Category: FBI

In San Antonio, federal and state authorities arrested 43-year-old Seth Elred Perricone for distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney John F. Bash and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division, and Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

A federal complaint filed this morning, January 26, 2018, charged Perricone, of Canyon Lake, Texas, with one count of distribution of child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, from July 31, 2017 through January 21, 2018, the defendant transmitted several thousand files depicting the exploitation of children.

January 25, 2018, FBI agents and task force officers serving on the San Antonio Child Exploitation Task Force executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home in Canyon Lake and seized several digital devices belonging to the defendant, including a computer. A preliminary forensic examination of the computer revealed the presence of child pornography.

Upon conviction, Perricone faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing which is expected to occur next week in U.S. Magistrate court in San Antonio.

It is important to note that a criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Comal County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Tracy Thompson is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

An Albuquerque man wanted by the FBI for two bank robberies apparently committed suicide during a standoff with law enforcement Friday, January 26, 2018.

Christopher Tracy Schlarb, 44, was found dead of an apparent gunshot inside his residence in the 1500 block of Calle Sonrisa NE.

FBI special agents, supported by Albuquerque police officers, tried to arrest Schlarb on a federal complaint charging him with Albuquerque bank robberies committed on December 5, 2017, and January 11, 2018.

Schlarb refused to exit his residence, and after efforts by law enforcement to negotiate his surrender, a single gunshot inside the house was heard.

No law enforcement officers fired their weapons, and Schlarb was alone at the time.

An autopsy will be performed to officially determine the cause of death.

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office on Friday, January 26, 2018, won the conviction of a Lower 9th Ward man for illegally possessing a stolen gun while on federal parole as a felony offender.

Ernest Blackmon, 30, averted his trial scheduled for February 5, 2018 by pleading guilty Friday to illegal possession of a firearm by a felon and illegal possession of a stolen firearm. As part of a plea agreement, the state did not ask that Blackmon be sentenced as a multiple offender, sparing him a possible sentence of 20 years to life in prison.

Criminal District Judge Byron C. Williams sentenced Blackmon to 17 years—without the benefit of parole or probation—for the felon in possession of a firearm conviction. Blackmon received a five-year sentence for possession of a stolen gun, which Williams ordered to be served concurrently with the first sentence.

“It is troubling when a young man already given a second or third chance to become a contributing member of society instead opts for a different path,” Cannizzaro said. “Federal and state laws prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms exist to keep our community safer, and to reduce the temptation toward recidivism by those who otherwise would become so-called career criminals.”

Blackmon already was on parole after a federal conviction for the unlawful transport of firearms when authorities lawfully searched his residence in the 1600 block of Lizardi Street on May 11, 2016. During the search, agents discovered a stolen gun hidden inside a dresser drawer with other personal possessions belonging to Blackmon. Subsequent DNA testing confirmed that Blackmon had handled the stashed weapon. With his plea on Friday, Blackmon acknowledged the gun was his.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Napoli prosecuted the case. The investigation involved personnel from the FBI New Orleans Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force, the Louisiana State Police, the New Orleans Police Department and the Louisiana Department of Probation and Parole.

The FBI is seeking information from a bank robbery that took place January 25, 2018 at approximately 1:00 p.m. at an Ocean Bank branch located at 1801 West 4th Avenue, Hialeah, Florida.

The robber entered the bank and demanded money from a bank employee. There were customers in the bank at the time of the robbery. There were no injuries. The amount of money taken will not be released at this time.

If anyone has information as to the identity of this bank robber, they are urged to call the FBI at (754) 703-2000 or Crimestoppers.

Law Enforcement Seeking Public’s Assistance Identifying a Denver Area Bank Robber

The Denver Police Department and the FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force are investigating a bank robbery.

Bank of the West
2720 South Colorado Boulevard  
Denver, Colorado
January 23, 2018, 4:15 p.m.

The suspect is described as a white female, early 20s, approximately 5’2” tall, with a thin build. The suspect was wearing a black hat, dark sunglasses, black jacket, black pants, and tennis shoes.

Bank robbery is punishable by a 20-year prison sentence for each offense and increases if a dangerous weapon is used in the commission of the crime.

The FBI continues to provide financial institutions with the best practices for security to make them less vulnerable to robberies.

If anyone has any information on the bank robbery above, or any bank robbery, please call the FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force at 303-629-7171; or, you can remain anonymous and earn up to five thousand dollars ($2,000) by calling CRIMESTOPPERS at 720-913-STOP (7867).