Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Saquan Williams, 22, Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for conspiracy, first-degree murder while armed, participation in a criminal street gang, and other charges for his role in a 2017 brazen shooting into a courtyard in the Potomac Gardens area of Southeast Washington. A jury found Williams guilty on July 18, 2022.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Pamela A. Smith, Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            According to the government’s evidence, between May 2017 and October 2017, the defendant and others were members of a criminal street gang operating in the area of Wellington Park, within Washington, D.C. Williams, and others, were involved in a number of “beefs” with individuals from other areas of the city, many of which started as the result of petty feuds among local rival rap groups. 

            On Sept. 10, 2017, at approximately 6 p.m., as victim Carl Hardy was standing outside in the Potomac Gardens neighborhood, Williams and three others circled the neighborhood three times looking for individuals to target. On the fourth trip around the block, the vehicle stopped, and the driver paused to allow Williams and two other men to exit the vehicle armed with multiple weapons, to include an assault rifle. Williams and the two other shooters opened fire on the crowded courtyard, firing over 30 rounds and striking Mr. Hardy. The group then fled the scene.

            Mr. Hardy, 24, was transported to the hospital where doctors operated multiple times in their efforts to save him. Ultimately, on Oct. 1, 2017, Mr. Hardy succumbed to his injuries. Shortly after Mr. Hardy’s death, an arrest warrant was obtained for Williams charging him with the murder. A second shooter, Quincy Garvin, also was arrested and convicted at trial.  Garvin’s sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2023.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Chrisellen Kolb, Chief of the Appellate Division; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Sellinger, Daniel Lenerz, and Sharon Donovan; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris; Lead Paralegal Specialists Sharon Newman and Meridith McGarrity; Former Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Siegerist; Supervisory Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; Witness Security Specialist Ashli Tolbert; Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Litigation Technology Specialist Claudia Gutierrez; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators LaJune Thames and Maenylie Watson; and Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin. 

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jackson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney John Timmer, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Bach and Lindsey Merikas who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A Texas man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to 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 2020 presidential election.

            Billy Joe Gober, 65, of Smithville, Texas, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Gober is charged with several misdemeanor offenses as well, including, entering and remaining in restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

            Gober was arrested on Sept. 13, 2023, in Bastrop County, Texas, and made his initial appearance today in the Western District of Texas.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately 1:57 p.m., law enforcement authorities were attempting to maintain the police line on the south side of the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. During this time, Gober walked up a set of stairs to approach the police line, charged and struck a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer. A few seconds later, the officer removed Gober’s hands from their person, but Gober approached the line again and attempted to pull a police barricade away from another officer.

            A few minutes later, at approximately 2:04 p.m., a section of the police line on the south side of the Lower West Terrace was collapsing as a result of rioters’ repeated efforts to breach the line, including through the assault of multiple officers. At that time, Gober charged at another MPD officer, grabbed the officer’s baton, and attempted to take it.

            Using the baton, Gober then pulled the officer into the crowd of rioters. Once he had pulled the officer into the crowd, Gober grabbed and placed his arms around the officer.

            On January 11, three days after Gober’s flight back to Texas, he posted a photograph of himself in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

            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 Western District of Texas.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Antonio and Washington Field Offices, which identified Gober as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #333 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigations are 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – An Idaho woman was sentenced in the District of Columbia today on two felonies and four misdemeanors related to her actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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.

            Yvonne St Cyr, 55, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates to 30 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and fines. 

            St Cyr was found guilty by a jury on March 10, 2023, of the six charges filed against her, including two counts of obstructing and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, both felonies. In addition to the felonies, St Cyr was convicted of several misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

            According to the evidence presented at trial, St Cyr, a former Marine Corps drill instructor, traveled from Idaho to Washington, D.C., to attend a rally on Jan. 6, 2021. After leaving the rally, St Cyr went to the U.S. Capitol building, where she joined a crowd of rioters who occupied the Lower West Plaza. When she arrived at the Capitol, St Cyr forced her way to the front of the crowd and pushed her body against the police line barricades on the Lower West Plaza. Despite orders from police, St Cyr remained there for more than fifteen minutes, disobeying police commands to move.

