Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

HOUSTON – Two Houston men have been sentenced to significant federal prison terms following their convictions for using a firearm during the commission of two convenience store robberies, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Derian Joel Caesar and Centel Devon Willis Jr. pleaded guilty in April.

Today, U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett ordered Willis to serve 14 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, Judge Bennett noted that if Willis continued to make these decisions following his imprisonment, he will either return to prison or could even end up dead.

Caesar was previously ordered to serve 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Caesar and Willis admitted that on March 15, 2023, both acted together and used firearms to rob two different 7-Eleven convenience stores in Harris and Fort Bend Counties. In both crimes, Caesar carried a black firearm and took money from the cash drawer, while Willis pointed a black semiautomatic handgun towards the employee on duty.  

Both have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Johntay L. Johnson has five prior convictions for cocaine trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was convicted by a federal jury for his role in drug trafficking and the illegal possession of firearms.

Brandon R. Haywood, 47, was found guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, of one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and felon in possession of a firearm.

On Feb. 4, 2023, law enforcement officers were dispatched to a store in Independence, Mo., regarding a sexual assault.  The suspect was identified as Brandon Haywood.  On Feb. 15, 2023, Haywood returned to the same store and was arrested by officers.  His vehicle was towed from the scene in anticipation of a search warrant.  When the state search warrant was executed on his vehicle, investigators located a Glock, Model 23, .40 caliber firearm; the defendant’s wallet; and approximately 30 grams of cocaine in the center console. Prior to this incident, Haywood was convicted of the felony offense of Voluntary Manslaughter in the Jackson County, Missouri Circuit Court.           

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., returned guilty verdicts on all charged counts to U.S. District Judge D. Greg Kays, ending a two-day trial.

Under federal statutes, Haywood is subject to a sentence of up to life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant 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 United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashleigh Ragner and Jessica Jennings. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MINNEAPOLIS – Raymond Christian Garcia, 23, and Isiah Angelo Garcia, 24, were charged federally by complaint with Kidnapping for engaging in a kidnapping and cryptocurrency heist where they held a family at gunpoint for nine hours and stole $8 million in crypto currency, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  The crime forced Mahtomedi Public Schools to cancel its homecoming football game for the safety of its community.

“A violent kidnapping that stole $8 million and silenced a homecoming game is not just a crime.  It is a blow to the sense of safety of everyone in Minnesota,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  “This is not normal.  Minnesotans should not accept wild violence and thievery as normal.  Every Minnesotan deserves to live in peace and a life unaffected by rampant crime.”

On September 19, 2025, at 4:45 pm, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a 911 call from an adult male who reported that he and his family had been victims of an armed robbery and kidnapping by two adult male suspects and had been held hostage at gunpoint within their residence in Grant, Minnesota.  The two kidnappers were the Garcia brothers.  The 911 caller reported that he, his father (Victim 1), and his mother had been held hostage.

At 7:45 am that morning, Victim 1 was taking out a garbage can to the street when the Garcia brothers suddenly appeared and pointed an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun at Victim 1.  The Garcia brothers took Victim 1 into the garage where they bound his hands with zip ties.  They then brought Victim 1 into the house.  The Garcia brothers woke up Victim 1’s wife and adult son at gunpoint. They also zip tied their hands and forced them to lie on the floor.

Defendant Raymond Garcia held the wife and son in their home for nine hours. Raymond Garcia was armed with the AR-15-style rifle for the duration of the kidnapping.  About 15 minutes before the son called 911, Raymond Garcia left the home out the back door with the AR-15-style rifle, heading towards the tree line.  Raymond Garcia returned to the home shortly thereafter, without the rifle.

Meanwhile, while Raymond Garcia held the wife and son hostage, defendant Isiah Garcia forced Victim 1 at gunpoint to log into his cryptocurrency accounts.  Isiah Garcia demanded that Victim 1 transfer large amounts of cryptocurrency into a cryptocurrency wallet that Isiah Garcia provided.  During the robbery, Victim 1 saw both Garcia brothers frequently making phone calls to an unknown third party, who appeared to be providing the information related to the cryptocurrency accounts and transfers.

