Western District of Louisiana

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Shreveport man was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm.

Alvin Kincerely Law Jr., 30, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the January 25, 2018 guilty plea, a Shreveport Police officer conducted a traffic stop on a red pickup truck Law was driving on June 26, 2017. Before the truck came to a stop, the officer saw a black object being tossed out of the driver’s side window. A firearm was later retrieved and was found to be a Lorcin, Mira Loma, CA, USA, model: L380, .380 caliber pistol. Law has a 2011 felony conviction for possession of marijuana, fourth offense and cannot legally possess a firearm.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Benton man was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison for defrauding a local credit union out of $177,000.

Larry Wayne Toms Jr., 42, of Benton, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of bank fraud. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $161,066 restitution. According to the December 12, 2018 guilty plea, Toms, who is a car dealer in Bossier City, Louisiana, submitted fraudulent loan applications for the purchase of three cars from June 1, 2015 to July 23, 2015 to the Post Office Employees Federal Credit Union in Shreveport, and the credit union disbursed $177,000 to Toms. The three vehicles listed in loan applications did not exist.

The FBI conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Shreveport felon was sentenced Thursday to three years and five months in prison for possessing a handgun with an obliterated serial number.

Jarvis L. Alexander, 33, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the January 12, 2018 guilty plea, a Shreveport Police officer was attempting to execute an arrest warrant at a Canal Street residence when the officer came upon Alexander sleeping in a car in the driveway. The officer asked Alexander to step out of the car and noticed a black and silver handgun in the driver’s door compartment. The loaded Smith and Wesson SD 40 caliber handgun also had an obliterated serial number. Alexander has a previous felony conviction in Caddo Parish.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields prosecuted the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Monroe resident pleaded guilty Thursday to illegal possession of a loaded pistol at his residence.

Daryl Nelson, 49, of Monroe, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea will be final when accepted by U.S. District Judge S. Maurce Hicks Jr. According to the guilty plea, Monroe police executed a search warrant on March 28, 2017 and found Nelson alone in bed with a loaded Ruger, Model P85, 9-mm caliber pistol. The firearm belonged to Nelson, and he has been convicted of multiple felonies. During the same search, officers found a loaded Glock, model 26, 9 mm caliber pistol that belonged to codefendant Santron Jones, 33, of Monroe. Jones has been previously convicted to two drug felonies and is not allowed to possess a handgun.

The defendants face up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and forfeiture of the seized weapons. The court set sentencing for August 29, 2018. Jones pleaded guilty February 15, 2018 to the firearms count. The court set sentencing for May 21, 2018.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF and Monroe Metro Narcotics conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that an illegal alien from Mexico pleaded guilty to reentering the United States after having been previously removed from the United States on three occasions.

Alberto Rodriguez-Perez, 39, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna to one count of illegal reentry of a previously deported alien. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to the guilty plea, a deportation officer encountered Rodriguez-Perez while at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. The officer later discovered that Rodriguez-Perez was illegally in the United States having been previously deported in 2004, 2010 and 2013.

Rodriguez-Perez faces up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. If he is found to have been removed subsequent to a prior felony offense, or three or more misdemeanor offenses involving drugs, crimes against a person, or both, the defendant will face 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for August 30, 2018.

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy is prosecuting the case.

By U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph

As our Constitution provides, it is my duty as the newly appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” We are a nation of laws, designed to promote and foster an environment where citizens can live in safety and security.  Working in cooperation with our federal, state and local partners throughout the 42 parishes that constitute the District, I intend to achieve that goal by focusing the priorities of my office on reducing violent crime, enforcing immigration laws, stemming the nationwide opioid epidemic, ferreting out public corruption and protecting our environment and natural resources.

After years of decline, violent crime rates in our state are on the rise.  United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions and I are committed to using the Department of Justice’s law enforcement and community resources to combat violent crime at every turn.  I have instructed the prosecutors in my office to take every action available to take guns out of the hands of felons and remove armed felons and drug dealers from our streets and neighborhoods.  In furtherance of this aim, we are pursuing the most serious charges supported by the evidence against violent offenders.  One way we are implementing this directive is through the reinvigorated Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which prosecutes felons and individuals involved in criminal enterprises, such as drug trafficking, that are in possession of firearms and pose a threat to the neighborhoods where they operate.  Moving forward in this way will reduce crime by removing the worst offenders from neighborhoods – thereby allowing the families living in those neighborhoods to live their lives in peace.

Enforcement of our country’s immigration laws is of vital importance to the supremacy of law in our country and protects our citizens by ensuring dangerous aliens are deported.  The promise of the American Dream has brought us immigrants from across the globe seeking life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These immigrants have contributed greatly to our country and have made it what it is today.  But the foundation of the success of America, and what allows our democracy to flourish, is our shared commitment to the Rule of Law.  There is nothing compassionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws.  Rather, our failure to faithfully enforce those laws puts our nation at risk of crime and even terrorism.  So, my office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who violate our immigration laws, particularly aliens with violent criminal histories. 

Consistent enforcement of our immigration laws also protects immigrants from exploitation and American workers from unfair competition. Illegal aliens use our roads, schools and hospitals, often without paying into the system as taxpayers.  Accordingly, those who hire illegal immigrants are unlawfully pushing a portion of their labor costs onto the taxpayers and hospitals of Louisiana.  For that reason, my office will also hold accountable those businesses who ignore immigration laws and hire illegal aliens.  

Opioid abuse is now among our country’s most pressing law enforcement and public health crises.  Recently, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 115 Americans die every day from opioid overdose, about 40 percent of which involves a prescription drug.   My office will use all the tools at its disposal to prosecute drug crime, including those crimes committed by doctors and other medical professionals who run “pill mills.”  In addition to prosecutions, my office will also continue its community outreach efforts to warn the public—particularly young people—of the dangers posed by illegal drugs. Those efforts have and will continue to include, in cooperation with the DEA, FBI and others, presentations to our schoolchildren throughout the District that explain the dangers of opioids and drug abuse.

Public corruption erodes the public’s confidence in government and deprives individuals and businesses of fair treatment.  We must make sure that our public servants are putting Louisianans first and let the world know that Louisiana is a great place to live and a great place to do business.  As such, we will aggressively prosecute those who violate the public’s trust and use public office as a way to illegally line their own pockets.  

Louisiana is a beautiful state with a vast, diverse ecosystem that is rich in natural resources. These environmental treasures should be protected from those who would illegally exploit or damage them. Our office has prosecuted and will continue to aggressively prosecute those who poison our environment and will seek restitution for any damages they inflict.   

