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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Jermaine Z. Lewis, 32, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to federal prison for 10 years for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “My office will continue to use the full force of the law to aggressively prosecute anyone who floods our streets with deadly drugs, as this defendant has come to find out. The Homeland Security Task Force initiative launched by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi is committed to eliminating drug trafficking operations anywhere they are found in the U.S., and the tenacious prosecutors in my office will see to it that the residents of the Northern District of Florida will have the safe, drug-free communities they deserve where they can live, work, and raise a family.”

Court documents reveal that in January and February 2025, the defendant distributed fentanyl on the streets of Pensacola.  Law enforcement intercepted a mailed parcel bound for the defendant that contained approximately four pounds of fentanyl pills. With this information, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s residence in March 2025.  Two loaded firearms, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl were seized. Wire transfers receipts of money sent to Mexico were also recovered. The defendant is a previously convicted state court felon.   

“This defendant wasn’t just selling drugs—he was trafficking lethal fentanyl, stockpiling guns, and sending cartel money south. That ends today,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne Reuter. “When you threaten the safety of Florida families, DEA and our law enforcement partners will meet you at your doorstep and bring your operation to a hard stop.”

The case involved a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Pensacola Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from multiple agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Montgomery, Ala. – On December 11, 2025, a federal judge sentenced 41-year-old Shawn Patrick Douglas, who was residing in Newton, Alabama at the time of his arrest, to 300 months in prison for distribution of child sexual abuse material, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. There is no parole in the federal system.

Court records show that Douglas was previously convicted in 2013 for possession of child sexual abuse material and received a 78-month federal prison sentence. After completing that sentence, Douglas was placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life as well as being required to register as a sex offender.

Despite those conditions, Douglas admits in his plea agreement that, in June of 2023, he engaged in an online chat requesting access to a child sexual abuse material production group. Douglas also admitted that during the online conversation, he sent a link to an account that contained an image of child sexual abuse material and that the image depicted a child under the age of 12 years.

Law enforcement quickly located Douglas after the June 2023 activity, and he was arrested. The United States Probation Office for the Middle District of Alabama filed a petition to revoke his supervised release. A federal grand jury also returned an indictment charging him with distribution of child sexual abuse material. Douglas pleaded guilty to the new charge on September 3, 2025. The 25-year prison sentence includes 23 years for the new offense and an additional two years for the supervised release revocation.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, New Jersey Office investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Tara S. Ratz and J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted the case.

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. 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 Justice.gov/PSC.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

             WASHINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia today obtained an order unsealing its seizure warrant for the M/T Skipper (IMO #9304667), announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel.

            The seizure warrant was signed by a magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on November 26, 2025. On December 10, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded and seized the crude oil tanker as it traveled on the high seas after departing Venezuela.

            The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) previously identified the M/T Skipper, which was formerly called the Adisa, as being used in an oil shipping network supporting Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), both U.S. Department of State-designated foreign terrorist organizations. The IRGC uses proceeds from the distribution of petroleum to fund its terrorist networks.

            “As the premiere United States Attorney’s office leading efforts to intercept ghost vessels as well as sanctioned products, we remain committed to legally supporting President Trump’s efforts to make the world a safer place,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in DC has demonstrated exceptional perseverance, and a unique ability to navigate the challenges inherent in this type of enforcement action unmatched anywhere in the country.”

            “The FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and our partners will continue to enforce U.S. sanctions and cut off our adversaries from financial markets and critical technology,” said FBI Director Patel. “The seizure of this vessel highlights our successful efforts to impose costs on the governments of Venezuela and Iran. Sanctions enforcement requires a whole-of-government approach and the FBI is proud to be part of the team.”

            The seizure warrant was authorized pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 981, 982, 2332b(g)(5), and 2339B(a)(1), which authorizes the seizure of “[a]ll assets, foreign or domestic … of any individual, entity, or organization engaged in planning or perpetrating any Federal crime of terrorism (as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2332b(g)(5)) against the United States, citizens or residents of the United States, or their property, and all assets, foreign or domestic, affording any person a source of influence over any such entity or organization.”