Through this third party, the Garcia brothers became aware that Victim 1 had additional cryptocurrency funds.  They demanded the money.  Victim 1 explained that the remaining funds were on a hard drive-style cryptocurrency wallet that was stored at a family cabin approximately three hours away.

Isiah Garcia, armed with the shotgun, then forced Victim 1 into Victim 1’s truck.  Isiah Garcia drove the truck and Victim 1 to the family’s cabin to retrieve the hard drive. All the while, Raymond Garcia held Victim 1’s wife and son hostage with the AR-15-style rifle.  At the cabin, Victim 1 transferred the remaining funds to the cryptocurrency wallet provided by Isiah Garcia.  Isiah Garcia then drove Victim 1 back towards Victim 1’s home.

In total, the Garcia brothers forced Victim 1 to transfer $8 million worth of cryptocurrency to their wallets.

As Isiah Garcia and Victim 1 were returning to the home, Victim 1’s son used the moments that Raymond Garcia left the home to call 911.  Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene following the 911 call and found the wife and son zip tied in the house. As they arrived, Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies saw a man, later identified as Raymond Garcia, running out the back door.  When law enforcement searched the area around the home, they located a suitcase in the tree line.  In the suitcase, they found a disassembled AR-15-style rifle, AR-15 ammunition, as well as clothing items and beverages.

Multiple squads responded to the 911 call, some of whom unknowingly passed Isiah Garcia and Victim 1 as they pulled over to allow the emergency vehicles to pass.  Isiah Garcia turned the truck around, parked it nearby, and walked towards a nearby middle school parking lot.  Isiah Garcia ditched the shotgun in a nearby field.  To protect the safety of the community, Mahtomedi Public Schools was forced to cancel its homecoming football game in response to the ongoing law enforcement activity near the campus.

Using a Wendy’s receipt located in the suitcase recovered behind Victim 1’s house, law enforcement was able to determine that Isiah Garcia had rented a white Chevrolet three days prior to the kidnapping, near Houston, Texas.  Law enforcement also located video surveillance showing that Raymond Garcia rented a Motel 6 room in Roseville, Minnesota, shortly before the kidnapping.  Law enforcement saw that, shortly after law enforcement responded to the scene of the kidnapping, the white Malibu returned to the Motel 6.  The next day, law enforcement spotted the car on cameras in Oklahoma.  On September 21, 2024, law enforcement tracked the car back to the home of the Garcia brothers in Waller, Texas.  After returning to Texas, Raymond Garcia reported that his AR-15-style firearm that he used in the kidnapping and robbery had been stolen.

On September 22, 2025, law enforcement arrested the Garcia brothers in Texas.  Once in custody, Isiah Garcia confessed.  He admitted that he and his brother Raymond Garcia had driven to Minnesota, held Victim 1 and his family at gunpoint, tied them up using zip ties, and driven Victim 1 to the family cabin.  On September 23, 2025, the Garcia brothers were charged by complaint in Washington County, Minnesota with three counts of kidnapping with a firearm, one count of first-degree aggravated robbery, and three counts of first-degree burglary.

On September 24, 2025, the Garcia brothers were both charged in a federal complaint with kidnapping.  Both defendants will make their initial appearances in federal court today and the government will request their detention pending trial.

“As alleged in the complaint, the Garcia brothers terrorized a Minnesota family in their own home, kidnapping one family member while holding the rest of the family hostage in order to conduct a brazen cryptocurrency theft,” said FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr.  “This office, together with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in Minnesota and in Texas, will work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for this horrific crime.”

These cases result from an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office extends its profound sympathies to the victims and lauds them for their bravery and quick action in calling 911.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is grateful for its partnership with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington County Attorney’s Office.  The quick and excellent federal-state cooperation in this case was essential to the filing of federal charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca E. Kline is prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CLEVELAND – A former Ohio deputy employed at a detention facility has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing a female inmate in his custody.