Obviously, my office does not act alone in its mission. The dedicated men and women of the office work cooperatively with other federal agencies and our state and local law enforcement partners. It is through coming together and upholding the Rule of Law that we faithfully execute the principles inherent in our Constitution and ultimately “secure the blessings of liberty” for our citizens.

David C. Joseph was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, which consists of 42 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes and encompasses two-thirds of the State of Louisiana. This area covers the cities of Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport. Sworn in on March 30, 2018, Joseph oversees the investigation and litigation of all criminal and civil cases brought on behalf of the United States in the Western District. For more information visit, www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that an illegal alien from Colombia pleaded guilty Wednesday to using a stolen birth certificate and Social Security card to obtain identification cards in Monroe.

Jimmy Hurtado, 35, of Colombia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty to one count of falsely representing to be a citizen of the United States, one count of false representation and use of a Social Security number, and one count of aggravated identity theft. According to the guilty plea, Hurtado used the identity of a United States citizen from Puerto Rico in 2010 to obtain a state-issued identification card from the Monroe Department of Public Safety Office. He supplied a birth certificate and a Social Security number. He renewed the identification card in 2011 and 2012 and obtained a driver’s license using the same documents he used to obtain the state-issued identification card.

Hurtado faces up to three years in prison for the false representation count, five years in prison for the Social Security count, and a mandatory two years in prison for the identity theft count, which is to run consecutively to sentences of the other two counts. He also faces three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for July 11, 2018.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, ATF and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Dallas man was sentenced to 120 months in prison last week for possessing drugs in a vehicle that was stopped in Caddo Parish.

Xavier Martin Guerra, 34, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the January 18, 2018 guilty plea, a Caddo Parish Sheriff’s deputy pulled over a vehicle on February 5, 2017 Guerra was riding in while on his way from Dallas Texas. Guerra was found to have an active warrant in Panola County, Texas, for forgery and was arrested. Deputies searched the vehicle and found 311.5 grams of methamphetamine in a plastic drinking cup, a total of 7.4016 grams of methamphetamine in three baggies, a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun in a laundry basket, a drugs scale, pills and a drug ledger. They also found a cell phone and $4,435 on Guerra. He admitted to possessing the items and stated that the driver was unaware he was transporting drugs.

The DEA and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tennille M. Gilreath and Allison D. Bushnell prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that four Shreveport felons were sentenced last week on firearms charges that are part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.

“These prosecutions will lead to safer neighborhoods in Shreveport and the surrounding cities and parishes,” Joseph stated. “Federal laws concerning the manufacture, sale, use and possession of firearms do not only regulate firearms, they also keep firearms out of the hands of those who would use them to harm others and remove dangerous felons from our streets. I want to thank the prosecutors, the Shreveport Police Department, and the ATF for working together to bring these cases to a successful conclusion.”

To find out more about each case, see below:

 

Shreveport man sentenced to 3 years in prison for possessing revolver

 

            Kevin Anthony Dison Jr., 22, of Shreveport, was sentenced on April 23, 2018 to 36 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the December 18, 2017 guilty plea, Shreveport Police officers stopped the vehicle Dison was driving on April 11, 2017. Police searched the vehicle and found a loaded Rossi revolver, model .38 caliber, which was located on the floorboard partially under the driver’s seat. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

 

Shreveport man sentenced to 57 months for possessing handgun in vehicle

 

Terrance Terze Cochran, 19, of Shreveport, was sentenced on April 23, 2018 to four years and nine months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.  According to the December 11, 2017 guilty plea, a Shreveport Police officer attempted to pull over Cochran’s vehicle on January 11, 2017.  Cochran slowed down, jumped out of the car while it was still moving, and fled on foot after losing a shoe. Another Shreveport Police officer saw Cochran fleeing a couple blocks away and ran after him.  The officer tried to handcuff Cochran, but Cochran resisted and grabbed for his waistband several times.  Another officer arrived, saw Cochran had a gun in his waistband and was able to assist the first officer in cuffing Cochran.  The first officer sustained an injured hand in the altercation, which required surgery.  The officers found a loaded Ruger P89 .9 mm semiautomatic handgun stuffed in Cochran’s pants. Officers also found .5 grams of cocaine, .5 grams of crack cocaine and more than a gram of marijuana on him. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike O’Mara prosecuted the case.

  

Shreveport man sentenced to 5 years in prison for exchanging methamphetamine for a handgun

 

Jason Brian Wallace, 33, of Shreveport, was sentenced Wednesday to 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the December 19, 2017 guilty plea, law enforcement agents operating in an undercover capacity set up a controlled buy with Wallace on July 5, 2017 in Shreveport. Wallace met the undercover agent in a car and exchanged 3.5 grams of methamphetamine for a Sig Sauer, model P226 9 mm pistol. Wallace took out the methamphetamine, weighed it with a portable scale and placed it in a baggie before giving it to the undercover agent. After exiting the vehicle, police arrived to arrest him. When Wallace saw the police, he discarded 18 grams of methamphetamine, which was later recovered. Wallace has a 2011 felony conviction in Louisiana for operating a clandestine drug laboratory. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

  

Shreveport man sentenced to 58 months in prison for possessing three handguns on court house property

Deantre D. Caldwell, 30, of Shreveport, was sentenced Friday to four years and 10 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the January 5, 2018 guilty plea, Caldwell was traveling in the front passenger seat of a car that was rear-ended on April 24, 2017 near the intersection of Caddo and Market streets. The two drivers and Caldwell exited the vehicle. Caldwell had one of the drivers retrieve a backpack containing firearms from the front seat of the car he was traveling in, and he hid it in bushes outside of the Tom Stagg U.S. Court House. When officers arrived, a guard on duty at the federal court house informed the officers that he had seen Caldwell move the backpack. Officers found the bag, and it contained a Diamondback, model: DB-15, multi-caliber pistol; a Glock, model: 27GEN4, .40 caliber pistol; and a Glock, model 30GEN4, .45 auto caliber pistol. The driver said the backpack belonged to Caldwell. The defendant was convicted of illegal use of a weapon on February 21, 2007 in Caddo Parish and was restricted from possessing firearms. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields prosecuted the case.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigations into each case.

These cases are part of PSN, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Sulphur man pleaded guilty last week to storing child pornography online. 

Cameron Deshown Fairley, 27, of Sulphur, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of possession of child pornography. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to the guilty plea, Fairley maintained an online data storage account from September 2016 to February 2017 where he possessed images and videos of child pornography. He used the account to access and view child pornography. Some of the images involved children under the age of 12.

