Month: March 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

           CONCORD – Bradford Sargent, 41, of Hampton, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

           According to court documents and statements made in court, Sargent and his co-defendant Jennelle Brown sold drugs multiple times from their hotel room in Portsmouth.  Law enforcement then searched their room and uncovered large quantities of money, drugs, and drug ledgers.  A search of two vehicles the defendants used in their drug operations revealed more money and drugs.  Officers also searched storage units and safety deposit boxes the defendants controlled and discovered additional money and drugs.  In total, law enforcement seized over $130,000, 1.3 kilograms of fentanyl, almost 650 grams of methamphetamine, and smaller amounts of cocaine.

            Sargent is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6, 2023.  Brown previously pleaded guilty on January 18, 2023, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, 2023. 

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Strafford County Sheriff’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Jarad Hodes.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you Ro for that kind introduction.

On behalf of the Department of Justice, I am pleased to welcome you to this event on advancing people-centered justice, the rule of law and democracy. A huge thank you to our colleagues at USAID for organizing this event. It is a pleasure and honor to be here with Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman, our esteemed panelists, and Maha Jweied, who paved the way as a former leader of the Office for Access to Justice.

Thank you to the Dominican Republic and Kosovo for heading the Summit for Democracy Cohort on People Centered-Justice and Ambassador Guzmán who was with us earlier today.  As my father was born in Santo Domingo and I’m headed there next week to see family, it is so inspiring to see your leadership on access to justice issues.

The Office for Access to Justice works to ensure that all communities have access to the promises and protections of our legal systems and government—that justice does not depend on your income, age, gender, status, identity, ability or the language you speak.

Our office serves as the central authority on access to justice before international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. We also lead the U.S. government’s effort to implement UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, ensuring equal access to justice for all, and building transparent institutions.

So what does it mean to pursue the rule of law and to strengthen democracy through people-centered justice?

Respect for the rule of law is a fundamental pillar to ensure strong democracies around the world. It bounds democracies together by universal principles of due process, fairness, dignity, and equality. But when communities do not equally experience the protections promised by government and our laws, it creates a lack of trust and erodes the strength of the rule of law. It also undermines our collective safety and security.

A people-centered approach starts with humility, and an acknowledgement that these structural inequities exist. Indeed, our legal systems have failed too many people. And it requires consistent centering of the voices of the people, particularly the voices of historically underserved and marginalized communities.

For example, in the U.S., some studies have shown that up to 55% of people who come into contact with the criminal justice system end up back in the system again. In developing policy solutions to reduce this cycle, the Office for Access to Justice worked with people who had previously been incarcerated to host a reentry simulation for officials from across the U.S. government.

This simulation allowed government leadership to better understand the complex barriers faced by people who have a criminal conviction, including in obtaining employment and education and in accessing basic needs like housing, healthcare and food security, hurdles that frequently cycle people back into the criminal justice system.

Our office also prioritized people centered approaches through the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable. We direct and staff the Roundtable – a collaboration of 28 U.S. federal agencies to pursue access to justice across government, co-chaired by Attorney General Garland and White House Counsel Stuart Delery. The Roundtable just last week released our 2022 report focused on the simplification of government forms, processes, and language so that all people can more easily access federal resources. Most importantly, the report creates a roadmap to simplifying access that starts with understanding community experiences, needs and barriers, and then proposes the development of simplification efforts directly informed by that feedback.

And most recently, the Department of Justice celebrated 60 years since the U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing the right to counsel in criminal cases, Gideon v. Wainwright, by launching a country-wide tour to hear from those on the ground doing the work of making that right a reality. High-level Justice Department officials joined me in visits with public defenders, impacted communities and advocates across the United States, from urban cities, to southern, midwestern, tribal and rural areas. We heard about barriers to ensuring effective access to legal aid and announced a number of actions in response.

When we trust the experiences of the communities we serve, solicit their ideas and carefully tailor responsive strategies, we can form honest and empowering partnerships and invest together in lasting solutions. And this builds trust in government, confidence in the rule of law, and more resilient democratic governance.

We know that much more must be done to expand people-centered justice. And we welcome opportunities to learn from our global partners, because we frequently face the same challenges. To further our collaboration with like-minded partners in pursuit of these goals, we are pleased that the United States will join the Justice Action Coalition, which is a group of like-minded governments and partners working together to champion equal access to justice for all. The Department of Justice will support membership of the United States in the Coalition, including by offering U.S. best practices and engagement with partners.

I also look forward to traveling soon to Ghana with the Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training to learn more about U.S. assistance to Ghana’s Legal Aid Commission. We will use this visit to consider additional types of support for — and partnership — with Ghana to examine legal defense issues globally.

Our continued work in this area requires collaboration from the many stakeholders with us today. In sharing the examples I’ve highlighted, I hope we can inspire further change and learn from others.

This sentiment was echoed in President Biden’s 2022 National Security Strategy, which states, “Our democracy is a work in progress—and by reckoning with and remedying our own shortcomings, we can inspire others around the world to do the same.” We all have a stake in transforming our society and building fairer and more just democracies here at home and abroad.

Thank you again for this opportunity to join you. Now, I’m happy to welcome Deputy Administrator Colemen.  

