Category: Office of United States Attorneys

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

            WASHINGTON – Three men pleaded guilty yesterday to felony charges related to their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their 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.

            Kyle Kumer, 43, of Kansas City, Missouri and William “Jessie” Stover, 46, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to one count of civil disorder, a felony. Alan Michael St. Onge, 36, of Brevard, North Carolina pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to two counts of civil disorder, a felony. U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols will sentence Stover on May 3, 2024, and St. Onge and Kumer on May 17, 2024.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, beginning at 2:42 p.m., numerous members of the mob illegally assembled on the Capitol grounds and attacked members of the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) who were lawfully engaged in the performance of their official duties defending an entrance to the U.S. Capitol on the Lower West Terrace known as the “Tunnel.”

            The Tunnel was the site of some of the most violent attacks against police on January 6^th.  Over the course of more than two hours, the mob struck police with thrown items, sprayed police with chemical irritants, pushed against the police, and stole items from the police defending the Tunnel. St. Onge, Kumer, and Stover were members of the mob that relentlessly pushed against police officers in the Lower West Terrace tunnel to breach the line of law enforcement defending Congress. St. Onge also pushed against the line of police officers in the West Plaza prior to the police line falling in that location.

            St. Onge initially approached the Capitol from the east before moving to the West Front of the Capitol. At approximately 2:12 p.m., as officers in the West Plaza were resisting the efforts of the mob to overcome the police line there, St. Onge pushed against the police barricade and the police who were trying to resist the rioters’ efforts. After the police line fell on the West Front, St. Onge made his way up the Inaugural Stage before arriving at the Lower West Terrace tunnel. St. Onge was initially outside the entrance to the tunnel beginning at 2:55 p.m.  At 3:09 p.m., St. Onge made his way further into the tunnel and joined in with the crowd’s concerted push against the police line. Specifically, surveillance video footage captured images of St. Onge pushing, with great effort, against other rioters in an attempt to collectively breach the police line. At approximately 3:18 p.m., the police inside the tunnel gained momentum and successfully pushed the rioters, including St. Onge, out of the tunnel. St. Onge was arrested June 16, 2023, in Brevard, N.C. 

            Kumer, accompanied by his mother, made this way up to the Lower West Terrace and onto the Inaugural Stage at about the same time. As the crowd began to push in unison against the police line at 3:08 p.m., Kumer turned his body so that his back was pushing up against the rioters between him and the police and began to push against them. As he pushed, Kumer called out, “Let’s go! C’mon! Let’s go!” to the rioters around them to encourage them to join the push against the police.  At 3:11 p.m., another group push began in the tunnel against the police. Kumer joined in again. This group push effort caused a MPD officer to be crushed between the crowd and the door. At 3:15 p.m., numerous rioters left the tunnel leaving ample open space for Kumer and his mother to also leave, but they remained in the tunnel. At  3:16 p.m., another group push effort was made against the police line by the rioters inside the tunnel. Kumer joined again. By 3:18 p.m., the police inside the tunnel succeeded in pushing all of the rioters back to the entrance of the tunnel. Kumer and his mother were two of the last rioters to be cleared from inside the tunnel. Kumer was arrested June 21, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.

            Stover arrived at the tunnel entrance at 3:16 p.m. and joined with others in the fracas to push again the police line. Stover, along with the other rioters, was eventually expelled from the tunnel entrance by police. But Stover returned with others to push against police, this time grabbing onto the side of the tunnel entrance to leverage his weight and increase his force. Stover then reached over the heads of the other rioters to grab the helmet of a police officer. Moments later, Stover received a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield which he then handed to another rioter who climbed up behind him. That rioter took the shield from Stover and used it to attack police. Stover remained at the entrance to the tunnel as the rioters fought police for 20 more minutes. At about 4:10 p.m., he was pushed away from the mouth of the tunnel by the crowd. Stover was arrested July 10, 2023, in Elizabethtown, Ky.

            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 Offices for the Western District of North Carolina, the Western District of Missouri, and the Western District of Kentucky.

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

            In the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 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: Office of United States Attorneys

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Britney Sheppard Campbell, 36, of Union, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to production of child sex abuse materials.

Evidence presented to the court showed that from January 2014 to 2016, at the request of her boyfriend, Campbell agreed to create child sex abuse materials. In the course of a babysitting job, Campbell performed sexual acts on an infant, filmed the acts, and provided the images to her boyfriend. She also agreed to perform and record sex acts with an Alzheimer’s patient for whom she provided care.

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the boyfriend’s home based on information that he was receiving and sending child sex abuse materials. With the seizure of his computer, law enforcement discovered the images of Campbell and the victim. Campbell admitted to the production of the materials. Her boyfriend died before the investigation was complete.

