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Source: US FBI

FAYETTEVILLE – The final member of a Northwest Arkansas drug trafficking organization was sentenced to federal prison for crimes related to the distribution of fentanyl. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearings in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial of Claude Dukes, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing fentanyl pills in the Western District of Arkansas from November 2022 to June 2023. Evidence presented at trial showed that Claude Dukes, Jr., of Newport, Arkansas, was identified as the source of supply for fentanyl being distributed by co-conspirator, Justin Ellis.  Dukes was found to be responsible for over 400 grams of fentanyl distributed in the conspiracy through his own conduct and the conduct of co-conspirators. Co-conspirators Justin Ellis and Derrick Bradley pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl in Northwest Arkansas for their respective roles in the offense. The pills distributed by this group contained fentanyl made or pressed to look like M-30 Oxycontin prescription pills.

“This case is an example of the outstanding results that are possible when dedicated law enforcement officers and agencies work together to dismantle drug trafficking operations,” said David Clay Fowlkes, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. “We are so proud to partner with our federal, local, and state law enforcement agencies to address this deadly controlled substance.  Fentanyl continues to be an extreme danger to our communities in Western Arkansas.  This drug trafficking operation was responsible for distributing significant amounts of this deadly substance in Western Arkansas.  This sentence reflects the serious nature of their crimes and should send a strong message to others who would seek to smuggle and distribute fentanyl in Western Arkansas.”

Those members of the drug trafficking organization indicted federally have been sentenced as follows:

Claude Dukes, Jr.: age 42, Newport, Arkansas – Conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl– 300 months imprisonment and 5-year term of supervised release. Dukes’ sentence was subject to enhanced penalties due to his status as a career offender.

Justin Alexander Ellis: age 36, Fayetteville, Arkansas – Distribution of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl – 172 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release. Ellis’ sentence was subject to enhanced penalties due to his status as a career offender.

Derrick Scott Bradley: age 43, Rogers, Arkansas – Distribution of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl – 96 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration in Fayetteville investigated the case with assistance by the following agencies:  Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fourth Judicial Drug Task Force, Benton County Drug Unit, Benton County Sheriff’s Department, Bentonville Police Department, Rogers Police Department, and the Newport Police Department.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sydney Butler Stanley, Kevin Eaton, and Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case 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. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: US FBI

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A Madison man was sentenced for attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced Anthony Ray Lawrence, 38, of Madison,  to 120 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release. In October, Lawrence was convicted by a jury of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. This conviction will require Lawrence to register as a sex offender in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to evidence presented at trial, between April and May 2023, Lawrence used a social media application to engage with someone he thought to be a 14-year-old female but who actually was an undercover law enforcement officer. He told the undercover officer that he used the application to meet up with younger girls. On May 1, 2023, Lawrence traveled from Madison, Alabama, to Homewood, Alabama, to engage in a sexual act with a minor. At the time of his arrest, Lawrence possessed condoms and sexual lubricant. He had rented a hotel room nearby.

If you suspect or become aware of possible sexual exploitation of a child, please contact law enforcement. To alert the FBI Birmingham Office, call 205-326-6166. Reports can also be filed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or online at www.cybertipline.org.

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.

The FBI investigated the case along with the Homewood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel S. McBrayer and R. Leann White prosecuted the case.  

Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A convicted felon has been sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples.

United States District Court Judge Annemarie Carney Axon sentenced Curtoine Lamar Jackson, 35, of Bessemer, to 64 months in prison.   Jackson previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. On December 30, 2023, Jackson possessed a Taurus 9mm pistol. Jackson is prohibited from having a firearm because of multiple previous felony convictions. 

Jackson was convicted on March 15, 2012, in the Circuit Court of the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County, Alabama, of the offenses of Robbery, First Degree; Burglary, First Degree;  and Robbery, First Degree.  He was convicted in the same court on or about December 4, 2017, of the Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance.

FBI and Bessemer Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Lee Gilmer prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—Freddie “Bankroll Freddie” Gladney, III, will spend the next 150 months in federal prison after being convicted of multiple narcotics offenses, including a firearms offense, which involved a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of marijuana in and around central Arkansas. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr.