Damon K. Perry, 53, of Youngstown, was sentenced to 112 months (approximately 9.3 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent after he pleaded guilty in May to two counts of sexual abuse of a detainee and two counts of sexual abuse.

“Mr. Perry’s abusive and appalling actions against a detainee in his care were a violation of her basic human rights. Using his power of authority to deliberately take advantage of a woman, who he was charged with supervising, is dishonorable and despicable,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “We thank the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General for investigating this matter.”

According to the plea agreement, Perry admitted to engaging in a sexual act with a female inmate under federal detention at the Mahoning County Jail on two dates in November 2023. The correctional facility, located in Youngstown, Ohio, serves under contract with a federal law enforcement agency to house detainees at their direction as needed.

The first sexual act committed without the victim’s consent occurred Nov. 9, 2023, when the inmate was under Perry’s charge and supervision while she was being held in custody. A second incident occurred Nov. 30, 2023, when Perry again engaged in a non-consensual sexual act with the same federal detainee placed under his authority.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yasmine Makridis for the Northern District of Ohio.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a man for allegedly forging the signatures of two United States District Court judges in court filings.

WALTER BRZOWSKI, 67, of Chicago, is charged with eleven counts of forgery in an indictment returned Tuesday in the Northern District of Illinois.  Each count is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

According to the indictment and a criminal complaint previously filed in the case, Brzowski represented himself in numerous civil lawsuits that he initiated in federal court in Chicago.  The U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed the lawsuits and found that many of Brzowski’s filings were frivolous.  In 2021, the Executive Committee of the U.S. District Court in Chicago issued an order placing restrictions on Brzowski’s ability to file new civil cases and warned that violating the order may lead to monetary sanctions or a contempt of court finding.

In 2023, Brzowski filed a “notice” in the District Court stating that he was relieved of any previously imposed prohibitions and instructing the District Court Clerk’s Office to “rescind any filing restrictions,” the charges allege.  The notice included an attached Executive Committee Order that was purportedly signed by U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.  The District Court determined that Brzowski had forged Judge Pallmeyer’s signature and sanctioned him $25,000, the charges allege.  Brzowski allegedly continued to file materials with the Court, including multiple filings in 2025 that contained forged signatures of Judge Pallmeyer and U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and LaDon A. Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Stern.

“The forgery of a judge’s signature is a serious matter and an attack on the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.  “We will hold accountable those who use forgeries and frauds to undermine the important judicial work of the Honorable Judges of the Northern District of Illinois.”

“The defendant allegedly sent fraudulent court orders through the U.S. mail bearing forged signatures of multiple United States District Court judges in an effort to circumvent standing orders and unlawfully twist the legal system to his favor,” said Inspector-in-Charge Mendonça.  “Thankfully, Chicago Postal Inspectors uncovered his scheme to delegitimize the rule of law, and brought him to justice.”

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On September 22, 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 43 gang members from the municipality of Cayey with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) Guayama Strike Force, with the collaboration of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) and Air and Marine Operations (AMO), the U.S.  Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Today during the arrests, the following agencies provided support: Puerto Rico National Guard, Ponce Municipal Police, Guaynabo Municipal Police, Bayamón Municipal Police, and San Juan Municipal Police.

“Thanks to the great investigative work of our law enforcement partners, the important leaders, enforcers and other members of the violent gang known as Los Vira’o are being taken off our streets,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “These arrests reflect our steadfast determination to remove violent gangs from our communities.”

“We will not tolerate criminal organizations that continue to threaten the safety and well-being of our communities while profiting from the distribution of deadly narcotics on our streets. These groups show nothing but disrespect for our neighborhoods, our children, and the elderly —taking lives at every turn. Let me be clear: the arrests do not end here. Our commitment and resources are fully dedicated to one mission—eliminating transnational criminal organizations. Not disrupting. Not dismantling. Eliminating,” said Rebecca González-Ramos, Special Agent in Charge, HSI San Juan (Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands).

