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Source: US FBI

TUCSON, Ariz. – Peter Vega, 38, of Rio Rico, was sentenced on June 11, 2024, by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 180 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Vega pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Conspiracy to Launder a Monetary Instrument on March 19, 2024.

Vega was the leader of a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the United States. Vega coordinated the shipment of methamphetamine on at least six occasions from Arizona to the eastern United States using the United States mail. He also coordinated the transportation of approximately 14 kilograms of fentanyl. In addition to shipping and transporting drugs, Vega coordinated the laundering of drug proceeds returning to Arizona by funneling money through multiple bank accounts held by third parties.

Search warrants served on Vega’s house and cell phone revealed evidence of the crimes including drug packaging materials, photos, videos and chats. After being indicted, Vega fled to Mexico. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement located and apprehended Vega in Mexico in January 2023. The Government of Mexico then deported him back to the United States to face charges.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. This case also involves the OCDETF Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The Drug Enforcement Administration-Tucson Office OCDETF Strikeforce, including agents from United States Border Patrol, the United States Marshals Service and the Marana Police Department led the investigation. The IRS Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service also assisted as partner agencies on the investigation. The Government of Mexico assisted with locating and deporting the defendant. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 18-00107-RCC
                                       CR 18-02467-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-080_Vega

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: US FBI

TUCSON, Ariz. – Dennis Francis Kaleohano Kelly, 45, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 14 years in prison. Kelly pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, and International Money Laundering on November 17, 2023.

Between November 2020 and August 2021, Kelly supervised and directed several co-conspirators to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl on his behalf. Kelly personally mailed multiple packages of methamphetamine to Hawaii and New Mexico for further distribution, and wired thousands of dollars of drug proceeds to the source of supply in Mexico. Kelly was arrested in August 2021 after receiving approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills from a drug courier.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force operation. The OCDETF Strike Force Initiative identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Culver and David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR 21-02360-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-081_Kelly

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: US FBI

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury returned a 16-count indictment charging 10 defendants with running a large-scale drug trafficking ring in Alaska.

According to the indictment, Christina Reyna Quintana, 38, Angela Marie Jasper, 39, Amber Young, 28, Rochelle Monique Wood, 37, James Anthony Schwarz, 41, Elroy Daniel Bouchard, 58, Khamthene Thongdy, 45, Colleen McDaniel, 68, Tamberlyn Solomon, 25, and Lois Jean Frank, 63, engaged in a conspiracy to traffic at least 12 kilograms of fentanyl into Alaska. The indictment also charges Jasper, Wood, Schwarz, Bouchard, Thongdy, McDaniel and Solomon with laundering money to promote drug trafficking and concealing the source of the funds. Court documents identify 37 separate money laundering transactions, including some made internationally to Mexico, between August 2022 and July 2023.

During the entirety of the conspiracy, Quintana has been an inmate at Hiland Mountain Correctional Facility in Eagle River, Alaska. She is serving a 22-and-a-half-year prison sentence following a federal conviction for traveling from California to Sitka, Alaska, in 2018 and shooting a woman in both kneecaps over drug debt. The indictment charges Quintana with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory life sentence, alleging that Quintana was a principal administrator, organizer, supervisor and leader of a criminal enterprise. The other defendants also face a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge David F. Reames of the Drug Enforcement Administration Seattle Division made the announcement.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the FBI Anchorage Field Office, Drug Enforcement Administration Seattle Division, IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office, U.S Postal Inspection Service Seattle Division, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police Department and Palmer Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Schroeder, Alana Weber and Stephan Collins are prosecuting the case.

This investigation and prosecution were part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”), which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

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

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Update – This release has been updated to add an investigating agency. 

Source: US FBI

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal jury convicted an Anchorage Man on two felony drug counts and two firearm charges after a five-day trial.

Jerod Alexander, 33, was found guilty of possessing and distributing large amounts of illegal drugs and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Oct. 2, 2023. Alexander was also found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm on Oct. 4.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Alexander sold 25 grams of heroin to another person during an undercover law enforcement operation in March 2021. Agents received information that the defendant, who was on supervised release in a prior felony drug case, was using short-term vacation rentals to evade law enforcement. Roughly a month later, law enforcement found Alexander in a vacation rental with over 800 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, over 60 grams of heroin, over $13,000 in cash, four firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason presided over the trial. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 26, 2024. Alexander faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison. He will be held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his sentence.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Anchorage Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Ivers and Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). HIDTA was established in 2018 to enhance and coordinate efforts among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, providing equipment, technology and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of Alaska.

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Source: US FBI

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage man was arrested on criminal charges after he allegedly robbed a bank yesterday morning.

According to court documents, Michael Nash, 49, tried to enter the First National Bank branch located on West 36^th Avenue in Anchorage just after 9 a.m. on Oct. 2. Nash was unable to enter because the bank’s lobby did not open until 10 a.m. and the doors were locked.

The defendant slipped a note through the doors to a bank supervisor stating that this was a robbery. The bank was secured immediately, and police were called. A bank security officer requested Nash leave but he refused. Law enforcement officers arrived and arrested Nash in front of the bank.

Nash is charged with one count of bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2113(a) and §2113(f). If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI’s Anchorage Field Office, with assistance from the Anchorage Police Department, is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey is prosecuting the case.

