Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: North Charleston Man Sentenced on Federal Firearms Charges

Columbia, South Carolina—- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Sinclair Gibbs, age 31, of North Charleston, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, for one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel, of Charleston, sentenced Gibbs to 57 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on March 22, 2016, the North Charleston Police Department went to Gibbs’ residence to serve an arrest warrant on him. Inside Gibb’s residence, officers found a loaded .45 caliber handgun, along with cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. Gibbs’ prior record includes multiple felony drug convictions

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the North Charleston Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Nick Bianchi of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Former Camden County Deputy Indicted for Child Pornography

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former Camden County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges.

Leonard Jerome Wilson, 39, formerly of Camdenton, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., on Dec. 21, 2017. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Wilson’s arrest and initial court appearance in South Carolina. Wilson remains in federal custody and will be transported to the Western District of Missouri to face charges.

Wilson was employed as a Camden County sheriff’s deputy at the time of the alleged offenses.

The federal indictment alleges that Wilson received child pornography between April 26, 2015, and July 17, 2017. Wilson is also charged with possessing child pornography on July 17, 2017.

Garrison cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the Camden County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Project Safe Childhood

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

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Convicted Felon with Possession of a Weapon Pleads Guilty

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that JOSHUA JOHNSON, age 37, has pleaded guilty to one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Sections 922(g)(1).  The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in the Bureau of Prisons, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

JOHNSON was arrested by personnel of the New Orleans Police Department on July 9, 2015, and charged with illegally carrying a weapon and possession of a firearm or weapon by a convicted felon. During an investigatory stop pat down, Officer Gray discovered a firearm in JOHNSON’S waistband.  JOHNSON was subsequently arrested.  JOHNSON admitted to possessing the firearm for protection, and advised he had been robbed and held for hours at gunpoint in March, 2015.  Therefore, the firearm which JOHNSON possessed on July 9, 2015 had to travel in and affect interstate and foreign commerce. 

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.

The U.S. Attorney wishes to thank the hard work of the NOPD and ATF in investigating the matter.  The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Privitera.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Mexican National Sentenced to 71-Months in Federal Prison for His Role in Conspiring in the Distribution of Almost 22 Kilograms of Cocaine and Funneling Drug Proceeds to Mexico

 

Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Ricardo Peral-Lopez, a 43-year old Mexican national, was sentenced Friday by United States Chief District Judge Michael J. Reagan to 71 months in federal prison for one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of money laundering conspiracy to run concurrently, three years of supervised release to follow the imprisonment, a $250 fine on each count, and a $100 special assessment fee for each count.

Facts revealed in open court at the sentencing and on the record revealed that Peral-Lopez facilitated in the distribution of almost 22 kilograms of cocaine, used his bank account and others’ to funnel drug proceeds back to Arizona and eventually to Mexico, personally drove drug proceeds across the border into Mexico, and paid for the insurance of a vehicle holding 6 kilograms of cocaine later transported from Arizona to Belleville, Illinois and South Carolina. At sentencing, Chief Judge Reagan commented that the offense involved a “substantial” amount of cocaine having a street value of over $600,000. In sentencing Peral-Lopez to 71-months of imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, three years of supervised release, a $500 fine and $200 in special assessment fees, Chief Judge Reagan indicated that this sentence reflects the seriousness of the

offense and deters others from committing similar crimes.

Evidence in support of this prosecution was obtained in an investigation conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Agencies participating in this case include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the Illinois State Police, and Fontana, California Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Monica A. Stump prosecuted this case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Citizen of Mexico Pleads Guilty to Heroin Trafficking and Immigration Offenses

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on February 2, ONEL ARANA-GERVACIO, also known as “Arana Ricardo Leon Cepeda,” 44, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to heroin trafficking and immigration offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 21, 2016, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama conducted a motor vehicle stop of a car hauler that was carrying a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu.  A search of the Malibu, which was registered to ARANA, revealed that it contained a hidden compartment (“trap”), which is commonly used to conceal and transport illegal contraband, including narcotics, firearms and currency.  Law enforcement officials obtained court authorization to install tracking devices on the vehicle and, between October 2016 and January 2017, HSI agents observed it at various locations in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

On January 17, 2017, agents located the vehicle at 1091 Maple Avenue in Hartford.  On January 20, surveillance officers observed activity on another vehicle located at the Maple Avenue residence consistent with manipulating a mechanical hidden compartment.  Officers then observed ARANA placing two duffel bags into that second vehicle and then driving off.  At approximately 8:30 p.m., a Hartford Police cruiser pulled the car over.  The vehicle also contained a hidden trap, but a search revealed no contraband.

A subsequent search of 1091 Maple Avenue revealed more than six kilograms of heroin, approximately 500 grams of cocaine and a “finger press,” which is used to process bulk quantities of heroin into 10-gram-bags known as “fingers.”  Agents also seized drug distribution materials, including sifters, grinders, scales, vacuum sealers and kilo wrappers, which were coated in heroin residue and field-tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.

Agents then searched the Malibu, which was located in the garage of 1091 Maple Avenue, and recovered approximately $260,000 in cash from inside the trap.

Laboratory testing of the seized heroin revealed that some of it contained fentanyl.

The investigation revealed that in October 2013, a U.S. Border Patrol agent encountered ARANA near Hidalgo, Texas, and determined that ARANA had unlawfully entered the U.S. from Mexico.  He was removed to Mexico on November 2, 2013.

ARANA pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, one kilogram or more of heroin, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.  He also pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of two years.  Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for May 1, 2018.

ARANA has been detained since his arrest on January 20, 2017.

This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Hartford Police Department and the Connecticut State Police, with the assistance of the Baldwin County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Gustafson and David T. Huang.