The indictment alleges that from 2021, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin,  cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, marijuana, and fentanyl, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet), and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) within 1,000 feet of the Luis Muñoz Morales and Jardines de Montellano (a/k/a “Greyskull”) Public Housing Projects (PHPs), the Polvorín Ward in Cayey, and other areas throughout Puerto Rico, all for significant financial gain and profit.

The object of the conspiracy was to distribute wholesale quantities and street amount quantities of controlled substances at the Luis Muñoz Morales and Jardines de Montellano PHPs, the Polvorín Ward in Cayey, as well as other areas throughout Puerto Rico and the continental United States. The organization referred to itself as Los Vira’o and used other insignia to identify its membership and loyalty, including jewelry, stickers, or tattoos of the letters “LFNM,” which stands for “La Familia Nunca Muere,” (The Family Never Dies). The top leader of the gang, Efraín A. Planell-Pérez, although incarcerated, used contraband cellular devices to communicate with gang members, hold conference calls and video calls, make electronic fund transfers, and coordinate gang activity. Additionally, Planell-Pérez purchased drugs and guns, gave orders regarding the function of the drug points, ordered murders, resolved disputes, and taught new members how to prepare drugs for sale, among other criminal actions.

According to court documents, members of Los Vira’o posted criminal activities to social media both to raise their own status and intimidate rivals. On occasion, some members of the drug trafficking organization purchased commercially available security cameras, installed them in the PHPs, and downloaded corresponding applications to their cellular devices to monitor activity within those PHPs, looking out for police activity and attacks by rival gangs.

A group of the founding members of Los Vira’o previously belonged to another drug trafficking organization based in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Those members of Los Vira’o turned against the other Caguas-based gang, and since the inception of Los Vira’o in 2021 have been in a turf war with that other organization, to include coordinated shootings in rival gang territory using automatic weapons and squad-like tactics, killing both intended and unintended victims.

It is alleged that members of Los Vira’o carried out violent carjackings using firearms to acquire vehicles to use in murders and other criminal acts. They would refer to those stolen cars as units, and those cars were generally forbidden from being stored inside the PHPs. After use in a murder or other criminal act, gang members would burn the cars or sell them.

The investigation revealed that during the conspiracy the defendants and their co-conspirators created a music label and produced music and music videos with lyrics describing specific gang activity, real coconspirators, and real criminal events. Music videos of Los Vira’o feature real firearms brandished in the videos.

The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including as leaders, enforcers, runners, sellers, facilitators, and lookouts. Twenty-seven (27) defendants are facing one charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and fifteen (15) of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The defendants charged in the indictment are:

[1] Efraín A. Planell-Pérez, a.k.a. “Gordo Billar/Billar/Simba/Simbad/el Ocho”

[2] David González-Olmo, a.k.a. “Cagüita”

[3] Eliezer Rivera-Otero, a.k.a. “Tiki/Tiky”

[4] Luis D. Maldonado-Berríos, a.k.a. “Guinea/La G”

[5] Miguel Y. Fuentes-Oquendo, a.k.a. “Barba”

[6] José M. Rivera-Fuentes, a.k.a. “Che/Cheque”

[7] Edgar Antonio Santiago-Vázquez, a.k.a. “Mili/Militar”

[8] Julio A. Torres-Roche, a.k.a. “Doctor”

[9] José David Serrano-Santiago, a.k.a. “Hacha Vieja”

[10] Kris L. Vega-González, a.k.a. “Yandel/Kris Llandel”

[11] Miguel A. Olmo-Garcia, a.k.a. “Mine/Bolillo”

[12] Yandel O. Bermejo-Rodríguez

[13] Jouseph De Jesús-Reyes, a.k.a. “Boti”

[14] Juan A. Flores-Lebrón, a.k.a. “Juanki”

[15] Noel Nieves-Lora, a.k.a. “Bulin”

[16] Cristopher Colón-Viera, a.k.a. “Topher”

[17] Joseph A. Torres-Quesada, a.k.a. “Mueca”

[18] Zael Y. Lao-Ortiz, a.k.a. “Vieques”

