Category: MIL-OSI

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Federal Jury Convicts Fugitive in 2018 Kidnapping and Carjacking After Seven Years on the Run

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury convicted Jose Ramirez for his role in the brutal 2018 kidnapping and carjacking of his former employer in Placitas, New Mexico, following a five-day trial and approximately three hours of deliberation. The conviction comes after Ramirez evaded capture for seven years before being apprehended by law enforcement in California.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jose Ramirez, 37, orchestrated the violent attack on July 26, 2018. A day before the incident, Ramirez met with his co-defendants in Albuquerque to recruit them for what he described as a job to “get back at his boss for firing him” and “take his boss for all he had.” At the time of the crime, Ramirez was under court supervision and wearing a GPS ankle monitoring bracelet. Hours before the kidnapping, Ramirez cut off his ankle monitor.

In the early morning hours of July 26, 2018, Ramirez and his co-defendant ambushed the victim as he left his Placitas residence. Ramirez placed the victim in a headlock with a knife to his throat while his co-defendant pistol-whipped him multiple times in the face. The victim was bound, placed in the bed of his own Ford Ranger truck, and driven to a remote compound on Pajarito Mesa. There, Ramirez held the victim captive in a shed for approximately 15 hours while attempting to extort ransom money from the victim’s family and force wire transfers to Mexico.

Late that evening, the victim was dropped off in southwest Albuquerque. He walked to a nearby gas station and asked the clerk to call 911. Following the crime, Ramirez fled and evaded capture for seven years before being arrested by law enforcement in California for drug possession.

Ramirez was convicted of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to carjack, carjacking, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and extortion. Following the verdict, the Court ordered that Ramirez remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Ramirez faces no less than five years and up to life in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department and New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole. Assistant United States Attorneys Jack E. Burkhead and Sarah Mease are prosecuting the case.

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Defense News in Brief: U.S. Navy, ASEAN members conclude AUMX 20

Source: United States Navy

BATAM, Indonesia — U.S. Navy Sailors from Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20) and Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, rejoined service members from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ashore in Batam, after concluding the ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise (AUMX) sea phase in the Singapore Strait, Dec. 13.

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Defense News in Brief: NPS Launches New Master’s in Artificial Intelligence Focused on Warfighter Needs

Source: United States Navy

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) has launched a brand new Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) degree that will confer the advanced knowledge, skills, and practices necessary to develop, assess, and deploy AI for the U.S. Navy, joint forces and allied militaries. Graduates through the new program will be prepared to lead AI integration within their communities and across the U.S. Department of War (DOW).

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Oklahoma man guilty of transporting children for sexual exploitation

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TYLER, Texas – A Lawton, Oklahoma man has pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Rolando Alexis Bravo, 44, pleaded guilty on December 16, 2025, to being involved in a conspiracy to transport minors before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell.

According to court documents, on November 16, 2023, Bravo transported three minors from Lawton, Oklahoma, to Dallas where he met a co-conspirator, who then transported the children to Tyler.  The co-conspirator obtained hotel rooms in Tyler where the children engaged in prostitution with others.

Bravo faces up to life in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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.justice.gov/psc.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and the Tyler Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alan Jackson and Emil Mikkelson.

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Pierre Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Escape

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Pierre, South Dakota, man convicted of Escape.

The sentencing took place on December 15, 2025.

James Dubray, age 22, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Dubray was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025.  He pleaded guilty on October 14, 2025.

The conviction stemmed from an incident on May 5, 2025 when Dubray, who was in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons pursuant to a conviction for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and serving part of his sentence at Dismas Charities Residential Reentry Center in Sioux Falls, escaped from the facility by leaving without authorization and failing to return.

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.  Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Larson prosecuted the case.

Dubray was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

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Brooklyn Church Pastor Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion Scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Paul Mitchell Stole Millions of Dollars from Church and Daycare for Personal Expenses and Defrauded the Internal Revenue Service

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Paul Mitchell, the lead pastor of a church and president of a daycare, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with tax evasion.  The proceeding was held before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.  When sentenced, Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison as well as restitution and monetary penalties.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the guilty plea.

“The defendant treated his organizations’ accounts as his own personal piggy bank, stealing millions of dollars and betraying the trust of his congregation and those dependent on the services provided to the community,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office will always be vigilant in protecting houses of worship from criminality that threatens the important work they do.”

“Paul Mitchell was trusted by his parishioners to use their donations for good, not to fatten his wallet.  His deceit was at many levels, as he also evaded paying millions in tax revenue that benefits the good of all Americans.  With today’s plea, Mitchell decided to take a step forward to right his wrongs, and will face justice for his actions,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

As alleged in court filings, Mitchell was the founder of a church (Organization‑1), and an educational daycare (Organization‑2), both located in Brooklyn, New York.  Mitchell served as the lead pastor at Organization‑1 and the president of Organization‑2.  Between 2015 and 2022, Mitchell using credit cards for Organization-1 and Organization-2 to pay for his personal expenses, including men’s clothing, jewelry, luxury accessories, and life insurance premiums.  He also wrote checks from Organization‑1’s bank accounts to pay his own credit card bills; frequently withdrew large amounts of cash from bank accounts for Organization‑1 and Organization‑2; and transferred funds from those accounts into his own bank accounts.  Mitchell failed to report his use of funds stolen from Organization‑1 and Organization‑2 as income on his personal income tax returns, thereby reducing his tax burden and evading the payment of personal income taxes.  As a result of his conduct, Mitchell caused a tax loss of approximately $2,906,072 to the IRS and of approximately $316,699 to New York State between 2015 and 2022.

The government’s case is being handled by Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorney Miranda Gonzalez and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Section of the Criminal Division are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

PAUL MITCHELL
Age:  60
West Hempstead, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-374 (NRM)

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Denver Man Indicted On 21 Counts Including Robbery of United States Postal Service Worker, Bank Fraud

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Avian Mayo, 25, of Denver, was indicted by a federal grand on jury on 21 counts including postal robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, on March 4, 2024, Mayo—along with Brisa Sierra-Silva and Christopher Johnson, who are charged in a separate federal indictment—attempted to rob a postal carrier and then, later that same day, robbed a second postal carrier.

Sierra-Silva and Johnson were indicted and made court appearances in the spring of 2025.

The charges contained in the indictments are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the FBI Denver Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Albert Buchman is handling the prosecution.

Case Numbers: 25-cr-00313-RMR (Mayo); 25-cr-00132-CNS (Sierra-Silva and Johnson)

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Honduran National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry and Possession of a Firearm

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that BRYAN JAVIER PEREZ-ESPINOZA (“PEREZ-ESPINOZA,”), age 33, a native of Honduras, was sentenced on December 3, 2025, to 21 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, PEREZ-ESPINOZA, an illegal alien previously removed to Honduras on September 30, 2022, was found in Orleans Parish on March 23, 2024. He was later charged in a superseding indictment on May 22, 2025, with reentry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), and illegal alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(5)(A) and 924(a)(8).

This prosecution was part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at repelling illegal immigration, dismantling transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The operation unites the resources of the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) programs.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as their local and federal law enforcement partners, for their handling of this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

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