Source: United States Airforce
Equipment is the lifeblood of the maintenance world; without equipment, the jets don’t fly. So how do maintainers keep jets flying with limited resources?
Defense News in Brief: U.S., Japan Deepen Interoperability at Northwest Pacific Wargame
Source: United States Navy
MONTEREY, Calif. – The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) led a team of military professionals, academics, and defense experts through a complex two-and-a-half-week wargaming event in Kanagawa, Japan, earlier this year, aimed at strengthening bilateral maritime operational effectiveness among U.S. and Japanese forces.
Defense News in Brief: FRCE Supervisor of the Year leads with purpose, passion
Source: United States Navy
Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recently named a logistics employee the command’s 2025 Supervisor of the Year for their commitment to boosting productivity and fostering a work environment focused on support and growth.
Possession of 35 Machine Gun Conversion Devices Results in 21-Month Prison Sentence for Maryland Man
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
WASHINGTON – Edward Devon Gadson, 27, of Waldorf, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 21 months in prison in connection with his possession of 35 illegal machine gun conversion devices within the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Gadson pleaded guilty on July 11 to a charge of unlawful transfer and possession of a machine gun and aiding and abetting. In addition to the 21-month prison term, Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Gadson to serve three years of supervised release.
Joining in the announcement were ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony A. Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court documents, on Oct. 2, 2024, about 5 p.m., MPD officers stopped Gadson as he was in the driver’s seat of a Dodge Durango with heavily tinted windows on the 2300 block of Green St. SE, in Anacostia.
MPD officers noticed a clear plastic bag in plain view on the back passenger side floor. The bag appeared to have firearms accessories in it. Officers removed the bag from the car and determined it contained dozens of machine gun conversion devices (aka MCDs or “switches”). Each device would allow a pistol to be converted into an automatic firearm. The devices had been 3-D printed and included distinctive images of an internet meme known as “Not ATF Guy.”
This case was investigated by the MPD and the ATF Washington Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Crabb and Thomas Strong.
Trinitarios Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Possession of Machinegun
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Defendant possessed an UZI machinegun containing an extended magazine loaded with 24 rounds
BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to possessing a loaded UZI machinegun.
Derek Mercado, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a machinegun before U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton who scheduled sentencing for Feb. 18, 2026. Mercado was charged by criminal complaint in August 2025. Mercado is currently in state custody for domestic violence offenses.
Mercado is a member of the Trinitarios gang, a violent criminal enterprise responsible for numerous murders and acts of violence across Massachusetts. On May 6, 2025, an alert to arrest Mercado was broadcast by law enforcement following a report of a domestic violence incident. The victim reported that the defendant was in possession of a firearm in a green duffel bag. At the time, Mercado was in warrant status on two unrelated matters. Mercado was later observed exiting a residence while possessing a green duffel bag. He was taken into custody and an Israel Military Industries UZI model submachinegun containing an extended magazine loaded with 24 rounds was recovered in the green bag. The UZI was later test-fired and determined to be a functional machinegun.
In August 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged three members of the Lawrence Chapter of the Trinitarios for an alleged armed robbery. In February 2025, nearly two dozen members of the Lynn Chapter of the Trinitarios were also charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with allegedly committing six murders in Lynn and Lawrence and in June 2025, two Trinitarios members were charged with committing a kidnapping in Andover.
The charge of possessing a machinegun provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Haverhill Police Chief Robert Pistone made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Drug Distributor Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute More Than 40 Grams of Fentanyl and Possession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – Kelly Bowers, 36, of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, Chief Amal E. Awad, Anne Arundel County Police Department (AACOPD), and Chief Edward Jackson, Annapolis Police Department (APD).
According to the guilty plea, in August 2022, FBI investigators identified Bowers as a member of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) known as Newtowne (collectively, “the Newtowne 20 DTO”) that supplied drugs to individuals in the Annapolis area.
During the period of the conspiracy, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland authorized wiretaps on DTO members’ electronic devices. Law enforcement intercepted numerous conversations which allowed investigators to identify individuals, including Bowers, involved in drug trafficking with Newtowne 20 DTO members. Other charged members include Leonard Simms, sentenced to 57 months on July 1, 2025; Isiah Naylor, who pled guilty on May 23, 2025; Raheem Allsup, sentenced to 48 months on May 9, 2025; and Keith Williams, sentenced to 68 months on November 19, 2024.
Bowers served as one of the Newtowne 20 DTO’s main distributors. Law enforcement intercepted and recorded several calls between Bowers and his customers and conversations between him and his co-conspirators.
During the investigation, law enforcement conducted surveillance and observed Bowers engaging in a drug transaction. On November 27, 2023, AACOPD investigators saw Bowers driving in Annapolis. After AACOPD officers watched Bowers conduct a hand-to-hand transaction with a known user of controlled substances, they initiated a traffic stop. Officers stopped the buyer and recovered drugs from her which later tested positive for cocaine. Additionally, law enforcement recovered cocaine from Bowers’ vehicle.
The federal wiretap led to an eventual takedown on January 25, 2024. During the investigation, law enforcement identified multiple vehicles and locations in and around Annapolis used by the Newtowne 20 DTO as stash houses and residences for drug trafficking. Then on January 25, agents executed search warrants on eight locations and four vehicles, and arrest warrants on several individuals. Law enforcement also recovered drugs of various types and quantities from three of the targeted locations and one firearm from the residence of a co-conspirator.