[19] Jay L. Diaz-Del Valle, a.k.a. “Jay Livan/El Cantante”

[20] Héctor M. Cruz-Ayala, a.k.a. “Gordo Gordo/Gordo Chiquito”

[21] Jeremy Ortiz-Díaz, a.k.a. “Millo”

[22] Victor M. Cruz-Ortiz, a.k.a. “Papa/El Father”

[23] Carlos A. Arroyo-Santel, a.k.a. “Rata/R”

[24] Adrián J. Miranda-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Pilo/Pilotito”

[25] Rubén M. Torres-Reyes

[26] Luis Y. León-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Ika”

[27] Kevin M. Torres-Rivera, a.k.a. “Kevo”

[28] Edgardo Ortiz-Figueroa, a.k.a. “Pucho”

[29] Michael A. Santiago-Cruz, a.k.a. “Colo/Colorao”

[30] Christopher J. Nieves-Pérez, a.k.a. “Chucho”

[31] José G. Jiménez-Robles, a.k.a. “Joy”

[32] Christopher J. Fontanez-Vega, a.k.a. “Lagarto”

[33] Endel Gabriel Vidal-Malavé

[34] Bryan L. Montalvo-Colón, a.k.a. “Yambra”

[35] Luis A. Trinidad-González, a.k.a. “Chivito”

[36] Mariela E. Santiago-Cuevas

[37] José Orlando Ortiz-Martínez, a.k.a. “Champu de Coco/Vizco”

[38] Kenneth O. Claudio-Vega, a.k.a. “Kenny”

[39] Jonathan A. Ortiz-Martínez, a.k.a. “Cocodrilo/Orejas”

[40] Joseph Vicente-Vázquez, a.k.a. “Joe Cantera”

[41] Alejandro M. Tarafa-Fortuño, a.k.a. “Zombie”

[42] Rosemary Santiago-Serrano

[43] Paola M. Rodríguez-Morales

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort, Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares, AUSA R. Vance Eaton, and AUSA Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted on the drug charges, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison. If convicted of both the drug and firearms charges in Count Seven, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 15 years, and up to life in prison. The defendants charged with possession of machineguns in furtherance of drug trafficking in Count Eight face a mandatory sentence of thirty years in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges. All defendants are facing a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $9,362,160.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

GREAT FALLS – A Mexican man who was in the United States illegally was sentenced yesterday to a term of time-served and remanded to the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Leobardo Ricardo Torres-Torres, 38, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to illegal reentry.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Torres-Torres was removed from the United States in November 2016 and never obtained permission to return. On March 24, 2025, he was found in Havre, Montana when Border Patrol agents approached a vehicle registered to a person illegally present in the United States in the Walmart parking lot. An agent asked Torres-Torres if he owned the vehicle, and he admitted he did. He said was working construction in the area, was originally from Mexico, and had no documents that permitted him to enter or remain in the United States.

Torres-Torres’s immigration files show he applied for U.S. citizenship in 2002 but presented a fraudulent birth certificate with his application. He was allowed to withdraw the application and return to Mexico. In July 2009, Torres-Torres was found in Arizona and ordered removed after an arrest in Maricopa County for driving while intoxicated. In July 2010, Border Patrol agents found Torres-Torres, again in Arizona. He was convicted of illegal entry, a misdemeanor, sentenced to 30 days in prison, and removed from the United States. In August 2016, Border Patrol agents in Naco, Arizona, found Torres-Torres. He was again convicted of illegal entry, sentenced to 75 days in prison, and again removed from the United States. When he was arrested in Havre in March 2025, Torres-Torres told the Border Patrol he reentered the U.S. in November 2017, near El Paso, Texas.

