District of Idaho

POCATELLO – Ivan Dixey, Jr., 43, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Edward J. Lodge to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, on October 9, 2012, Fort Hall Police officers responded to a reported fight at Dixey’s residence on the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation. The victim, her father and others were at the residence making arrangements to move a mobile home from the property. Dixey told the victim and those with her to leave, telling them they were trespassing. A scuffle ensued between Dixey and the victim and her father. Dixey struck the victim multiple times, causing serious bodily injury to the victim’s eye. The victim suffered impairment of her vision.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

POCATELLO – Alessandra Valencia Toscanelli, also known as Sarah Kate Henecke, 36, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced today in United States District Court to three years of probation, with 60 days of home detention for making false statements in a mortgage application on a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guaranteed loan, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Toscanelli to serve 80 hours of community service and pay $42,905 in restitution.

According to the plea agreement, in March 2009, Toscanelli obtained a home loan to finance the purchase of a residence in Eagle, Idaho. The loan application submitted in support of the loan contained the false statement that Toscanelli had employment income of $2,400 per month, when she actually had no income. Toscanelli also submitted false payroll checks and payroll stubs, a false letter regarding her employment, a false employment contract, and a false employee confidentiality agreement. Shortly after the loan was funded, Toscanelli defaulted on the loan and HUD incurred a loss.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

COEUR D'ALENE - Marisa Belle Hawk, 28, of Wapato, Washington, pleaded guilty today to assault with a serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Hawk was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d'Alene on December 17, 2013.

According to court documents, Hawk admitted that on November 23, 2013, she used a handgun and shot the victim in the leg. All of these events occurred within the boundaries of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.

The charge of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to 3 years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for August 27, 2014, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.

The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Nez Perce Tribal Police.

BOISE – Mary Jane Pace, 49, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to one count of distributing a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is set for September 9, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

According to the plea agreement, on May 24, 2012, Pace knowingly and intentionally distributed to an undercover police officer, five pills of 40 mg oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic and controlled substance, in exchange for $100 in payment. She had obtained the controlled substances by prescription from a provider.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement personnel from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Idaho State Police, Meridian Police Department, Nampa Police Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

BOISE – Scott Vincente Hernandez, 42, of Oakland, California, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to assaulting an Ada County Sheriff’s Deputy, announced U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson.

On July 9, 2013, Hernandez and ten others were indicted for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The court ordered that Hernandez be held in custody while that case was pending. Hernandez was committed to the custody of the United States Marshal and confined at the Ada County Jail pursuant to an agreement between the U.S. Marshal and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. Hernandez admitted in court today that on October 16, 2013, while incarcerated at the Ada County Jail, he assaulted an Ada County Jail Deputy.

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge will sentence Hernandez on both the drug and assault charges on September 9, 2014. The charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine is punishable by a minimum of five years and up to twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $5 million, and at least four years of supervised release. The assault charge is punishable by up to one year in prison, a maximum fine of $100,000, and up to one year of supervised release.

The drug charges were investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. The assault charge was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

The cases are being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

COEUR D’ALENE – United States Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that the United States Marshals Service recently sold one of the real properties forfeited in the Robert Wayne Baucum criminal case. Baucum and four other defendants were charged and pled to conspiracy to manufacture, and possess with intent to distribute, marijuana, including at least 1,000 marijuana plants. The Raccoon Lane property in Boundary County sold for approximately $235,000.00. The proceeds from that property sale will now be shared with the Boundary County Prosecutor’s Office and the Idaho State Police, who will each receive approximately $80,000.

As part of their plea agreements, defendants agreed to forfeit properties involved in their violations and the proceeds they obtained. The properties included nine parcels of real property located in Idaho, Oregon and Alaska; currency; and personal properties including vehicles, gold and silver coins and motorcycles. Requests for equitable sharing and requests to place forfeited personal properties into official use may continue to be awarded to state and local law enforcement who assisted in the investigation.

The Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program is a nationwide law enforcement initiative that removes the tools of crime from criminal organizations, deprives wrongdoers of the proceeds of their crimes, recovers property that may be used to compensate victims, and deters crime. Asset forfeiture has become one of the most powerful tools for targeting criminals—including drug dealers and white collar criminals—who prey on the vulnerable for financial gain. One of the most important provisions of the asset forfeiture laws is the sharing back of federal forfeiture proceeds with state and local law enforcement agencies via the DOJ Equitable Sharing Program. This program enables state and local law enforcement agencies to offset some of their costs in working together with federal agencies to investigate and prosecute complex and large-scale crime. It serves not only to deter crime but also to provide valuable additional resources to state and local law enforcement agencies through their direct participation in an investigation or prosecution that results in a federal forfeiture. Since its inception more than 30 years ago, the program has resulted in millions of dollars being shared with the Idaho State Police, county sheriffs and city police departments throughout the state.

BOISE – Michael Minas, 49, of Boise, Idaho, appeared today in federal court in Boise on an indictment charging him with seventeen counts of distributing a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. He was arrested yesterday morning outside of his medical practice in Eagle. Trial is set for August 12, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The indictment alleges that Minas distributed oxycodone 30 mg and Oxycontin 80 mg, both Schedule II controlled substances, and diazepam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, and that he did so outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

The court released Minas until trial and ordered him to follow several specific conditions while on release. Pending trial, Minas will be prohibited from writing prescriptions and will not engage in the practice of medicine except for the limited purpose of transferring patient records so that patients may see other providers. He also must relinquish any prescription pads in his possession. Minas will be subject to home detention and electronic monitoring and will be allowed in the community only for limited purposes and with the pre-approval of his pre-trial services officer.

The charge of distributing a controlled substance is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00 and at least three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement personnel from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Idaho State Police, Meridian Police Department, Nampa Police Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOISE – Nathen Leon Massie, 35, of Meridian, Idaho, was sentenced today by United States District Court Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 grams or More of Actual Methamphetamine and Possession of Firearms by a Prohibited Person, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Massie pleaded guilty to the charges on March 5, 2014.

According to the plea agreement Massie admitted that from at least as early as July 1, 2013, through November 7, 2013, he distributed methamphetamine to persons that contained more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine, and he did so in exchange for money, knowing that those persons, in turn, intended to sell the methamphetamine to others. When the defendant was arrested, officers found over 50 grams of pure methamphetamine at his house along with three firearms and ammunition. According to the plea agreement, one of the firearms found at Massie’s residence was a Barrett, Model 99, .50-caliber rifle. Massie, who had previously been convicted of a felony drug offense, was prohibited from having any of these firearms.