Fairley faces up to 20 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release registration as a sex offender and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for July 26, 2018.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls.  Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app.  Tips may be submitted anonymously.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti is prosecuting the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Pollock prisoner from Opelousas was sentenced last week to 12 months and one day in prison for possessing an improvised knife.

Torrey Griffin, 27, of Opelousas, Louisiana, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of possessing contraband in a prison. He was also sentenced to one year of supervised release. According to the January 19, 2018 guilty plea, Griffin was searched at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana, on July 30, 2017. A prison guard discovered that Griffin could not clear the metal detector, and during a pat down, the guard removed a knife from Griffin’s pants. The knife was approximately 6 and a half inches long and made of metal sharpened on one end.

The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons-Special Investigative Services conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Ayo prosecuted the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Georgia woman was sentenced last week to 96 months in prison for her role in a scheme to illegally obtain Louisiana titles for stolen vehicles.

Quinetta Grant, 45, of Suwanee, Georgia, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of mail fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $300,000 restitution. According to the October 25, 2016 guilty plea, Grant sent a title application and supporting documents for a stolen vehicle in May of 2015 to a resident in Monroe who then submitted the documents to an Office of Motor Vehicles authorized automobile title processor in West Monroe, Louisiana. The title processor was a private business contracted to work with the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles to process title applications.

The FBI conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that a federal grand jury returned charges against two Shreveport individuals who ran a nonprofit corporation for stealing more than $536,000 from a program meant to supply meals to children during the summer.

Lynn D. Cawthorne, 51, and Belena C. Turner, 46, both of Shreveport, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and seven counts of wire fraud. According to the indictment, the Food and Nutrition Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Child Nutrition Programs. The Child Nutrition Programs include the Summer Feeding Service Program (SFSP), which was established to ensure that children in low-income areas continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session during the summer. 

United Citizens and Neighborhoods (UCAN) is a non-profit corporation that participated as a sponsor in the SFSP.  Cawthorne is the president of UCAN, and Turner is the director, representing herself to be its executive director.  Cawthorne Catering and Harvest Catering Inc. are businesses that allegedly provided catering services for UCAN. Beginning sometime in early 2011 and continuing until sometime in December 2015, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $536,000 from the SFSP by engaging in numerous activities to defraud, included filing claims for reimbursement that greatly inflated the number of eligible meals provided, thus claiming more children were fed at UCAN sites than were actually fed. Also money was transferred to the catering companies and other entities so that the defendants could improperly use funds that were  entrusted to UCAN for the SFSP.       

The defendants face 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine for each count.

The Louisiana State Inspector General, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General investigated the case. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SHREVEPORT, LAFAYETTE, MONROE, ALEXANDRIA, LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph urges the public to discard unused prescription drugs this weekend at area collection sites during Drug Take Back Day.

“The DEA’s Drug Take Back Day gives the public an opportunity to rid homes of unnecessary and potentially dangerous drugs without discarding them into our environment or letting them fall into the hands of those who would abuse them,” Joseph stated. “Discarding these items is one way we can safely remove substances such as opioids from our communities and reduce chances that they could be stolen or misplaced.”

Last fall Americans turned in 456 tons (912,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,300 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  Overall, in its 14 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 9 million pounds—more than 4,500 tons—of pills. 

Unused medicines in the home are a problem because the majority of the 6.4 million Americans who abused prescription drugs in 2015, including the almost 4 million who abused prescription painkillers, say they obtained those drugs from friends and family, including from a home medicine cabinet, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health released last month. Some painkiller abusers move on to heroin; four out of five new heroin users started with painkillers.  In 2016, nearly 64,000 people died of drug overdoses in America – with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, heroin, and common opioid painkillers like Percocet and OxyContin topping other causes of overdose, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses because of these drugs.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

The DEA will have collection sites across the country on Saturday, April 28, for those who are interested in bringing their unused or expired prescription drugs for proper disposal.  Only pills and other solids, like patches, can be brought to the collection sites – liquids and needles or other sharp objects will not be accepted.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Prescription drugs can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 28, at:

 Shreveport

• Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff’s Safety Town in the parking lot of Summer Grove Baptist Church, 8910 Jewella Ave.

 

Monroe

• Louisiana State Police, Troop F, 3811 Desiard St.
• University of Louisiana at Monroe Police Department, 1240 LA 594

 

Alexandria

• Alexandria City Marshal’s Office, 515 Washington St.
• Alexandria Police Department, 1000 Bolton Ave.

 

Lafayette

• Lafayette Sheriff’s Office, 1825 W. Willow St.

 

Lake Charles

• Lake Charles Police Department, 900 Lake Short Drive (Civic Center)
• Louisiana State Police, Troop D, 805 Main St.

 

The public can also find other collection sites by visiting Takebackday.dea.gov, and following the links to a database where they enter their zip code.  Additionally, there are permanent drop-off boxes, which can also be found at Takebackday.dea.gov.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Mississippi resident pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegal possession of a rifle and ammunition after being stopped for speeding in Dehli.

Terrance Deon Jordan, 35, of Terry, Mississippi, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurce Hicks Jr. to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the guilty plea, a Louisiana State Police trooper pulled over Jordan’s vehicle on June 2, 2017 in Dehli, Louisiana, for speeding 104 miles per hour in a 70-mile-an-hour zone. The trooper saw a rifle with a shortened stock in the driver’s seat next to Jordan’s right leg when he approached the vehicle. The firearm was later identified as a Norinco rifle: SKS; caliber: .223; and the trooper also found ammunition. Jordan is a felon who was convicted in Mississippi on multiple charges.

Jordan faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and forfeiture of the seized weapons. The court set sentencing for August 29, 2018.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford is prosecuting the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Mexican national was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for being an illegal alien in possession of a rifle.

Gerardo C. Rodriguez, 53, of Samluispotosi, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. On December 11, 2016 around midnight, Union Parish Sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbing-the-peace call at an apartment complex in Bernice, Louisiana. Deputies found Rodriguez intoxicated and passed out in his car with the keys in the ignition.  They arrested Rodriguez and towed his vehicle. While in the back of the deputies’ car, Rodriguez tried to kick out the windows and also tried to kick the deputies multiple times when they opened the doors to get him out. At the detention center, deputies noticed a gunshot wound to his thigh and sent him to the hospital for treatment. The next day, Rodriguez told deputies he shot himself accidentally with a .22 caliber pistol while drunk. He also told deputies he owned a rifle seized from his vehicle the day before. Rodriguez admitted to re-entering the United States illegally and possessing the rifle as a convicted felon. Rodriguez was previously convicted of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm in 2004, after which Rodriguez was removed to Mexico.

