Category: Security

Source: US FBI

Following a nine-day trial, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted Shannima Yuantrell Session, also known as Shalamar, 47, of Lake Placid, Florida, on 13 charges for sex trafficking nearly a dozen women and girls. Session compelled some of his victims to commit commercial sex acts between July 2011 and July 2013, and he compelled other victims to commit commercial sex acts between February 2016 and February 2019.

“The defendant used despicable and horrific means to terrify and coerce nearly a dozen women and girls to engage in commercial sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to protecting vulnerable victims from such cruel exploitation. This prosecution reflects that commitment. It is a testament to the courageous young women who cooperated with law enforcement to expose, prosecute and hold accountable this defendant for the years of misery he inflicted on scores of women.”

“Vindicating the rights of human trafficking victims and other vulnerable persons ranks among the highest priorities of our office,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “Human trafficking is a crime of exploitation. We will not allow human traffickers to prey upon others for profit, as humans are not commodities but rather demand our united protection. Our office’s dedicated prosecutors, victim witness coordinators, and support personnel will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat human trafficking and bring offenders to justice.” 

“Today’s verdict is a step towards justice for the nearly dozen victims who were forced by Shannima Yuantrell Session into sex trafficking and endured his reign of horrendous and abusive control,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office. “This verdict is a testament to the cooperation and commitment of several law enforcement agencies including the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. We will continue working with these and other partners to dismantle human trafficking networks that operate in the shadows and brutalize their victims.”

Evidence presented during the trial established that Session made promises of legitimate work and housing assistance to women and girls struggling with unstable living accommodations, substance abuse and neglect or who otherwise led unstable lives. Session’s promises were often false and empty, designed to provide him the opportunity to learn about a victim’s vulnerabilities while misrepresenting himself as caring and empathetic. Session then exploited the victims’ vulnerabilities to compel their commercial sex acts in squalid trailers housing migrant workers or in local orange groves.

At times, Session used food and housing to control and coerce the victims. For example, he would not permit one of his victims to eat if the victim did not follow his instructions. Often, Session required his victims to engage in sexual activity with him after they had spent a night having compelled sexual intercourse with up to 18 men.

Further, the evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that Session resorted to extreme physical violence to compel and intimidate certain victims. He violently punched some of the victims in the back of their heads in order not to leave marks on their bodies. Once, Session dragged a victim to a shower and beat her in the back of her head with a metal nutcracker until she fell limp to the floor. Session also choked another victim to the point that she lost consciousness, beat another victim with a baseball bat and brutalized yet another so badly that her nose ring fell out due to the force of the assault. In addition, Session took multiple victims to a nearby lake, where he held their heads underwater and threatened to drown them if they did not do as he ordered.

The evidence also showed that Session used a firearm to intimidate and control his victims. He consistently kept a firearm in his possession, and frequently displayed it to victims or referred to it when talking with them. Once, Session pointed a firearm at a victim while he was driving and threatened to “kill” her after she asked him how he would feel if someone treated his daughter the way he treated her. Fearing for her life when Session stopped the car and began walking to the passenger side door, the victim jumped out of the car and ran towards nearby woods. In response, Session fired a shot into the air while he called out the victim’s name.

Finally, the evidence indicated that Session manipulated and took advantage of some victims’ substance abuse problems to compel their commercial sex services. For example, Session provided victims with cocaine and methamphetamine to give them sufficient energy to engage in commercial sex acts with multiple migrant men at nearby trailers.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19. Session faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as mandatory restitution. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Miami Field Office, Ft. Pierce Resident Agency, investigated the case, with assistance from the Highlands County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Leah Branch and Matthew Thiman of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Source: US FBI

PORTLAND, OR—The FBI Portland Division has seen an increase in reports of scammers falsely representing themselves as FBI agents, or a representative of another government agency, and sending couriers to pick up cash or gold payments.

Be advised, federal agencies do not call or e-mail individuals threatening arrest or demanding money. Scammers often spoof caller ID information, and these phone calls are fraudulent even if they appear to be coming from an agency’s legitimate phone number. Recipients should hang up immediately and report the call.

There are many versions of the government impersonation scam, and they all exploit intimidation tactics. Typically, scammers will use an urgent and aggressive tone, refusing to speak to or leave a message with anyone other than their targeted victim; and will urge victims not to tell anyone else, including family, friends, or financial institutions, about what is occurring.