In his plea agreement, Bowers agreed that he was involved in possessing at least 40 grams of fentanyl in furtherance of this drug trafficking conspiracy. Bowers faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison, followed by up to lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 12 p.m.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, AACOPD, and APD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys LaRai Everett and Jon Tsuei who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Charlotte Woman Charged With Assaulting Federal Officer
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A newly-unsealed criminal complaint charges Heather Morrow, 44, of Charlotte, with felony assault, resist, or impede a federal officer, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint, on the morning of November 16, 2025, Morrow and others gathered at a U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement & Removal Operations Office (ICE/ERO) facility in Charlotte in an apparent attempt to impede law enforcement movement on the property. The complaint alleges that a federal officer who was just arriving to work encountered several individuals, including Morrow, blocking the entrance. While the officer attempted to arrest one individual for punching the window of the officer’s vehicle and impeding the officer’s path, Morrow approached the officer from behind and forcibly made physical contact with him, including grabbing the officer’s shoulders and attempting to jump on the officer’s back. Morrow was arrested on the scene.
“Recently in North Carolina, we have seen that the very worst can happen when individuals forcibly gain access to a law enforcement officer’s weapon. We take seriously incidents where that could happen,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “Fortunately, the officer in this case was arriving to work and was not armed.”
Morrow had her initial appearance in federal court on Monday and was released on bond.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is joined in making the announcement by Homeland Security Investigations, ICE/ERO, U.S. Border Patrol, and the FBI.
The charges against the defendant are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago Charges Man with Federal Terrorism Offense for Allegedly Setting Passenger on Fire on Chicago Train
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago today charged a man with a federal terrorism offense for allegedly setting a passenger on fire on a Chicago Transit Authority train earlier this week.
LAWRENCE REED, 50, of Chicago is charged with committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Reed is scheduled to make an initial court appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally in federal court in Chicago.
According to a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Reed and the victim were passengers on a CTA train traveling through a subway in downtown Chicago at approximately 9:00 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2025. Reed approached the victim, who was seated with her back towards him, took the cap off a bottle of liquid and poured the liquid all over the victim’s head and body, the complaint states. The victim ran but Reed caught up with her, at which point he ignited the bottle and it fell out of his hand onto the floor, the complaint states. Reed picked up the bottle that was now on fire, approached the victim and used the bottle to light her on fire, the complaint states.
The victim was engulfed in flames but was able to depart the train. She remains hospitalized with critical injuries.
The investigation revealed that Reed had purchased gasoline at a Chicago gas station and filled it in a hand-held container approximately 20 minutes before the incident on the train, the complaint states.
Reed was arrested by Chicago Police officers on Nov. 18, 2025, in Chicago. He was taken into federal custody today.
The complaint and arrest were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Transit Authority. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron R. Bond and Ronald L. DeWald.
“This horrific attack was not just a barbaric assault on an innocent woman riding a train, but an act of terrorism that strikes at the core of our American way of life,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, will take immediate and resolute action to bring swift justice to the victim while safeguarding the public as well as the fabric of our society.”
The public is reminded that a complaint 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.
Prairie City Man Sentenced to 180 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Prairie City man was sentenced on November 18, 2025, to 180 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography and 24 months in federal prison for revocation of his supervised release.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Anthony Charles VanMeter, 55, was on federal supervised release for a conviction of possession of child pornography. In October 2024, law enforcement visited another individual under federal supervision and located VanMeter. VanMeter admitted two cell phones at the residence belonged to him. One of the cell phones was later found to child sexual abuse material, including more than 75 photographs and 250 videos.
At sentencing, the Court also found VanMeter violated the terms of his federal supervised release for his 2016 conviction for possession of child pornography in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. VanMeter received an 84-month sentence in 2016, was released from prison in 2022, and his supervised release was revoked in October 2022, November 2023, and September 2024.
After completing his term of imprisonment, VanMeter will be required to serve a 10-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Vanmeter was also ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Combs appointed interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PLANO, Texas – The Attorney General has appointed Jay R. Combs as the interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas on November 19, 2025.
“I am thankful to President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for the opportunity they have given me to continue my service to the American people. It is both a tremendous responsibility and a great privilege,” said Combs. “The office I lead is at the forefront in the mission of pursuing justice and protecting our communities and our country as a part of Operation Take Back America.”
Operation Take Back America is 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.
Combs has served as the Acting U.S. Attorney since May 24, 2025, and is the chief federal law enforcement official in the Eastern District of Texas, which includes 43 counties stretching from the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of America. The district includes six fully staffed offices in Beaumont, Lufkin, Plano, Sherman, Texarkana, and Tyler with 93 employees, including 50 prosecutors. Combs is responsible for the prosecution of federal criminal offenses in the district and will represent the United States in all civil litigation in the district.
Prior to serving as Acting U.S. Attorney, Combs worked as the Chief of the Plano Branch Office for the Eastern District of Texas, overseeing the day-to-day operations of that office. Combs worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) for the Western District of Texas from 2006-2010 when he first joined the Eastern District of Texas as an AUSA.
Before joining the Department, Combs served in the United States Army. He served two combat tours in the Army earning several awards including the Bronze Star medal.
Combs has lived in Texas for over twenty years but originally hails from Springerville, Arizona. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico. He has been married to his wife, Melissa, for 30 years and they have seven children.
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