Homeland Security Investigations, ATF and Union Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike O’Mara prosecuted the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Clarks man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Billy Wayne Rider, 49, of Clarks, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release. According to the November 7, 2017 guilty plea, law enforcement agents searched Rider’s home on February 2, 2017, and found 11 firearms and six plastic baggies of methamphetamine. The firearms recovered from the residence were: a Marlin, Model XT-22, caliber .22 LR rifle; Savage, Model 15, caliber .22 LR, rifle; Mossberg, Model 835 ulti-Mag, caliber 12 gauge, shotgun; Marlin Firearms Co., Model 60, .22 caliber, rifle; High Standard, model Sport King, .22 LR caliber rifle; Marlin Firearms Co., model X7, 7-08 caliber rifle; Wards Western Field, Model 878, 12 gauge, shotgun; Taurus, Model 80, .38 caliber, revolver; Clarke Technicorp, Clerke 1st, .22 LR caliber, revolver; Remington Arms Co., Model 770, 30-06 caliber, rifle; and a black silencer.

The ATF and Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Shreveport man was sentenced Thursday to seven years and two months in prison for distributing methamphetamine and illegally possessing a revolver.

Christopher De’Lanio Taylor, 30, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the January 12, 2018 guilty plea, law enforcement agents observed Taylor selling methamphetamine on August 3, 2016 and September 14, 2016. They later searched his home and found synthetic marijuana, digital scales, baggies containing white residue, 62.73 grams of methamphetamine, $3,450, and a Smith and Wesson, Model 30, .32 long caliber revolver with ammo.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF, Caddo/Shreveport Narcotics Mid-Level Investigation Unit, and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary J. Mudrick and J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Shreveport felon was sentenced Thursday to 24 months in prison for possessing a pistol he displayed on a social media video even though he was a convicted felon.

Tramarciea Jovan Ruffins, 24, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of firearm possession by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced three years of supervised release. According to the January 12, 2018 guilty plea, law enforcement discovered video of Ruffins on a social media site holding a black Glock pistol with a flashlight attached. Agents questioned Ruffins who said he took the weapon without permission from his cousin’s vehicle. The weapon was eventually found at a Shreveport pawnshop. The handgun was identified as a Glock, model 41Gen4, .45 caliber pistol. Ruffins is a previously convicted felon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields prosecuted the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that an Oakdale inmate was sentenced Tuesday to four years and three months in prison for assaulting another inmate.

Frank Quinton Gaitor, 49, of Washington County, Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and must pay $18,513.93 restitution. According to the February 7, 2018 guilty plea, Gaitor assaulted and intentionally struck a fellow inmate on January 2, 2016 at the Federal Correctional Center in Oakdale, Louisiana. The assault left the inmate with serious bodily injuries.

The FBI and U.S. Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Ayo and Jamilla A. Bynog prosecuted the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that Charles K. Smith was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for escaping from a prison in Texas.

Charles K. Smith, 64, originally from Pineville, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of escape from a federal incarceration institution. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the January 11, 2018 guilty plea, Smith escaped on August 16, 2017 from the Federal Correctional Institution La Tuna located near Anthony, Texas. He was serving 94-months for a Shreveport conviction of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. After his escape, Smith was later arrested in Calcasieu Parish.

The U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Lake Charles man was sentenced Tuesday to a prison term for selling a stolen black rhinoceros horn. 

United States District Judge Donald E. Walter sentenced Patrick Dylan Drawl, 31, of Lake Charles, to six months in prison and one year of supervised release for one count of violating the Lacey Act. According to the stipulated factual basis filed during Drawl’s guilty plea, McNeese State University Biology department staff contacted campus police on March 30, 3017 to report that a horn had been stolen from a mounted black rhinoceros head on display in their building. United States Fish and Wildlife Service agents located a black rhinoceros horn for sale at an address in Sulphur, Louisiana, on a website showing images of a rhinoceros horn on the hood of a car.  An agent acting in undercover capacity contacted Drawl and arranged to meet Drawl and purchase the horn. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Forensic Laboratory later confirmed that the horn was that of a black rhinoceros.

The black rhinoceros is a species native to eastern Asia and central Africa on the brink of extinction primarily because of wide-scale poaching for its horn. The black rhinoceros is a listed endangered species protected by the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the sale of the animal or any of its parts without a prior approval and a permit by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and McNeese State University campus police conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. Mickel prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Lafayette man pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to distribute multiple quantities of narcotics and illegal possession of a 9 mm handgun.

Jacob Glen Collett, 35, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell.

According to the guilty plea, a Lafayette Parish Sheriff deputy stopped Collett’s vehicle at 11:54 p.m., April 2, 2017, on Verot School Road. The deputy searched the vehicle and found a black backpack with narcotics and paraphernalia. The deputy also found methamphetamine on Collett. Subsequent analysis of the narcotics revealed that Collett was in possession of 540.3 grams of methamphetamine, 4.1 grams of heroin, 222 dosage units of LSD, and 56 tablets containing fentanyl.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Calcasieu Combined Anti-Drug Task Force and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of a motel in Jennings, Louisiana, on August 17, 2017. They arrested Collett during the raid, after recovering controlled substances, and a Berretta 9 mm model 92FS handgun and 16 rounds of ammunition. Lab results indicated that Collett was in possession of approximately 4.01 grams of MDMA, 34.8 grams of heroin, 16.5 grams of cocaine, 52.3 grams of a mixture and substance containing THC, and 164.9 grams of methamphetamine.

Collett faces a mandatory 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine for the drug count, and he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the firearms count. He also faces five years of supervised release.  The court set the sentencing date for July 20, 2018.

The DEA, ATF, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Department, Lafayette Police Department, Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force, Calcasieu Combined Anti-Drug Task Force and Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy is prosecuting the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that an illegal alien from Sierra Leone was sentenced last week to 30 months in prison for refusing to leave the country twice after being ordered to depart.

Sheku Kumalah, 32, of Sierra Leone, was sentenced April 12, 2018 by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on two counts of failure to depart. Evidence admitted at the two-day trial that ended June 27, 2017 showed that on two occasions U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to remove Kumalah via an escorted commercial flight from the Alexandria International Airport.  The defendant hampered agents’ efforts on July 12, 2016 and August 16, 2016 by verbally and physically resisting attempts to escort him onto the plane.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Ayo and Joseph T. Mickel prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that an illegal alien from Mexico pleaded guilty last week to using someone else’s Social Security card and submitting false information to an employer.