Payment is demanded in various forms, in this new version of the scam, victims are asked to withdraw money as either cash or gold and give that to a courier who arrives at their home. Other tactics include prepaid cards, wire transfers, and cash, sent by mail or inserted into cryptocurrency ATMs. Victims are asked to read prepaid card numbers over the phone or text a picture of the card.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 14,190 people reported being victims of government impersonation scams in 2023, with losses totaling more than $394 million dollars. Here in the Portland Division, which includes all of Oregon, financial losses exceeded $1.7 million dollars in 2023.

The scammers typically target older adults. In 2023, almost half the complainants reported to be over 60 (40%), and experienced 58% of the losses (almost $770 million) nationally. Complainants over the age of 60 lost more to these scams than all other age groups combined, and reportedly remortgaged/foreclosed homes, emptied retirement accounts, and borrowed from family and friends to cover losses in these scams. Some incidents have resulted in suicide because of shame or loss of sustainable income.

The FBI will never:

• Call or e-mail private citizens to demand payment or threaten arrest. You will also not be asked to wire a “settlement” to avoid arrest.
• Ask you to use large sums of your own money to help catch a criminal.
• Ask you for wire transfers or gift cards.
• Call you about “frozen” Social Security numbers or to coordinate inheritances.

Scams impersonating the FBI and other government agencies are a persistent problem and can also occur via e-mail. Common hallmarks of a scam e-mail include misspellings, missing words, and incorrect grammar. Fraudulent e-mails may give the appearance of legitimacy by using pictures of the FBI Director and/or the FBI seal and letterhead.

Members of the public seeking to confirm that they have been contacted by an actual FBI employee are encouraged to call the FBI Portland Division at 503-224-4181 and ask to be connected directly.

If you think you are a victim of this, or any other online scam please file a report with your local law enforcement agency and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov.

More information about government impersonation schemes and other online fraud schemes can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes.

Source: US FBI

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Tigard, Oregon man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to federal prison today for transporting an adult victim across state lines for illegal sexual activity and laundering the proceeds through a Portland-based bottled water company.

Johnell Lee Cleveland, 42, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and seven years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $32,115 in restitution to the Oregon Department of Employment. The sum of restitution Cleveland must pay to his adult victim will be determined at a later date.

“In the summer of 2020, Johnell Cleveland received a rare early release from federal prison he could have used as an opportunity to chart a new path away from criminality. Unfortunately, he did the exact opposite, diving headfirst into a remarkable series of crimes,” said Steven T. Mygrant, Chief of the Narcotics and Criminal Enterprises Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. “We thank the FBI, IRS, and PPB for their efforts in holding Cleveland accountable and securing this nine-year prison sentence.” 

“Johnell Cleveland has demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the law,” said Douglas A. Olson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland Field Office. “Even after serving a prison term, Cleveland continued his chronic criminal behavior with money laundering, wire fraud, and transporting an adult victim for illegal sexual activity. The FBI, along with our partners, is dedicated to maintaining the safety of our communities, and with Cleveland behind bars, our community is more secure.”

“30 days is long enough to form positive habits; it is also more than long enough to return to bad ones, as Mr. Cleveland unfortunately chose to do,” said Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes, IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), Seattle Field Office. “Given a second chance, Mr. Cleveland did not choose to better himself. Instead, he proceeded to cause immense harm to the people and to the communities around him. This sentencing shows that CI, along with our partners in law enforcement, will bring justice to repeat offenders as many times as needed, as Mr. Cleveland is finding out today.”

According to court documents, in July 2019, Cleveland was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for distributing cyclopropyl fentanyl, possessing a machine gun and money laundering. In the summer of 2020, nineteen months before his original projected release date, Cleveland sought and was granted a compassionate release from prison based on health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Less than 30 days following his release from prison, Cleveland and an associate submitted a fraudulent insurance policy application for nine pieces of jewelry previously seized by law enforcement. Approximately four months after Cleveland and his associate were issued an insurance policy worth more than $100,000, his associate submitted a false burglary report to the Las Vegas Police Department claiming her Mercedes-Benz sedan and various personal property, including the nine pieces of insured jewelry, had been stolen. Seeking reimbursement, Cleveland quickly notified his insurance company of the purported jewelry theft.