The case was investigated by the Idaho State Police.

BOISE – Joann Ruszkowski, 43, of Meridian, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to one count of distributing a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise on September 3, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, on June 11, 2012, Ruszkowski knowingly and intentionally distributed to an undercover police officer, 25 pills of 30 mg oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic and controlled substance, in exchange for $500 in payment. She had obtained the controlled substances by prescription from a provider.

This investigation was initiated by the Meridian Police Department and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement personnel from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Idaho State Police, Meridian Police Department, Nampa Police Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

BOISE – Kristen Rast, 44, of Meridian, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of distributing a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise on August 25, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, on four occasions in June through August of 2012, Rast knowingly and intentionally distributed to an undercover police officer, 356 pills of 80 mg Oxycontin, which contains oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic and controlled substance. She had obtained the controlled substances by prescription from a provider.

This investigation was initiated by the Meridian Police Department and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement personnel from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Idaho State Police, Meridian Police Department, Nampa Police Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General.

BOISE – Brittany Nicole Tillema, 25, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of distributing a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise on August 25, 2014.

According to court documents, on or about October 18, 2012, Tillema knowingly and intentionally distributed to an undercover police officer, 32 pills of 80 mg Oxycontin, which contains oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic and controlled substance.

This investigation was initiated by the Meridian Police Department and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement personnel from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Idaho State Police, Meridian Police Department, Nampa Police Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General.

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Anthony Rennie Jones, 29, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Jones at the federal courthouse in Boise. Jones, a documented member of a criminal gang, pleaded guilty to the charges on January 15, 2014.

According to the plea agreement and information presented in court, Jones admitted to selling methamphetamine to a person who was acting as a confidential informant. Jones sold methamphetamine to the confidential informant on four separate occasions beginning in October 2012. In January 2013, the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force served search warrants at Jones’ residence and place of business. Agents located multiple handguns, approximately $15,000, and other items associated with drug dealing.

During the court hearing today, Judge Lodge found that Jones possessed the handguns in connection with the drug distribution. Additional evidence was presented to establish that Jones is a documented gang member.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force. The Metro Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and the Idaho Department of Correction.

The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) also contributed to the investigation. Federal partners include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and U.S. Marshals Service.

The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

COEUR D’ALENE – Mari A. Mort, 46, of Grangeville, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to five years of probation, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Mort to pay $7,721.58 in restitution. Mort pleaded guilty to the charge of misappropriating postal funds in March 2014.

According to court documents between February 14, 2011, and June 13, 2013, Mort, who was employed at the U.S. Post Office in Grangeville, Idaho, stole money from Water Oz, a company located just outside Grangeville. Mort embezzled funds by charging Water Oz for packages the company did not mail and refunding the money to herself.

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the United States Postal Service.

POCATELLO – Juan Yuen-Rodriguez, 29, of Rupert, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. In the same case, Jesus Burgos, 52, of Lennox, California, pleaded guilty today to money laundering.

According to the plea agreements, on various dates, including August 14, 2013, Yuen-Rodriguez agreed with an undercover officer to deliver methamphetamine to the undercover officer in Heyburn, Idaho. While driving to the meeting, Yuen-Rodriguez, along with a co-defendant, were stopped by law enforcement. In a box in the back seat of the vehicle officers found 2,024 grams of actual methamphetamine. Additionally, on or about August 12, 2013, at the direction of others, Burgos deposited $4,400 into an account at a bank in Burley, Idaho. Burgos did this knowing that the $4,400 was, in fact, proceeds from the distribution of methamphetamine. The reason for Burgos defendant making this deposit was to disguise the true ownership of the $4,400, making it appear that it was Burgos’ money.

Yuen-Rodriguez’ charge is punishable by ten years to life in prison, a maximum fine of $10 million, and at least five years of supervised release. Burgos’ charge is punishable by twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000, and at least three years of supervised release.

The men are set for sentencing on August 13, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Canyon County Narcotics Unit, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho State Police, and the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

COEUR D’ALENE – Larry Donald Havier, Jr., 37, of Worley, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to distribution of fifty grams or more of actual methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Havier was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 22, 2014.

According to statements made in court, Havier admitted that between May 2013, and January 2014, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine. Havier admitted that on at least two occasions he delivered methamphetamine to a confidential source of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Drug Enforcement Administration.

The charge is punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 years, a maximum fine of $10 million, and at least five years supervised release.

Havier is set for sentencing on August 18, 2014, before U.S. District Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was the result of a drug investigation conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department, and Plummer Police Department.

Waterline Renovation Project Led to $3,980,000 Cleanup

BOISE — Owyhee Construction Incorporated, a Boise-based corporation, was sentenced to three years of probation for violating the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). District Judge Edward J. Lodge also fined Owyhee Construction $100,000, ordered it to implement a compliance and ethics program, and pay restitution. Two employees of Owyhee Construction were previously sentenced to prison terms for acts related to the disposal of asbestos.

Owyhee Construction Inc., was the successful bidder on a $3 million waterline renovation project in Orofino, Idaho, a rural community in north central Idaho. The contract documents warned Owyhee Construction that the company may encounter up to 5,000 linear feet of cement asbestos pipe (CAP) during the renovation. CAP is a non-friable form of asbestos that is encapsulated in a cement matrix. When the CAP is broken or crushed by heavy equipment or subjected to cutting and grinding by machinery, it becomes subject to regulation because of the threat to public health from airborne fibers.

The onsite manager and foreman failed to properly supervise the renovation. While working in the trenches to replace pipe, workers removed CAP from the trenches which ended up as part of fill material on sixteen properties around Orofino. Owyhee Construction never reported the releases of the asbestos. The EPA cleanup cost is just under $4 million. Owyhee Construction was ordered to pay restitution to the EPA based on resolution of a civil suit currently under way with other potentially responsible parties.

Wendy Olson, United States Attorney for the District of Idaho said, “Businesses have a firm, and in this case contractual, obligation to handle harmful materials with care and in compliance with environmental regulations that protect the public from unknowing harm. This case should send the strong message that those who fail to meet these obligations will be investigated, caught and punished.”

Tyler Amon Special Agent in Charge for EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Seattle said, “Deceived into thinking Owyhee Construction had provided them with ‘clean fill,’ citizens and businesses of Orofino used the material to fill their, driveways and yards. The result: a contaminated mixture of crushed pipe and debris laced with harmful asbestos spread over 16 separate sites at a cost of $4 million to taxpayers. Egregious, unlawful conduct has a consequence.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney, D. Marc Haws from the District of Idaho and Senior Trial Attorney J. Ronald Sutcliffe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.

