Category: MIL-OSI

Source: US FBI

JAHAZ LANGSTON, also known as “Haz,” 25, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 188 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a violent Bridgeport street gang.

Today’s announcement was made by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District; Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter; Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Acting U.S. Marshal Lawrence Bobnick.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, murder, and other acts of violence.  Langston was a member of the Original North End (“O.N.E.”), a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport that committed acts of violence against rival gangs, including the East End gang, the East Side gang, and the PT Barnum gang.  O.N.E. members also robbed drug dealers, customers, and others, sold narcotics, and stole cars from inside and outside Connecticut, often using the cars to commit crimes.  They frequently used social media to promote and coordinate their criminal activities.

Text messages and social media posts reviewed during the investigation confirmed that Langston possessed and sold narcotics and firearms, stole vehicles, and was involved in related violent criminal activity alongside other O.N.E. members and associates.

The investigation also determined that Langston and fellow O.N.E. member Amire Newsome conspired to murder rival gang members and, on March 7, 2021, shot and severely injured the mother of two rival gang members as she drove her vehicle on I-95.

O.N.E. members committed other violent crimes, including murder.

Langston has been detained since his arrest on July 20, 2021.  On September 13, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.

Approximately 47 members and associates of multiple Bridgeport-based gangs have been convicted of federal offenses stemming from this investigation, which has solved eight murders and approximately 20 attempted murders.

Newsome pleaded guilty on August 16, 2023, and awaits sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, Waterbury Police Department, and Naugatuck Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, Stephanie T. Levick, and Rahul Kale.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. 

Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities.  Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it.  If a group member elects to engage in gun violence, the focused attention of federal, state and local law enforcement will be directed at that entire group.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: US FBI

LUIS GARCIA, also known as “Ebk Lou,” 27, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 240 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a violent Bridgeport street gang.

Today’s announcement was made by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District; Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter; Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Acting U.S. Marshal Lawrence Bobnick.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, murder, and other acts of violence.  Garcia was a member of the Original North End (“O.N.E.”), a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport that committed acts of violence against rival gangs, including the East End gang, the East Side gang, and the PT Barnum gang.  O.N.E. members also robbed drug dealers, customers, and others, sold narcotics, and stole cars from inside and outside Connecticut, often using the cars to commit crimes.  They frequently used social media to promote and coordinate their criminal activities.

Text messages and social media posts reviewed during the investigation confirmed that Garcia possessed and sold narcotics and firearms, stole vehicles, and was involved in related violent criminal activity alongside other O.N.E. members and associates.

On August 9, 2018, O.N.E. members stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Newburgh, New York, and drove it back to Bridgeport.  In the following days, O.N.E. members conspired to use the car to kill East End gang members and their allies who they had learned through social media were at a deli on Stratford Avenue in Bridgeport.  Although that plan fell through, in the early morning hours of August 13, 2018, Garcia, Ta’Ron Pharr, and Lorenzo Carter drove the stolen Jeep to Stratford and Union Avenues in Bridgeport where they shot and killed Len Smith, 25, who they mistook for a rival East End group member, and shot and seriously wounded Smith’s female companion, both of whom were seated in a parked car.  After the shooting, O.N.E. members transported the Jeep to Indian Wells State Park in Shelton where they burned the vehicle in an effort to destroy evidence of the murder.

O.N.E. members committed other violent crimes, including murder.

Garcia has been detained since his arrest on September 8, 2021.  On September 6, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.

Approximately 47 members and associates of multiple Bridgeport-based gangs have been convicted of federal offenses stemming from this investigation, which has solved eight murders and approximately 20 attempted murders.

Pharr pleaded guilty and, on August 30, 2022, was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment.  On November 21, 2023, a jury found Carter guilty of racketeering conspiracy.  He awaits sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, Waterbury Police Department, and Naugatuck Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, Stephanie T. Levick, and Rahul Kale.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. 

Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities.  Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it.  If a group member elects to engage in gun violence, the focused attention of federal, state and local law enforcement will be directed at that entire group.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARIA DEL CARMEN SANCHEZ POTRERO, also known as Maria Carmela Sanchez, 71, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 51 months of imprisonment for her involvement in a scheme to smuggle aliens into the U.S., harbor them at Hartford area residences, force them to work, and threaten to harm them in various ways if they failed to pay exorbitant fees, interest, and other living expenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in September 2022, the FBI and Hartford Police interviewed several Mexican nationals who disclosed that they were smuggled from Mexico into the U.S. and transported to Hartford.  The investigation revealed that victims typically arranged with Sanchez and others in Connecticut and Mexico to cross the border into the U.S. in exchange for a fee of between $15,000 and $20,000 that each would need to pay once they were in the U.S.  In most cases, the victims were required to turn over a property deed as collateral before leaving Mexico.  They were then smuggled across the border and transported to Hartford area residences, including Sanchez’s residence on Madison Street in Hartford, often at a substantial risk of bodily injury or death.

After the victims arrived in Connecticut, they were told that they would have to pay approximately $30,000, with interest, and that they would have to pay Sanchez and her co-coconspirators for rent, food, gas and utilities.  Sanchez and her co-conspirators created false documents for the victims, including Permanent Residence cards and Social Security cards, and helped the victims find employment in the Hartford area.  In addition to their own jobs, some victims were required to perform housework and yardwork without compensation and without having their debt reduced.

Victims were rarely provided with an accounting of their debt.  If victims failed to make regular payments, or in amounts that Sanchez and her co-conspirators expected, they were sometimes threatened, including with threats to harm family members in Mexico, to take property in Mexico that had been secured as collateral, to reveal victims’ immigration status to U.S. authorities, and to raise their interest payments.

To date, investigators have identified 19 victims of this scheme. Multiple victims were minors, and at least two were smuggled into the U.S. unaccompanied by a relative or legal guardian.

Sanchez has been detained since her arrest on March 1, 2023.  On October 24, 2024, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to encourage and induce, bring in, transport, and harbor aliens.

Judge Dooley ordered Sanchez to pay restitution of $574,608.

Sanchez faces immigration when she completes her prison term.

This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hartford Police Department, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull and Shan Patel.

Source: US FBI

JUSTIN CABRERA, also known as “J.U.,” 26, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 204 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for offenses stemming from his participation in the 960 gang, a violent Waterbury street gang.

Today’s announcement was made by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Maureen T. Platt, State’s Attorney for the Waterbury Judicial District; Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; and Waterbury Police Chief Fernando C. Spagnolo.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in an effort to address drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury, the FBI, ATF, and Waterbury Police have been investigating multiple Waterbury-based groups, including the 960 gang.  On September 14, 2021, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 36-count indictment charging Cabrera and 15 other alleged 960 gang members with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, firearm possession, murder, attempted murder and assault, and obstruction of justice offenses.

On October 31, 2017, four 960 members used a stolen car to carry out a drive-by shooting of members of ATM, a rival gang, at the corner of Bank Street and Porter Street in Waterbury.  An ATM member was shot and wounded in the attack.  Cabrera drove a second vehicle, or “trail car,” used in the shooting, conducted surveillance of ATM members prior to the shooting, and picked up the shooters after the event.

Cabrera has been detained since September 16, 2021.  On September 16, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and one count of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Waterbury Police Department, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Southington Police Department, Watertown Police Department, New Milford Police Department, Connecticut State Police, Connecticut Department of Correction, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, and the DEA Laboratory.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey M. Stone, John T. Pierpont, Jr. and Natasha M. Freismuth, and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Don E. Therkildesen, Jr. and Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandra Arroyo, who were cross-designated as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys in this matter.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on April 9, 2025, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging XIAOQIN YAN, 31, a citizen of China, with escape from the custody of the Attorney General.

The indictment alleges that, on December 10, 2024, Yan escaped from the Federal Satellite Low facility at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury (FCI Danbury) where she was serving a federal prison sentence imposed in the Middle District of Alabama for arson and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.

Yan was apprehended on December 10, 2024.

If convicted of the charge, Yan faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  A charge is only an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Danbury Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.

Source: US FBI

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that James Wendell Dean, 54, Boulder, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of transportation of a minor across state lines with the intention of engaging in sexually explicit conduct with the minor.

“Crimes against children are the most despicable in our society,” said United States Attorney Matt Kirsch. “Our office will aggressively prosecute anyone who harms a minor.”

“This sentence serves as a reminder that protecting children from predators is a top priority for the FBI,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “We will continue to support victims of child sexual exploitation and work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who prey upon children.”

United States District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico presided over the sentencing.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Denver Field Office handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alison Connaughty handled the prosecution.