While his insurance fraud scheme was ongoing, in October 2020, Cleveland devised a separate scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID relief program funds. On October 14, 2020, he applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits for a five-month period beginning in April 2020, claiming he was unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, Cleveland was unemployed during this time because he was in federal prison. Despite his false claims, Cleveland’s application was approved, and he began receiving PUA benefits.

Investigators later learned that during this same time period, Cleveland transported for illegal sexual activity an adult woman he had, in August 2020, commenced a romantic relationship with. Cleveland told the woman that he needed money to get his business ventures off the ground and fund their future together. Over time, Cleveland became less friendly and more menacing toward the woman, demanding she travel frequently and engage in more commercial sex. Meanwhile, Cleveland kept all the money the woman earned and threatened her with various punishments he claimed to have used on other women, including locking her in a dog cage.

To conceal and disguise the nature of his victim’s proceeds, Cleveland used the money to pay business expenses for the bottled water company, including costs for bottling and manufacturing, rental of corporate office space in Portland, merchandising, and a monthly retainer with a modeling agency.

On November 3, 2021, Cleveland was arrested without incident in Portland. The same day, investigators seized Cleveland’s vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a secret compartment in the driver-side door that concealed a loaded handgun.

On October 19, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Cleveland and his insurance fraud associate with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud. Later, in on March 10, 2022, Cleveland was indicted a second time for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon; and money laundering. 

On February 4, 2024, Cleveland pleaded guilty to both counts of his fraud indictment and a three-count superseding criminal information charging him with transportation for illegal sexual activity, illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and money laundering.

This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS CI, and the Portland Police Bureau Human Trafficking Unit. It was prosecuted by Peter Sax and Nicole Bockelman, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

If you or someone you know is in danger, please call 911. If you are a human trafficking victim or have information about a potential human trafficking situation, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733. Calls and texts are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Human trafficking is a serious federal crime where individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex, labor, or domestic servitude against their will. Traffickers exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause unimaginable harm. In February 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland launched a new national strategy to combat human trafficking that aims to prevent all forms of trafficking, prosecute trafficking cases, and support trafficking victims and survivors.

Source: US FBI

PORTLAND, Ore.—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon joins its partners across the federal government, as well as people throughout American Indian and Alaska Native communities, in recognizing May 5, 2024, as National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day.

The office also announced today the appointment of an MMIP Regional Coordinator based in the District of Oregon. Cedar Wilkie Gillette, who since June 2020 has served as the District of Oregon MMIP Coordinator, will now serve as regional coordinator for the Northwest Region under the Justice Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program. The Northwest Region includes the states of California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Ms. Wilkie Gillette will work alongside Ms. Bree R. Black Horse who was appointed in February 2024 in the Eastern District of Washington to serve as the MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northwest Region.

“We are delighted that Cedar Wilkie Gillette will serve as northwest regional coordinator for the Justice Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program. This program is a critical next step in the department’s ongoing effort to address this crisis, which has affected tribes and communities across our region and country. Cedar is abundantly qualified for this position and we are eager for her to expand the great work she has done here in Oregon throughout the Northwest Region,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

“There is still so much more to do in the face of persistently high levels of violence that Tribal communities have endured for generations, and that women and girls, particularly, have endured,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “In carrying out our work, we seek to honor those who are still missing, those who were stolen from their communities, and their loved ones who are left with unimaginable pain. Tribal communities deserve safety, and they deserve justice. This day challenges all of us at the Justice Department to double down on our efforts, and to be true partners with Tribal communities as we seek to end this crisis.”

Launched in July 2023, the MMIP Regional Outreach Program permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered indigenous people. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. 

The regional outreach program program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to U.S. Attorney’s Offices promoting public safety in Indian Country and fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and the department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022. 

The Department’s work to respond to the MMIP crisis is a whole-of-department effort. In March, the Departments of Justice and the Interior released their joint response to the Not Invisible Act Commission’s recommendations on how to combat the missing or murdered indigenous peoples and human trafficking crisis.

Over the past year, the Department awarded $268 million in grants to help enhance Tribal justice systems and strengthen law enforcement responses. These awards have also gone toward improving the handling of child abuse cases, combating domestic and sexual violence, supporting Tribal youth programs, and strengthening victim services in Tribal communities.

For additional information about the Department of Justice’s efforts to address the MMIP crisis, please visit the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons section of the Tribal Safety and Justice website. Click here for more information about reporting or identifying missing persons.