            When the crowd ultimately overwhelmed the police officers in that area, St Cyr was one of the first rioters to break through the fence line. She then marched forward, eventually making her way into the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, where she witnessed vicious acts of violence against police officers. St Cyr entered the Tunnel twice and eventually climbed onto a ledge overlooking the crowd of rioters, which she filmed with her phone and shouted at the crowd, “We need fresh people” and “Push, push, push.”

            After leaving the Tunnel, St Cyr climbed through a broken window, entering a Senator’s hideaway room adjacent to the Tunnel. Once inside, St Cyr helped another rioter enter and made a livestreamed video of herself while occupying the room.

            This case was 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 District of Idaho.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City, Boise Resident Agency, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. 

            In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. 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

            WASHINGTON – An arraignment was held today for Edward Steven Monge, 22, of Beltsville, Maryland, on charges connected to his alleged role in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy. Monge and his co-conspirator, Jennifer Echeverria Flores, 26, of Silver Spring, Maryland, are named in an indictment charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl. Echeverria Flores is further charged with unlawful distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

            According to the charging documents, on five different occasions between February 17, 2023 and July 19, 2023, Echeverria Flores — who allegedly used Monge as her source of supply — sold a total of approximately 4,500 pills containing fentanyl to undercover agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. The pills are blue, marked “M” on one side, and “30” on the other side. DEA laboratory testing has confirmed that the pills contain fentanyl.

            Echeverria Flores was arrested on July 31, 2023, and has been ordered held without bond pending trial. On August 3, 2023, law enforcement agents arrested Monge in Hyattsville, MD, pursuant to an outstanding arrest warrant for him from Fairfax County, VA. Upon a search of Monge, officers found approximately 1,102 pills on his person, which field tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. Monge was arrested on a federal arrest warrant on September 11, 2023.

            The conspiracy charge carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison. The distribution charge carries a statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison with a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years. The charges also carry potential financial penalties. The minimum and maximum statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the DEA’s Washington Field Division and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Javier Urbina and Jordan Leiter of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            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

            WASHINGTON – A Tennessee man was sentenced today on eight felony and two misdemeanor charges 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 2020 presidential election.

            Joseph “Jose” Lino Padilla, 43, of Cleveland, Tennessee, was sentenced to 78 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in the District of Columbia. On May 3, Judge Bates found Padilla guilty, following a bench trial, on ten counts, among them two assaults on police officers, including one with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and obstruction of an official proceeding and related charges. In addition to the prison term, Judge Bates ordered Padilla to serve 24 months of supervised release and to pay restitution of $2,000.

            According to evidence presented in court, Padilla traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021. After he left the rally, Padilla made his way toward the U.S. Capitol building, arriving at the West Plaza at about 1:20 p.m. Here, he approached a line of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers who were standing behind a bike rack barricade. As he got closer, he berated the officers, calling them “traitors” and “oath breakers.”

            At one point, Padilla turned towards an officer and said that the officer was “following unconstitutional orders” and that the officer “had a duty to refuse unconstitutional orders.”

            Padilla, a former prison corrections officer, then repeatedly pushed against the bike racks, forced his way into the Tunnel, and threw a flagpole, striking an officer in the helmet. During the riot, Padilla messaged a family member, “I’ve been beaten. Sprayed and [tased]. Resting before I go in for more,” “Were pushing the door. Had to take a break,” and “It’s not a rally anymore it’s a revolution.” 

            In total, Padilla spent three hours on the West Front of the Capitol, breaking through police lines, rallying other rioters to join him, and relentlessly berating police.

            The day after the riot, Padilla posted on social media, “[T]he Declaration of Independence, one of our founding documents, specifically gave me the right to do what I did. ‘… it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,’” and “Yeah, I’m proud of what I did yesterday. It’s guns next, that’s the only way.”

            Padilla was arrested in Tennessee on Feb. 23, 2021.

            The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Knoxville and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigations are ongoing.

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