Category: Legal Issues

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

LAREDO, Texas – A 23-year-old Laredo woman has been ordered to prison for her role in an unaccompanied minor smuggling ring, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Vanessa Valadez pleaded guilty Sept. 20, 2024, admitting she smuggled a child into the United States for financial gain.

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison has now ordered her to serve 18 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

“Those that choose to engage in the human trafficking business are not good people. They aren’t motivated by altruism or sympathy. They are paid to traffic in human beings, and they treat people they smuggle as nothing more than cargo,” said Ganjei. “The Southern District of Texas will not rest until all such smuggling rings—particularly those that deal in children—are completely eradicated.”

“The sentencing of this individual underscores the serious consequences for those who exploit and endanger vulnerable populations, especially children,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig S. Larrabee. “Drugging children to facilitate human smuggling is not only criminal it’s inhumane. HSI is committed to identifying and dismantling the criminal networks behind these horrific acts and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.”

From August to September 2023, Valadez and other family members operated a child smuggling ring working to bring young illegal minors from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into the United States. All the children were under the age of five. 

On the night of Sept. 19, 2023, members of the smuggling ring retrieved a young girl from a stash house which the organization members operated. The co-conspirators smuggled the girl across the border and delivered her to Valadez in downtown Laredo. Co-conspirators then took the child further into the United States and delivered her to unknown people.

Two days later, the ring attempted to transport another young girl. However, law enforcement intercepted them following a routine border inspection at the Juarez Lincoln Bridge in Laredo. To carry out their scheme, co-conspirators had sedated the girl with melatonin gummies and used an unlawfully obtained birth certificate to deceive authorities into believing the girl was a family member. 

The investigation revealed the smuggling ring had attempted to similarly transport at least four girls into the United States, three of whom remain unidentified and their whereabouts are unknown. Members of the smuggling ring obtained birth certificates of U.S. citizen children to pose as a family unit at ports of entry to the United States. At times, organization members used melatonin gummies to sedate at least one child to ensure a successful smuggling attempt. 

One text message uncovered in the investigation showed an image depicting an unconscious child and a caption, “La noquiamos con unas gomitas,” translated in English as “we knocked her out with some gummies.”

Co-conspirators Ana Laura Bryand, 47, Dallas; her niece Kayla Marie Bryand, 20, Jose Eduardo Bryand, 43, and Nancy Guadalupe Bryand, 44, all of Laredo; and Lizeth Esmeralda Bryand Arredondo, 32, Mexico, previously pleaded guilty and have all already been sentenced to federal prison.

ICE-HSI conducted the investigation with Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations and assistance from Border Patrol, Laredo Police Department, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General and FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence A. Check Jr. prosecuted the case. 

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ALBUQUERQUE – A Zuni man has been charged in federal court for allegedly stabbing another man without provocation, causing serious injuries.

According to court documents, on the night of June 16, 2025, Adrian Cheama, 36, an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, allegedly approached the victim while he was walking with a friend along a residential street in Zuni, New Mexico. Without provocation, Cheama stabbed the victim in the abdomen with a weapon described as either a circular metal pole or a knife, then walked away laughing. The victim sustained serious injuries as a result.

Multiple witnesses placed Cheama at the scene and described him carrying a backpack and a baton-like object before and during the attack. The investigation revealed that Cheama had previously made statements suggesting he was looking for the victim.

Cheama is charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon. He will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Cheama faces up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Jordan is prosecuting the case.

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

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his possession of a firearm recovered following a shooting in Joplin, Mo.

Andrew M. Reed, 22, was charged in a single count indictment with being a felon possession of a firearm. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint filed on July 2, 2025.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original complaint, police officers responded to the area of 5^th and Joplin Avenue in Joplin, Mo., on Feb. 15, 2025, in reference to gunshots, and recovered several spent cartridge casings in the area. Officers recovered a firearm with a thirty-round extended magazine loaded with ammunition consistent with the spent shell casings. Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed a male, later identified as Reed, hiding the firearm.

Reed has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.

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 Anthony M. Brown It was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.

Operation Take Back America

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

            WASHINGTON – Brigette O. Robertson of Washington, D.C. pled guilty today to violating the constitutional rights of a detained citizen by stomping on her face in June 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Joining in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office.

            U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich took Robertson’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for Oct. 21, 2025.  For the offense to which she pled guilty – a misdemeanor count of violating constitutional rights – the defendant faces a potential penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

            According to court documents, on June 24, 2023, Robertson was employed by Specific Protection Services, LLC., as a Special Police Officer (SPO). She was licensed in the District of Columbia to act and to carry out law enforcement actions as a SPO. That day, while in full uniform and vested with police powers, Robertson was assigned to and providing security services at a McDonald’s restaurant on the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE.

            At about 3:30 p.m., Robertson got into a verbal altercation with a patron at the restaurant.  The altercation escalated into a physical confrontation. Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the scene.  After the patron was under the control of an MPD officer, the patron remained prone on the ground.  Robertson stepped over the patron and, while doing so, stomped on the patron’s face. The stomp to the face caused the patron to experience pain and bleeding. The stomp was without legal justification and in violation of the individual’s constitutional rights.