BOISE - Winters War Eagle, 22, of Owyhee, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to simple assault on a person who has not attained the age of 16 years, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, War Eagle admitted that on October 13, 2013, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, he willfully touched a 15 year-old girl in a patently offensive manner without her consent.

The charge of simple assault on a person who has not attained the age of 16 years is punishable by up to 1 year in prison, a maximum fine of $100,000.00, and up to 5 years of probation.

Sentencing is set for August 11, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Department in Owyhee, Nevada.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

POCATELLO — Daniel Joseph Dalton, 38, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 39 months in federal prison for possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Dalton to 15 years of supervised release. Dalton pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2014.

According to court records, over 300 video files of suspected child pornography were discovered on a desktop computer owned and used by Dalton after Dalton left the computer at a local computer repair shop. When interviewed by a Bonneville County Sheriff’s detective, Dalton admitted to downloading sexually explicit images of children using Limewire peer-to-peer file sharing software. Dalton also admitted that he was responsible for the child pornography that police found on an external hard drive at his residence.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

POCATELLO – Co-defendants Anthony Juarez, 31, of Nampa, Idaho, and Jose Juarez, 33, of Rupert, Idaho, were sentenced this week in United States District Court for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Anthony Juarez to 76 months, followed by three years of supervised release and a $300 fine. Jose Juarez was sentenced to 72 months, followed by three years of supervised release and a $300 fine. The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges on March 10, 2014.

According to the plea agreements, on July 24, 2013, Anthony Juarez agreed to meet with an undercover officer in Burley, Idaho, where it was agreed methamphetamine would be sold to the undercover officer. Later that day, Jose Juarez drove Anthony Juarez and a codefendant to the meeting with the undercover officer at a restaurant in Burley, Idaho. At the meeting, the undercover officer was sold six ounces of methamphetamine.

The case was the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Canyon County Narcotics Unit, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho State Police, and the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

BOISE – William B. Mabry, 46, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge to 24 months in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge Lodge also ordered Mabry to pay $80,000 in restitution.

The Indictment alleged that Mabry and three co-conspirators, Mark Ciccarello, Troy Palmer, and Robert Eoff, conspired to purchase and import from China chemicals known as AM2201, UR-144, and XLR11, which they used to treat innocuous plant matter to make spice—a synthetic cannabinoid similar to substances—including JWH018—listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The Indictment alleged that they conspired to launder money illegally obtained through spice manufacturing and distribution.

According to court documents, Mabry admitted that he knowingly entered into a conspiracy with co-conspirators to conduct financial transactions in connection with a “spice” manufacturing and distribution business beginning in March 2011. Mabry also admitted to knowingly participating and assisting in the financial activity of the business by engaging in bank and other financial transactions, through both domestic and foreign financial institutions. The transactions consisted of the proceeds of prior illegal spice sales and other specified unlawful activity and, in many cases, the transactions conducted through financial institutions separately consisted of criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000; most of the transactions occurred in Idaho, Washington and California.

The three remaining co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced in June, August, and September.

The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Nampa Police Department. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

BOISE – Sadith Chavez-Perez, 23, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chavez-Perez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, on February 11, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, on March 27, 2013, Chavez-Perez, along with a co-defendant met with an undercover officer at a parking lot in Meridian, Idaho. At the meeting Chavez-Perez discussed future drug transactions with the undercover officer. On April 11, 2013, Chavez-Perez made arrangements with the undercover officer to deliver five ounces of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. The methamphetamine was delivered to the undercover officer by a co-defendant later that day. Chavez-Perez subsequently arranged for another delivery of two pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover officer on or about May 15, 2013. While en route to this meeting, the defendant was stopped by law enforcement in Ely, Nevada. In the vehicle officers found 1321 grams of actual methamphetamine.

The charge is punishable by up to10 years to life in prison, a maximum fine of $10 million, and at least five years of supervised release.

Chavez-Perez is set for sentencing on August 5, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in conjunction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Meridian Police Department, and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

POCATELLO - Ian Jack Crooked Arm, a/k/a Ian Sittre, 27, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 27 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sittre to serve three years of supervised release, following his release from prison. Sittre pleaded guilty to the charge on February 26, 2014. In imposing sentence, Judge Winmill noted that Sittre already had served nine months in tribal jail in connection with the offense. Thus, Sittre will serve a total of 36 months.

According to the plea agreement, a 10-month-old girl was left in Sittre’s care when the child’s mother went to work on February 20, 2013. Sittre was living with the infant’s mother and other family members at a residence on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Less than ten minutes after leaving, Sittre called the child’s mother and told her something was wrong with the baby. Upon arriving at the residence, Sittre told the mother that the baby was “breathing funny.” She called 911 and attempted CPR. Sittre left the residence before paramedics or police arrived. Paramedics transported the child by ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center, unconscious and non-responsive. She was then airlifted to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, in critical condition. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, the infant died on February 22, 2013.

Also according to the plea agreement, an autopsy conducted on February 23 concluded that the immediate cause of death was abusive head trauma inflicted by a caregiver. A review of the child’s medical history found nothing to indicate any pre-existing conditions that may have contributed to the child’s death. While in jail on April 4, 2013, Sittre told his mother during a recorded telephone call that he shook the baby “too hard.”

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Two Defendants Sentenced in Large Drug Case

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced sentencing of Jeramie Ethan Mahler, 27, of Star, Idaho, and Carlos Eberardo Tovar, 28, of Nampa, Idaho. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Mahler to 247 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and for discharging a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty to the charges on March 3, 2014. Judge Lodge sentenced Tovar to 87 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on March 3, 2014.

Mahler admitted that he and other co-defendants agreed to distribute methamphetamine beginning in approximately January 2013. Mahler and others continued to distribute methamphetamine for several months. Mahler admitted that the conspiracy involved over 500 grams of methamphetamine. Mahler faced a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence for the drug conspiracy because of the large amount of methamphetamine involved. Mahler also admitted that he shot another person on March 25, 2013, in furtherance of the drug conspiracy, because of a dispute with that person about the quality of the methamphetamine. The shooting occurred alongside a road in south Ada County near Amity and Linder roads. Mahler and two co-defendants fled the scene leaving the injured man behind. A Canyon County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle that Mahler was driving eight days later, on April 2, 2013. Mahler was arrested and the vehicle was searched. Inside, deputies found two handguns and approximately one-quarter pound of methamphetamine. A forensic examination later confirmed that one of the handguns located in the vehicle was the same gun used in the shooting on March 25. Mahler faced a consecutive mandatory sentence of ten years for discharging the firearm in furtherance of the conspiracy. In addition to the 250 month prison sentence, Mahler was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Tovar conspired with Mahler and others to distribute methamphetamine. Tovar sold methamphetamine to an undercover police officer on several occasions. On February 7, 2013, Tovar sold the officer approximately four ounces of methamphetamine for $3,700. The Drug Enforcement Administration later tested the methamphetamine and determined it was 99% pure.