      Following a four-day trial, Gladney, 30, of Helena, was convicted by a federal jury on April 12, 2024. The jury found Gladney guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of using a telephone in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

      In addition to the 150 months’ total imprisonment, which is more than twelve years, Judge Moody sentenced Gladney to three years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Gladney was also ordered to pay a $242,000 money judgment as part of his conviction. 

      Gladney was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 3, 2023, in a 32-count superseding indictment that charged him with numerous offenses related to a conspiracy that was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

      Two FBI operations, each focused on a rival gang, were created to address violence and drug trafficking in the corridor between Pine Bluff and Little Rock. The investigations focused on rival gangs responsible for violence throughout central Arkansas, with one operation focused on the EBK or Every Body Killas gang and resulting in the indictment of 35 defendants.

      An investigation revealed that on April 14, 2022, an Arkansas State Police trooper observed a black truck speeding and conducted a traffic stop in Marion. The trooper noted the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and asked Gladney to exit the vehicle. Gladney began to exit the vehicle but then reentered and started reaching for something in the vehicle. Because Gladney refused to exit the vehicle, the trooper was forced to remove him.

      During a search of Gladney’s vehicle, law enforcement officers located in the passenger seat near the area where Gladney had been reaching, a Romarm/Cugie Model Micro Draco 7.62x39mm caliber firearm and a Polymer 80 Model PF940C, 9mm privately made firearm (also known as a “ghost gun”). Additionally, during a search of the back seat of the vehicle, law enforcement officers located a duffle bag containing 21.4 pounds of high-grade marijuana and $33,662, which was located in the center console along with seven magazines, five of which were extended and fully loaded.

      At sentencing, Gladney received a 4-level increase for being an organizer or leader of criminal activity that involved five or more participants. Gladney received a 2-level increase in his guideline range for obstruction of justice related to a May 25, 2021, wiretap call in which he instructed a codefendant to remove guns and scales used for weighing illegal drugs from his Helena residence in anticipation that it would be searched by law enforcement. 

GLADNEY III:           So where, what you got in the house in Helena?

CODEFENDANT:     I got everything out of there.

GLADNEY III:           You got everything out of there already?

CODEFENDANT:     Yeah.

GLADNEY III:           Scales and everything?

CODEFENDANT:     Naw, I gotta, gotta, lemme call them. Send em back in to get that. I gotta find out where all they at.

GLADNEY III:           Scales and shit. Get everything out the house. Any guns, anything.

CODEFENDANT:     Alright, let me..

GLADNEY III:           Where that MAK-90 at?

CODEFENDANT:     It’s not there.

GLADNEY III:           Alright get everything else out that house before they go search that b***h.

CODEFENDANT:     Alright.

      Judge Moody cited the ghost gun in increasing Gladney’s sentence 2.5 years above the guidelines range. Judge Moody noted that based on trial testimony, it was apparent that Gladney’s ghost gun, which did not have a back plate, was either ready to receive a “switch,” or had recently had a “switch” on it, that would turn the ghost gun from a semi-automatic firearm to a fully-automatic firearm. Judge Moody also recognized that Gladney was on probation from a drug and gun case in Memphis at the time he was intercepted on the wiretap in this case. 

      This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF 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.

      The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Department of Community Corrections, Little Rock Police Department, North Little Rock Police Department, Pine Bluff Police Department, and Jonesboro Police Department. FBI’s GETROCK Task Force was formed in 2017 in response to the escalation in gang and gun violence in Little Rock. The unit’s investigations and operations are coordinated out of FBI Little Rock’s field office, and GETROCK continues to serve as the clearinghouse for gang-related law enforcement activity in Central Arkansas. Additional support was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations; United States Postal Inspection Service; Arkansas National Guard Counterdrug Joint Task Force; and the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie Peters, Amanda Fields, and Reese Lancaster.

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Additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

X (formerly known as Twitter):

@USAO_EDAR 

Source: US FBI

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Justice Department today announced that it will boost FBI assets across the country over the next six months to address unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country through Operation Not Forgotten.

