Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

A federal jury convicted Cody Paul Miller, 46, of Collinsville and a member of the Cherokee Nation, Friday for Sexual Abuse of an Incapable Victim in Indian Country.

“Cody Miller rationalized his actions knowing the victim was intoxicated. This is unacceptable and criminal,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.  “This office and our law enforcement partners will bring to account those who commit acts of sexual violence.”

According to court documents, the 18-year-old victim was staying the night at Miller’s house with two of her friends, whom were both under 18 years of age. The victim brought alcohol to Miller’s home and began consuming it with Miller. Miller told the police that the victim was intoxicated, but he engaged in several sexual acts with her, none of which the victim remembered. Later, the victim woke up to Miller sexually assaulting her. She repeatedly asked the defendant to stop, and he did not. After leaving Miller’s home, the victim went to a friend’s home where she disclosed what Miller did. After receiving encouragement from her friend, the victim contacted police.

When the defendant was questioned by police, he told officers that the victim “got drunk really fast that night” and even “fell off the bed” because she was so drunk. Miller told law enforcement that the intimacy was mutual and that he stopped when the victim asked him to stop.  

Miller will remain in custody until he is sentenced at a later date. He faces up to life imprisonment. The FBI and Collinsville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Valeria G. Luster and Matthew P. Cyran prosecuted the case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the January 2024 Federal Grand Jury B Indictments.

The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.

Miguel Acuna-Segura. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Acuna-Segura, 40, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in May 2011, at or near Laredo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-020

Kenneth Alejandro Cruz-Bustillo. Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm. Cruz-Bustillo, 27, a Honduras national, is charged with knowing he was an illegal alien and unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in Aug. 2023. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shakema M. Onias is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-019

Miguel Angel Del Rio-De La Torre. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Rio-De La Torre, 29, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Nov. 2018, at or near El Paso, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot P. Anderson is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-018

Roque Gaytan-Gonzalez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Gaytan-Gonzalez, 54, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Aug. 2023, at or near Laredo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-013

Jesus Alberto Monges Sanchez; Cassidy Stone. Drug Conspiracy; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. Monges Sanchez, 32, a Mexican national, is charged with conspiring to distribute and possession of methamphetamine from Oct. 2023 through Jan. 2024. Monges Sanchez, and Stone, 29, of Tulsa, are both charged with maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing methamphetamine from Oct. 2023 through Jan. 2024. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Nasar is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-024

Manuel Manrrique Oviedo-Ucles. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Oviedo-Ucles, 39, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Aug. 2014, at or near Houston, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot P. Anderson is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-014

Rolando Palacios-Castorena. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Palacios-Castorena, 36, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Jul. 2017, at or near Del Rio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-015

Timothy Danel Ray Smeltzer. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Suffocating in Indian Country;
Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country. Smeltzer, 35, of Nowata and member of Cherokee Nation Tribe,
is charged with assaulting a former dating partner by strangling in Dec. 2023. Smeltzer is further charged with assault that
resulted in serious bodily injury. The FBI is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Weems is prosecuting
the case. 24-CR-016

Megan Elizabeth Statum. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Statum, 32, of Tulsa, possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with intent to distribute in Dec. 2023. She is further charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Sand Springs Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam C. Bailey is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-017

Aaron Michael Thomas; Darren Doil Means. Introduction of a Misbranded Drug into Interstate Commerce (Counts 1 through 3); Drug Conspiracy (Count 4); Possession of Pregabalin with Intent to Distribute (Count 5); Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (Count 6); Smuggling Goods into the United States (Count 7) (superseding). Thomas, 41, and Means, 58, of Tulsa, are charged with the introduction of the misbranded drugs, gabapentin, xylazine and pregabalin into interstate commerce. The indictment charges that from 2021 through 2023, Thomas and Means conspired to distribute pregabalin, a Schedule V controlled substance, and maintained a residence for the purpose of distribution. Further the indictment alleges that in Oct. 2023, they knowingly possessed pregabalin with intent to distribute.  They are both further charged with willfully importing pregabalin into the United States with false labeling in Aug. 2021. The Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan E. Michel and Aaron M. Jolly are prosecuting
the case. 23-CR-333

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

A federal jury today convicted a Bluejacket man who voluntarily waived his right to counsel and represented himself at trial. Lance Douglas Roark, 43, of Bluejacket and a member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, was convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor Under 12 Years of Age in Indian Country and Assault with Intent to Commit Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under 12 years of Age in Indian Country. 

“Lance Roark manipulated a child in June of 2023 to fulfill his own criminal sexual desires,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “That child showed tremendous strength and courage in trial as she faced her predator. Lance Roark has now been held accountable for his criminal actions.”

According to court documents and testimony presented at trial, on June 9, 2023, Roark engaged in abusive sexual contact and intentionally assaulted a minor child who was eleven. When the child victim took the witness stand, prosecutors asked her questions about the sexual abuse and assault. The victim testified that Roark described biblical stories and how they could be “free in who they had sex with.” Roark asked her if she felt uncomfortable. Even after she told him that she was uncomfortable, Roark continued grooming the child. Roark showed her pornography and even convinced the child that if he abused her, they would win the lottery. He also asked the child not to tell anyone. As the child continued to describe the sexual contact and assault, Roark had a hard time making eye contact with the victim as she testified. While prosecutors presented drawings the child made describing Roark’s genitalia, he still would not make eye contact. When Roark cross-examined the child, he would not say “sexual abuse” or “sexual assault.”

On June 8, 2023, Roark approached a separate minor who is 17 years old. The witness described to prosecutors how Roark approached her after she saw him touching himself. She testified that Roark apologized for staring at her chest. Roark attempted to persuade her to have sex with him. She was able to decline his advances and separate herself from him.

Roark will remain in custody until he is sentenced at a later date. He faces up to life imprisonment. The FBI and Craig County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chantelle Dial and Alicia N. Hockenbury prosecuted the case.

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

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jonathan Woodworth, age 45, of Riverside-Albert, New Brunswick, Canada, was sentenced yesterday to 144 months in prison for attempting to entice and coerce a 10-year-old child into sexual activity.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Woodworth admitted that between June 23 and September 28, 2022, he exchanged sexually explicit messages with someone he believed was the mother of a 10-year-old girl, in an attempt to entice the child into engaging in sexual acts with him. On September 28, 2022, Woodworth traveled by plane and train from New Brunswick to Rensselaer County, New York, with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the minor. Woodworth was arrested after exiting the Rensselaer train station.

United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci also imposed a 15-year term of post-imprisonment supervised release. Woodworth will be required to register as a sex offender, and faces deportation/removal from the United States, upon his release from prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI Albany’s Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of FBI Special Agents, and state and local police investigators, including the Colonie Police Department, Rotterdam Police Department and the New York State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander Wentworth-Ping and Ashlyn Miranda prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Crandall Craig Martin was arraigned today in federal court on an indictment charging him with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Martin, 40, of Shiprock, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain in custody pending trial in this case.

According to the indictment, on August 10, 2022, Martin possessed a firearm knowing that he had been previously convicted of both felony offenses and a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The government alleges that Martin stole a shotgun from the Navajo Nation Police Department evidence locker intending to exchange it for alcohol. Martin was apprehended without incident by Navajo Nation Police shortly after taking the shotgun.

An indictment is only an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Martin faces up to 10 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release thereafter.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case.

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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Clinton man was sentenced on Thursday, January 11, 2024, to 210 months in federal prison for Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography.

According to public court documents presented at the time of the plea hearing, Andrew Robert William Comstock, 36, was identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a member of a Kik chat group that was actively sharing child sexual abuse material. In November 2022, FBI agents interviewed Comstock, who admitted to receiving and viewing child sexual abuse material on Kik. Multiple items were seized from Comstock’s person and residence. Pursuant to a search warrant, a tablet was located at Comstock’s residence that contained numerous images of child sexual abuse material and multiple Kik messages regarding the trading of child sexual abuse material to other users.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Comstock is required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Comstock was also ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the FBI.

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

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Nigerian national, and Dallas, Texas resident, was sentenced on Thursday, January 18, 2024, to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud charges.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Emmanuel Azubuike Ogbeide, 28, was a member of a fraudulent business email compromise (BEC) scheme with his father, Kingsley Ogbeide, and his girlfriend, Vemuna Katjaimo, in the Southern District of Iowa. BEC scams are initiated by tricking employees of legitimate businesses to change their bank information via email. Large sums of money are subsequently wired to illegitimate bank accounts controlled by fraudsters.

Ogbeide knowingly falsified bank accounts with co-defendants, Kingsley Ogbeide and Vemuna Katjaimo, and directly defrauded various businesses in the Southern District of Iowa and elsewhere. Following the fraudulent money wires from the businesses, Ogbeide actively participated in moving large sums of money between fraudulent accounts to avoid detection.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Ogbeide will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Ogbeide, joint and severable with the other co-defendants, was also ordered to pay $1,587,127.87 in restitution to the business victims.

Co-defendants, Kingsley Ogbeide and Vemuna Katjaimo, were sentenced on September 20, 2023, to 121 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release and time served, respectively. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia/pr/ugandan-man-sentenced-121-months-federal-prison-money-laundering-charge.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Christopher Carreras, 38, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on January 17, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for traveling with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a minor and possession of child pornography. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Carreras to 168 months’ imprisonment for each count.  The sentences will run concurrently. There is no parole in the federal system. After Carreras’s release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. District Judge Buescher ordered Carreras to pay $3,000 in restitution.

Carreras began online chatting with the minor victim who was based in Texas. On February 26, 2022, Carreras traveled from Nebraska to Texas to meet up with the minor victim. After meeting face-to-face in a shopping mall, Carreras handed the minor victim his hotel room key. The minor victim used the key to enter his hotel room where the two engaged in sexual activity. Carreras traveled to meet up with the minor victim on other occasions in 2022. The minor victim ultimately reported what happened. The FBI obtained and executed a search warrant for Carreras’s residence in Nebraska on October 6, 2022, where electronic devices were seized.

Law enforcement review of the devices revealed records of online chat messages between Carreras, the minor victim, and at least one other apparent minor female. Through the chats, the minor victim communicated that they were about to turn 16 years old. Additionally, the review of the devices located known child pornography video files and images.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Omaha FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.