News from June 2023


Marion County Woman Sentenced to More Than 16 Years in Prison for Drug Conspiracy and Firearm Possession

News Release: Ocala, FL - U.S. District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Nishera Remon Johnson (42, Silver Springs Shores) to 16 years and 8 months years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute narcotics (including methamphetamine and cocaine) and possessing a firearm as an armed career criminal. Johnson had been indicted on Sept. 2, 2020. She was previously found guilty by a federal jury on June 29, 2022.


Rochester Man Who Fled Police Going to Prison on Gun Conviction

News Release: ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Joshua Massey, 32, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, was sentenced to serve 46 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.


Activity in the United States Attorney’s Office

News Release: Firearms Offenses. Matthew Pruitt, age 20, of Cheyenne, Wyoming was sentenced on May 26, 2023, for being a felon in possession of a firearm to 27 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence.


Cleveland Man Sentenced in Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Conspiracy

News Release: AKRON - Devonn Fair, 31, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced on Thursday, June 1, 2023, to 420 months or 35 years in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, money laundering, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.


Hostage-Taking Co-Conspirators Will Serve a Combined 32 Years in Prison

News Release: TUCSON, Ariz. - Olegario Lares-De La Rosa, 30, of Mexico, was sentenced last Friday by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 18 years in prison. Lares-De La Rosa was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking, Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit, Transportation of Illegal Aliens and Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition, after a jury trial in February 2023.


Illinois Man Sentenced to 108 Months in Prison

News Release: FORT WAYNE -Justin Davis, 65 years old, of Maywood, IL, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after his plea of guilty to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.


Greenwood Village Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Distribution of Controlled Substances and Financial Crimes

News Release: DENVER - Howard Weiss of Greenwood Village was sentenced to six months in federal prison for distributing a controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice, for structuring financial transactions in a way to evade reporting requirements, and for engaging in monetary transactions...


Twenty-Time Convicted Felon Faces Life in Prison for Federal Firearm Offense

News Release: Ocala, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Craig Antwon O’Neal (53, Ocala) based on an indictment charging him being a felon in possession of a firearm. He faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. O’Neal had been indicted on March 3, 2021.


U.S. Marshals Arrest Cincinnati Murder Suspect Wanted Since 2011 in Oklahoma City

News Release: Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Marshals in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma have arrested fugitive Charles Turk who has been wanted by Cincinnati Police since 2011. Turk was arrested at the Coyote Ugly Bar in Oklahoma City where he worked as security.


Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking of Minors

News Release: A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for trafficking four minors in Philadelphia.


Four South Florida Law Enforcement Officers Graduate FBI National Academy

News Release: Four South Florida Law Enforcement Officers Graduate FBI National Academy.


Three Albuquerque Men Charged for Shootings Targeting the Residences of Elected Officials

News Release: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that an indictment ...


Felon Sentenced to 60 Months for His Role in Illegal Firearms Purchase

News Release: PHOENIX, Ariz. - Keymal Bert Rucker, 31, of Laughlin, Nevada, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 60 months in prison. Rucker pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting a False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm.


Five Jersey City Gang Members and Associates Sentenced to Prison for Gang-Related Stabbing

News Release: NEWARK, N.J. - Five members and associates of a neighborhood street gang in Hudson County, New Jersey, have been sentenced to prison for their respective roles in a gang-related stabbing, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.


Clancy Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Meth Trafficking, Firearm Crimes

News Release: GREAT FALLS - A Clancy man who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine and possessing a homemade firearm was sentenced on May 25 to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.


MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to 26 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving a Violent Murder and for Drug Distribution and Firearms Violations

News Release: Baltimore, Maryland - Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced El Salvadoran national Jose Lopez Rivera, age 27, of Elmont, New York, formerly residing in Maryland, to 26 years in federal prison for a racketeering conspiracy involving a violent murder connected to his participation in La Mara ...



Exclusive: Jordan Demands Scope Memo of Special Counsel Probe into Biden’s Classified Documents

News Release: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) asked the Department of Justice on Tuesday to provide an unredacted copy of the memorandum detailing the scope of special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.


Muskegon Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Stalking His Ex-Wife and Possessing Firearms

News Release: GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN -U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced today that Mitchell Pierce, 45, of Muskegon was sentenced to 180 months in the Bureau of Prisons after he pleaded guilty to stalking and being a felon in possession of firearms. U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker also ordered that when Pierce is released from prison, Pierce will be on supervised release for 3 years.


United States Issues Advisory to Industry on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Activity Connected to Iran

News Release: The Departments of Justice, Commerce, State and Treasury today issued an advisory to alert the international community, private sector, and public to the threat posed by Iran’s procurement, development and proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).