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On March 22, 2023, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a six-count indictment charging 22 individuals with drug trafficking in the municipalities of Sabana Grande, San Germán, Lajas, and Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau Aguadilla Strike Force are in charge of the investigation, with the collaboration of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the United States Marshals Service (USMS), the Mayagüez Strike Force, Mayagüez Homicide Division, and the Mayagüez District Attorney. This arrest operation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program.

The indictment alleges that from 2019 to the date of the return of the indictment, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin, cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, marihuana, Fentanyl, Tramadol, Oxycodone (Percocet), and Alprazolam (Xanax) in Majinas Ward, Las Guaras Ward, Cerro Gordo Ward, José A. Castillo Public Housing Project (PHP) in the municipality of Sabana Grande; Sabana Eneas Ward in the municipality of San Germán; Sabana Yeguas Ward in the municipality of Lajas; Parabueyon Ward in the municipality of Cabo Rojo, and areas nearby for significant financial gain and profit.

“The charges in this case reflect the Justice Department’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking organizations that sow violence and fear in our communities. We will continue to work closely alongside our law enforcement partners to dismantle criminal organizations throughout Puerto Rico and break the cycle of violence that they perpetuate,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

“When I first came to San Juan, I said that violent crime would be amongst our top priorities. Today, I want to thank my FBI Aguadilla Team for helping me make good on that promise,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph González. “There will always be more work to be done, but this takedown dismantled an extremely violent criminal enterprise, which controlled most of the drug trafficking operations in the SW of Puerto Rico, with no regard for human life and no respect for law enforcement. I want to thank the USAO, IRS, USMS, PRPB Mayagüez Strike Force, USPIS, DEA, HSI, CBP and the Mayagüez District Attorney’s Office, for their assistance in this investigation and their continued support to the FBI mission.”

As part of the conspiracy, the members acted in different roles to further the goals of the conspiracy, including acting as leaders, enforcers, runners, sellers, and facilitators. The defendants had access to different vehicles which they used to transport money, narcotics, and firearms. They offered delivery services to their clients; they would meet up with clients at parking lots or wherever it was convenient to their customers.

The members of the gang used force, violence, and intimidation to maintain control of the areas in which they operated. Twenty-one defendants are also facing a charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The defendants are:

José Alberto Pagán-Casiano, a/k/a “Pito Cansio”

Victor Galindo-Padilla, a/k/a “Junito”

John M. Hernández-Méndez, a/k/a “El Buster”

Terril Rivera-Calder, a/k/a “TJ”

Julio Argenis Figueroa-Martínez, a/k/a “Argenis”

Renty A. Areizaga-García

Alexander Rivera-Casiano, a/k/a “Papal”

Gustavo González-González, a/k/a “Gotay/GTA/Negro/Tavo”

Christian Belén-Silva, a/k/a “Belén”

Michael Nazario-Rivera, a/k/a “Michael Bolso/El Pri”

Yomvier Torres-Ruiz

Jaime Rodríguez-Juliá

Victor Casiano-Alameda, a/k/a “Junito”

Rodney A. Santiago-Ramírez

Gabriel Olmeda-Mercado, a/k/a “Rasta”

Justin Carlo-Padilla, a/k/a “Donald Trump”

José M. Rodríguez-Torres, a/k/a “JM”

Alex Ramírez-Sánchez, a/k/a “Pote”

Axel Vélez-Denizac, a/k/a “Axel el Enano”

Shariel Mercado-González

Yehudy Toro-Vargas

Francisco Ayala-Vega, a/k/a “Cabra/Sico”

If convicted, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne Cordero-Romo from the Gang Section is in charge of the prosecution of the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

ANCHORAGE – An Eagle River man was arrested today in Illinois on criminal charges related to his alleged trafficking of firearms from Alaska to California.

According to court documents, Cornelius Leon William Smith, 32, purchased 9 firearms on behalf of other individuals while falsely stating that he was the true purchaser, bought a gun in Alaska and then re-sold it to a California resident, and operated a firearms business, all without the proper license.

Smith is charged with one count of Engaging in the Business of Dealing Firearms Without a License, one count of Transferring a Firearm to an Out-of-State Resident, and nine counts of False Statement During Purchase of Firearms. If convicted, Smith faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Accused of Assaulting Officers With Chemical Irritant

            WASHINGTON — A South Carolina man has been arrested on felony charges, including assaulting a law enforcement officer, for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His 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.

            Thomas Andrew Casselman, 29, of Walhalla, South Carolina, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds or buildings, all felonies, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol building. He was arrested this morning in Walhalla and made his initial appearance in the District of South Carolina before Magistrate Judge Kevin McDonald.

            According to court documents, Casselman is seen in images from Jan. 6, 2021, published widely, wearing a dark grey cap with design on the front, black face mask, American flag gaiter or scarf around the neck, black jacket, and backpack while in the crowd on the west side of the Capitol Building. Body Worn Camera (BWC) footage from D.C. Metropolitan Police officers as well as open-source video footage show Casselman spraying law enforcement officers with an orange colored spray, presumed to be a chemical irritant, specifically, bear spray. A victim of the use of this chemical irritant also described the spray as bear spray.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Columbia, South Carolina Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Casselman as #363 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 26 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 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.

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