Co-defendant Juan Luis Mojica-Barragan will be sentenced on May 21, 2014, for his part in the conspiracy. He pleaded guilty on February 27, 2014. The charge that Mojica-Barragan pleaded guilty to is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a $1 million fine, and at least three years of supervised release.

Mahler, Tovar, Mojica-Barragan, and eight other individuals were indicted on July 9, 2013, in a case including charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of cocaine, and unlawful possession of firearms. The defendants are responsible for distributing pounds of methamphetamine within the community. During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized twelve firearms, including a stolen firearm, and an illegal fully-automatic machine gun. All eleven defendants have pleaded guilty. Co-defendants Wendy Harrison and Bobbi Eileen Woolsey were both sentenced to 84 months in prison; Nearia Pinnell was sentenced to 33 months in prison; Daniel Vaughan was sentenced to 80 months in prison; Darrell Zirschky was sentenced to 168 months in prison; and Michelle Ritch was sentenced to 120 months. Mojica-Barragan, Hernan Gomez-Gutierrez, and Scott Hernandez have not been sentenced yet.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. Other agencies that contributed to this investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

POCATELLO – Cody Preacher, 20, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to five months in prison, followed by six months in a residential rehabilitation center and three years of supervised release, for assaulting a federal officer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. He was indicted on October 22, 2013 and pleaded guilty to the charge on March 10, 2014.

On July 17, 2013, Preacher was arrested on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation for intoxication and for an active arrest warrant from the Fort Hall Tribal Court. He was being placed in a police car for transport to the Fort Hall Jail when he kicked the arresting officer, Jeremy Ball of the Fort Hall Police Department, in the groin. Officer Ball was treated at the hospital.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

POCATELLO — Austin Del Broncho-Timbana, 21, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 15 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for abusive sexual contact, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Broncho-Timbana was charged by information on January 17, 2014, and pleaded guilty to the charge on February 27, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, Broncho-Timbana admitted that on January 20, 2013, he had abusive sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl at a residence on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. According to the plea agreement, a relative contacted police after finding the girl partially unclothed in a back bedroom. Broncho-Timbana left the house through the bedroom window. He was later contacted by police at his home.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced guilty pleas in two separate cases prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and State of Idaho to address gang crimes. Nathan John Vert, 30, of Caldwell, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to unlawfully possessing a firearm. In a separate case, Esteban Villegas-Gamez, 39, a Mexican national living in Bellevue, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to distribution of methamphetamine.

At today’s hearing, Vert admitted that he unlawfully possessed a 12-gauge shotgun. Vert was involved in a traffic accident on October 21, 2013. Officers with the Nampa Police Department arrived at the scene. During the investigation of the traffic accident, officers discovered a 12-gauge shotgun inside the vehicle that Vert was driving. Vert was prohibited from possessing firearms because he was previously convicted of the felony crime of delivery of a controlled substance in 2003 in Canyon County, Idaho.

The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. The government is seeking forfeiture of the firearm. Vert is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department and Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force. The Metro Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole.

Villegas-Gamez, who also pleaded guilty today, admitted he sold methamphetamine and firearms to a person assisting law enforcement as a confidential informant. Villegas-Gamez sold the informant methamphetamine and firearms on numerous occasions beginning in November 2013 until January 2014. Villegas-Gamez admitted that the combined total he sold the informant during the different transactions was in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The charge is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release. Villegas-Gamez is set for sentencing on August 11, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Blaine County Narcotics Enforcement Team. Other agencies that assisted with the investigation include the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) and Idaho State Police. The Blaine County Narcotics Enforcement Team includes the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, Sun Valley Police Department, Hailey Police Department, Ketchum Police Department, and Bellevue Marshal’s Office.

Both cases are being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

BOISE - Larry Grant Dana, 41, of Council, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Dana was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Boise on March 11, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, Dana was convicted in Canyon County in 1996 of Battery with Intent to Commit Rape, which requires him to register as a sex offender. He had registered off and on since May 2001, most recently on October 5, 2013, when he reported that he was residing in Council, Idaho. According to his Idaho State parole officer, Dana absconded from supervision in November 2013. Dana was apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 16, 2014. The investigation showed Dana had been in Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Oklahoma prior to his arrest. He failed to register as a sex offender in any of those states, and did not notify the Idaho Sex Offender Registry that he had changed his address or left the state, as required by state and federal law.

The charge of failure to register as a sex offender is a violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and five years up to lifetime supervised release.

Sentencing is set for July 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), a member of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Fourth Conviction for Failing to Register

BOISE - Perry Lee Lewis, 36, of Boise, pleaded guilty today to escaping from custody and violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Lewis was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Boise on March 11, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, on May 13, 2013, Lewis walked away from the Port of Hope residential reentry center in Coeur d’Alene, where he was finishing his sentence for a previous violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Port of Hope is a halfway house that contracts with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to help reintroduce prisoners back into the community during the last few months of their sentence. Lewis was apprehended in Worley, Idaho, on May 19, 2013, by Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police, and returned to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Seattle, where he finished his sentence. Lewis was released on July 10, 2013, and returned to Boise, but once again, he failed to register as a sex offender. Lewis was previously convicted of Rape in the Second Degree in 2006 in the state of Washington and has two previous convictions in Washington State for failing to register as a sex offender.

The charge of escaping from custody is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to 3 years of supervised release. The charge of violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and from 5 years up to lifetime-supervised release.

Sentencing is set for July 29, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The United States Marshal’s Service and the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police investigated the case. Both agencies are members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

BOISE B Jonathan Lynn Henery, 28, and Beau Edward Hansen, 30, both of Boise, Idaho, were indicted May 13, 2014, on federal hate crime charges for their racially motivated assault of an African-American man, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. An initial appearance date has not been set.

The indictment alleges that on or about October 20, 2013, both men willfully caused bodily injury to a victim, who is African American, because of the victim’s actual and perceived race and color.

The charge of hate crime based on race is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 249(a)(1), the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009. A violation of that statute is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to 3 years of supervised release.