Use-of-force investigations generally

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office reviews police-involved use of force to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to conclude that any officers violated either federal criminal civil rights laws or District of Columbia law. To prove civil rights violations, prosecutors must typically be able to prove that the involved officers willfully used more force than was reasonably necessary.  Proving “willfulness” is a heavy burden. Prosecutors must not only prove that the force used was excessive, but must also prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. 

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are investigated fully and completely.

            The FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department Internal Affairs Division investigated the case. Prosecuting the case is Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section.

25cr167

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ERIC HERMAN, 32, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 96 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for drug distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, following two fatal overdoses involving fentanyl in 2021, both of which are believed to be connected to Herman, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and Stratford Police Department began investigating Herman’s drug trafficking activities.  In May and June 2022, investigators made two controlled purchases of fentanyl, heroin, and crack cocaine from Herman.

Herman was arrested on September 15, 2022.  At the time of his arrest, he possessed a distribution quantity of cocaine, a loaded 9mm “ghost gun” with a laser sight attached, and additional rounds of ammunition.

Herman’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for drug and firearm offenses.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Herman has been detained since his arrest.  On March 24, 2025, he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base (“crack”), fentanyl, and heroin; one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon.

Herman pleaded guilty in state court to narcotics and manslaughter charges stemming from an overdose death investigation and was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment, suspended after eight years, and five years of probation.  Judge Bolden ordered Herman’s federal sentence to run concurrently with his state sentence.

The DEA’s HIDTA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford, and Stratford Police Departments.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for assaulting a postal worker.

Courtney J. Ellis, 45, was charged today in a one count indictment with assaulting an employee of the U.S. Postal Service while they were performing their official duties. Today’s indictment replaces a felony criminal complaint filed June 23, 2025.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original complaint, on June 18, 2025, Ellis struck the victim on the head with a wooden board while he was delivering mail to Ellis’s address. The victim, who was delivering mail along that route for the first time, was wearing a USPS uniform and driving a marked USPS delivery vehicle. After striking the victim, Ellis yelled that he didn’t belong in the neighborhood and followed him back to his vehicle where he continued to yell at and threaten the victim until he drove away.

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 Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in Greene County, Mo., and possessing firearms.

Russell Lee Deck, Jr., 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Wimes to a total sentence of 25 years in federal prison without parole, followed by three years of supervised release.

On Nov. 8, 2024, Deck pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Deck admitted he participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene County from June 1 to Aug. 25, 2022, and to possessing firearms.

The drug trafficking conspiracy ended when a Springfield police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Deck on Aug. 18, 2022. When the officer pulled behind Deck’s vehicle in a hotel parking lot and activated his lights, Deck put the car in reverse and rammed the officer’s vehicle. The officer got out of his vehicle, pulled his duty weapon, and ordered the vehicle’s occupants to stop. Instead, Deck drove forward, then put his vehicle in reverse and rammed the officer’s vehicle again before fleeing the parking lot.

A police pursuit ensued, with Deck driving at a high rate of speed in a residential neighborhood, while Deck’s passenger shot at the officer’s vehicle. The pursuit ended when Deck crashed into a Jeep SUV at an intersection. While the Jeep suffered significant damage, the innocent driver appeared to be unharmed. Deck’s passenger fled the crash on foot and was arrested after Greene County deputies found the passenger hiding under a car. Shell casings and damage from gunfire were located throughout the neighborhood.

Officers removed Deck from the wrecked vehicle and found two bags containing a total of 46.2 grams of methamphetamine in Deck’s pockets. Inside Deck’s vehicle, officers found two handguns on the front passenger side floorboard.

Deck’s passenger who fired the shots during the pursuit, Blake Basten, was sentenced in federal court to a total sentence of 10 years for two counts of felon in possession of a firearm on Feb. 27, 2024.

Deck’s co-defendant in the drug trafficking conspiracy, Justin Hollingsworth, was sentenced to a total sentence of 18 years for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on June 24, 2024.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Carey Ann Trotter, also known as “Carey Ann Metz-Wood,” 41, of Crab Orchard, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 1, 2024, Trotter possessed approximately 10.51 grams of methamphetamine and a total of 25.95 grams of para-fluorofentanyl, a synthetic opioid, in several packages. As part of her guilty plea, Trotter admitted that she intended to use some of the controlled substances and aid and abet another individual in the possession and distribution of controlled substances.

Trotter further admitted to possessing a Glock model 21 .45-caliber pistol, a CBC model 817 .17-caliber rifle, and a 26-round high-capacity magazine for .45-caliber ammunition. Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Trotter knew she was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of her prior felony conviction for delivery of oxycodone in Raleigh County Circuit Court on January 3, 2017.

Trotter is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a $5 million fine.

Trotter’s co-defendant, Joshua Mason Trotter, 44, of Crab Orchard, pleaded guilty on May 27, 2025, to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Joshua Mason Trotter admitted to possessing the Glock model 21 .45-caliber pistol and CBC model 817 .17-caliber rifle on July 1, 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2025.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.

United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

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. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-cr-22.

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