            The seizure of the M/T Skipper was effectuated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation following the boarding by the U.S. Coast Guard.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia along with the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Criminal Division.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN DIEGO – San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores was convicted by a federal jury today of violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse by using excessive force that caused serious injuries and then writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions.

The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Flores guilty on both counts against him, including that Flores deprived the victim – identified as 57-year-old J.P. – of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and of falsifying a record in a federal investigation.

According to evidence presented at trial, Flores was assigned to the Court Services Bureau at the San Diego Central Courthouse on August 29, 2024, and was escorting J.P. to a holding cell following a court hearing. At the time, J.P.’s legs were chained, and his hands were cross-chained to his waist.  At one point, Flores grabbed the back of J.P.’s shirt with both hands and pushed him faster down the hallway leading to the holding cell.

When Flores and J.P. arrived at the open door to the holding cell, Flores forcefully shoved J.P. into the cell from behind with both hands, causing J.P. to fly across the cell, smash headfirst into the wall on the far side, and collapse to the ground. Flores stated, “What? Nothing happened,” to another deputy as the door to the cell closed.  He then walked away, failing to provide medical aid to J.P., and then also failed to immediately report the incident to his supervisor and prepare an official report, all of which are violations of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office’s Use of Force Policy.

According to the indictment, another deputy found J.P. over two hours later lying in the same position in his holding cell with a head wound and a pool of blood on the floor.  As a result of Flores’ actions, J.P. suffered a spinal injury for which he underwent surgery and remained hospitalized for months.

More than an hour after J.P. was discovered in his holding cell, Flores falsely claimed in an incident report that “no force was used” in placing J.P. into the cell, though he knew that he had, indeed, used force against the detainee.

“Today’s verdict makes one thing unmistakably clear: the badge does not excuse brutality,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “When an officer abuses power and inflicts harm on someone in their custody, it is a crime — and this office will hold them accountable.”

“Law enforcement officers are not above the law—they uphold it, and will be held accountable for any actions they take not in line with their sworn duty to protect and serve the public,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today’s conviction confirms the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand for anyone who tarnishes the badge and reputations of those who lawfully protect our communities.”

Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2026.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Askins and Michael Deshong.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 25cr0254                                        

Jeremiah Manuyag Flores                               Age: 45                                   La Jolla, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

Falsification of Records in a Federal Investigation – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1519

Maximum penalty:  Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (Homicide Unit)

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Dwayne Pulliam, a Local Drug Dealer, Murdered a Customer for Stealing Crack Cocaine

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – Richard Dyson, 58, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Donnella Bryan, 62, whose body was found in a Hechinger Mall dumpster in Northeast Washington D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Dyson pleaded guilty in Superior Court in October 2025 to one count of second-degree murder.  

            According to the government’s evidence, on April 15, 2025, at the Press House Apartments in Northeast, Dyson murdered Bryan by striking her in the head and suffocating her with a sock.  Dyson then purchased a large container from Home Depot, and with the help of an accomplice, disposed of Bryan’s body into a dumpster.  Bryan’s body was discovered on April 19, 2025, one day before Easter Sunday. Law enforcement arrested Dyson on June 11, 2025. He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Grazy Rivera, Victim/Witness Advocate Karina Hernandez. 

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Cocuzza, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

LAS VEGAS – A Cuban national living in Las Vegas made his initial court appearance today for attempting to access a secure passenger boarding area using a false boarding pass and assaulting officers at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, on November 3, 2025, Jhon Raul Vizcaino Ramirez presented a Transportation Security Administration screening officer a boarding pass in the name of another person and attempted to enter the passenger boarding area. Ramirez refused to provide his identification. When another screening officer refused to return the boarding pass, Ramirez slapped the officer. Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department who were working at the checkpoint were advised of a disturbance and responded to the scene. Officers attempted to detain Ramirez, and he resisted. During the altercation, Ramirez twice kicked an officer and kicked a Transportation Security Officer who was assisting to detain him.

Ramirez is charged with two counts of interference with security screening personnel; two counts of assault, resisting, or impeding person assisting certain officers or employees; and one count of entry by false pretenses to secure area of any airport. A jury trial has been set for February 9, 2026, before United States District Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon.