“Hate crimes target entire communities and are designed to send messages of intolerance that are not welcome here,” said Olson. “This office, along with the Civil Rights Division and our federal and local law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate and prosecute these crimes.” Olson noted that this is the first case charged under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act in the District of Idaho.

“From the first responding patrol officers, to the detectives, officers realized quickly this case was a major crime, a civil rights violation, not just a battery, that demanded the attention of our federal partners,” said Chief Michael Masterson of the Boise Police Department. “Beliefs that fuel crimes based on hate are toxic to our entire community. Boise Police detectives and agents from the FBI put substantial hours into investigating this case. Their work goes to the heart of law enforcement, which is to reduce fear and allow all residents to feel secure as they go about their daily lives. Hate crimes will not be tolerated. Thankfully they are rare in our city, but when they occur, be assured they will be aggressively investigated with all available resources, which are considerable.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Boise City Police Department. The case is being jointly prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Defendant ordered to pay over $400,000 in restitution to more than 50 victims

BOISE – Celia Perez, 40, of Jerome, Idaho, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for a seven-year immigration services fraud scheme that was executed through the United States mail, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United States District Court Judge John C. Coughenour from the Western District of Washington also ordered Perez to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $400,000 in restitution to more than fifty victims. Perez pled guilty to the offense on February 12, 2014.

As a part of her plea agreement, Perez admitted that she falsely represented herself as an immigration attorney and solicited fees from clients for immigration services that she never provided. The scheme ran from 2006 through 2013. As part of the scheme to defraud, Perez sent her clients invoices requesting money for “fines and fees,” that she claimed were due and owing to various U.S. Government agencies for immigration benefits applications. The clients then sent money, by certified checks and money orders, to Perez at her U.S. Post Office Box in Wendell, Idaho, through the use of the U.S. Mail. Perez never filed any applications for immigration benefits with any U.S. Government agencies, nor were any fines or fees ever owed by the clients for immigration benefits applications. Rather, Perez used the money paid by the clients for her own purposes.

According to the plea agreement, during the investigation, Perez voluntarily met with agents of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and admitted that she had engaged in the fraud scheme for several years. Perez further admitted that she obtained money from victims identified in the plea agreement, but did not pay any fines or fees to U.S. Government agencies as she had represented. Instead she used the money for her own purposes. Perez admitted that the amount of loss resulting from her fraud scheme is greater than $300,000, but less than $400,000. Perez also admitted that she opened approximately 12 credit card accounts, and obtained a student loan in the name of a relative.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Coughenour heard testimony from five victims about the financial impact that the defendant's crimes had on them. Several victims described in court how the defendant’s actions caused families to lose tens of thousands of dollars that they paid to Perez for immigration services. Victims explained how their relatives lost opportunities to come to the United States while waiting on the false hope promised by Ms. Perez. One victim told the Court that his wife was stuck in Mexico as a result of the defendant’s inactions, and another victim lamented that he was unable to visit his parents prior to their deaths because the defendant had caused problems with his immigration status.

“Today’s sentence and restitution order send a strong message that those who dream of U.S. citizenship cannot be victimized by others whose only interest is greed and personal benefit,” said Olson. “Celia Perez took advantage of her victims and took their money when she was never in a position to help them realize their dreams. I commend Special Agent Rich Cross, the lawyers from my office who worked on this case and the victims and their advocates who had the courage to come forward to expose Ms. Perez’s criminal conduct.”

“Fraud of this nature is prolific and criminals such as Perez know many immigrants will pay a premium for legal assistance to obtain immigration benefits,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle, who oversees Idaho investigations. “HSI is dedicated to protecting immigrants and the integrity of the legal immigration system. It was only through victims coming forward that we were able to put an end to Perez’s crimes and keep others from being victimized.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

BOISE B Mexican national Luis Angel Nunez-Leon, 25, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, visiting from the Western District of Washington, also ordered Nunez-Leon to forfeit $6,060 in United States currency seized during the investigation.

Nunez-Leon pled guilty on November 26, 2013. During his plea hearing, Nunez-Leon admitted driving co-Defendant Angel Valdez-Soto to and from a drug transaction in Caldwell, Idaho on April 11, 2011. Nunez-Leon admitted knowing that Valdez-Soto had arranged to distribute 55 grams of methamphetamine. During the transaction, Valdez-Soto distributed 55 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant.

Four co-defendants have been sentenced. Angel Valdez-Soto, a Mexican national, was sentenced on May 22, 2012 to 108 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine. Roy Brian Coolidge of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced on April 2, 2012 to 57 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Jose Romos-Gonzales, a Mexican national, was sentenced on June 5, 2012 to 188 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine. Jose Gregorio Valenzuela-Favela, a Mexican national, was sentenced on February 19, 2014 to 57 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine.

"These sentences demonstrate that those who poison our communities and our youth with methamphetamine will serve long sentences in federal prisons,@ said Olson. AState and federal law enforcement officers throughout Idaho will work together to ensure that drug traffickers are caught, prosecuted and convicted."

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department Narcotics Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Nampa Police Department.

BOISE – Robert Craig Dupont, 37, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Dupont appeared before Hon. John C. Coughenour, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington, at the federal courthouse in Boise. He pleaded guilty to the charge on December 13, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Dupont admitted that he sold methamphetamine on two separate occasions. The first transaction occurred on November 28, 2012, when Dupont sold approximately one-quarter ounce of methamphetamine to a confidential informant for $380. The second transaction occurred on January 3, 2013, when Dupont sold approximately one-quarter ounce of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer for $450.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force and the Meridian Police Department. The Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole.

Dupont was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Stevens-Henager College, Inc. and its owner, The Center for Excellence in Higher Education, for illegally compensating recruiters, the Department of Justice announced today. Stevens-Henager operates a chain of for-profit colleges in Idaho and Utah.

“Congress has made clear that colleges should not pay improper incentives to admissions recruiters,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “The Department of Justice and the Department of Education are working together to combat abusive recruitment practices that can harm students and result in the waste of taxpayer funds.”

In its complaint, the government alleged that the college falsely certified compliance with provisions of federal law that prohibit a university from paying incentive-based compensation to its admissions recruiters based on the number of students they recruit. Congress enacted the prohibition on such incentive compensation to curtail the enrollment of unqualified students, high student loan default rates, and the waste of student loans and grant funds.

The claims alleged by the United States were initiated by a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two former Stevens-Henager employees under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to file suit over false claims on behalf of the government. The act provides for the recovery of triple damages and penalties, and allows the government to intervene and take over the allegations, as it has done in this case. The whistleblower is entitled to a share of any recovery obtained in the lawsuit.

“Fighting fraud and protecting federal tax dollars from abuse is a priority for this office,” said Wendy Olson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. “The False Claims Act is an important tool for doing just that. Whistleblowers are necessary to our ongoing efforts to combat fraud, waste and abuse.”

This matter was investigated by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, and the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Brooks v. Stevens-Henager College, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:13-CV-00009-BLW (D. Id.). The claims asserted are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.This matter was investigated by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, and the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Brooks v. Stevens-Henager College, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:13-CV-00009-BLW (D. Id.). The claims asserted are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Admits Aiding and Abetting Unlawful Acquisition and Transportation of Three Mountain Lions

COEUR D’ALENE – Christopher Wilson, 33, of Elgin, Oregon, was sentenced today in United States Magistrate Court to five years of probation for one count of aiding and abetting the unlawful acquisition and transportation of a mountain lion, a misdemeanor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United States Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale ordered Wilson to pay a $500 fine and a $25 special assessment, and banned him from the use of firearms during his probation term. Additionally, Wilson is banned from hunting and fishing anywhere in the United States for a minimum of three years. The ban will extend to five years if the defendant does not earn his GED, attend hunter safety training, and serve 25 hours of community service.

According to the plea agreement, Wilson admitted that on January 19 and 20, 2012, he aided and abetted the unlawful hunting and transporting of three Pumas concolors, more commonly known as mountain lions. Wilson admitted that he allowed his Idaho tag to be put on a mountain lion taken by a hunter from North Dakota.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Idaho Fish and Game.

Admits Aiding and Abetting Unlawful Acquisition and Transportation of Three Mountain Lions

COEUR D’ALENE – Jacob R. Navarro, 22, of Bonner County, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States Magistrate Court to five years of probation for one count of aiding and abetting the unlawful acquisition and transportation of a mountain lion, a misdemeanor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United States Magistrate Jude Candy W. Dale also ordered Navarro to pay a $750 fine and a $25 special assessment, and banned him from the use of firearms during his probation term. Additionally, Navarro is banned from hunting and fishing anywhere in the United States for a minimum of three years. The ban will extend to five years if the defendant does not earn his GED, attend hunter safety training, and serve 50 hours of community service.

According to the plea agreement, Navarro admitted that on January 19 and 20, 2012, he aided and abetted the unlawful hunting and transporting of three Pumas concolors, more commonly known as mountain lions. Navarro admitted that he allowed his Idaho tag to be put on a mountain lion taken by a hunter from North Dakota.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Idaho Fish and Game.

Admits Willful Injury to Property of the United States

COEUR D’ALENE – Stanley D. Votava, 60, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale to damaging lands within the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. This is a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1361 and carries a maximum punishment of up to one year incarceration, and $100,000 fine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Sentencing is scheduled for August 19, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, Votava had been hired to remove some trees on private land adjacent to the U.S. Forest. While doing this work, he drove his skidder four times through the Idaho Panhandle National Forest causing damage to the forest estimated at over $7,000.00.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service.

COEUR D’ALENE —Jacob Russell Jackson, 54, of Lapwai, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Jackson was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene on April 16, 2013.

According to in-court statements, in 1996 Jackson was convicted in federal district court for two counts of Abusive Sexual Contact. Jackson registered as a sex offender after his release from prison, however in December 2012, he stopped registering. Jackson remained unregistered until his indictment in April 2013.

The charge of failure to register as a sex offender is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and five years up to lifetime supervised release.

Jackson is set for sentencing on August 26, 2014, before Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Jackson was prosecuted for a violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) passed by Congress in 2006. The Act requires sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction where they reside. Violations of SORNA can be prosecuted in federal court.

COEUR D’ALENE — A federal magistrate judge in Coeur d’Alene convicted Robert Wesley Warden, 49, of Kamiah, Idaho, of five counts of assault for assaulting a Kamiah Marshal and two Nez Perce Tribal Officers, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The defendant elected to have the assault charges heard by the court, without a jury.

During the trial, United States Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale heard evidence that on September 15, 2012, a distressed child called 911 and reported that a man was beating her mother. The child’s mother also spoke to the 911 dispatcher, and reported that Warden had been physically assaulting her. The 911 dispatcher asked Nez Perce Tribal Police and a Kamiah Marshal to respond to the emergency.

Judge Dale heard evidence that the first person to arrive at the scene was a Kamiah Marshal. The Kamiah Marshal learned that Warden had fled the scene and the Marshal stayed with mother and child while waiting for Nez Perce Tribal Police to arrive from another city. Before Nez Perce Tribal Police arrived, Warden returned to the residence. The Kamiah Marshal met Warden outside and told him he was being detained until the arrival of the Nez Perce Tribal Police. The defendant refused to cooperate and tried to pass the Kamiah Marshal, heading towards the woman and her child. The trial evidence showed that a struggle ensued when the Kamiah Marshal attempted to handcuff Warden. During that struggle Warden tried to bite the Kamiah Marshall.

Nez Perce Tribal Police arrived shortly after the struggle between Warden and the Kamiah Marshal ended. They arrested Warden and placed him in a patrol car. The trial evidence showed that Warden started kicking the inside of the patrol car. When Nez Perce Tribal Police Officers went to restrain Warden he attempted to kick one and bite another. He also spit on both officers. Because of this conduct, Warden was charged by federal indictment with five counts of assault.

“Law enforcement officers who respond to 911 calls for assistance often face emotionally charged and dangerous situations,” said Olson. “This office will not tolerate assaults on these officers who undertake their sworn duty to protect the public. Within Indian Reservations, where determining which agency has jurisdiction is often a difficult question, all persons have an obligation to comply with a law enforcement officer’s commands in the line of duty. I commend the witness officers involved in this case.”

The court found the defendant’s allegation of lack of jurisdiction by Officer Taylor of the Kamiah Marshall’s Office was not a defense to the assault and that Officer Taylor was reasonably there in response to a 911 call.

Each assault conviction is punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, a fine of not more than $5000, and a special assessment of $10.

Warden is set for sentencing on August 19, 2014, before Judge Dale at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by the Kamiah Marshals, Nez Perce Tribal Police, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Agents helped rescue sixteen-year-old hostage from remote campsite near Morehead Lake

Based upon the information reviewed from the FBI Inspection Division Shooting Incident Inquiry, including the Autopsy Report and Post-Rescue Interview of the sixteen-year-old victim, and evidence gathered by the Valley County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, and the Valley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office have determined that the shooting by FBI Hostage Rescue Team agents on August 10, 2013, near Cascade, Idaho, resulting in the death of James DiMaggio, does not warrant federal or state criminal prosecution.

The United States Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to support a determination that there was a violation of the federal criminal civil rights statutes and that a federal criminal investigation is unwarranted. The Valley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has determined that the FBI Hostage Rescue Team agents used reasonable force in defending themselves and/or another as relating to the death of Mr. DiMaggio.

In early August 2013, DiMaggio kidnapped a sixteen year-old- girl after killing members of her family in Boulevard, California. Pursuant to local tips on August 8 and 9, a law enforcement airplane located DiMaggio and his hostage on August 10 at a campsite near Morehead Lake, approximately forty miles from Cascade, Idaho.

Hostage Rescue Team agents were taken by helicopter and dropped within hiking distance of the campsite. They hiked to the campsite, tactically surrounded it, and began to close in through a wooded area to attempt to arrest the subject and rescue the hostage. The wooded area was steep, and the terrain difficult to negotiate. The airplane remained above the campsite and provided its observation of the activities of the subject and his hostage to the Hostage Rescue Team. Infrared video recorded from the airplane showed the arrest and rescue, including an overhead view of the action of the individuals involved and the heat from the shots that were fired.

Some of the Hostage Rescue Team agents moved in when it was reported that DiMaggio was separated from the hostage. When several agents got within approximately 100 yards of the subject, DiMaggio fired two rifle shots. Two agents, who could see DiMaggio and were directly within his firing line, believed DiMaggio was shooting toward them. The two agents returned fire, striking DiMaggio multiple times. A third agent found and safely removed the hostage.

Under federal law, in determining whether a law enforcement officer has willfully used more force than is necessary, prosecutors examine all of the facts and circumstances from the perspective of a reasonable law enforcement officer. Based on the consistent evidence gathered during the FBI’s shooting incident review and the Valley County Sheriff’s Office investigation, both the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division have concluded that it cannot be established beyond a reasonable doubt that either Hostage Rescue Team agent acted willfully, intending to violate the law, when they fired at DiMaggio. Accordingly, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division decline to pursue any prosecution or further investigation of the agents.

Under Idaho State Law, force that a person may lawfully use in self-defense is limited by what a reasonable person in the same situation would believe to be necessary. A person may act in self-defense if a reasonable man, in the same situation, would be justified in believing himself in danger. As such, the Valley County Prosecutor’s Office declines to pursue any further prosecution or investigation of the agents.

COEUR D'ALENE - Angeline Morago George, 37, of Plummer, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to seven months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for theft from a tribal organization, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered George to pay $4,176 in restitution, pay a $100 special assessment, and perform 100 hours of community service.

George pleaded guilty on August 30, 2013, to unlawfully using her tribal credit card to get $4,175.26 for her own personal benefit. George’s co-defendant, Billy Moffitt, was previously sentenced to five months incarceration and three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Office of Inspector General.

Defendant One of Eleven in Gun and Drug Trafficking Case

BOISE – Michelle Christina Ritch, 36, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to 120 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Ritch to serve five years of supervised release. She pleaded guilty to the charge on December 17, 2013.

According to information presented in court, Ritch admitted to conspiring with co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine beginning in January 2013. Ritch continued to participate in the distribution of methamphetamine until she was arrested on March 22, 2013. When Ritch was arrested by officers with the Caldwell Police Department, they located approximately two ounces of methamphetamine and a drug ledger. Ritch has prior felony convictions for burglary and possession of a controlled substance.

Ritch and ten other individuals were indicted on July 9, 2013, in a case including charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of cocaine, and unlawful possession of firearms. The defendants are responsible for distributing pounds of methamphetamine within the community. During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized twelve firearms, including a stolen firearm, and an illegal fully-automatic machine gun. All eleven defendants have pleaded guilty, including defendant Jeramie Mahler, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Ritch is the sixth defendant to be sentenced; co-defendants Wendy Harrison and Bobbi Eileen Woolsey 2 were both sentenced previously to 84 months in prison and Nearia Pinnell was sentenced to 33 months in prison; Daniel Vaughan was sentenced to 80 months in prison; and Darrell Zirschky was sentenced to 168 months in prison.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. Other agencies that contributed to this investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

BOISE – Caleb Matthias Curtis, 29, of Payette, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to one count of unlawful transfer of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Curtis was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Boise on November 13, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Curtis admitted that in October of 2013, he agreed to purchase a firearm for David McAlister. Curtis purchased a Winchester .30-06 rifle from the World’s Smallest Pawn Shop in Payette with money given to him by McAlister. At the time Curtis transferred the firearm to McAlister, he was aware that McAlister had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment. McAlister was convicted of statutory rape in 2003 in Canyon County, Idaho.

The charge of unlawful transfer of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set on July 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise. David McAlister pled guilty to unlawful possession of firearms on March 3, 2014. His sentencing before Judge Lodge is set for June 30, 2014.

The case was investigated by the Payette Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.

BOISE – Juan Jose Sanchez, 23, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to information presented in court, officers with the Nampa Police Department contacted Sanchez on January 14, 2014, when they responded to a complaint at a residence in Nampa. When officers spoke to Sanchez they discovered that he had a loaded handgun tucked in the front of his waistband. Officers seized the handgun and identified it as an H&R, 9-shot, .22 caliber revolver.Sanchez is prohibited from possessing firearms because he was previously convicted of the felony crime of aggravated battery on September 7, 2011, in Canyon County, Idaho. Sanchez was still on parole at the time he possessed the .22 revolver.

The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. The government is seeking forfeiture of the firearm.

Sanchez is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2014, by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force. The Metro Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole.

Sanchez is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

Admitted sexual contact with prepubescent minors

BOISE - Christopher James Swicegood, 22, of Mountain Home, Idaho, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to Possession of Sexually Explicit Images of Prepubescent Minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, the investigation began in January 2013, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators followed a lead provided by a foreign government concerning users of a website used extensively by persons interested in exchanging child pornography. Investigators obtained a search warrant for the home Swicegood shared with others in Mountain Home and found images and videos of prepubescent minors being sexually abused on a computer and hard drive Swicegood owned. Swicegood admitted that he had posted child pornography on the foreign website and that he had traded child pornography with other users of the foreign website.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children examined the material found on Swicegood’s media and identified 230 image files from 57 known child pornography series, and 30 videos from 14 separate child pornography series. Each series represents a different minor victim or group of minor victims being sexually abused. These victims come from a variety of states of the United States and many foreign countries.