The FBI will send a total of 60 personnel, rotating in temporary duty assignments over a six-month period to select FBI field offices across the United States, including Arizona. Operation Not Forgotten is the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date. The detailed FBI personnel will support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. FBI Phoenix will receive 11 agents on a rotating basis over the next six months, who will be spread across offices in Arizona.

FBI personnel will be assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, and will work in partnership with Tribal law enforcement agencies across the country.

“Protection of the public is one of the key responsibilities of the Department of Justice. Here in Arizona, the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI have a special trust relationship with the 22 federally recognized tribes in our state,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “Operation Not Forgotten reflects the continued commitment of the federal government to pursue justice for crime victims in all Native American communities.”

“Our FBI personnel and Safe Trails Task Forces work closely every single day with our law enforcement partners to investigate crimes of violence throughout the many tribal territories in Arizona,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Jose A. Perez. “We are responsible for investigating the most serious crimes in Indian Country and this initiative will provide much needed additional resources to help us better serve those same communities by assisting victims and bringing criminals to justice.”

“Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high. By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with US Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.

Indian Country faces persistent levels of crime and victimization. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.

Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts begun during President Trump’s first term under E.O. 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the third deployment under Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 500 cases in the past two years. Combined, these operations resulted in the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.

Operation Not Forgotten also expands upon the resources deployed in recent years to address cases of missing and murdered indigenous people. The effort will be supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which places attorneys and coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered indigenous people.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-046_Operation Not Forgotten

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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 Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: US FBI

PHOENIX, Ariz. – During this week of enforcement operations from March 22, 2025, through March 28, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 260 defendants. Specifically, the United States filed 96 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 155 aliens for illegally entering the United States.  In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States also filed 9 cases against 9 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona. 

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Recent matters of interest include:

United States v. Greiby Melissa Barcelo-Velasquez: On March 25, 2025, Greiby Melissa Barcelo-Velasquez, a Columbian national, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States. Since approximately June 2023, Barcelo-Velasquez coordinated the smuggling of over 100 illegal aliens from Columbia to the United States using her travel company, Baul Travel SAS. This case is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha. Case No. CR-24-00392-PHX-JJT.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-044_March 28 Immigration Enforcement

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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

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Christopher E. Galvin, 58, of Scottsdale, was convicted by a federal jury last week on one count of Wire Fraud. The guilty verdict came after a three-day jury trial before United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich. Galvin’s sentencing is set for May 30, 2025.

In April 2019, Galvin founded Hypur Ventures II and became its Chief Executive Officer. Galvin made misrepresentations to a victim to convince the victim to invest in Hypur Ventures II. Among other things, Galvin told the victim that he would invest the victim’s money in a fund of businesses in the cannabis industry. As a result of Galvin’s misrepresentations, the victim wired $100,000 for an investment in Hypur Ventures II in Arizona. Galvin did not invest the money but instead used it to pay his legal bills, pay others, and enrich himself. Galvin never returned any of the victim’s money despite repeatedly promising the victim that he would do so.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation – Phoenix Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Short and Bruce Van Baren, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-23-01375-PHX-SMB 
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-038_Galvin

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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

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, a jury found Clifton Nez Hamalowa, 47, of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, guilty of First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Discharging a Firearm During, In Relation to, and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. The guilty verdict followed a seven-day jury trial before United States District Court Judge John J. Tuchi.

During trial, evidence showed that Hamalowa became angry with the victim one evening and then shot the victim in the head multiple times the following morning, August 29, 2020. Hamalowa dumped the victim’s body in a remote area of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation. Meanwhile, Hamalowa’s brother disposed of the victim’s car in Parker, Arizona, and Hamalowa’s sister made her daughter clean the victim’s blood from the crime scene on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Over the next two weeks, Hamalowa and his sister also intimidated witnesses into silence. Eventually, a witness was able to contact the Gila River Police Department so that officers could rescue the victim’s minor child who was still in the victim’s home.

Hamalowa’s brother, Thomas Leon Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder and was sentenced to 108 months in prison on October 23, 2023. Hamalowa’s sister, Devonne Beth Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder and was sentenced to 84 months in prison on April 1, 2024.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Gila River Police Department jointly investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer E. LaGrange and Travis L. Wheeler, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-00751-PHX-JJT
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-037_Hamalowa

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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.