Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Last defendant in St. Mary Parish cocaine conspiracy sentenced to 8 years in prison

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Houston man was sentenced Thursday to 96 months in prison for his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy operated in St. Mary Parish.

Omar Mascorro, 42, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.  He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the guilty plea, Mascorro was the source of the cocaine provided to Artey D. Foulcard, 39, of Franklin, La., who then provided to others to distribute. The drugs were distributed in St. Mary Parish, Ascension Parish and Baton Rouge from January 2000 to June 2015.

The other members of the conspiracy are:

Barry Druilhet, 44, of Baldwin, La., was found guilty after a three-day trial that ended on August 2, 2017 of  conspiracy and use of a communication facility in facilitating a drug trafficking crime.  He was sentenced on December 21, 2017 to 240 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Duanyell Williams, 43, of Franklin, La., pleaded guilty on June 19, 2017 to conspiracy, and he was sentenced on December 15, 2017 to 55 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Michael McDaniel, 44, of Missouri City, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on April 25, 2017, and he was sentenced on October 19, 2017 to 110 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Cordell Johnson, 40, of Jeanerette, La., pleaded guilty on June 26, 2017 to conspiracy, and he was sentenced on October 19, 2017 to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Calvin Burrell, 50, of Franklin, pleaded guilty on April 25, 2017 to conspiracy, and he was sentenced on October 19, 2017 to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

D’Arnold T. Deville, 49, of Bourg, La., was transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans on July 12, 2017 where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and additional charges.

Foulcard previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance in a bill of information in January 2016 in the Western District of Louisiana. The case was transferred to the Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge in February 2016, and he was sentenced on March 2, 2017 to 85 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

The defendants were arrested as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation named “Hater Hurterz.” The FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert F. Moore and Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Fort Hall Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Offense

POCATELLO – Tyrell Dixey, 33, of Fort Hall, Idaho, pleaded guilty Wednesday in United States District Court to possession of an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  

According to the plea agreement, on January 30, 2017, a vehicle was stopped by the Fort Hall Police Department.  Dixey was a passenger in the vehicle.  Inside the vehicle, officers found a Mossberg, Model 500A, 12 gauge shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches in length.  The shotgun was later determined to have Dixey’s fingerprints on it.  Sentencing is set for April 30, 2018, before Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill.   

Under federal law, it is illegal to possess a shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches in length, unless the firearm is registered with ATF.  Possession of an unregistered firearm is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a term of supervised release up to three years. 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Fort Hall Police Department.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Former sergeant sentenced to federal prison for abusing inmate at Dekalb County Jail

ATLANTA – Dwight Hamilton has been sentenced to one year in prison for abusing a female inmate by tasing her without any legitimate justification. Leonard Dreyer, Hamilton’s former supervisor at the jail, was sentenced on Tuesday February 6, 2018, to 21 days of confinement in a halfway house for attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into Hamilton’s use of excessive force by making false statements to the FBI.

“Abuse of power by any law enforcement officer is always unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Law enforcement officers stand in the gap every day to keep us safe, whether they are patrolling a beat, or a correctional officer working in a jail or prison.  Hamilton’s conduct is not reflective of how we expect officers to conduct themselves.  In this country, even those incarcerated have the right to fair treatment and decency.”

“Hamilton’s unjustified violent actions grossly violated the civil rights of an inmate whom he had a sworn duty to protect,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “Any unlawful act of violence or malice by an officer against an inmate will not be tolerated by this Department of Justice.”

“It is a corrections officer’s duty to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in his or her custody,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “This sentence reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to hold those who fail to do so accountable.  However, it should not obscure the fact that the majority of men and women working in correctional facilities conduct themselves admirably under challenging conditions.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Hamilton, who worked as a sergeant at the DeKalb County Jail, admitted during his guilty plea that on November 1, 2011, he responded to the medical floor of the jail when an inmate asked to speak to a supervisor because her family visitation had been unexpectedly cancelled by jail staff.  Rather than explain the situation to the inmate, Hamilton tased the inmate until she defecated on herself.  Hamilton, who had been trained on proper Taser usage, admitted that he knew that tasing the inmate under these circumstances was wrong but did it anyway.  As a result of the tasing, the inmate suffered permanent scarring to her breast.

Dwight Hamilton, 54, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to one year in federal prison.  When Hamilton is released from prison, he will be under federal supervision for three years.  Hamilton pleaded guilty to his charge on November 20, 2017.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Christopher Perras of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Taxicab Driver Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison For Sexually Assaulting Passenger

            WASHINGTON – Yared Mekonnen, 24, a taxicab driver from Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced today to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a passenger he picked up last spring in the U Street area of Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Mekonnen pled guilty in September 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of second-degree sexual abuse and attempted kidnapping. He was sentenced by the Honorable Hiram E. Puig-Lugo. Upon completion of his prison term, Mekonnen will be placed on 20 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

            According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of May 28, 2017, Mekonnen was driving his taxicab and picked up the victim and her boyfriend in the vicinity of U Street NW. Both the victim and her boyfriend were intoxicated. At some point, the boyfriend exited the taxicab. Once Mekonnen was alone in the taxicab with the victim, he sexually assaulted her. She tried to get out of the taxicab, but he prevented it. She screamed as he continued driving. There was a struggle, and while attempting to convince the victim not to call for help, Mekonnen grabbed her cellphone and it fell out of the window.

            Finally, another driver pulled in front of the taxicab, forcing it to stop in the 4900 block of 16^th Street NW. Shortly afterward, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrived on the scene and Mekonnen was arrested. He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, including the Sexual Assault Unit, which investigated the case. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist T.J. McPhail and Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins. Finally, she expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart D. Allen and Caroline Burrell, who investigated and prosecuted the case

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Polk County Woman Sentenced for Making a Forged Security

MADISON, WIS. — Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Sarah McKenzie, 41, Luck, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William Conley to one year and one day in federal prison for making a forged security.  Her prison sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release.  McKenzie pleaded guilty to this charge on October 30, 2017.

McKenzie worked at Core Products International in Osceola, Wis., as Accounts Manager and Human Resources Director.  In August 2016, employees in Core Product’s accounting department examined company bank statements and discovered company checks bearing duplicate check numbers that were either written to McKenzie or written to “Cash.”  The employees also noticed that the checks written to McKenzie were signed in CEO Royce Keehr’s name but the signature did not appear to be genuine. 

The subsequent criminal investigation, along with an internal company audit, revealed that between 2006 and August 2016, McKenzie generated approximately 305 company checks written to herself or to “Cash” and then forged Keehr’s name on the checks.  The total amount of these checks was $291,436.26. 

In addition, between 2011 and August 2016, McKenzie generated 98 company checks to “Cash” which she signed, endorsed, and negotiated at a bank.  There was no documentation in the company’s books and records to support the creation of the checks.  The total amount of these checks was $105,205.00. 

Bank records show that McKenzie spent the majority of the stolen money at casinos or on psychic hotlines.  In sentencing McKenzie, Judge Conley noted that her criminal conduct was “outrageous” and was troubled by how long the embezzlement continued.

The charges against McKenzie were a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and Osceola Police Department.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Berkeley County man sentenced for heroin distribution

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Tracey Leroy Boarman, Jr., of Falling Waters, West Virginia was sentenced today to 51 months incarceration for heroin distribution, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Boarman, age 28, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin” in October 2017. Boarman admitted to distributing more than 100 grams of heroin in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties from October 2015 to March 2017. 

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative investigated. 
 
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Iowa Man Sentenced to 53 Months in Federal Prison for Bomb Threat to Tipton County Jail

Memphis, TN – Jermaine Dickerson, 41 of Ankeny, Iowa (formerly of Brighton, TN) pled guilty to one count of use of a telephone to maliciously convey false information concerning an attempt to damage and destroy a building and other real and personal property by means of an explosive and for failure to appear for sentencing. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced the sentence today.

According to the facts alleged in the indictment and revealed during the sentencing hearing, on March 6, 2016, Jermaine Dickerson called the Tipton County Jail at 1801 South College Street, Covington, Tennessee, threatened jail personnel and threatened to blow up the jail if the inmates were not released. Due to this call, the jail was put on lockdown and emergency response teams were deployed to search the area. No bomb was located.

In the subsequent investigation, officers developed information regarding the phone that was used to place the call. It was determined that Dickerson used the phone on March 6, 2016, to place the call from Iowa to the Tipton County Jail. In an interview with FBI agents, Dickerson admitted that he made the call, but stated he did not know why and that he meant no harm to anyone. Investigation also revealed Dickerson had been booked into the Tipton County jail on over 40 previous occasions.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: “This office, along with our federal and local law enforcement partners, are vigilant to protect and prevent attacks on any critical infrastructure sites in West Tennessee, including correctional facilities. We take all threats seriously, and false reports of explosives cause law enforcement agencies to unnecessarily expend scarce and valuable government resources to respond, at the expense of taxpayers. We are pleased that the defendant has been held accountable for this disturbing crime of dishonesty, and we commend the quick and thorough response of FBI and the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office.”

On July 24, 2017, Dickerson pled guilty to the bomb threat charge before U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman. Judge Lipman ordered Dickerson to appear for his sentencing hearing on October 19, 2017.

On October 19, 2017, Dickerson failed to appear for his sentencing. He was subsequently indicted for this new offense. On November 6, 2017, United States Marshals arrested Dickerson in Iowa.

On February 8, 2018, U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Dickerson to serve a total of 53 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and Tipton County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hall prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.