Ramirez, a Cuban National, was originally found by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on October 27, 2022, near Yuma, Arizona, after he illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico. Due to a lack of detention space, he was released. Ramirez has illegally remained in the U.S. since his release. Due to his most recent arrest, Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE), has placed a detainer on him, which means he will be turned over to ICE upon conclusion of his Federal criminal charges.

First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah and Acting Special Agent in Charge Nicole Pfeiffer, San Francisco Field Division, TSA Investigations made the announcement.

TSA Investigations with the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Tina Snellings is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. 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

BILLINGS – A Billings man who distributed methamphetamine in Billings was sentenced today to 120 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S.   Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Stetson Claude Nash McBride, 30, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. 

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement learned from a confidential informant McBride was offering to purchase methamphetamine on the Dark Web. As such, on February 21, 2024, the CI learned he/she could provide McBride $500 and acquire meth. The CI was provided with buy money, and a body wire was installed. The CI traveled to McBride’s residence. On the wire, McBride can be heard telling the CI he would provide a tracking number once he got one.

On March 11, 2024, the CI contacted law enforcement and said the package should be there today. Law enforcement learned several packages had been located going to McBride’s address. Law enforcement collected them and wrote a search warrant for one of the packages. On March 13, 2024, law enforcement opened the package pursuant to the warrant and discovered roughly 142 grams of a clear substance inside a sealed bag.

McBride’s phone was collected as part of the investigation and, pursuant to a search warrant, reviewed for evidence. Numerous messages indicative of drug dealing activity between January and March 2024 were discovered. Moreover, the suspected drugs identified above were tested and found to contain roughly 98 grams of actual methamphetamine.  Also, discovered on McBride’s cellular phone were images of child sex abuse material.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department, Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A man who distributed child sex abuse material to his co-defendant girlfriend was sentenced Thursday to 19 years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.

Skyler Shoemaker, 34, of Colorado City, Texas, was indicted in May this year and pled guilty three months later to Distribution of Child Pornography.  He was sentenced on December 11, 2025, to 228 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

According to court documents, Shoemaker used Facebook Messenger to send a sexually explicit video of a four- to six-year-old child to his girlfriend, Angel Bradford.  Additionally, information presented at the sentencing hearing indicated that Shoemaker used various platforms to distribute child pornography to other users online and that he also committed sex acts in front of minors.

Bradford, 33, of Hermleigh, Texas, was indicted with Shoemaker in May 2025.  She pled guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography in July 2025.  On November 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Hendrix sentenced her to five years in federal prison.

The FBI Dallas Field Office – Abilene Resident Agency, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Abilene Police Department’s Cyber Crimes Unit conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Ohlhausen prosecuted the case.  

The Justice Department is committed to combating child sexual exploitation and brought this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.  The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Wilmington, Delaware – Acting pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546(d), the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has appointed Benjamin L. Wallace to serve as the United States Attorney for the District.

Ben is a native Delawarean.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, and his law degree from Yale Law School.  After law school, Ben clerked for Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Raymond Kethledge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Ben also served as an attorney-adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel.  In that role, he advised the President and Executive Branch agencies on complex questions of constitutional and statutory law.  Immediately before returning home to Delaware, Ben was a partner at the Washington, D.C., office of a national law firm.

Ben has been a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2023.  As a line prosecutor, he handled all manner of federal cases, from gang-related homicides to complex financial frauds.  In July 2025, Ben became the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, supervising all criminal prosecutions and all civil suits brought by or against the United States in the District.

U.S. Attorney Wallace stated, “I am honored to serve my home state as the U.S. Attorney.  I will work tirelessly to ensure that justice is administered effectively and evenhandedly here in Delaware.  I want to thank the President, the Attorney General, and the Judges of our District Court for the confidence they have placed in me.  I also want to thank my predecessor, Julianne Murray, for her partnership and her steadfast service to the state.  I pledge to do my utmost to uphold the proud traditions of our exemplary U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, please visit our website and follow us on social media.