Martin Gonzalez-Colunga, 44, of Mexico, pleaded guilty April 12, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of Social Security fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. According to the guilty plea, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office was notified in April of 2016 that someone was using a Social Security number that did not belong to him or her at a Shreveport lawn service company. After investigating the matter, they found that Gonzalez-Colunga had submitted fake employment documents and someone else’s Social Security card in January of 2009 when he started working for the company. The defendant admitted to not being a citizen and said he had purchased the Social Security number not long after arriving in the United States from Mexico 20 years ago.

Gonzalez-Colunga faces not more than five years in prison for the Social Security fraud count and a mandatory two years in prison for the identity theft count. He also faces three years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for August 24, 2018.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath is prosecuting the case.

MONROE, La. – Five former corrections officers at the Richwood Correctional Center (RCC) in Monroe, Louisiana, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to physically assault five inmates in violation of their Constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, as well as for their roles in covering up their actions, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph.

Roderick Douglas, 37, of Monroe; Christopher Loring, 35, of Monroe; Demario Shaffer, 33, of Delhi, Louisiana; Quintail Credit, 26, of Winnsboro, Louisiana; and David Parker, 27, of Tallulah, Louisiana, were charged in a seven-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Monroe, Louisiana, on March 29, 2018.  The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon initial court appearances of the defendants.

According to the indictment, Douglas was a Captain, Loring was a Lieutenant, Shaffer was a Sergeant, and Credit and Parker were correctional officers. The indictment charges in Count One that the defendants conspired to inflict cruel and unusual punishment upon five inmates by spraying a chemical agent in their face and eyes while the inmates were handcuffed, compliant, kneeling on the floor, and not posing a physical threat to anyone. Count Two charges defendants Douglas, Loring, Shaffer, Credit, and Parker with the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment against the inmates, and Count Three charges defendant Loring with failing to intervene in the assaults. The indictment alleges that the assaults charged in Counts One through Three involved a dangerous weapon and resulted in bodily injury to the inmates. Count Four charges the defendants with conspiring to submit false reports concerning the incident, and Counts Five through Seven charge defendants Douglas, Shaffer, and Parker, respectively, with making false statements to the FBI about the incident. 

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Mudrick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Louisiana, and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, U.S. Department of Justice. The case was investigated by the Monroe Division of the FBI.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph urges parents to attend the “Let’s Talk about Prevention” program to be held Thursday, April 19, at 6 p.m. at the C. E. Byrd High School auditorium in Shreveport.  Refreshments will be served beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse of Northwest Louisiana (CADA) and the Caddo Parish School District to present the free event.  The program begins with the showing of the film “Chasing the Dragon:  The Life of an Opiate Addict,” followed by a panel discussion with the U.S. Attorney’s First Assistant Alexander C. Van Hook, Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Allison Bushnell, DEA Special Agent Will Green, CADA Executive Director Bill Rose, and Child/Family Psychiatrist Dr. Pamela McPherson. 

“The threat of opioids to our youth is real and growing,” Joseph stated. “I’m asking parents to attend this event so they can obtain the tools necessary to protect their children from this epidemic.  It is through education, awareness, and joining with law enforcement agencies, public and private organizations, and parents that we can help prevent the loss of life associated with this poison. Even if just one life is saved because of this program, it will have been a success.”

“Fentanyl is a newer synthetic opioid painkiller that is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. “Drug dealers are adding fentanyl to heroin and to pills that look like other prescription drugs such as Xanax, which too often produces deadly results. The most important thing that parents can do is talk to their children about the dangers of these drugs and look for changes in their children’s lives. Education and awareness of the problem is key. That’s why the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA have been working closely with schools in the community to spread the word about the horrific consequences of addiction.”

“We created the ‘Let's Talk’ series to mash myths about addiction and educate our community about the prevalence of use across all social-economic sectors,” said CADA Executive Director Bill Rose. “We partnered with the U.S. Attorney's Office to produce this next parent prevention series in order to educate parents about the deadly impact of fentanyl use among adolescents and to provide resources for prevention.”

Reservations are helpful but not mandatory. Free CEHs will also be offered to addiction-specific professionals. To make a reservation or for more information, call CADA at 318-222-8511, email development@cadanwla.org or visit cadanwla.org. You can also call the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 318-676-3600 and ask to speak to Tanya’ Porter.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Deville man pleaded guilty Monday to possessing a silencer that had not been registered.

Jonathan Hayes, 32, of Deville, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm.  According to the guilty plea, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents arrested Hayes on June 1, 2016 in the Camp Beauregard Wildlife Management Area. Agents found him in possession of a Ruger .22 caliber rifle, a Savage .22 caliber rifle and a firearm silencer. The silencer, which is a firearm under federal law, had no manufacturer’s mark of identification or serial number. The silencer was not registered in the National Firearms and Transfer Record.

Hayes faces 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each count.  Sentencing has been set for June 20, 2018.

The ATF and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Shreveport felon was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for possessing a revolver.

Christopher Deshun Owens, 28, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the December 13, 2017 guilty plea, Shreveport 911 operators received a call on August 10, 2017 from Owens’ ex-girlfriend. They heard the ex-girlfriend and Owens arguing about a firearm. Owens had entered the ex-girlfriend’s home with a firearm. Police later arrived and detained Owens. A Charter 2000, Shelton, Conn., Model: Undercover, Caliber .38 SPL revolver was recovered from a child’s dresser drawer in the house. Owens initially denied carrying the gun but later admitted to it. Owens was previously convicted in Bossier Parish for possession of marijuana, second offense.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a man from Maurice was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for submitting false receipts in order to draw more than $1.2 million from a bank line of credit.

Richard J. Viator Jr., 53, of Maurice, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of bank fraud. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $1,227,908.54 in restitution. According to the January 10, 2018 guilty plea, Viator was the owner/president of the oilfield company Safety Analysis Team Inc. located in Abbeville, Louisiana. Viator had a revolving line of credit for $2 million at an Abbeville bank. In order to access the credit, he was required to submit receipts. From November 4, 2010 to February 23, 2011, Viator received 11 draws or payments from the line of credit based on false and fraudulent invoices, which purported to be accounts receivable from various companies for work performed by Safety Analysis Team.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamilla A. Bynog and Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Lafayette woman was sentenced Tuesday to three years and four months in prison for stealing almost $1.5 million from a Broussard oilfield related company.