In early 2022, the District of Oregon established an MMIP Working Group to increase multi-agency communication and collaboration in support of and response to Oregon-connected MMIP cases. The working group includes representatives from each of the nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon, the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior Regional Solicitor’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, and Oregon State Police.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2020, Ms. Wilkie Gillette served as a law fellow for Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization. She has a juris doctorate from the Vermont Law School and a bachelor’s degree in applied social justice and human rights activism from the University of Minnesota. Ms. Wilkie Gillette is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation and a direct descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She has conducted extensive research on indigenous human rights and environmental justice issues.

Source: US FBI

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Beaverton, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for distributing fentanyl that caused the fatal overdose of a local man.

Billy Ray Trueblood II, 33, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and four years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, in early March 2019, investigators from the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN) responded to a fatal overdose of a local man in his early thirties who was found unresponsive by his roommates. An autopsy by the Oregon State Crime Lab later confirmed the man died of an acute fentanyl overdose.

Further investigation revealed that the victim became addicted to opioids after using prescription pain killers in college to deal with athletic injuries. Investigators also learned the victim had been purchasing drugs from Trueblood since college and had recently exchanged text messages with him to arrange the purchase of “blues,” a term used to describe counterfeit Oxycodone pills manufactured with fentanyl.

In the days following the victim’s fatal overdose, investigators attempted to locate Trueblood, but were unable to do so until one investigator spotted him on television at a Portland Trailblazers basketball game. After another investigator confirmed the man spotted was indeed Trueblood, the investigators relayed the information to police officers at the game who located and arrested him. During his arrest, Trueblood was found in possession of a large amount of cash and several types of pills including some that resembled those found in the deceased victim’s bedroom.

On November 10, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Trueblood with distributing fentanyl, distributing fentanyl resulting in death, and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.

On May 30, 2023, Trueblood pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl.

This case was investigated by WIN and the FBI. It was prosecuted by Lewis S. Burkhart, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

WIN is a Washington County, Oregon-based multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force supported by the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program that includes members from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Beaverton and Hillsboro Police Departments, Oregon National Guard Counter Drug Program, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Source: US FBI

United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the January Federal Grand Jury 2024-B Indictments.

The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.

Bradley Andrew Friend. Coercion and Enticement of a Minor; Production of Child Pornography; Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography. Friend, 40, of Oologah, is charged with enticing and persuading a minor child to engage in sexual activity. He is further charged with producing, possessing, receiving, and distributing materials that depict the sexual abuse of children. The Homeland Security Investigations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey P. Todd is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-013

Gary Syd Goldberg. Possession of Child Pornography. Goldberg, 76, of Mannford, is charged with possessing visual images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children under 12 years old. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Mannford Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Richard is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-253

Shawn Ray Murnan. Bank Fraud (Counts 1 through 4); False Statements (Counts 5 through 8); Unlawful Monetary Transactions (Counts 9 through 14). Murnan, 56, of Windemere, Florida, is charged with fraudulently submitting 14 applications on behalf of his various businesses seeking more than $2.7 million in CARES Act Funds. Of those applications, Murnan received more than $1.6 million in PPP and EIDL loans. After receiving CARES Act funds, Murnan requested loan forgiveness. More than $1.3 million was forgiven. Two of the PPP loans were funded by a bank located within the NDOK. Each application submitted by Murnan contained false representations and inaccurate accounting regarding employees’ wages, including that he owned no other businesses. The FRB-CFPB Office of the Inspector General, the SBA Office of the Inspector General, and TIGTA are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David D. Whipple and Cheryl Baber are prosecuting the case. 25-CR-014

Xavion Eugene Paggett. Attempted Bank Robbery; Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. Paggett, 24, of Broken Arrow, is charged with using a firearm to rob a bank in Nov. 2024. He is further charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition, knowing he was previously convicted of felonies. The FBI and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shakema M. Onias is prosecuting the case. 25-CR-012

Anthony Clay Russell. First Degree Murder in Indian Country; Carrying, Using, Brandishing, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country (superseding). Russell, 32, of Tulsa and a member of the Osage Nation, is charged with maliciously killing Tasha Shepard on Oct. 22, 2024. He is further charged with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and intentionally assaulting a second victim with a dangerous weapon. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam D. McConney and John Brasher are prosecuting the case. 24-CR-365