United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain sentenced Campbell to 300 months imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Watkins is prosecuting the case.

###

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Desha Cooper (32, Ocoee) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Cooper entered a guilty plea on October 24, 2023.

According to court records, on the night of February 3, 2023, an officer from the Orlando Police Department conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle that Cooper was driving. The officer observed a loaded firearm on the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle, and Cooper fled on foot. The United States Marshals Service later located and arrested Cooper. At the time of his arrest, Cooper, a previously convicted felon, was in possession of a second loaded firearm. As a convicted felon who previously served time in federal prison for a firearm offense, Cooper is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with valuable assistance from the Orlando Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Varadan.  

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

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Three defendants pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Communicate a False Distress Signal and False Statements in US Coast Guard hoax call case.

Pursuant to court filings, on June 28, 2022, Harold Carrión Butter, while trying to evade local authorities regarding a domestic violence case, purposefully hid himself in an attempt to make it seem like he was swept out to sea at La Poza Del Obispo in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Carrión Butter called his mother, Justinita Butter who, after several phone conversations with her son, called local 9-1-1. She falsely reported that her son had not been answering his phone and was missing from the beach at Poza Del Obispo in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.  Her 9-1-1 call was transferred to United States Coast Guard (USCG) Sector San Juan, which immediately began to coordinate a search and rescue operation for Carrión Butter.  Throughout that night and following two days, through multiple phone calls with Coast Guard Officers, Justinita Butter and Miriam Delgado-Serrano, made multiple false claims that Carrión Butter did not have a phone, must have been swept out to sea, and that there was no other place he could be. All these claims were made while they were both in continuous and surreptitious communication with Carrión Butter through multiple phone calls and text messages.

On July 1, 2022, Carrion Butter was discovered by local Puerto Rico police, in a location near his family home.  The USCG subsequently ended its search and rescue operation, after having diverted multiple ships, boats, and aircraft from other potential search and rescue missions and criminal-interdictions, and after having expended over $1,000,000 in assets and resources in the search.

Defendant #1 Harold Carrión Butter plead guilty to Count One of the Indictment, Conspiracy to Communicate a False Distress Signal. He was sentenced in December 2023 to time served; approximately 18 months of imprisonment served. He is currently incarcerated at the state level and facing other charges.

Justintia Butter, who was scheduled for trial beginning February 5, 2024, plead guilty on Friday, January 26. She plead guilty to Count Four which was Making a False Statement. Specifically, when USCG personnel were speaking on the phone with Ms. Butter on the morning of June 29, 2022, they asked Ms. Butter for Harold’s phone number. She told CG personnel that Harold didn’t have a phone and did not provide his number. The sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2024.

Defendant #3 Miriam Delgado Serrano also plead guilty to Count One of the Indictment. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 1, 2024. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“Federal, state and local authorities take all threat-to-life matters very seriously,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “However, when individuals make false reports to law enforcement, endangering first responders, other citizens, and wasting resources, they will be prosecuted and held accountable for their criminal conduct.”

“I commend the efforts of all interagency responders who did their utmost to find Mr. Butters as well as the efforts and diligence from all the investigative authorities that led to three arrests and justice being served in this case,” said Capt. José E. Díaz, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander.  “Hoax search and rescues cases are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated, the consequences could be deadly, as first responders and valuable assets are placed at risk to search for survivors during a false distress alert.  A prolonged hoax search and rescue situation, like the one in this case, could easily prevent people from receiving critical emergency response and lifesaving assistance that may be required to save lives in a real emergency.”

The US Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the case.

USCG Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Helena B. Daniel from the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting the case.

###

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

TYLER, Texas– A Tyler man has been sentenced to federal prison for firearms and drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.

Juan Espinoza, Jr., 27, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a crime of family violence and possession with intent to distribute marijuana and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on Jan. 31, 2024.

According to information presented in court, on Feb. 16, 2022, a federal search warrant was executed at Espinoza’s Tyler residence during which officers discovered approximately 4,600 grams of marijuana, 476 grams of Psilocybin, five semi-automatic pistols, a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun, multiple rounds of ammunition, and $12,145.00 in cash.  Espinoza was convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in Smith County in 2016 and prohibited by federal law of possessing firearms or ammunition.      

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.

# # #

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

COEUR D’ALENE – Jimmy Winebrenner, 79, of Post Falls, was sentenced for using or trafficking in unauthorized access devices in relation to an unemployment insurance scheme, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.