Susan M. Benoit, 54, of Lafayette, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on two counts of wire fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $1,490,588.70 in restitution to the victim. According to the January 18, 2018, guilty plea, Benoit worked for a Broussard, Louisiana, oilfield related company from 1998 to 2016. As the accountant and later as chief financial officer, Benoit had access to the company’s bank accounts and transferred $1,490,588.70 from company accounts to her personal bank account.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Texas man was sentenced last week to 16 months in prison for possessing an improvised weapon while a prisoner in Pollock, Louisiana.

Serjio Rolando Siller Jr., 33, of Roma, Texas, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell, on one count of possessing contraband in prison. In addition to imprisonment, Siller was also sentenced to one year of supervised release. According to the January 11, 2018 guilty plea, Siller was found in possession of an improvised weapon commonly known as a “shank,” while a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pollock. The weapon was a small metal rod sharpened to a point.

The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Forrest Phillips prosecuted the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Carencro man was sentenced last week to 84 months in prison for possessing child pornography on his computer.

Michael DeBlanc, 57, of Carencro, La., was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell, on one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release and was ordered to register as a sex offender. According to the July 14, 2017 guilty plea, law enforcement officers identified DeBlanc as possessing child pornography in November of 2016. DeBlanc had been trafficking child pornography by sharing the material online. Agents downloaded 33 videos from DeBlanc’s computer remotely using file sharing programs. During a later search of his residence, agents found child pornography on his computer’s hard drive. During an interview with agents, DeBlanc admitted to downloading child pornography.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Those concerned may leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Alexandria FBI office number is (318) 443-5097.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that two men from Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty last week to using a credit card skimmer to steal information to create fake credit cards and steal thousands from private accounts.

Emicel Artigas Garcia, 39, and Adalberto Ramos Cuellar, 42, both of Austin, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr., to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the guilty pleas, the defendants were observed on July 14, 2017 at a Bossier City retail store’s self-checkout counter swiping multiple cards in order to purchase prepaid money and gift cards. Bossier City police later approached the defendants in the parking lot and found seven credit cards and three gift cards in Cuellar’s possession, which bore the defendants’ names. After the electronic information was obtained from the cards, law enforcement agents found that stolen identities were on the cards even though they were labeled with the defendants’ names. Police later searched the defendants’ car and found seven USB thumb drives, one laptop, eight additional re-encoded cards, a cell phone, a gas pump key and a gas pump skimmer. Gas pump skimmers are illegal devices used to steal credit card information. The evidence from the seized devices showed that the defendants downloaded private card information between October 2016 and July 2017. The cell phone contained pictures of screens showing the stolen information, and the laptop contained compromised credit/debit card data for 793 additional cards.

The defendants face up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy count and two years in prison for the identity theft count, which will run consecutive. They also face five years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2018.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Bossier City Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced the retirement of Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. “Jim” Cowles Jr., who served in the Western District of Louisiana for more than 31 years.  Cowles was honored today at a retirement ceremony and reception held at the Tom Stagg U.S. Court House in Shreveport.

“We are losing a talented, dedicated lawyer and public servant,” Joseph stated. “Throughout his career, Jim has played an integral role in prosecuting cases in our office.  His years of service and dedication to the Department of Justice are a true testament of his commitment to justice and the citizens of this district.  Jim will be greatly missed, and we wish him the very best as he starts the next chapter of his life.  I am grateful for his tireless advocacy on behalf of the people of our community.”

Cowles began his federal service March 22, 1987 and retired on March 31, 2018. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in 1987, prosecuting cases in the D.C. Superior Court and U.S. District Court. He assisted in creating the Sex Offense Unit of that office and received a Special Achievement Award in 1990 for the prosecution of a sex ring involving 11 child victims. 

In 1992, Cowles joined the Western District of Louisiana. He received the Director’s Award from Attorney General Janet Reno in 1996 for the prosecution and convictions of 14 members of the Bottoms Boyz, Shreveport’s notorious street gang. He was sent to the United Nations in 1998 as a prosecutor of war crimes for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague and received a Special Recognition Award from Attorney General Reno in 2001. Jim represented DOJ as resident legal advisor with the State Department, Kosovo, from 1999 to 2001, working in partnership with the United Nations in re-establishing the rule of law following the Balkan conflict. He received a Special Achievement Award from Attorney General Reno for this work in 2001.  Cowles has represented the Department of Justice at conferences throughout Europe, Armenia, and Turkmenistan and has taught for DOJ national training conferences. He has tried approximately 200 jury trials since 1980.

Cowles is a 1975 graduate of Georgetown University and the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1979.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a federal jury found a former corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Complex in Pollock, Louisiana, guilty of accepting bribes to smuggle contraband.

Byron A. Wyatt, 38, of Marksville, Louisiana, was found guilty of two counts of bribery of public officials and witnesses.  United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial, which started Tuesday and ended Thursday. The jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating for approximately an hour and a half.  Evidence admitted at trial revealed that Wyatt worked as a corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Complex in Pollock where he accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from a prisoner in 2014 in exchange for smuggling contraband into the prison.

The defendant faces up to 15 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each count.  Sentencing has been set for July 13, 2018.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Earl M. Campbell and Tiffany E. Fields are prosecuting the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a New Orleans man was sentenced Tuesday to two and a half years in prison for possessing 282 counterfeited credit/debit cards.

Bruce Daliet, 34, of New Orleans, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of 15 or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $14,010 in restitution.

According to the guilty pleas of Bruce Daliet and co-defendant Brittany Sanders, 35, also of New Orleans, a Louisiana State Police trooper pulled over a rental car on January 9, 2015 in St. Martin Parish that Daliet and Sanders were traveling in. The trooper searched the vehicle and found a pink suitcase that contained 282 counterfeit credit/debit cards and $4,000 worth of gift cards. Law enforcement agents discovered that 156 of the credit/debit cards were embossed with Sanders’ name, and 126 were embossed with Daliet’s name.

Sanders was sentenced on February 22, 2018, to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $14,010 restitution.

The U.S. Secret Service and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moore prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Bossier City man was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for driving a vehicle onto Barksdale Air Force Base and damaging property.

Jeffery Jermaine Francis, 35, of Bossier City, La., was sentenced by District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of willful damage to property of the United States. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $17,600 in restitution to the U.S. Air Force. According to the October 25, 2017, guilty plea, Francis was driving a green 2003 GMC Yukon on August 20, 2017, and struck a bollard at the west gate of Barksdale Air Force Base. When approached and asked to place the vehicle in park, Francis instead drove onto the base.  Barksdale security forces deployed a vehicle entrapment barrier on Barksdale Boulevard, which disabled the vehicle. He then fled the scene on foot. Security forces later discovered that the vehicle belonged to Francis’s girlfriend, and that he was driving under suspension. The estimated cost of damage to Barksdale Air Force property is $17,600.