Also according to the plea agreement, Swicegood admitted sexual interactions, including sexual touching, with at least three different minor children in the Mountain Home area. Swicegood is currently incarcerated in the Elmore County jail, awaiting trial for a charge of Lewd or Lascivious Acts on a Minor Child under the age of 16 years.

The charge of Possession of Sexually Explicit Images of Prepubescent Minors is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and from 5 years up to lifetime-supervised release.

Sentencing is set is before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill on July 22, 2014, at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Department of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is a member of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Case Resolves Twenty-one ATM Thefts in Six Western States

BOISE — Clarence Edward Lancaster, 57, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced today in United States District Court for twenty-one ATM thefts, resulting in over $200,000 of loss and damage, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. District Judge Edward J. Lodge imposed a sentence of 63 months of prison, $222,305.77 of restitution, and 3 years of post-sentence supervised release.

In November, Lancaster pled guilty to one count of bank larceny for stealing an ATM from the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, on July 22, 2012. In that instance, Lancaster used several tools to force open an ATM owned by First Federal Bank, to steal the cash inside. Lancaster’s plea agreement resolved not only that crime, but also 21 ATM thefts committed in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Oregon, and Arizona.

Lancaster was apprehended by law enforcement in January 2013 for a burglary on the campus of Eastern Arizona College. In that incident, Lancaster had entered a building in an attempt to steal from an ATM machine, but was observed by a college professor who called campus police. At a subsequent interview conducted by a Boise FBI agent and Eastern Arizona College police officer, Lancaster confessed to a number of similar ATM thefts, including thefts at Idaho State University, in Pocatello, and Boise State University. The FBI identified Lancaster as the perpetrator in other ATM thefts by geographically tracking his banking transactions and matching the dates and locations with ATM theft reports showing similar patterns of conduct. Lancaster also admitted an ATM theft at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene.

As part of the plea agreement, Lancaster admitted to 21 separate events of ATM theft from June 2012 through January 2013, in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Oregon and Arizona, for a total loss of $216,178.84 — $124,000 in U.S. currency, $88,366.84 for damages caused to ATM machines, and $3,612 of property damage to the buildings and equipment where the thefts took place. According to the plea agreement, Lancaster admitted to an additional theft of property from the Lied Animal Shelter, in Las Vegas, which he later pawned; unrecovered property loss was $189.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boise Police Department, Pocatello Police Department, Twin Falls Police Department, Eastern Arizona College Campus Police, and Boise State campus security.

Engaged in Sexual Chats with Teenage Girls via Social Media Websites

BOISE - Jacob Eldon Hobart, 26, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to Possession of Sexually Explicit Images of Minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, the case originated in December 2012 when the Idaho Internet Crimes against Children Task Force received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to that report, a social networking site had observed a user with the screen/user name of Jacob Hobart (Jacob H) presenting himself on their site as 15 years of age; however, company personnel had observed a chat conversation in which Hobart stated he was actually 25 years of age. The social networking site further reported that Hobart had communicated with a female who identified herself as being 15 years of age.

Boise Police Detectives investigated, and found hundreds of emails in Hobart’s Yahoo email from the social media site, and including emails in which Hobart had requested to be friends with dozens of teenage females, ranging in age from 13 to 19 years of age based on the ages stated in their profile. One of those girls was a 14-year-old girl from Washington State with whom Hobart exchanged sexually explicit photos. Another victim, the one who had held herself out on the social networking site as being 15, was actually a local 12-year-old middle school student, to whom Hobart had sent obscene photographs.

The charge of Possession of Sexually Explicit Images of Minors is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and from 5 years up to lifetime-supervised release.

Sentencing is set for July 22, 2014, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Hobart is currently incarcerated in the Idaho Department of Corrections, serving a term of two years fixed followed by eight years indeterminate, for an unrelated charge of sexual battery involving Lewd or Lascivious Acts on a Minor Child 16 to 17 years of age.

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department, which is a member of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

BOISE - Terry Kevin Burton, 46, of Wilder, Idaho, and his son, Brent L. Burton, 22, of Homedale, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to theft of government property from the Malheur National Forest, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The Burtons were indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on October 9, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, the Burtons admitted that in May 2013, they made several trips into the Malheur National Forest to unlawfully cut lodgepole pine post and poles, which they intended to sell commercially. Neither Burton had a commercial timber license or contract allowing them to take the lodgepole pine post and poles from the National Forest. The Burtons also created an illegal trail through the National Forest to get to the timber, which resulted in additional damage to the area. As part of their plea agreement, the Burtons have agreed to pay $3,880 in restitution for the timber they unlawfully cut and removed from the National Forest and for the costs to restore the damaged area.

The charge of theft of government property is punishable by up to one year in prison, a maximum fine of $5,000, and up to one year of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for July 9, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the U. S. Forest Service in John Day, Oregon.

COEUR D’ALENE – Andrew Hunter Peone, 25, of Worley, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to assault with a dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Peone was indicted on January 22, 2014.

According to the plea agreement, Peone admitted that on August 22, 2013, he assaulted a man with a knife. Peone cut the man several times, resulting in lacerations to the victim’s arm and hands.

Sentencing is set is set for July 21, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce violence in Idaho.

COEUR D’ALENE – Joseph L. James, 30, of Plummer, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 30 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. James was also ordered to pay $6,577.49 in restitution to the victim. James appeared before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

According to the plea agreement, James admitted that on August 12, 2013, he assaulted a woman by grabbing her by the hair, shoving her to the ground, and breaking her nose.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police.

COEUR D'ALENE - Michael Anthony Wheeler, 21, of Troutdale, Oregon, was sentenced yesterday to 144 months in prison followed by seven years of supervised release for sexual abuse of a minor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United Stated District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Wheeler to undergo treatment for sexual deviancy, and register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

In his guilty plea, Wheeler admitted that while he lived in Lapwai, Idaho, he engaged in sexual acts with someone who could not consent because she was incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct. Wheeler is an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe and the offense happened within the boundaries of the Nez Perce Indian reservation. Wheeler was arrested in Oregon and appeared in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene on October 31, 2013. He pled guilty on January 30, 2014.

United States Attorney, Wendy J. Olson commended the work of Nez Perce Tribal Police, Lapwai School District, and the FBI in bringing Wheeler to justice. “My office takes seriously our responsibility to prosecute such crimes on the reservation. It is only with cooperative efforts of all those involved with children that we can keep our children safe,” said Olson.