According to court records, in Spring 2020, Winebrenner began receiving unemployment benefits cards in the mail from various state agencies, including cards from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR).  The unemployment benefit cards were debit cards and preloaded with unemployment benefit funds issued in other persons’ names. Winebrenner was specifically sentenced for using a debit card issued in another person’s name and obtaining $14,830 at an ATM in Coeur d’Alene from the debit card.  Winebrenner did so with the intent to defraud.  Between July and August 2020, Winebrenner obtained $81,180 from Nevada DETR debit cards issued in other persons’ names. 

Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Winebrenner to serve five years of probation, and to pay restitution in the amount of $81,180 to the Nevada DETR.

U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the United States Postal Inspection Service for its investigation, which led to the charges.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Mazorol prosecuted the case.

###

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City, Utah, returned an indictment today charging a Netherlands national, living in Arizona, with multiple federal charges, including interference with a flight crew. 

According to court documents, Darnel Silver Collins, 19, of Surprise, Arizona, was a passenger onboard a Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City, who allegedly engaged in unruly and abusive behavior one hour after takeoff. Collins continued to cause problems and had to be consistently monitored for the remaining nine hours of the flight. 

According to witnesses, Collins was loud, disruptive, threatening and abusive to other passengers and crew members. Throughout the flight, Collins’ behavior escalated and he eventually had to be restrained. As alleged in the complaint, during the flight, Collins began following and touching multiple passengers. At one point, Collins approached a female passenger as she was exiting the restroom. Collins grabbed onto the female passenger’s arm and did not release her until another passenger and flight crew member intervened. Approximately eight passengers were moved from the area around Collins seat to avoid further problems. Eventually, Collins was moved to the very back row of the aircraft. Collins spit on a passenger striking at least two other people with his saliva and he continued to touch passengers as they walked by. Due to his continued unwanted touching of other passengers, Collins was physically restrained in flexicuffs by the flight crew. He was taken into custody upon arrival at Salt Lake City International Airport. Collins is in the United States on a P1 Visa (National/International athletes and performers). Collins is a minor league baseball player and is sponsored by the Kansas City Baseball Corporation. He travels between the U.S. and the Netherlands during the baseball off-season. 

Collins is charged with interference with a flight crew and assault by striking, beating, and wounding in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. His initial court appearance on the indictment is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. 

U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.

An FBI Task Force Officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department is investigating the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael Kennedy of the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. 

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: Office of United States Attorneys

            WASHINGTON – Joly Germine, 31, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, the self-described “King” of a notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo, pleaded guilty today to his role in a gunrunning conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws, and the laundering of ransoms paid for U.S. hostages to the gang in 2021. The conspiracy resulted in the purchase in the United States of at least twenty-four firearms, including AK-47s, AR-15s, an M4 Carbine rifle, an M1A rifle, and a .50 caliber rifle, described by the ATF as a military weapon, which were smuggled from the United States to the gang in Haiti for their criminal activities. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office. Co-defendant Eliande Tunis, 45, of Pompano Beach, Florida, pled guilty on January 17, 2024, to the same offenses.

            The plea came at the end of the government’s case during trial, after the twenty-four witnesses and two weeks of evidence. Germine, a Haitian national, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge John D. Bates to the 48-count second superseding indictment. The indictment charged Germine with conspiring to violate U.S. export control laws and to defraud the United States, violating export control laws, smuggling, and laundering the proceeds of ransoms paid to free U.S. hostages taken by the gang and laundering money to promote his crimes. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 15, 2024.]

            Germine’s co-defendant and former girlfriend Tunis, who style herself as his “wife” and was described at trial as the “Queen”, pled guilty on the eve of trial on January 16, 2024, to the same 48-count indictment. She also faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced on May 8, 2024. Another co-defendant, Jocelyn Dor, age 31, who acted as a straw gun purchaser for Germine and Tunis, previously pled guilty on October 30, 2023, and will be sentenced on February 28, 2024.

            “Violent gangs have ravaged Haiti, and, all too often, Americans in Haiti have been targets of their violence,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “These two defendants not only helped lead a prominent violent gang in Haiti, but they were also intimately involved in arming the gang and laundering ransom proceeds the gang obtained from kidnapping Americans.  Preventing them from illegally shipping anymore firearms or laundering the proceeds of kidnappings strikes a critical blow against the gang they once led.”

            “Violent, well-armed gangs pose an ongoing threat to U.S. Citizens who live in or travel to Haiti,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, of the Miami Field Office. “As Joly Germine and Eliande Tunis have just learned, the FBI is dedicated to disrupting and dismantling gangs who undertake hostage-taking of U.S. Citizens anywhere. This includes taking away their ability to wreak violence on the innocent using smuggled firearms.”