United States Air Force Police Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison D. Bushnell prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced  that a Houston man was sentenced Monday to three years and seven months in prison for conspiring with other Texas residents to steal more than $230,000 at Louisiana casinos using unauthorized credit cards.

 

Antoine Ladon Williams, 35, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of conspiracy, using or trafficking in unauthorized access devices. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $188,089 restitution.

 

According to the guilty pleas, Williams and other defendants conspired from October 2014 to October 2015 to use or traffic in unauthorized access devices. Williams provided members of the conspiracy with false temporary Texas identification cards and credit cards. Members of the conspiracy would then travel to casinos throughout the Western District of Louisiana and use the access devices to illegally receive cash advances.

 

The other members of the conspiracy charged in the Western District of Louisiana are: Miocha Michelle Walker, 35, Houston; Ernest Joseph Duhon III, 44, Pearland, Texas; Leanna Marie Hanchett, 46, Port Fresno, Texas; Donald Wayne Brown, 59, Houston, Texas; and Sharlene Yvette Lott, 44, Houston. These defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and were also ordered to pay $188,089 in restitution.

 

See the table below for more information:

 

Defendants

Date of plea

Sentencing date

Prison time

Walker

March 27, 2017

Sept. 21, 2017

12 months

Duhon

Feb. 28, 2017

June 8, 2017

37 months

Hanchett

Jan. 24, 2017

July 26, 2017

40 months

Brown

March 13, 2017

Aug. 16, 2017

24 months

Lott

March 6, 2017

July 26, 2017

24 months

The FBI and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, LAFAYETTE, MONROE, ALEXANDRIA, LAKE CHARLES, La. – David C. Joseph was sworn in today as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.  President Donald Trump nominated Joseph on February 16, 2018, and the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination March 22, 2018.

“I am deeply honored to be confirmed as the United States Attorney and look forward to serving the residents of Louisiana and our great country,” Joseph stated. “It has been my privilege to work with many hard working and talented federal and state law enforcement agents while working as a federal prosecutor.  As U.S. Attorney, I will continue working with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities, prosecute those who break our laws, and promote the mission of the Department of Justice.”

Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Joseph served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Louisiana, where he prosecuted a wide variety of offenses, with a focus on fraud, public corruption, white-collar crime and crimes committed on the District’s military installations. 

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Joseph served as a commissioned officer and prosecutor in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, as an attorney in the Professional Liability & Financial Crimes Section of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and in private practice as a commercial litigation attorney.  He received his Bachelor’s degree of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma and his Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.  After graduating law school, Joseph clerked for Justice Jeffrey P. Victory of the Louisiana Supreme Court and Judge John V. Parker of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.  United States Attorney Joseph will headquarter his office in Shreveport, while maintaining regular office hours in Lafayette, Monroe, Lake Charles and Alexandria.

As U.S. Attorney, Joseph oversees the investigation and litigation of all criminal and civil cases on behalf of the United States in the Western District of Louisiana.  The Western District consists of 42 of the State’s 64 parishes and geographically encompasses two-thirds of the State of Louisiana.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that a Bossier City man was sentenced Monday to seven years and three months in prison for transporting methamphetamine from Dallas to the Shreveport/Bossier City area.

Anthony Joseph Armenio, 32, of Bossier City, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the May 17, 2017 guilty plea, Armenio and codefendant Steven Blaine McLendon, 28, of Shreveport, traveled to Dallas, Texas, on January 14, 2017 to pick up methamphetamine. On their return trip, a Shreveport Police officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The officer asked McLendon to get out of the vehicle. After McLendon exited the vehicle, the officer saw a black handgun sitting on the driver’s seat and observed an open bag on the back seat of the vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle, the officer found a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and ammunition, a small clear plastic bag of marijuana, and a larger bag containing 209.02 grams of methamphetamine.

McLendon pleaded guilty on May 23, 2017 to conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He was sentenced on August 31, 2017 to 216 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

The DEA and the Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced today that a federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment charging a Shreveport financial planner and a pastor of a Houston church of bilking investors out more than $1 million.

Gregory Alan Smith, 55, of Shreveport, and Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, 64, of Houston, Texas, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering. Additionally, Smith and Caldwell are charged in two separate counts of money laundering. According to the indictment, Smith used his influence and status as the operator and manager of Smith Financial Group LLC in Shreveport, and Caldwell used his influence and status as pastor at a prominent Houston church to lure investors to pay more than $1 million to invest in Historical Chinese bonds. These bonds were issued by the former Republic of China prior to losing power to the communist government in 1949. They are not recognized by China’s current government and have no investment value. Smith and Caldwell promised high rates of return, sometimes three to 15 times the value of the investments. Instead of investing the funds, the defendants used them to pay personal loans, credit card balances, mortgages, vehicle purchases and other personal expenses.

The defendants each face 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud count and for the wire fraud counts. They also face 10 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit money laundering count and the money laundering counts. They also face a $1 million fine, restitution, forfeiture and five years of supervised release.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Clayton man was sentenced last week to 168 months in prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and firearms charges.

Robert L. Snyder, 41, of Clayton, La., was sentenced Thursday, March 22, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release. Evidence admitted at the three-day trial that ended November 29, 2017 revealed that law enforcement agents learned that illegal drugs were being sold out of a Clayton residence. After a search of Snyder’s home, police found more than 100 grams of methamphetamine along with numerous firearms, $1,600 in cash and $10,000 in money orders. Law enforcement revisited the property on March 4, 2014 and found more firearms in the home.  In total, law enforcement found 15 weapons and ammunition. Among the firearms was a .22 caliber rifle with the serial number removed.

The U.S. Marshals Service, FBI, ATF and the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tennille M. Gilreath and Mary J. Mudrick prosecuted the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two defendants from New Jersey who were arrested during a Lake Charles traffic stop pleaded guilty last week to possession of 4 pounds of methamphetamine packaged as Mexican candy.

Javier Munoz, 51, of Vineland, New Jersey, and Beljavier Rodriguez, 26, of Millville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty March 21 before U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. According to a joint factual stipulation in the record of the guilty plea, the defendants were traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 on September 9, 2016. A Lake Charles Police officer pulled over the vehicle and later searched it. The officer found a secret compartment underneath the car that contained two bags that appeared to be professionally printed bags of Mexican candy. Within the bags were 21 individually wrapped bags containing methamphetamine that weighed a total of about 4 pounds.

