Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Jermaine Sturgis, 41, a former lieutenant at Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI) in Westover, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland to 33 months in prison and one year of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to obstruct an investigation into the assault of an inmate.

Sturgis, of Laurel, Delaware, conspired with other correctional officers to cover up evidence that a fellow ECI officer unlawfully assaulted an inmate. A jury convicted Sturgis in December 2025 for conspiring to obstruct justice and destroy records and for making false statements to a federal officer.

“When a correctional officer tampers with evidence or obstructs an investigation into fellow officers, it undercuts the public’s trust in the criminal justice system, thwarts lawful efforts to protect the civil rights of inmates, and threatens the safety of both inmates and other officers,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable correctional officers who violate the laws they are sworn to uphold.”

“This defendant obstructed a lawful investigation by helping conceal the truth about a violent assault. Our system depends on public officials carrying out their duties honestly and lawfully. Unfortunately, Mr. Sturgis failed to comply with this mandate so now he must pay the price,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Our Office remains committed to prosecuting any individual who engages in such an abuse of trust. No one is above the law.”

“Jermaine Sturgis not only lied about the assault on an inmate but directed a conspiracy to cover up that assault by deleting evidence. Sturgis focused on shielding himself from the consequences of his crimes at the expense of the inmate he swore to protect,” said Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI will vigorously investigate and hold accountable law enforcement officers who exploit their authority and violate the public’s trust.”

According to trial testimony, on July 12, 2021, after one of Sturgis’s junior officers used excessive force against an inmate, Sturgis and other officers conspired to delete a video recording that showed the inmate’s injuries and other evidence that the officer’s use of force against the inmate had been unlawful. During the three-year investigation, Sturgis also made false statements to the state and federal investigators.

Judge Maddox previously sentenced four former ECI correctional officers who had pleaded guilty for their involvement. Samuel Warren was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for assaulting the inmate and obstruction of justice; Neil Daubach was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison for witness tampering and obstruction of justice; David Quillen was sentenced to two years of probation with six months home detention for conspiracy and obstruction of justice; and Daric Evans was sentenced to two years of probation with three months home detention for conspiracy.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Aubin for the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case. The Baltimore Division of the FBI, with assistance from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, conducted the investigation.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ERIC RIETTIE, also known as “Gambino” and “Lil E,” 27, of Stamford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 46 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for his involvement in a southwestern Connecticut narcotics trafficking ring.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Greenbelt, Maryland – A Virginia man received a prison term, today, stemming from an identity theft scheme. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Jade Ingalls, 45, of Arlington, to 42 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for false use of a passport and aggravated identity theft in connection with the scam. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Daveion Antonio Ervin, 28, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today in connection with his illegal possession of a loaded Springfield Armory pistol discovered after he was stopped by police for smoking marijuana on a public street, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A North Dakota man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for his role in a kidnapping for ransom resulting in the beating of the victim, holding him at gunpoint, and transporting him across states lines to Minnesota to collect an unpaid drug debt.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours of March 5, 2024, Kyle Kahalehili Maez-Schaack, 33, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, at the orders of the co-defendant and an unindicted co-conspirator, kidnapped the victim. The co-defendant sent Maez-Schaack a screen shot of the victim’s social media profile and his address and ordered Maez-Schaack to pick up the victim to collect a drug debt. The victim owed the co-defendant $6,000 for 500 grams of methamphetamine. Maez-Schaack and others took the victim at gunpoint from Fargo, North Dakota, to Moorhead, Minnesota. There, the victim was held for ransom and ordered to call his friends and family to ask for money. Despite several calls to family and friends, the victim was unable to raise the funds to pay the ransom. At one point, the victim was left unattended in the Moorhead residence and was able to escape. Maez-Schaack and others kept the victim’s vehicle after the kidnapping.

According to statements made in court, Maez-Schaack was a drug distributor for the co-defendant and was often used as the muscle for the drug trafficking organization that primarily distributed methamphetamine in the Red River Valley and Devils Lake area of North Dakota.  

“The drug business is a scourge that often leads to kidnappings and demands for ransoms related to drug debts,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This collateral violence threatens the safety of communities. The lengthy sentence captures the seriousness of the drug related conduct in this case and speaks to the collateral ills of the drug trade that ruins the lives of so many Americans.”

“Too often drug trafficking is perpetuated by violent crime, as shown by Maez-Schaack,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Chase for the District of North Dakota. “Our office, working alongside our federal and state partners, will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those committing violent acts and trafficking illegal drugs in our community.”

