Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Daryl Smith-Winfree, 44, a New York-based cocaine supplier, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 96 months in prison for his role in a large-scale narcotics distribution conspiracy that funneled multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from New York into the Washington metropolitan area.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Memphis, TN – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee joins the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Executive Office for the United States Attorneys (EOUSA) in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year’s theme is “Listen. Act. Advocate. Protecting victims, serve communities.”There were 6.7 million violent victimizations of persons age 12 or older in the United States in 2024, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report. Violent victimization includes…
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JADI’KISS J’HAD WILLIAMS (“WILLIAMS”), age 21, pleaded guilty on April 16, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D), and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Scott Leary is proud to have recognized Law Enforcement Ranger Dylan Romine from the National Park Service for his outstanding work and service on behalf of crime victims in the Northern District of Mississippi. Ranger Romine was given the Carolyn Clayton Victims’ Service Award as part of the District’s recognition of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
FLORENCE, S.C. – Samual Earl Ramu, age 34, of Johnsonville, S.C., has been ordered to serve nearly 22 years in federal prison after being convicted of conspiring to distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine from inside the walls of the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Kevin Phillip Hedgpeth, 48, former City of Hanahan Mayor Pro Tem and member of City Council, appeared this morning for a scheduled detention hearing in United States Magistrate Court in Charleston. Hedgpeth, represented by counsel, waived his right to the hearing and will remain in federal custody pending trial. Arrested on federal warrants last Thursday, Hedgpeth has been charged with possession and production of child sexual abuse material.*
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sandino Savalas Moses, 51, a former North Charleston City Councilmember, has been sentenced to two years of probation for misprision of a felony.Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Moses was a city councilmember when Sea Fox Boat Company’s application for a zoning change was presented to North Charleston City Council. Sea Fox had hired two consultants, Aaron Charles-Lee Hicks and Hason Tatorian Fields, to help generate support for the project. After Moses moved to table the matter when it was presented for a first reading, Hicks and Fields met with members of the Sea Fox team to discuss a path forward. Fields expressed that Moses was susceptible to a bribe because of personal difficulties. After the meeting, but before the matter was re-presented to North Charleston City Council, Fields paid two bribes to Moses. When Moses realized that Fields was trying to bribe him in exchange for his support of the Sea Fox project, Moses repaid the bribes but never reported Fields to law enforcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Aaron Charles-Lee Hicks, 38, of North Charleston, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for his role in two schemes to bribe North Charleston City Councilmen.Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that in early 2024, Sea Fox Boat Company hired Hicks as a consultant. Sea Fox had proposed a new boat manufacturing facility in North Charleston, but its plans required a zoning change to the subject property. Amid strong community opposition to the project, Sea Fox hired Hicks to garner community support and help ensure that North Charleston City Council would vote in favor of the zoning change. Sea Fox hired Hicks based on the recommendation of two members of North Charleston City Council—Jerome Heyward and Mike A. Brown. Hicks accepted $30,000 in consulting fees from Sea Fox between February and June 2024.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Jacksonville, Florida – Issac Darnell Henderson (32, Jacksonville) has been charged by federal indictment with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, including more than a pound and a half of fentanyl. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The indictment also notifies Henderson that the United States intends to forfeit assets, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Sewage Line Collapsed in January 2026 and Released Over 200 Million Gallons of Untreated Sewage into Potomac River
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a civil complaint in federal court today against the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) and the District of Columbia for claims of Clean Water Act violations from the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor resulting in the discharge of more than 200 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage into the Potomac River.
The complaint seeks financial penalties, sewer assessment and rehabilitation projects, and pollutant mitigation work to remedy DC Water’s failure to operate its sewer system in compliance with the Clean Water Act and its permits. The complaint alleges that DC Water failed to properly operate and maintain its sewer system in a manner that keeps untreated sewage out of the Potomac River and its tributaries, and other areas with risk of human contact. The complaint also seeks an order for DC Water to, at a minimum, develop an Enhanced Operations and Maintenance Plan for all its sewer lines.
“DC Water’s failure to maintain the Potomac Interceptor resulted in raw sewage flowing into the Potomac River and the surrounding environment, posing a direct risk to public health,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “As cities grow and infrastructure ages, cities must invest in their wastewater system to prevent such catastrophes. This complaint seeks to secure DC Water’s commitment to properly maintain its foundational sewage infrastructure.”
According to the complaint, DC Water operates the Potomac Interceptor, which conveys an average of up to 60 million gallons a day of sewage from parts of Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland to the Potomac Pump Station in Washington, D.C.
On Jan. 19, a portion of the Potomac Interceptor collapsed where it passes through the C&O Canal National Historic Park, near Lock 12, in Montgomery County, Maryland. Between Jan. 21 and 24 DC Water crews worked to install diversion pumps to route wastewater around the failed section of the Potomac Interceptor. Beginning on Jan. 24, DC Water used a portion of the C&O Canal to contain the bypassed flow until it could re-enter the Potomac Interceptor downstream of the collapse.
DC Water’s use of the C&O Canal to route sewage around the failed section of the Potomac Interceptor required multiple high-powered pumps. These pumps periodically clogged, requiring them to be taken out of service and cleaned. On Feb. 8, DC Water reported that an estimated 500,000 gallons of sewage was discharged to the Potomac River when multiple pumps had to be shut down due to clogging with rags and wipes.
When President Trump declared a FEMA emergency, the Army Corp of Engineers deployed to assist with mitigation efforts, including building stormwater diversions around locations that were still covered with sewage debris to prevent stormwater from coming into contact with harmful pollutants left behind by the deposition of untreated sewage.
In total, the Potomac Interceptor collapse resulted in unauthorized discharge of more than 200 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage to the Potomac River.
EPA investigated the case.
ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section filed the complaint.