Case Number: 2023-cr-00440-DDD

Source: US FBI

Beatrice Irene Willis, 52, of Ethete, Wyoming, was sentenced to 65 months’ imprisonment with three years’ supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine. U.S. District Court Judge Kelly H. Rankin imposed the sentence on Dec. 19 in Cheyenne.

According to court documents, in October of 2023, the Safe Trails Task Force, led by the FBI, received information that Willis was selling controlled substances from her residence in Ethete. On Jan. 19, agents conducted a controlled buy of two ounces of methamphetamine from Willis. During a follow-up interview, she admitted to regularly distributing controlled substances on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The Safe Trails Task Force investigates drug trafficking on the Wind River Indian Reservation, and in surrounding communities, with an emphasis on identifying and stopping the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl. In addition to the FBI, task force members include the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Riverton Police Department, the Lander Police Department, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

Willis was indicted on May 16 and pleaded guilty on June 25. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy W. Gist prosecuted this case.

Case No. 24-CR-00077

Source: US FBI

DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jeremiah Hight, 23, of Towaoc, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of second-degree murder of a child in Indian Country, and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Hight was previously charged by a criminal complaint authorized by Magistrate Judge James Candelaria on December 19, 2024. Hight was arrested on the Navajo Reservation on December 24, 2024, and made an initial appearance in the District of Arizona on December 26, 2024. Hight is currently being transported to the District of Colorado. 

According to the complaint and indictment, in the early hours of December 11, 2024, Hight fired a rifle twenty-four times into a residence, killing a seven-year-old member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado, on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. The investigation is ongoing.   

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey K. Graves, R. Josh Player, and Lisa Franceware.

Case Number: 25-cr-0003-GPG

Source: US FBI

DURANGO – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Lovell Cassius Benallie, age 27, of Kirtland, New Mexico, was sentenced to a total of 166 months in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. The prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.

According to the plea agreement and information presented at sentencing, on August 24, 2023, Benallie and an associate traveled from New Mexico to the Ute Mountain Ute Casino. After gambling, Benallie went to the nearby Ute Mountain Ute Travel Center and approached an elderly Navajo man preparing to use the laundry facility. In an interaction that lasted about eighteen seconds, Benallie said, “give me all your money” and pointed a 9mm gun at the man. When the man replied, “what money” Benallie aimed and fired the gun at the man’s leg. Benallie fled the scene. The victim was airlifted to Grand Junction for medical treatment and suffered serious and enduring injuries.    

Benallie had several prior felony convictions, including a conviction for aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon in Farmington, New Mexico.

“The defendant acted callously and purposelessly,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “Gun violence will not be tolerated on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation and our office reaffirms our intention to vigorously violent crimes on our reservations.”

“This defendant coldly and callously shot a total stranger during an attempted robbery. Any such act of violence on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation gets the full attention of FBI Denver,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “In this case we were assisted by the Farmington, New Mexico, Police Department. We will continue to support the Bureau of Indian Affairs and those who live on the reservation by investigating criminal acts and removing the perpetrators from the community.”

United States District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher sentenced the defendant on December 16, 2024.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Durango conducted the investigation in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey K. Graves handled the prosecution.

Case Number: 1:23-cr-00383-GPG-JMC-1

Source: US FBI

DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Daniel Lehi, 44, of Towaoc, Colorado, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of assaulting a federal officer.

On April 5, 2024, a Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer responded to the Ute Mountain Ute Casino in Towaoc, Colorado, within the exterior boundaries of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, on a report of an intoxicated person, later identified as Lehi. Lehi lunged at the officer and struck him in the face. When additional security personnel responded to the incident, Lehi continued to fight until officers were able to subdue him.

United States District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher sentenced Lehi after considering numerous sentencing factors, including the defendant’s history of assaults on law enforcement officers.

“Assault on a law enforcement officer is a serious offense, and this defendant received a serious sentence for his actions,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “I want to acknowledge the BIA officer for deftly handling a challenging situation.”

“This attack on a federal officer simply doing his job is unacceptable. We fully support the officer who is a victim in this case and are steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice in cases involving assaults on law enforcement officers,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “Such acts will not go unanswered, and we will work tirelessly to ensure accountability.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Durango Field Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Franceware handled the prosecution.

Case Number: 1:24-cr-00182-GPG