            According to the evidence the government presented at trial, from at least March through November 2021, Germine, Tunis, and two co-defendants conspired with each other and with other gang members in Haiti to acquire and supply firearms to the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti. Germine directed the gang’s operations from a Haitian prison using unmonitored cell phones, including directing gang members in Haiti to transfer money to Tunis and others in the United States for the purpose of obtaining firearms for the gang. Germine then provided Tunis and the two other U.S.-based co-defendants, all Florida residents, specifications for firearms and ammunition that Germine and other gang leaders wanted sent to Haiti. Tunis and the two co-defendants then purchased at least 24 rifles, handguns, and a shotgun at Florida gun shops while falsely stating that they were the “actual buyers” of the firearms, when they were in fact acting as straw purchasers for Germine. In approximately May 2021, Tunis smuggled firearms and ammunition to Haiti in containers disguised as food and household goods. In October 2021, Tunis shipped additional firearms and ammunition to Haiti, again by smuggling the firearms, but those firearms were seized by the FBI before they left the United States.  

            400 Mawozo is a violent Haitian gang that operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. From at least January 12, 2020, 400 Mawozo was engaged in armed hostage takings of U.S. citizens in Haiti for ransom. The victims have generally been forced from their vehicles at gunpoint and kept in various locations by armed gang members while their relatives and colleagues negotiate payment for their release.  At trial, the government presented evidence that the gang received ransom payments from the hostage taking of three U.S. citizens in the summer of 2021, who testified at trial, and the cash ransom proceeds were commingled with the gangs’ funds and transferred via MoneyGram and Western Union from the United States to Haiti to buy more firearms. In the fall of 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang claimed responsibility for taking 16 U.S. citizens hostage, including five children, and one Canadian citizen who were part of a missionary organization visiting an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The gang demanded a ransom of $l million for each hostage. The hostages escaped on or about December 16, 2021. This case does not address those hostage taking charges, for which Germine has been separately indicted in Case No. 22-cr-161 (DDC).

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Field Office, with assistance the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Haitian National Police, the government of Haiti, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Kimberly Paschall and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Eric Chandler Watson plead guilty to one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country. Watson, 22, of Tohatchi, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

According to court records, on the morning of December. 9, 2022, Watson confronted a family member outside of a shared residence in Tohatchi, New Mexico. The confrontation escalated to a physical altercation, at which time Watson’s uncle, John Doe, stepped in to stop the fight. Watson and John Doe began to fight instead, and John Doe’s parents stepped in to stop that fight. John Doe then went inside of the residence to Watson’s bedroom with the intent of destroying Watson’s PlayStation Video Game Console. Watson came up behind John Doe and repeatedly stabbed him in the back.

John Doe experienced a collapsed lung sustained from the stab wounds. John Doe also sustained other stab wounds to the upper back and neck area, with one stab wound inches away from his spinal cord.

At sentencing, Watson faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Navajo Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigation investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Probasco is prosecuting the case.

# # #

24-47

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

PORTLAND, Ore.—An eastern Oregon drug dealer identified by law enforcement as part of an investigation into a fatal overdose on the Umatilla Indian Reservation was sentenced to federal prison today, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

Ulises Echevarria-Molina, 40, of Pendleton, Oregon, was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on May 15, 2021, officers from the Umatilla Tribal Police Department responded to a suspected fatal drug overdose at the Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton and located several counterfeit Oxycodone pills believed to contain fentanyl near the deceased victim. Toxicology reports later confirmed the victim had consumed fentanyl and cocaine prior to their death. 

Further investigation revealed that the overdose victim likely obtained the fentanyl pills from a family member’s supply and the family member had recently purchased fentanyl from a local dealer. Investigators soon identified Echevarria-Molina as a third-level drug distributor to the deceased victim’s family member and, on May 18, 2021, arrested him without incident.

At the time of his arrest Echevarria-Molina possessed approximately 1,500 fentanyl pills and $9,000 in cash on his person. A search of Echevarria-Molina’s Pendleton home returned approximately 24 pounds of methamphetamine, two pounds of cocaine, and 1,500 additional fentanyl pills. Investigators also located and seized $18,000 in cash, digital scales, and various drug packaging materials from Echevarria-Molina’s residence.

On May 21, 2021, Echevarria-Molina was charged by criminal complaint with distribution or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Later, on May 19, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Echevarria-Molina with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Because of the combination of controlled substances in the toxicology results, Echevarria-Molina was not charged with the overdose death.

On September 5, 2023, Echevarria-Molina pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team (BENT), FBI and the Umatilla Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted Cassady Adams, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

BENT is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force that includes detectives from the Pendleton Police Department, Hermiston Police Department, Boardman Police Department, Oregon State Police, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Milton-Freewater Police Department, and Umatilla Tribal Police Department.