“Maez-Schaack is a brazen, violent offender who made our communities less safe, and today he receives the consequences for his actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Persails of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) St. Paul Field Division. “ATF remains committed to identifying and targeting the most violent offenders, and we will continue to do that work every single day. I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their collaboration on this case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their successful prosecution.”

“Stopping violent offenders like Kyle Maez-Schaack is one of the FBI’s top priorities,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office. “This defendant, a previously convicted felon, kidnapped a victim at gunpoint, demanded ransom of the victim’s friends and family, and trafficked methamphetamine into our community. Now, he will rightly spend the next 30 years of his life in federal prison. The entire Red River Valley and Devil’s Lake communities are safer for that fact. The FBI will not stop in our mission to make our communities safe by bringing violent criminals like Maez-Schaack and his accomplices to justice.”

Maez-Schaack pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to kidnapping, drug trafficking conspiracy, brandishing a firearm during the kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.   

The FBI and ATF investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Pegah Vakili of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jake Rodenbiker and Richard Lee for the District of North Dakota prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury convicted a Baltimore man in connection with drug trafficking and firearm crimes. The jury found Wayne Lee, 36, guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person; possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today that EDSON BROWN, a Bronx resident, pled guilty to an 18-count indictment, charging him with crimes in connection with a firearms trafficking scheme spanning more than a year and involving at least two straw purchasers.  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, Florida – Brandon Dutch Mendenhall (46, Brandon, FL) has been charged by indictment with one count of mail fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Mendenhall that the United States intends to forfeit a house, which is alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Brooklyn man was charged today with threatening to assault and murder a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) officer outside an ICE detention facility.

Nicholas Matthew Scelfo, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested for influencing, impeding, and retaliating against a federal officer by threat. Scelfo is scheduled to appear today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Newark federal court.

“Federal law enforcement officers face danger with great courage, and they should be able to do their jobs without being threatened and fearing for their families’ lives,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We take such threats very seriously and will prosecute those who make them to the fullest extent of the law.”

“This individual allegedly threatened violence toward one of our federal law enforcement officers and their family — and by using facial recognition technology, within 24 hours this FBI got him,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “In particular, I want to thank Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche who moved extremely quickly to locate, pursue, and bring the subject to justice — as well as our FBI Newark team who executed brilliantly. Let this be a message to any criminal actor who may try something similar: you touch a cop, and this FBI will put you down.”

“This violent rioter who allegedly threatened to murder an ICE law enforcement officer and his family is being brought to justice,” said Secretary Markwayne Mullin of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “Our ICE officers are facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Our officers have been assaulted, doxxed, their families threatened. This violence against law enforcement must end. President Trump and I will always stand with our law enforcement officers.”

“As alleged, the defendant threatened a federal law enforcement officer and members of that officer’s family with violence and death,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey. “Threats against federal officers and their families are serious crimes and will not be tolerated. Federal officers serve our communities every day, often in difficult circumstances, and this office is committed to holding accountable those who, as alleged here, threaten violence against them or their loved ones.”

“There is no place for the violent threats Scelfo allegedly screamed at law enforcement. Instead of protesting peacefully, there are groups and individuals targeting federal law enforcement agents who are carrying out their duties,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy for the Newark Field Office. “We will follow the law and hold anyone who chooses to break the law accountable.”

“Calling for the murder of a federal law enforcement officer and his family is not speech safeguarded by the Constitution; it is a grave criminal offense that will not be tolerated,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark. “Homeland Security Investigations remains resolute in ensuring that individuals who threaten or attack law enforcement face the full force of the law. We are grateful to our partners at the FBI for their outstanding work in helping us identify and locate this defendant so he can face justice.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on or about May 27, during a demonstration outside an ICE detention facility in Newark, Scelfo threatened to assault and murder an ICE officer. According to a video posted to social media and other evidence obtained by law enforcement, Scelfo screamed toward the ICE officer: “I’ll kill your whole f—— family! Your whole f—— family is dead! Your children, your wife, all dead! I have your face, motherf—–! You’re dead! Dead!” During an interview with law enforcement after his arrest on or about May 29, Scelfo admitted to threatening to kill an officer and his family at the demonstration and that he later saw in the media a video of him making statements to law enforcement at the demonstration.

If convicted, the threat charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, HSI Newark, and the New York Police Department investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camila A. Garces and Casey S. Smith for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case. 

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today that Joyce M. Malliet has been appointed First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. As First Assistant, Malliet will serve as the Office’s second-ranking official and assist in leading the Office’s operations and mission throughout the District of New Jersey.