The United States Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Border Patrol.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

DETROIT – Former Inkster Mayor Patrick Wimberly’s executive assistant pleaded guilty today to lying to federal agents during their investigation into Wimberly’s bribery scheme, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced. Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Saif Alsenad, 33, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, served as Mayor Wimberly’s executive assistant from May 2021, through June 2023. According to the information, in October 2024, Alsenad lied to FBI agents and told them he was not aware that Wimberly had corruptly solicited, demanded, and agreed to accept $100,000 with the intent to assist an investor in acquiring a vacant 13-acre parcel owned by the city of Inkster. At the time he made the statements, Alsenad knew they were false because he knew Wimberly had agreed to accept cash bribes in exchange for Wimberly’s assistance in obtaining the parcel of land for the developer. Alsenad was charged with making a false statement or representation to a department or agency of the United States, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2). This charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

In September 2024, Wimberly pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept $100,000 in cash bribes. He was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.

“When law enforcement officers are investigating a crime, lying to them to help shield the offender is never the right decision. This is especially true when those involved are government officials who have a duty to serve the public’s interest, not their own,” said Gorgon.

“Today’s guilty plea by Saif Alsenad demonstrates the FBI’s steadfast commitment to investigate those who undermine the public’s trust, regardless of their position or influence,” said Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Working for an elected official does not exempt anyone from accountability when engaging in public corruption. I want to thank the members of the FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force for their outstanding investigative work throughout this investigation.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton P. Brown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MINNEAPOLIS – Late yesterday, following a two-day jury trial, Damien Duwjan Shade, age 48, was found guilty of all charged counts in the indictment, that is, one count of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and one count of Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.

“Stuffed animals are symbols of childhood, not vessels for poison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  “Turning a child’s toy into a cover for lethal drugs shows the lengths drug traffickers will go to peddle their poison.  This verdict ensures there will be consequences.”

According to evidence presented at trial, in March 2023, the Rochester Police Department responded to the FedEx facility at the Rochester Airport after learning of three suspicious packages sent from San Diego, California, to two separate addresses in Winona, Minnesota.  The packages were all shipped from the same sender—“Trayvon Strange”—and were addressed to fictitious individuals whom law enforcement determined did not live at the stated addresses. 

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Rochester Police Department arranged for a drug detecting K9 to sniff the packages.  The K9 alerted to the presence of drugs inside the packages.  Law enforcement received warrants to open the packages.  In the packages, law enforcement found six pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside of stuffed animals.

The next day, law enforcement placed sensors and tracking devices inside the packages, removing all but a small amount of methamphetamine from each box and replacing the methamphetamine with “filler”—rock salt and other materials—to approximate the original weight of the packages.

Law enforcement conducted a “controlled delivery,” delivering the packages to the addresses on the packages.  The mother of the defendant’s children initially retrieved the packages and then the defendant arrived at her home to collect the packages, which he believed were full of methamphetamine.  Law enforcement searched the scene and found that the defendant had opened the controlled delivery packages.  Law enforcement found the controlled delivery methamphetamine and the guts of the cut-open stuffed animals.

The defendant confessed.  He said that he traveled to California, purchased several pounds meth, and then shipped it back to himself in Minnesota using fake names.  He admitted he hid the methamphetamine inside of stuffed animals.  He also admitted he had a gun at his apartment, which he was not legally allowed to possess because he is a felon.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Shade’s home. There, they found the third controlled delivery package, unopened, on a chair in the living room.  The package contained the stuffed animals, repackaged with the filler material that law enforcement switched out for the methamphetamine.

Law enforcement further found a loaded Comanche III .357 Magnum revolver in a dresser drawer, a digital scale, approximately 30 small Ziplock baggies in an unlocked safe, and what appeared to be a drug ledger.  A search of the bedroom closet further revealed a stash of over 400 live .357 Magnum handgun rounds and a spent casing.

As charged in the indictment, in 2013, Shade was previously convicted of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm in San Diego, California.

On September 24, 2025, a federal jury convicted Shade on both charged counts in U.S. District Court before District Judge Michael J. Davis.  Shade will be sentenced at a later date.  He faces up to life in prison.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Rochester Police Department, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, the Winona Police Department, and other members of the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team (SEMVCET).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren O. Roso and Syngen Kanassatega prosecuted and tried the case.