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

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Source: US FBI

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging a Dillingham man with cyberstalking and threatening a Florida County Sheriff.

According to court documents, Joshua Wahl, 31, allegedly threatened Michael Chitwood, the Sheriff of Volusia County, Florida. The threats started after Chitwood held a news conference denouncing individuals who distributed anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi messages. Investigators discovered an online persona linked to Wahl that posted anti-Semitic and anti-law enforcement content.

The defendant’s first alleged threat was sent to Chitwood on March 31, 2023, via email. In the email, the defendant stated he was armed with lasers and explosives and included links to videos showing someone using a laser to burn a hole through a photograph of Chitwood’s face and holding explosives in front of another photograph of Chitwood.

The threats continued with the defendant allegedly posting threats against Chitwood to the online platform known as “4chan” in April 2023. The posts included direct threats to kill or harm Chitwood.

Wahl is charged with one count cyberstalking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2261A(2), and four counts transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §875(c). The defendant will make his initial federal court appearance on a later date. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison on each count. A feder­­al district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska; and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Beausang is prosecuting the case.

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

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Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A former Gadsden-area pharmacist and city school board member was sentenced yesterday for drug distribution conspiracy and tax crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Demetrius D. Hardeman of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Nathan Thomas Carter, 41, of Gadsden, to 54 months in prison. In July, Carter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and three counts of filing false tax returns.  Carter was also ordered to forfeit $110,620 in illicit drug proceeds and pay restitution to the IRS of $124,547 in unpaid taxes.

According to the plea agreement, between 2015 and late 2021, Carter conspired with others to distribute controlled substances including oxycodone and hydrocodone. Between February 2018 and 2023, Carter worked as the pharmacist in charge at Midtown Pharmacy in Gadsden. Records reflect that Midtown Pharmacy ordered at least 80,000 more oxycodone pills than the pharmacy dispensed to patients. Carter diverted opioid pills from the pharmacy and sold those pills to other drug distributors. He regularly took distributor bottles from his pharmacy to his house, where he repackaged the pills in plastic bags for resale. Carter admitted to earning about $450,000 in illicit income, which he failed to report on his income tax returns. According to the plea agreement, during the execution of a search warrant at Carter’ house, authorities found more than $110,000 in cash.

The FBI, DEA, and IRS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J.B. Ward prosecuted the case. 

Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Calhoun County man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty for possession of a sexually explicit video of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

U.S. District Judge Annmarie Axon sentenced Joseph Skylar Weeks, 32, of Jacksonville, Alabama, to 97 months in prison followed by 30 years of supervised release.  In June, Weeks plead guilty to possession of child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, On August 7, 2022, an undercover law enforcement officer (UC) responded to an ad posted by Weeks on a social media application. Between August 2022 and October 2022, Weeks communicated with the UC, whom Weeks believed to be a 14-year-old girl, about arranging a time to meet. On October 13th, Weeks arrived at the meeting location and was arrested by Homewood police officers. A search warrant was obtained for Weeks’ cell phone where investigators found a video containing child sexual abuse material.  This conviction will require Weeks to register as a sex offender in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). 

The FBI investigated the case along with the Homewood Police Department. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Tennessee woman was convicted of crimes committed in the Talladega National Forest, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples.

A federal jury returned a guilty verdict against Krystal Diane Pinkins, 37, of Memphis, Tennessee, after four days of testimony before Judge R. David Proctor. Pinkins was convicted of murder, robbery, and unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

“Today, the jury held the defendant accountable for her actions,” U.S. Attorney Escalona said. “I want to thank our local, state, and federal partners for their tireless efforts in this investigation and bringing justice to the victims and their families.”

“The victims of this terrible crime were simply being Good Samaritans” said FBI Birmingham SAC Peeples. “Today’s verdict sends a strong message that individuals who commit these crimes will be held accountable for their actions. I would like to thank the many local, state and federal resources that came together to seek justice for the victim.  I hope today’s verdict can bring continued healing to the families and friends who will be forever impacted.” 

According to court documents and trial testimony, on August 14, 2022, a couple who were college students from Florida, were driving to Cheaha State Park, in Clay County, Alabama, to hike to see the waterfalls. The couple were flagged down by Yasmine Marie Adel Hider, 21, to help “jump start” Pinkins’ car which was broken down. Hider robbed the young male and female and shot the male as he attempted to defend himself and his girlfriend. Evidence proved Pinkins aided in the crimes by providing the firearm, planning the robbery, and watching nearby in the woods as the robbery and murder took place. After the shooting, Pinkins fled into the woods and was found six hours later hidden in a secluded campsite.

The maximum penalty for murder and unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence is life in prison. The maximum penalty for robbery is 15 years in prison.

Hider, who testified in Pinkins’ trial, is scheduled to plead guilty before Judge R. David Proctor on October 4, 2023

The FBI and the Forest Service Law Enforcement Investigations – U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated the cases, along with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Alabama State Park Rangers, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, St. Clair Correctional Facility K9 Tracking Team, District Attorney of the 40^th Judicial Circuit of the State of Alabama- Joseph “Joe” D. Ficquette (which includes Clay County), Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office, Lineville Police Department, Ashland Police Department, Clay County Rescue Squad, Shinbone Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Tri-County Children’s Advocacy Center, and Jacksonville State University Center for Applied Forensics.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Cross and John B. Felton are prosecuting the case.