Marcos Javier Suazo-Otero; Marcos Javier Suazo-Mancilla. Drug Conspiracy (Count 1); Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute (Counts 2 and 3); Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute (Count 4); Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (Counts 5 and 6); Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien (Count 7); Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count 8); Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of Firearms (Count 9) (superseding). Suazo-Otero, 46, and Suazo-Mancilla, 23, both Mexican nationals, are charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from Jan. 2024 through Nov. 2024. They are further charged with maintaining a residence for drug distribution. Suazo-Otero knowingly possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute and is additionally charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been previously removed in Aug. 2018. Lastly, Suazo-Mancilla knowingly possessed cocaine with intent to distribute, possessed firearms while drug trafficking, and knowingly did so while being an alien illegally in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Tulsa Police Department, and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Nasar is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-397

Source: US FBI

TULSA, Okla. – U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Lucas Anthony Walker, 22, for two counts of Second Degree Murder in Indian County. Judge Russell ordered Walked to serve 420 months for each count, followed by five years of supervised release.

In January 2023, Washington County Sheriff’s deputies began investigating the disappearance of Deborah and Larry Dutton. After searching the Dutton’s home, deputies found Deborah and Larry deceased in a shallow grave in the backyard. Walker confessed to shooting and stabbing Deborah and stabbing Larry to death.

Walker is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The FBI, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O. Johnston prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

TULSA, Okla. – Previously convicted by a jury in July, Adam Joseph King, was sentenced today for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under 12 in Indian Country and Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor Under 12 in Indian Country.

U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced King, 36, to life imprisonment on both counts.

“King took advantage of a child entrusted in his care and continues to show no remorse for his actions,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “The only way to stop someone like King and protect the community is by giving him a lengthy prison sentence.”

“The victim in the case was just eight years old when King began abusing her. Despite the trauma she endured, she found the courage to tell her story in court, and as a result this dangerous predator will now live behind bars where he can never harm another child,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater. “Her resilience is a powerful reminder of why we do this work – to protect the most vulnerable members of our community and hold violent offenders accountable for their crimes.”

Evidence presented to the jury showed that King repeatedly sexually abused his girlfriend’s child from age eight through eleven years old. King exploited the child that was in his care and warned the victim not to tell.

The child victim testified about the sexual abuse she received and eventually reported the abuse to a school counselor. Experts further testified that the evidence collected from King’s bedroom matched the DNA of the child victim.

The investigation showed that King and his girlfriend, the victim’s mother, denied any wrongdoing by King. Once the investigation began, the minor victim and sibling were removed from the home and placed in the custody of their grandparents, where they have remained.

The minor victim is a tribal citizen. King will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The FBI, the Catoosa Police Department, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Valeria Luster and Matthew Cyran prosecuted the case.

If you want to make a report of child sexual exploitation, you can use the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page. 

Source: US FBI

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Thomas Raymond Phillips, III, age 36, of Fort Towson, Oklahoma, was sentenced to a term of life in prison for First Degree Murder in Indian Country.  Phillips was also sentenced to 120 months in prison for one count of Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence.  The sentences are set to be served consecutively.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On October 25, 2023, Phillips was found guilty of the charges by a federal jury at trial.   According to investigators, on the evening of December 19, 2020, Phillips fired multiple shots into a Fort Towson bar after being ejected by management for instigating a fight.  One bullet struck a patron, killing the victim at the scene.  The crime occurred in Choctaw County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“The defendant’s malicious and senseless acts stole a life, and the defendant will spend his remaining days in prison paying the price justice demands for his crimes,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.  “I commend county, state, and federal law enforcement for their investigative work and the prosecuting attorneys for presenting the case and advocating for the victim.”

The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Phillips will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dean Burris and T. Cameron McEwen represented the United States.

Source: US FBI

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Cody Wayne Tye, age 34, of Watts, Oklahoma, was sentenced to time served plus three years supervised release for one count of Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, and Dating Partner in Indian Country.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Watts Police Department, and the Westville Police Department.

On March 11, 2024, Tye pleaded guilty to the charge.  According to investigators, on September 18, 2022, Tye assaulted an individual at an apartment in Westville, Oklahoma.  During the attack, Tye wrapped both hands around the victim’s neck and shoved the victim against a wall, strangling the victim and causing bruising and abrasions.  The crime occurred in Adair County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Geizura and Edith Singer represented the United States.