Munoz faces 10 years to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a $10 million fine. Rodriguez faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for June 11, 2018.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Lake Charles Police Department as part of the Combined Anti-Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. Mickel is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced today that a man from Minden was sentenced to 21 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a revolver.

Jeremy Moro, 40, of Minden, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the December 1, 2017 guilty plea, the Minden Police Department arrested Moro while investigating a domestic abuse issue on September 8, 2016. After responding to the complaint, police found Moro laying on his couch with a Taurus Model: The Judge 45 caliber five-shot revolver in the waistband of his pants. He was previously convicted of a felony for his role in a cross-burning in October 2008 in Louisiana.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The ATF, FBI, Webster Parish Coroner’s Office and Minden Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – Eight alleged members or associates of the Aryan Circle (AC) have been indicted and arrested for their alleged roles in the 2016 murder of an alleged fellow AC gang member in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.

The indictments were announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook of the Western District of Louisiana.

The superseding indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on March 14, and unsealed today, charges seven defendants with being accessories-after-the fact in violent crimes in aid of racketeering murder of Clifton Hallmark.  The defendants charged in the superseding indictment are David Wayne Williams, aka Big Dave, 36, of Sulphur, Louisiana; Christina Marie Williams, 38, of Sulphur, Louisiana; Brian Elliot Granger, aka Sneak, 36, of Beaumont, Texas; Leland Edward Hamm, 43, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Richard Alan Smith, 47, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Michael Paul Auxilien, 34, of Mamou, Louisiana; and Stone Haynes, 49, of Beaumont, Texas.  An indictment charging alleged AC gang member Jeremy Jordan, 38, of Orange, Texas, for the racketeering murder of Clifton Hallmark was returned by the federal grand jury on Dec. 14, 2017, and unsealed today.

According to the indictment, the AC is a powerful race-based, multi-state organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas, Louisiana, and the United States.  The AC was established in the mid-1980s within the Texas prison system (TDCJ).  Recently, the AC’s structure and influence expanded to rural and suburban areas throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri.  The AC emerged as an independent organization during a period of turmoil within the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT).  The AC was relatively small in comparison to other prison-based gangs, but grew in stature and influence within TDCJ in the 1990s, largely through violent conflict with other gangs, white and non-white alike. 

The indictment further alleges that the AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the organization.  Members, and oftentimes, associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Louisiana State Police; Evangeline Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish District Attorney’s Office; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; the Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; and the Montgomery County Constable Precinct 1 in Texas.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti of the Western District of Louisiana.

Eight alleged members or associates of the Aryan Circle (AC) have been indicted and arrested for their alleged roles in the 2016 murder of an alleged fellow AC gang member in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.

The indictments were announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook of the Western District of Louisiana.

The superseding indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on March 14, and unsealed today, charges seven defendants with being accessories-after-the fact in violent crimes in aid of racketeering murder of Clifton Hallmark.  The defendants charged in the superseding indictment are David Wayne Williams, aka Big Dave, 36, of Sulphur, Louisiana; Christina Marie Williams, 38, of Sulphur, Louisiana; Brian Elliot Granger, aka Sneak, 36, of Beaumont, Texas; Leland Edward Hamm, 43, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Richard Alan Smith, 47, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Michael Paul Auxilien, 34, of Mamou, Louisiana; and Stone Haynes, 49, of Beaumont, Texas.  An indictment charging alleged AC gang member Jeremy Jordan, 38, of Orange, Texas, for the racketeering murder of Clifton Hallmark was returned by the federal grand jury on Dec. 14, 2017, and unsealed today.

According to the indictment, the AC is a powerful race-based, multi-state organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas, Louisiana, and the United States.  The AC was established in the mid-1980s within the Texas prison system (TDCJ).  Recently, the AC’s structure and influence expanded to rural and suburban areas throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri.  The AC emerged as an independent organization during a period of turmoil within the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT).  The AC was relatively small in comparison to other prison-based gangs, but grew in stature and influence within TDCJ in the 1990s, largely through violent conflict with other gangs, white and non-white alike. 

The indictment further alleges that the AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the organization.  Members, and oftentimes, associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Louisiana State Police; Evangeline Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish District Attorney’s Office; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; the Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; and the Montgomery County Constable Precinct 1 in Texas.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti of the Western District of Louisiana.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Jena man was sentenced last week to more than eight years in prison for downloading hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.

Shane Jeansonne, 30, of Jena, La., was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of receiving child pornography. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and is required to register as a sex offender. According to the December 15, 2017 guilty plea, law enforcement agents identified Jeansonne as downloading and distributing child pornography online. Agents searched his home on March 18, 2015 and found numerous computers and storage devices containing videos and images of child pornography. Agents then arrested Jeansonne, and he admitted to downloading child pornography and sharing the material online. After agents conducted a forensic examination of his electronic devices, they found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls.  Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app.  Tips may be submitted anonymously.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Shreveport man previously convicted of a felony pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing methamphetamine and a pistol in his car.

William Charles Riggs, 44, of Shreveport, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark L. Hornsby to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. According to the guilty plea, Louisiana State Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Riggs’ vehicle on April 28, 2017 in Bossier Parish. The trooper observed the car straddling the center line, and when the traffic stop was initiated, the car sped off at a high rate of speed. The car eventually crashed, and Riggs escaped on foot. He was later apprehended. Troopers searched the vehicle and found 27.21 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded model 22; .40 caliber Glock pistol.

Riggs faces five to 40 years in prison for the drug count and not less than five years in prison for the firearms count. He also faces five years of supervised release and a $5 million fine. The court set a sentencing date of June 14, 2018.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The ATF, DEA, Louisiana State Police and Bossier City Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford is prosecuting the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced today that a Lafayette man pleaded guilty to storing thousands of images of child pornography on his laptop.

Kevin Greer, 47, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna to one count of transportation of obscene material. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to the guilty plea, law enforcement agents visited Greer at his home on May 17, 2017 as part of an investigation. Greer told the agents that he had used his laptop to view child pornography. Greer’s laptop contained approximately 50 videos and 4,000 images of child pornography, with some minors depicted being as young as toddlers. Greer’s desktop had internet access and was connected to a peer-2-peer network, which allowed others to access the child pornography online.

Greer faces up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  The court set the sentencing date for July 13, 2018.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls.  Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app.  Tips may be submitted anonymously.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation-Cyber Crimes Unit conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Forrest Phillips and John Luke Walker are prosecuting the case.