland, yesterday to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for gun and drug conspiracy charges and for violation of supervised release.  Frazer was convicted of those charges on November 3, 2022, after a three-day trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).

According to the evidence presented at trial, on July 25, 2019, MCPD officers approached Frazer and co-defendant Shamire Moore after noting that Moore appeared to match the description of an individual involved a recent shooting.  When Frazer and Moore saw the officers, they ran into a nearby residential area.  Officers followed them and found Frazer in a nearby apartment building’s open stairwell attempting to enter an apartment.

Witnesses testified that Frazer was ordered to stop and to drop a black bag that he was carrying.  Instead, Frazer threw the black bag from the stairwell into an adjacent courtyard.  The black bag was immediately recovered by police, and Frazer was arrested.  The black bag contained: a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol; 103 grams of marijuana packaged into four separate plastic bags; a digital scale, and latex gloves. 

At the time of his arrest, Frazer was on supervised release for a previous federal conviction for unlawful weapons possession and had only finished his sentence for that offense the month before.  Frazer knew that as a result of his previous conviction, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. 

Shamire Moore pleaded guilty just before trial.  According to Moore’s plea agreement, officers found Moore lying on the ground in a nearby wooded area.  They ordered Moore to stand up and surrender, but instead, Moore scaled a fence and jumped onto an adjacent government property.  Moore was eventually caught and arrested after a struggle.  The black bag that Moore was carrying contained a loaded .38 caliber revolver, 106 grams of marijuana packaged into four separate plastic bags inside a larger Ziploc bag, and a digital scale, among other items.  During a search of Moore’s clothing and effects, law enforcement also recovered $579 in cash, which represented proceeds of Moore’s drug trafficking offense.  Moore admitted that he possessed the marijuana with intent to distribute it and that the firearm was in furtherance of drug trafficking since it was intended, at least in part, to defend his drug inventory and drug proceeds.

Shamire Moore, age 31, of Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced on March 7, 2023, to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

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.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam K. Ake, Joel Crespo and Patrick D. Kibbe, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psn and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #