Eastern District of North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville, North Carolina woman, Lakisha Victoria McDougald, was sentenced today to 30 months and three years of supervised release for theft of government funds.  McDougald was also ordered to pay $233,913 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  On May 11, 2021, McDougald pled guilty to the charge. 

According to court documents and other information presented in court, McDougald was employed as an income maintenance caseworker for the Department of Social Services in Harnett County.  Between approximately 2014 and 2019, McDougald used state computer networks to unlawfully access the accounts of individuals who were enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.  The targeted individuals were no longer eligible to collect benefits.  McDougald, however, used her access privileges to cause food stamp EBT cards registered in the names of the beneficiaries to be sent to her home address, added false dependents to increase the monthly benefit allotment, sold the cards to others, and used the cards herself to purchase merchandise.  For example, one of McDougald’s clients in Harnett County moved to Florida, disqualifying her from receiving further SNAP benefits from the State of North Carolina.  McDougald accessed the client’s account and changed the address on file to her own address, thereby causing multiple EBT cards loaded with government funds to be sent to her.  Later, McDougald added three false dependents to the account to drive up the benefit amount and converted the funds for her own use.

McDougald’s unlawful activities resulted in the loss of over $200,000 in government funds.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office and the Harnett County Social Services Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig prosecuted the case for the government.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00524-BR.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Three men formerly employed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina were arrested today on charges of bribery of a government official. Calvin Alfonza Jordan, 64, Edward Wade Crisco, 59, and Stephen Paul Sabato, 50, were charged via indictment with Jordan also charged with money laundering.

According to court documents, from 2011 to 2019, Jordan was a procurement agent assigned to the Operations and Maintenance Division, Directorate of Public Works (DPW), at Fort Bragg, NC, and entrusted to contract for services for DPW.  DPW is responsible for design, construction, maintenance, and operation of utility systems on Ft. Bragg.  The indictment alleges that Jordan, Crisco, a flooring technician assigned to DPW, and Sabato, a roofing technician assigned to DPW, each accepted payments from companies and individuals in return for increasing the amount of federal contracts with those companies and individuals.  In particular, Jordan is alleged to have received thousands of such payments of at least $200 each.  Over the 8-year period, payments received for such work orders amounted to a total estimated income to Jordan of $1,080,400. It is alleged that Jordan laundered some of that money by making cash deposits and then, in turn, withdrawing money to make large purchases including a BMW.  It is alleged that during that time, Sabato profited at least $200,000, and Crisco profited at least $50,000.

Sabato and Crisco are charged with two counts of receiving bribes and gratuities for steering contracts to vendors and for recommending particular contractors for jobs and by passing their work on inspection without regard to completion workmanship.  Jordan is charged with multiple counts of bribery and also faces charges of money laundering.  If convicted, Jordan would face up to a maximum term of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine as to each of the counts, and a term of up to three years supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  Crisco and Sabato face up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine as to each count, as well as supervised release following any imprisonment.  The indictment also gives notice that the defendants may be subject to substantial forfeiture of the proceeds of these crimes.

“Any allegations of bribery by a government employee are disheartening. In this case, it is alleged these men, tasked with maintaining and contracting to maintain the very spaces in which the members of our military live and work, put their own monetary gain above that task,” said Acting United States Attorney, Norman Acker.

"The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) procurement system," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, DCIS, Mid-Atlantic Field Office. "This indictment demonstrates our resolve, alongside our law enforcement partners, to bring to justice those who subvert the DoD contracting process for their own gain, jeopardizing the combat readiness of our military."

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, are investigating the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:21-CR-313-M.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Pikeville man was sentenced to 147 months in prison for committing armed robberies in Kenly and Selma, North Carolina. Richard Lavar Carter entered his guilty plea on April 13, 2021.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Carter and another unidentified subject committed two armed robberies in Johnston County in the early morning hours of October 15, 2019. Around 3:00am, video surveillance footage from a Waffle House in Kenly, North Carolina, showed Carter brandishing a handgun at employees before fleeing the store with money from the register. Just an hour later, video surveillance footage from the New Dixie Mart in Selma, North Carolina, showed Carter and another unidentified male subject brandishing a handgun and an AK-style rifle and robbing the store. During this robbery, Carter assaulted one of the store clerks with his handgun. Investigators were able to identify Carter’s face from the store video. Carter was arrested on state charges on October 18, 2019. Carter was charged federally in April of 2020 and transferred to federal custody in May of 2020.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt. The Kenly Police Department, the Selma Police Department, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-178-BR.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Lumberton man yesterday on a charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Robeson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting that occurred on December 25, 2019. At the residence, they found an individual suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement developed Michael Lane Breeden, 51, as a suspect in the shooting.

Officers executed a search warrant at the residence of Michael Lane Breeden on January 7, 2020. During the execution of the search warrant, officers recovered a loaded shotgun in Breeden’s bathroom just a few feet from where officers detained him. Breeden had previously been convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. 

Breeden faces a maximum penalty of 120 months in prison when sentenced in November of 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt accepted the verdict. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Rhoades and John Parris are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.7:20-cr-00198-BR.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Lumberton man pleaded guilty today to the possession of another’s identification document with the intent to defraud the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(4). 

According to court documents, Chad Hunt, 43, was working on a drywall contract for the United States Government in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  Hunt unlawfully possessed and provided the valid driver’s license of another individual, cleared to work on the site, to one of his workers who had not received clearance to be on the job.   Using the false identification, the worker accessed the work site in contravention to the security protocols in place on numerous occasions between June 4 and July 3, 2020.

Hunt pleaded guilty to the possession of the identification document and faces a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison.  Sentencing is set to occur in December, 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones   accepted the plea.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00235-FL.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Connecticut man was sentenced to 102 months in prison for possessing a firearm despite being a previously convicted felon. Marquis Lamar McDuffie entered his guilty plea on May 5, 2021.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, officers with the Greenville Police Department attempted to conduct a lawful traffic stop on a vehicle operated by McDuffie on May 3, 2020. McDuffie attempted to flee before exiting his vehicle, throwing a loaded handgun over a fence and into the parking lot area of a nearby motel. The firearm landed by two children who were playing outside but was quickly secured by police officers. A subsequent search of McDuffie’s vehicle yielded quantities of marijuana, MDMA, and crack cocaine. McDuffie was on federal supervised release from Connecticut for a prior firearm conviction. 

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Greenville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-CR-99-M.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Pembroke man was sentenced yesterday to 160 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  On May 3, 2021, Patrick Warren Privette pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on October 15, 2020, officers with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Patrick Privette’s residence after learning he supplied drugs to an individual which led to an overdose. Inside the defendant’s bedroom, officers located a quantity of fentanyl, and approximately 50 prescription pills. Inside an air vent near the nightstand, officers recovered a Walther .380, model PK380, semi-automatic handgun. Officers arrested Privette and transported him to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office where he waived his Miranda rights and gave a statement. Privette stated that the drugs found in the house were his and that he had been dealing heroin and fentanyl. He also admitted to possessing the gun and needing it for protection. Privette is also a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms. Another witness confirmed that Privette had been dealing fentanyl for months.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad E. Rhoades prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-00193-M.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Fairmont man was found guilty today of four counts of Hobbs Act robbery, four counts of Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Frank Giles McCree, 34, was accused of a series of robberies in Robeson County.  During the month of June, 2016, three different Family Dollar stores and one Dollar General store were robbed at gun point.  In each of the robberies, the robber wore a Jamaican style beanie, a wig of fake dreadlocks and a dark hooded sweatshirt.  The robber would wait until the cash drawer was opened by a clerk and then would brandish a firearm.  Using threats to shoot or kill the clerks, the robber would steal the entire drawer from the cash registers and demand the clerks open the safes, from which he would also steal money. During two of the robberies, he also stole the stores phone to make it more difficult for the victims to contact law enforcement.

On June 29, 2016, Frank McCree was the passenger in a car that was pulled over for a traffic violation.  The car also matched the description of a car leaving the scene of the first Family Dollar robberies.  When law enforcement spoke to the driver and the defendant, law enforcement noticed a dreadlock wig in the glove compartment.  McCree and the driver were removed from the car.  In the middle of the passenger floorboard, at McCree’s feet, was a loaded, .40 Hi-Point Firearm.  Also located in the car was the distinct Jamaican style beanie worn by the robber. 

McCree made a phone call from the Robeson County jail to a family member asking them to get in touch with his girlfriend to get rid of something under her bed.  When law enforcement went to her home, they found a Family Dollar bag with change in it, in bank rolls consistent with how the Family Dollar would get coins from the bank. 

In an interview, McCree admitted possession of the firearm and said he had borrowed it from a friend for protection.  McCree will be sentenced during the November 9, 2021 term of court.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan accepted the verdict. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Rowland Police Department, Maxton Police Department, Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and St. Pauls Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson  prosecuted the case.  

This case is also 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.  The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN Program through its Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:17-cr-00134-FL-1

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Smithfield man was sentenced today to three consecutive life sentences in prison for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and of a minor; sex trafficking by force fraud and coercion; sex trafficking of a minor; using the internet to promote a prostitution business enterprise (ITAR); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On March 1, 2021, Jenkins was convicted of those crimes by a jury after a five-day trial. Jenkins was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount of at least $418,361.70.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Jonathan Lynn Jenkins, aka “Max,” 48, and his co-conspirator prostituted many women between November 2014 and October 2015, including minors. The victims were young, vulnerable, and often struggling to survive. After luring the victims with promises of food, shelter, and a better life, Jenkins and his co-conspirator manipulated and controlled the victim’s lives, isolating them, withholding food, and keeping all money the victims earned. The defendant beat and choked the victims, sometimes to unconsciousness. He emotionally and psychologically abused them. Among other threats, he claimed to have magical powers that allowed him to hunt down victims and kill them. He sexually assaulted victims and forced them into sexual acts against their will. And he attempted to murder a man who helped one victim escape.

Before imposing the sentence, Judge Dever described Jenkins as “an extraordinarily dangerous human being” and his crimes as a “form of modern-day slavery.”

Jenkins was convicted of second-degree murder in North Carolina state court in 2006, and first-degree murder charges are pending against him in state court in Johnston County, North Carolina.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Raleigh Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Blondel and Lucy Brown prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:18-CR-451-D.

A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 420 months, or 35 years, in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for enticing and sexually abusing a minor. 

Emilio Moran, 39, of Jacksonville, pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2020, to sexual abuse of a minor and enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. According to information presented at the sentencing proceeding, Moran enticed a minor to engage in a prolonged sexual relationship while he was accompanying the armed forces in Okinawa, Japan. Moran, a former U.S. Marine, used text messages and gifts to entice the minor into the illicit sexual relationship, and he took cellphone videos of some of the sexual abuse. Moran also encouraged the minor to destroy evidence in the case. The sexual relationship ended when it was reported to investigators with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. 

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney G. Norman Acker III made the announcement.

The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.

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

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Kill Devil Hills man was sentenced today to 126 months in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking cocaine.

On May 21, 2020, Herndon Hunt Outlaw Riddle, III, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute More than Five Kilograms of Cocaine (Count One).

According to court documents and other information presented in court, investigators with the Hialeah Police Department in Hialeah, Florida, received information from a confidential informant (CI) that Riddle, 40, was seeking to purchase bulk quantities of cocaine.  On May 16, 2019, the CI and an undercover officer (UC) met with Riddle and his co-conspirator Adolphus McLain, Jr., where they agreed to purchase five kilograms of cocaine for $100,000.  Riddle indicated to the CI that he intended to purchase 10 to 15 kilograms of cocaine per month going forward to distribute in the Raleigh and Fayetteville, North Carolina areas.  Shortly after the drug transaction, Riddle and McClain were arrested and detectives seized $46,348.00 in U.S. currency from the defendants.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the Dare County Sheriff’s Office, the Kitty Hawk Police Department, the Hialeah, FL Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Ontjes prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:19-CR-16-D-1.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Jacksonville man was sentenced today to 420 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for enticing and sexually abusing a minor.  On August 17, 2020, Emilio R. Moran pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Moran, 39, enticed a minor into a prolonged sexual relationship while living in Okinawa, Japan.  Moran, a former U.S. Marine, was working in Okinawa at the time of the crime.  Moran used text messages and gifts to entice the minor into the illicit relationship.  The sexual relationship ended when the parents of the minor discovered it and reported the crime to investigators with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.  

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case and U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-00479-D-1.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilson man was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  On March 23, 2021, Terrance Anthony Moore, 35, was convicted of the charge by a jury.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Moore possessed a firearm on July 8, 2018. Moore was seen by law enforcement standing on the side of the road in Wilson, raising and lowering the firearm in the direction of nearby businesses. Moore took the stand and testified, among other things, that he had a number of previous felony convictions, including two common law robberies and a drug distribution offense, within the previous ten years. He also testified that his nickname was “Trigger” due to his violent temper.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle.  The Wilson Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Brown prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-CR-164-BO.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Princeville man was sentenced this week to 57 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin and a quantity of marijuana.

According to court documents, Mario Marelle Scott, 44, was named in a Third Superseding Indictment filed on October 11, 2018.  On November 13, 2019, Scott entered a plea of guilty.

In March 2016, members of the Tar River Regional Drug Task Force (TRRDTF), led by the Nash County Sheriff’s Office, learned that a drug trafficking organization was bringing large amounts of heroin from New Jersey to Nash, Edgecombe, and Halifax Counties. The organization would then sell the heroin in those counties.

On March 13, 2017, agents conducted a traffic stop of Herbert Lamont Cherry and Tony Ray Reams as they returned from Paterson, New Jersey. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 470 grams of heroin, which were packaged in 34,722 “bindles” or dosage units.

On August 16, 2017, agents conducted a traffic stop of Tara Finis Simmons and Charles Lee Wright as they returned from Paterson, New Jersey. The vehicle was searched and found to contain 110 grams of heroin and 13 grams of marijuana.

Agents then interviewed a series of witnesses, who indicated that the drug trafficking organization was led by Terrence Cornelius Clyburn, a/k/a “Tee.” Clyburn would arrange for the transportation of large amounts of heroin to North Carolina via couriers. Those couriers included Tony Reams, Herbert Cherry, Tara Simmons, and Charles Wright.

Other members of the organization would distribute the drugs in North Carolina, including Patrick Holiday, Tyshawn Reams, and Mario Scott.

From 2015 to 2017, Mario Scott and Patrick Holiday distributed approximately 100 grams of heroin each month in North Carolina for the organization. In total, Mario Scott was responsible for trafficking almost 10 kilograms of heroin.

Below are the results of the other cases in this investigation:

• Terrence Clyburn, Case No. 4:17-CR-0046-3: 147 months’ imprisonment.
• Patrick Direece Holiday, Case No. 4:17-CR-0046-5: 96 months’ imprisonment.
• Tyshawn Rayvon Reams, Case No. 4:17-CR-0046-4: 88 months’ imprisonment.
• Charles Lee Wright, Case No. 4:17-CR-0046-1: 60 months’ imprisonment.
• Tara Finis Simmons, Case No. 4:17-CR-0046-2: 28 months’ imprisonment
• Herbert Lamont Cherry, Case No. 4:17-CR-0025-FL-1: 47 months’ imprisonment.
• Tony Ray Reams, Case No. 4:17-CR-0025-FL-2: 71 months’ imprisonment.

 

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, Wake County Sheriff’s Office, Bladen County Sheriff’s Office, Spring Hope Police Department and the Tarboro Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. For additional information about this initiative, click here https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-00046-FL-6.

###

 

WHEN:       Friday, July 30, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE:     Nash County Sheriff’s Office

                        222 W. Washington Street

                        Nashville, NC 27856

Re:                  Prosecutions of Heroin Trafficking Organization

The United States Attorney’s Office announces a press conference to discuss the successful prosecution of a drug trafficking organization that brought large amounts of heroin from New Jersey to Nash, Edgecombe, and Halifax Counties.  The lead defendant was responsible for trafficking almost 10 kilograms of heroin.

In addition to Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III, we anticipate members of the Sheriffs of Nash, Edgecombe, and Halifax Counties along with members of participating police departments to participate in this event.

Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend.  For additional information, and to RSVP your intentions to attend this event, please email Don Connelly at usance.PublicInfoOfficer@usdoj.gov. 

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh gang member was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

According to court documents and information presented in court, Wayne Dominic Bennett, Jr., 25, also known as “Banga Loc,” was arrested after a search of his residence and a vehicle in which he was traveling, resulted in the seizure of a stolen .40 caliber handgun, less than a gram of fentanyl, and a semi-automatic 7.62 caliber assault rifle loaded with a 30-round magazine.

The investigation, led by agents and task force officers assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Raleigh-Durham Safe Streets Task Force, revealed that Bennett, a validated member of the Eight Trey Gangster Crip street gang, had engaged in a video chat with another suspected gang member where he had displayed a firearm. Agents were able to identify Bennett because of a visible facial tattoo of a Pyrex Cup. A review of social media and evidence from other sources also showed Bennett in possession of firearms. Bennett, who was on post-release supervision after serving a state prison sentence for selling cocaine, was ultimately caught after FBI agents and Raleigh Police Department Officers surveilled him at his listed probation address in Raleigh.

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

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Crosby  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00531-BO-1.

###

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Clayton man was sentenced yesterday to 123 months in prison for Possessing with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base (“Crack”) and Cocaine, Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Felon in Possession of Firearms.  On February 18, 2021, Gregory Tobaris Brantley pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Brantley, 39, maintained a dwelling for purposes of drug distribution in Johnston County.  North Carolina Probation and Parole Officers, assisted by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a probation search of Brantley’s residence in Clayton on July 10, 2020.  During the search, officers recovered: a loaded .357 revolver; a 12-gauge shotgun; several boxes of 12-gauge ammunition; eight 15mg morphine pills; 72.66 grams of cocaine; 26.92 grams of crack cocaine (which was prepackaged for sale); digital scales and other indicia of drug distribution; and $587 in U.S. currency.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, North Carolina Probation and Parole, and Johnston County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fitzgerald  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-196-BO.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh man was sentenced today to 200 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 grams or more of Cocaine, 1 kilogram or more of Heroin, and a quantity of Marijuana, Possess with Intent to Distribute 100 grams of Heroin and 500 grams or more of Cocaine, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

According to court documents and information presented in court, Jameel El-Amin Williams, 44, was arrested after a search of his residence. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Raleigh Police Department seized 1.26 kilograms of cocaine, 822 grams of heroin, a 7.62 rifle loaded with a 30-round magazine, a.357 pistol loaded with a 50-round drum magazine, and a 9mm pistol with an extended magazine. Large quantities of ammunition, drug paraphernalia (including equipment to cook cocaine into crack cocaine), false identification cards, and over $17,000 in U.S. currency was also seized.

The investigation revealed that Williams had engaged in heroin, cocaine, and marijuana trafficking for a number of years, beginning less than one year after his release from state prison in 2012, where he had served a 15-year sentence for Second Degree Murder.

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

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Crosby  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00517-BO-1.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Greenville man was sentenced today to 2 years’ probation, 6 months of house arrest and 60 days intermittent confinement for assaulting two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. On October 17, 2019, Daniel Oliver-Perez pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Oliver-Perez, 21, was charged in a two-count criminal information charging him with assaulting, resisting, or impeding ICE officers while they were attempting to execute an administrative arrest warrant against Oliver-Perez’s father.

According to the investigation, Oliver-Perez’s father attempted to enter the United States in 2014 using a Texas birth certificate and Texas identification card in an assumed name. Oliver-Perez’s father was arrested by immigration officials for attempted entry into the United States by means of a false claim of United States citizenship.  Later that year, Oliver-Perez’s father was convicted in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas of attempted illegal entry by false and misleading representation, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1325(a)(3).  Oliver-Perez’s father was subsequently served a Notice and Order of Expedited Removal.

Oliver-Perez’s father was granted multiple stays of removal between 2014 and 2017.  However, after multiple filings by Oliver-Perez’s father, ICE no longer granted the request, and Oliver-Perez’s father was directed to appear at the ICE office in Charlotte, North Carolina, with tickets to depart the United States before December 16, 2017. 

On November 16, 2017, Oliver-Perez’s father appeared with an itinerary in his name and a confirmed scheduled flight departing on December 10, 2017, with an ultimate destination of Mexico.  On the date of the flight, Oliver-Perez’s father failed to show or report to ICE.  At that point, Oliver-Perez’s father became a fugitive for not departing the United States as directed, and for being in violation of the conditions on the order of supervision.

Based on news reports, Oliver-Perez’s father had been living at the City Well United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina since Oliver-Perez’s father’s failure to depart.

On October 12, 2018, Oliver-Perez’s father filed a request for deferred action with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As a result of the request, USCIS generated an Application Support Center (ASC) appointment notice. The appointment notice scheduled fingerprinting of Oliver-Perez’s father at the ASC office in Morrisville, North Carolina, on November 23, 2018 at 9:00 AM.

The fingerprinting appointment of Oliver-Perez’s father was advertised through several social media outlets, inviting people to gather at the ASC on the date and time of the appointment. Approximately a month prior to the appointment, an immigrant advocacy group posted an “event” on Facebook to “accompany [Oliver-Perez’s father] to his Biometrics.”  The social media posting provided the appointment date of November 23, 2018, at the USCIS office in Morrisville, North Carolina. 

ICE learned about Oliver-Perez’s father’s appointment through the social media posting of the appointment and initiated efforts to apprehend Oliver-Perez’s father.

On November 23, 2018, ICE officers were present at the ASC in order to execute an arrest warrant against Oliver-Perez’s father. ICE officers were positioned in various areas of the ASC building.  A Supervisor Detention and Deportation Officer was inside the ACS building in the waiting area. At approximately 9:00 AM, the officer observed Oliver-Perez’s father and Oliver-Perez entering the ASC. The officer observed both Oliver-Perez’s father and Oliver-Perez stand in line to obtain a number to pass to the processing area.  Once Oliver-Perez’s father was standing in line, and Oliver-Perez was standing behind him, the officer alerted the other ICE officers and approached Oliver-Perez’s father. The officer identified himself as an immigration officer and told Oliver-Perez’s father that he needed to come with the officer.  Oliver-Perez grabbed his father by the jacket while ICE officers were trying to arrest Oliver-Perez’s father.

The ICE officer and another officer attempted to subdue Oliver-Perez to prevent Oliver-Perez from continuing to hold onto his father’s jacket. Meanwhile, yet another officer was attempting to arrest Oliver-Perez’s father.  While they were attempting to do this, all four fell on the floor and an officer was able to handcuff Oliver-Perez’s father. Two officers were attempting to remove Oliver-Perez’s father from the waiting area through the back door where some people were trying to block the way out.

As Oliver-Perez’s father was being escorted out, Oliver-Perez tried to get a hold of his father once again. The officer grabbed Oliver-Perez around the waist to prevent Oliver-Perez’s interference with Oliver-Perez’s father’s arrest. Oliver-Perez grabbed the officer by the neck in a chokehold grip. The officer instructed Oliver-Perez to let him go. After several seconds, the officer was able to release himself from Oliver-Perez’s grip. During the altercation, the officer sustained a cut on his hand and had difficulty breathing during the chokehold.

Oliver-Perez then approached the ICE transporting van, which at this point was also surrounded by people obstructing the vehicle’s departure. The assigned driver of the van was another ICE officer. The officer was sitting on the driver’s seat and upon reaching the door, Oliver-Perez gained access to the inside of van and hit the officer on the head and chest area with his right hand while grabbing the steering wheel with his left hand. The officer was able to turn his body towards the door and leaned back repelling Oliver-Perez. The door appeared to be damaged and the officer had to exit the vehicle in order to close it. The officer was able to get back into the vehicle and shut the doors.

Oliver-Perez thereafter again engaged in a physical confrontation with the first officer, at which time Oliver-Perez placed his hands on the clothing of the officer causing his shirt to rip.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency responsible for the enforcement of our immigration laws.  As with any law enforcement agency this office will not tolerate the obstruction, resisting or assaulting of those that we have entrusted to enforce our laws” said Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III.

“Today’s sentencing sends the message that interfering with our officers while they carry out their legal duty will not be tolerated,” said Francisco Madrigal, Interim Field Office Director for the Atlanta Field Office. “Protecting our officers while they serve the public is one of the greatest concerns law enforcement agencies have, and we are thankful for the great partnerships we have with the US Attorney’s Office and throughout the law enforcement community.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-CR-82-1FL.

 

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Durham man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for possessing a stolen firearm.  On December 8, 2020, Christopher Mandy Holder pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Holder, 37, possessed a stolen handgun, as a convicted felon, during a high-speed chase through Wake County on January 27, 2019.  Law enforcement officers found the stolen handgun after Holder crashed his vehicle and attempted to run.  Holder exceeded 100 mph while trying to evade law enforcement.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.    

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Wake Forest Police Department, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Durham Police Department, Burlington Police Department, Wake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated and assisted with the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-00377-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Kashon Stacy Cunningham, a Clayton, NC resident, was sentenced today to 33 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release on a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g).   

On May 22, 2020 in Smithfield, the Smithfield Police Department, and detectives with Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) were conducting surveillance near 825 Blunt Street.  Kashon Cunningham pulled into a gas station driving a vehicle with a false license plate.  Detectives followed Cunningham as he drove away from the gas station and attempted to conduct a traffic stop by activating blue lights.  The vehicle slowed down; it did not immediately stop.  After witnessing someone shuffling between the seats inside the car, Cunningham pulled over and stopped the car.

Upon approach to the vehicle officers smelled marijuana emanating from within.  All occupants were removed from the vehicle and a search was conducted.  At that time officers discovered a Springfield 9mm pistol loaded with 10 rounds of Hornady 9mm ammunition.  One round of ammunition was loaded in the chamber.

At the time of the stop, Cunningham was on state probation for a prior felony, and was wearing an ankle monitor.  Cunningham admitted possession of the firearm.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III announced the sentence.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated the case with the assistance of the ALE and the Smithfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore served as the prosecutor. 

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00390-D-1.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – An Edenton man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for felon in possession of ammunition.  On April 19, 2021, Daniel Lee Herrar, age 38, pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Edenton Police Department responded to the ABC Store on North Broad Street for a report of shots fired.  Video surveillance from the store captured Herrar and another man in a truck engaging in a verbal altercation.  Herrar then pulled a handgun and fired at the man in the truck before it sped away.  Officers recovered several spent shell casings from the scene.  Herrar was found at a residence a short distance from the store and arrested.  Herrar is a convicted felon, having prior felony convictions for possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine and assault inflicting serious injury.  He also has at least 35 misdemeanor convictions. 

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Edenton Police Department, and Elizabeth City Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-CR-26-M.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Goldsboro man today on charges of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, William Earl Warren, Jr., 32, was indicted on October 15, 2020 for one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Evidence presented at trial revealed that on July 31, 2020, officers initially tried to stop a vehicle driven by Warren for a stop sign violation. Instead of stopping, Warren led officers on a slow speed vehicle chase through the Westhaven Housing Neighborhoods in Goldsboro, NC. Warren’s vehicle eventually came to a stop and Warren fled the vehicle carrying a firearm. Officers gave chase on foot as Warren ran behind a building and tossed the firearm in a wooded area before continuing to flee on foot. Warren was apprehended shortly afterward in front of the building and officers combed the wooded area and found the firearm at the base of a tree within his flight path. Further evidence presented at trial revealed that Warren was on supervised release at the time of the charged offense for a previous federal conviction for Hobbs Act Robbery in 2015.

Warren faces a maximum penalty of 120 months in prison when sentenced in September 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the verdict. The Goldsboro Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon L. Boykin prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:20-cr-00469-BO.

RALEIGH, N.C. – An Ahoskie man was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for assaulting a guard at the Franklin County Detention Center with a 6-inch metal shank while in custody on pending federal charges.  On April 28, 2021, Troy Lamont Powell, a/k/a “Gutter,” pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Troy Lamont Powell, 32, was being held on federal drug and gun charges in the custody of the Franklin County Detention Center under contract with the United States Marshals Service.  On December 30, 2019, a jail guard offered Powell some tissues when Powell struck the guard in the rib cage with a shank fashioned from metal.  The shank was later recovered from Powell during a search of his clothing.  Powell continued to make threatening statements to other jail guards before being transported to another jail.

United States Marshal Michael East stated: “Any type of assault on a law enforcement officer cannot be tolerated.  This case is exceptionally egregious because the detention officer was just trying to assist Mr. Powell and the attack was completely unprovoked.”

“We will aggressively prosecute any federal inmate who has a weapon or who attacks a guard,” said Acting U.S. Attorney G. Norman Acker, III.  “Such behavior is totally contrary to our system of justice and the rule of law.”

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the United States Marshals Service (“USMS”), and the Kinston Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura S. Howard  prosecuted the case. 

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:18-CR-00073-D.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Chadbourn man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.  On April 22, 2021, Paul Freeman pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Freeman, 39, possessed a 9mm handgun in connection with his sale of crack and cocaine.  In the Spring of 2020, law enforcement received complaints that Freeman was selling drugs from his residence in Chadbourn.  Freeman was previously convicted of multiple drug offenses and also had pending state charges related to drug trafficking offenses from 2017 and 2018.  In March 2020, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase from Freeman at his residence and obtained a search warrant which was executed on March 11, 2020.  The search recovered paraphernalia, digital scales, quantities of crack and cocaine, as well as a 9mm handgun together in a closet of Freeman’s residence.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Stephany prosecuted the case.

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. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN Program through its Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-00097-M.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh man was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment today for attempting to set fire to a marked police vehicle in Raleigh after a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mikwan Domell Garfield of Raleigh, was arrested by special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) on October 22, 2020 and was charged with one count of attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle owned or possessed by an institution receiving federal financial assistance. Garfield pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.

According to court documents, on  May 31, 2020, at approximately 12:31 a.m. a fire was discovered coming from the fuel filler area of a police vehicle owned by the Raleigh Police Department (RPD), that was parked at the Raleigh Police Southeast District Station (RPSDS) in Raleigh.  The fire was discovered and extinguished by an RPD Captain who was driving through the parking lot prior to the fire departments arrival.   The fire caused approximately $5,000 in damage to the police vehicle.  Investigators seized a charred sock located within the fuel filler of the damaged vehicle, a bottle with the odor of gasoline was located on the sidewalk, behind the damaged vehicle, and another charred sock located between the vehicle and the sidewalk.

On June 2, 2020, investigators were notified that a fingerprint was lifted from the seized bottle recovered at the scene and determined the fingerprint belonged to Garfield’s co-defendant, Jabari Davis, who was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment on March 15, 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Smith  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-00433-D.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted Jourden Tairee Shepard, 23, of Onslow County earlier this week on two counts of a three count indictment charging him with of (1) possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, (2) possession with the intent to distribute quantities of fentanyl and cocaine, and (3) possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Prior to trial, Shepard pled guilty to count two of the indictment.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on August 14, 2020, members of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit were conducting surveillance on an open air drug market known to locals as “The Hill” when officers observed Shepard’s car pull into The Hill and engage in activity consistent with narcotic sales. Shepard’s vehicle was stopped for fictitious tags as he was leaving the area. A K9 sniff and subsequent search revealed crack cocaine, bundles of fentanyl, a loaded Glock 17 handgun, and $2246 in cash all in the center console of the vehicle. Shepard had been previously convicted of multiple felonies.

Shepard is set to be sentenced on October 12, 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt accepted the verdict. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Crime Lab investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Boykin prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.7:20-cr-00201-BR-1.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Raleigh man yesterday on charges of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Romar Leshawn Bartee, Jr., 25, Raleigh Police Department (RPD) Officers stopped at the Sheetz gas station located at 5200 New Bern Ave., on April 15, 2020, and while there, officers noticed a black Dodge Charger with heavily tinted windows cut across multiple lanes of traffic and enter into the Sheetz gas station. The vehicle's front windshield was heavily tinted to the point officers could not see inside the vehicle. At that point, officers initiated a traffic stop on the Charger for a window tint violation.

The Charger parked at a gas pump and as soon as the Charger parked,  an Officer noticed that the front passenger exited the vehicle and quickly walk away. The Officer noticed that this individual was carrying a red bag and wearing a green sweatshirt. He watched this individual walk around the left side of the Sheetz building. The Officer then notified check in units of the passenger's description and direction of travel.

Additional responding officers located the passenger, identified as Romar Bartee, Jr., close by at 1030 Rogers Lane. When located, Bartee had taken off the sweatshirt the Officer had seen him wearing when he exited the Charger. Bartee was no longer carrying the red bag that he fled Sheetz with. Officers combed the areas and quickly located the red bag inside of a trash can on the left side of the Sheetz Gas Station building. Inside Bartee’s red bag was 153 pills with Xanax stamped on each one, miscellaneous clothing, and a loaded Glock Model 17, 9mm pistol with 17-9mm rounds of ammunition

Video surveillance footage from the Sheetz was obtained by officers on scene that showed Bartee exiting the Dodge Charger carrying the red bag.

Bartee faces 120 months in prison when sentenced in October 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III accepted the verdict. The Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives (ATF) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Smith prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:20-cr-00495-D.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging three Rocky Mount individuals and one Wendell woman with various narcotics distribution and fraud-related charges. 

Tyrone Foreman, also known as “Ty Nitty”, 33, is alleged to be the leader of a set of the United Blood Nation operating a heroin and fentanyl distribution ring in Nash and Edgecombe counties.  Over the past three years, local, state, and federal authorities conducted an extensive investigation into Foreman’s organization, including the importation and distribution of various narcotics and several gang-related shootings in Rocky Mount.

According to the complaint, filed in June of 2021, Investigators identified a New York City man supplying Foreman with heroin and fentanyl mixtures for distribution in Rocky Mount.  After Investigators discovered this individual bringing large quantities of heroin and fentanyl mixtures to Foreman, Investigators tracked Foreman travelling to New York City to pick up another heroin and fentanyl mixture supply.  On December 11, 2020, during Foreman’s return trip to Rocky Mount, Maryland authorities stopped Foreman’s car for failure to wear a seat belt.  Inside the car, authorities found over 3,500 bags of a heroin and fentanyl mixture.

The indictment, charging Foreman and Vernisha Marie Suggs, 34, of Rocky Mount, with narcotics-related violations, also alleges Foreman and two others conspired to commit wire and mail fraud related to federal unemployment benefits created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

According to the indictment, Foreman, Undia Fenne Sharpe, 39, of Rocky Mount, and Minnie Marie Edwards, 36, of Wendell, fraudulently filed claims using the information of individuals incarcerated in federal and state prisons.  After filing the fraudulent claims, the co-conspirators distributed the unemployment benefits amongst themselves and other co-conspirators.

Foreman is charged with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 grams or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and a quantity of marijuana; one count of possessing with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl; one count  of possessing with intent to distribute heroin and marijuana; and one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. If convicted, Foreman faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

Suggs is charged with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and one count of possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin.  If convicted, Suggs faces a maximum of forty years in prison.

Sharpe is charged with one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud.  If convicted, Sharpe faces a maximum of twenty years in prison.

Edwards is charged with one count of possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base (crack) and one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud.  If convicted, Edwards faces a maximum of forty years in prison.

This investigation and indictment are the result of a coordinated effort on the part of a coalition of local, state, and federal agencies over the span of three years.  These agencies include Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Rocky Mount Police Department, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, Nashville Police Department, Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the North Carolina Department of Commerce - Division of Employment Security, and the Office of the 8th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina.

Acting U.S. Attorney Acker commented: “The United States Justice Department and the United States Attorney’s Office are aggressively pursuing violent drug traffickers and this case targeted an organization who evaded justice and spread deadly narcotics in the community for years.  This indictment represents another step in a coordinated effort to “Take Back North Carolina” from those who wish to bring harm to the citizens of the Eastern District of North Carolina.”

“The level of law enforcement cooperation to investigate the crimes committed by this violent organization was incredible.  This case is yet another example of law enforcement partners working together to effectively dismantle criminal organizations which threaten the citizens of Nash and Edgecombe Counties,” said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-mj-1577-RN.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Moore County man arrested on charges of naturalization fraud had an initial appearance today before United States Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld in Greensboro, North Carolina.

A federal grand jury had returned an indictment charging Jose De Jesus Munoz, age 34, a naturalized citizen of the U.S., born in Mexico, residing in Jackson Springs, North Carolina, with naturalization fraud.

According to the indictment, Munoz knowingly failed to disclose during his naturalization proceedings in 2012 that he had committed the crime of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 5 kilograms of cocaine from in or about 2011 to December 18, 2014, in the Western District of North Carolina.  Munoz was naturalized as a United States citizen in Wilmington, North Carolina, on September 17, 2012. 

On May 20, 2016, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Munoz was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and ordered to forfeit his interest in 14 bank accounts, multiple residential properties, as well as 10 pistols, five rifles, and three shotguns as instruments and proceeds of the conspiracy.

Munoz is charged in a four-count indictment with naturalization fraud.  If convicted, he faces up to a maximum imprisonment term of 25 years per count, a $250,000 fine per count, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  A conviction for naturalization fraud also carries an automatic revocation of U.S. citizenship.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. Agents with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations, assigned to the Document Benefit Fraud Task Force, investigated the case as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to identify and prosecute egregious felons who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 7:21-CR-35-FL (E.D.N.C.) and 3:15-CR-20-RJC (M.D.N.C.).

An indictment is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Leonid Teyf, 59, a Russian national formerly residing in Raleigh, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 5 years in prison for bribery of a public official, visa fraud, and false statements in relation to foreign financial interests.  Teyf and his wife, Tatiana Teyf, 43, will also forfeit $5,900,241 in assets.  Leonid Teyf will be judicially deported after he completes his sentence.  The husband and wife entered into a plea agreement in March 2021.

In December 2018, Teyf was charged by indictment with bribery of a public official, murder-for-hire, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, harboring illegal aliens, and unlawful use of a visa procured through false claims.  Teyf was also charged in a money laundering conspiracy with Tatiana Teyf and others, and several tax charges regarding the wrongful denial of the existence of overseas financial interests and the failure to file required forms in regard to the same overseas accounts.

The indictment further alleged Teyf knowingly used and possessed a U.S. immigrant visa which he had procured through false claims made on his I-140 application (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker), and that he and Tatiana Teyf had harbored and assisted other persons from Russia in coming to and remaining in the United States.

As otherwise alleged in publicly available documents filed in federal court by the Government, during the course of the investigation into the money laundering charges, Leonid Teyf came to believe that Tatiana Teyf was having an affair with another man.  Leonid Teyf discussed with an FBI confidential source having the man murdered.  Teyf also paid an someone whom he believed to be employee with the United States Department of Homeland Security $10,000 to find the man and have him deported from the United States. 

In March of this year, Teyf entered a plea of guilty to violations of 18 U.S.C. § 201, the payment of the $10,000 bribery to the federal official, 18 U.S.C. § 1546, visa fraud, and 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1), filing a false tax return.  Tatiana Teyf pled guilty to a separately filed Criminal Information, which charged a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(a), making a false statement in an immigration document.  Both agreed to forfeit almost $6 million in assets, and Teyf agreed to forfeit a firearm that he had provided to a confidential source.  He also agreed to his deportation. 

Pursuant to the plea, the Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina agreed to dismiss the murder-for-hire, firearm, money laundering,  harboring illegal aliens, and all but one of the tax charges against Teyf, and to seek a sentence of 60 months’ imprisonment for him.  Pursuant to Tatiana Teyf’s plea to the charge in the Criminal Information, all charges against her in the Indictment were dismissed and the government will not seek a term of imprisonment.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The investigation of this case was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Raleigh Police Department.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case 5:18-cr-00452-FL.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Rocky Mount man was sentenced to 87 months in prison for possessing multiple firearms despite being a previously convicted felon.  Keyonte Da’quan Smith, also known as “Smiley,” entered his guilty plea on March 3, 2021.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Smith, 27, of Rocky Mount, and another unidentified subject, were observed operating a sedan and shooting multiple rounds of ammunition into another vehicle while in traffic. The victim’s vehicle side door, front panel, and windshield sustained damage from the gunfire, but the victim survived. Officers located at least eight .45 caliber shell casings from the crime scene. Police tracked Smith to a nearby apartment, where he was found with 2 ski masks, two loaded .45 caliber handguns, including one that had been reported stolen, a loaded .40 caliber handgun, a large-capacity magazine, and multiple rounds of ammunition.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Rocky Mount Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-458-M.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Fort Bragg soldier assigned to 2nd SFAB (Security Force Assistance Brigade) Friday on charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, aid and abet naturalization fraud, harboring an alien, visa fraud, theft of government property, along with trying to obstruct the testimony of a witness in an official proceeding.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Samuel Manu Agyapong, 34, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ghana, was indicted on June 3, 2021 in a third superseding indictment. Evidence presented at trial revealed that in February of 2019, a tipster alerted Fort Bragg U.S. Army CID (Criminal Investigation Division) that Agyapong, a U.S. citizen and soldier, was engaged in a sham marriage with Barbara Oppong, a citizen of Ghana who was unlawfully present in the U.S.  Agyapong agreed to engage in the sham marriage in exchange for Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for him and a lawful permanent resident card, commonly known as a green card, for Oppong.  Agyapong and Oppong were married in New York in January 2015. 

Thereafter, Agyapong and Oppong submitted fraudulent applications to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requesting Oppong’s adjustment of status as a lawful permanent resident in the United States, which she received. Based on the marriage to Agyapong, Oppong then filed an application for U.S. citizenship.

Additional evidence presented at the trial showed that Oppong resided in New York, and Agyapong purchased a residence in Fayetteville, and they seldom, if ever, travelled to see each other nor had they engaged in an actual marital union.  Further, evidence revealed that around the time Oppong and Agyapong were married and filed the applications, they omitted the fact that Oppong had two children with another individual.

The jury found Agyapong guilty on nine out of eleven counts including conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, aiding and abetting naturalization fraud, visa fraud, harboring certain aliens, false statements in immigration proceedings, theft of government property and tampering with a witness.

At sentencing, scheduled for the term of court commencing on October 5, 2021, Agyapong faces maximum penalties of twenty-five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

“U.S. Soldiers who continue to engage in marriages to foreign nationals in order to reside off base, obtain BAH, and allow the alien access to military bases and military and immigration benefits jeopardize and erode the critical infrastructure of Government installations, and our national security” said G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Mr. Acker made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan accepted the verdict. The Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF) in the Eastern District of North Carolina led by Homeland Security Investigations and assisted by US Army CID investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Diaz is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:19-CR-00423-FL.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Eight defendants pleaded guilty today to offenses contained in a 50-count,  2nd Superseding Indictment charging various forms of Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, Making False Statements to a Bank on Loan, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Perjury.  Two additional defendants previously pleaded guilty in connection with the same scheme.

The indictment charges that defendant Michael Griffin, operating from his business location in Raleigh and home in Knightdale, accepted fees from clients for alleged credit repair services.  The indictment alleges that, in reality, Griffin was creating fictitious credit profiles and fraudulently altering client credit data through the use of fictitious police reports.

The indictment further charges that various defendants, many of whom were family, conspired with Griffin to defraud Synchrony Bank, a Lowe’s credit card provider, by opening credit accounts in the name of fraudulent identities, cashing out the accounts through prepaid card purchases, and then defaulting on the credit accounts.  The indictment also charges various defendants with similar frauds against other banks, including Capital One and Discover.

Regina Griffin (Michael Griffin’s sister), 49, of Raleigh, North Carolina, pled guilty to Count 29 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged False Statement to Influence a Bank on a Loan, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014.  The offense occurred between February 11, 2019 and March 19, 2019, and involved Alcova Mortgage, LLC.

Angela Griffin (Michael Griffin’s wife), 53, of Knightdale, North Carolina, pled guilty to Count 13 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.  The offense occurred between November 21, 2017 and December 21, 2017 and involved Synchrony Bank.

Creshun Alexandria Griffin (Michael Griffin’s daughter), 27, also of Knightdale, pled guilty to Count 16 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.  The offense occurred between August 11, 2017 and December 31, 2018, and involved Capital One Bank.

Sharon Annita Edmond (Michael Griffin’s sister), 57, of Raleigh, pled guilty to Count 25 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Wire Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 2.  The offense occurred on or about April 16, 2018 and involved Strategic Funding Partners, doing business as Merchant Cash Group.

Katina Griffin Perry (Michael Griffin’s sister), 48, of Raleigh, pled guilty to Count 27 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.  The offense occurred between August 21, 2017 and September 19, 2017 and involved Kia Motor Finance.

Harvey Griffin (Michael Griffin’s brother) 47, of Raleigh, pled guilty to Count 11 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.  The offense occurred between October of 2017 and January of 2018 and involved Synchrony Bank.

Melvin Griffin (Michael Griffin’s brother), 45, of Knightdale, pled guilty to Count 18 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.  The offense occurred between October 5, 2017 and August 31, 2018, and involved Discover Bank.

Jasmine Mariah Davis, 29, of Lakeland, Florida, pled guilty to Count 12 of the 2nd Superseding Indictment, which charged Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.  The offense occurred between October of 2017 and February of 2018 and involved Synchrony Bank.

Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III stated, “The charges in this case largely involve the use of a false Social Security Number to obtain money, credit, or other valuables, under a false identity.  Synthetic identity frauds such as these often involve the use of what are referred to as “CPNs” or alternate “credit profile numbers.”  These are nothing but fancy sounding terms for Social Security Numbers that do not belong to you.  The public needs to know that when you place a fraudulent Social Security Number or CPN on a bank credit application or loan document – you are committing a fraud, and you could face federal prison time for it.”

The maximum punishment for committing Bank Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 1349, is not more than 30 years in prison.  The maximum punishment for Wire Fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, is not more than 20 years imprisonment.  The maximum punishment for Making a False Statement to a Bank on a Loan is not more than 30 years in prison. 

The sentencings for each of these defendants are not yet scheduled, but will occur as early as October 2021. 

Shawn Allen Farmer, 52, of Cary, North Carolina, also named in the Second Superseding Indictment, previously pled guilty to Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2, and Making False Claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287.  Farmer was  sentenced on May 27, 2021 to 15 months in prison, and ordered to pay $42,783 in restitution.

Tyrone Edmonds, 47 of Weldon, North Carolina, also named in the Second Superseding Indictment, previously pled guilty on February 8, 2021 to Count 6, which charged Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.  The offense occurred between July of 2017 and August of 2018, and involved Synchrony Bank.  The sentencing is not yet scheduled but will also occur as early as October of 2021.

Charges against Michael Griffin, Jasper Deonta Goodman, and Coscina Brooks, also named in the Second Superseding Indictment, remain pending.  An indictment is an allegation of a crime.  The defendant is presumed under the law to be innocent until proven guilty.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represents the United States.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-245-1D(2).

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Havelock man yesterday on charges of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin, four counts of distributing heroin and aiding and abetting, and one count of possessing with intent to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Daryl Lee Godette, 36, conspired to distribute over a kilogram of heroin in the Havelock area for approximately one year from 2018–2019. He involved several people in his scheme, including a co-defendant. In that time, Godette distributed quantities of heroin on at least four occasions. Godette also maintained a separate residence for storing bulk amounts of heroin and preparing it for sale. A search warrant of that residence revealed over 1,200 grams of heroin and extensive drug distribution paraphernalia.

Godette, who was on federal supervised release at the time of the new offenses, faces a mandatory minimum of fifteen years in prison when sentenced in September 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III accepted the verdict. Havelock Police Department, Carteret County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lucy Brown and John Parris are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-CR-82.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Anthony Jamaal Lee, 32, of Kinston was sentenced today to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.  On March 25, 2021, Lee pled guilty to the charge.    

According to court documents and statements made during hearings, on July 11, 2019, a Goldsboro Police Department patrol officer spotted a white Cadillac tailgating another car on the Highway 70 service road in Goldsboro.  As the Cadillac turned into a Days Inn parking lot, the officer saw that its brake lights were not functioning.  He initiated a traffic stop and could smell marijuana as he approached.  The driver was identified as defendant Anthony Lee.

Lee was questioned about the marijuana and admitted to having smoked in the car earlier in the day.  The officers then searched the car and found a Taurus 9mm handgun in a small compartment near the rear central armrest, along with a bag that contained marijuana.  Lee was prohibited from possessing the handgun due to felony state convictions in 2013 and 2014 for carrying concealed firearms. 

Later in 2019, Lee became the subject of a drug investigation in Kinston.  On November 21, 2019, a confidential informant fitted with a video recording device conducted a controlled purchase of marijuana and ecstasy from Lee at Lee’s Kinston home.  The informant reported to law enforcement that Lee had a black gun on his hip when he came to the door.  A short time later, Lee left the house in his white Cadillac and was pulled over and taken into custody.  Officers executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered a black Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol, as well as some marijuana and ecstasy. 

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Kinston Police Department, Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, Goldsboro Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-cr-0087-BO.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Mexican national was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to court documents and information presented in court, Agustin Nunez-Leonardo, 22, told undercover officers that he had a source that could supply kilograms of methamphetamine per delivery to Wake County, North Carolina. Nunez-Leonardo, a Mexican national, had previously been deported. During the course of the investigation, he agreed to sell undercover officers 5 kilograms of methamphetamine. He ultimately sold 4,940 grams of methamphetamine to undercover officers. Laboratory testing revealed the seized methamphetamine was 100% pure.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Wake County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Crosby  prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-CR-185-BO.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  On March 24, 2021, Xavier Jamar Hall pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Hall, 28, illegally possessed a stolen 9mm handgun as a previously convicted felon.  Hall is a validated member of the United Blood Nation street gang and former employee of TRU Colors Brewery in Wilmington. On June 19, 2020, Wilmington Police Department Officers attempted to stop a vehicle in which Hall was a passenger to serve him with outstanding warrants. The vehicle fled and Hall eventually jumped and ran through an abandoned lot. While running, Hall made a motion that led officers to believe that he threw something. A search of the area recovered a handgun. Forensic examination of DNA found on the gun confirmed that Hall had possessed it.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.  The Wilmington Police Department (WPD) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Stephany  prosecuted the case.

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. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN Program through its Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-00190-D.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Six women from Flushing, New York, and Little River, South Carolina, were arrested on June 16 and 17, 2021, on charges involving conspiracy, bribery, and operating illegal massage parlors offering prostitution and indicted on June 22, 2021.

According to court documents, Ok Hwa Lee, Shanyu Song, OgBun Park, XueJin Bai and Ming Ji Cao allegedly conspired to pay bribes to a law enforcement officer (who was actually an undercover agent posing as a corrupt law enforcement officer) to provide protection for the operation of illegal massage parlors in Cary and Wilmington, where sexual services were offered. An indictment charges them with conspiracy, bribery, and operating an illegal prostitution enterprise in interstate commerce.

Xiang Yue Jin, charged separately, allegedly also bribed an undercover agent, believing that he would protect her illegal massage parlors (where sexual services were offered) from law enforcement scrutiny. An indictment charges her with bribery and operating an illegal prostitution enterprise in interstate commerce.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, the Cary Police Department, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, the Wilmington Police Department, the Horry County Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, and other state and local investigators. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin C. Blondel and Bryan Stephany are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 7:21-mj-1165-RJ and 5:21-mj-1569-RN.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh man pleaded guilty today to Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g).

Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III stated, “With this plea, this office brings to justice a dangerous man who defrauded numerous real estate investors in North Carolina and elsewhere.  We are grateful for the work of our federal, state and local counterparts for their combined efforts to ensure that the defendant pays a serious price for his crimes.”

According to court documents, Joshua Matthew Houchins, 36, owner of various Raleigh real estate development companies, admitted to carrying out a fraud upon real estate investors.  Houchins also admitted to illegally possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. 

According to the Superseding Indictment, between 2014 and 2018, Houchins owned and operated Rossshire Development LLC, Greenstone Ventures LLC, and Modern South Development LLC, and used these entities to carry out a fraud upon his real estate development investors.  Specifically, Houchins solicited investment monies by telling victims that their money would be “put to work” on a specific property, and further represented that the investments would be secured by deeds of trust filed with the county register of deeds.  In fact, Houchins did not put all of the investor funds to work on the property on which the investor was solicited to invest, and instead, regularly used investor funds on other properties, or on personal expenses.  Likewise, the investor promissory notes were not secured by a deed of trust as promised.  In some instances, Houchins did not even own the property that was the subject of the investment, and as such, could not truthfully grant a deed of trust to the investor. 

The indictment alleges that after Houchins diverted investor money away from the property on which the funds were supposed to be spent, Houchins failed to develop and sell the properties, as he represented, he would.  Houchins then defaulted on the notes by failing to pay investors their promised returns.  The investors were unable to foreclose upon the investment properties because Houchins had not secured the promissory notes with a deed of trust filed, thereby resulting in losses to the investors.  Houchins specifically pled guilty to Count Nine, which alleged one instance of the above-described fraud on January 6, 2017.  As a part of the plea, Houchins agreed to make restitution to all victims for losses arising from the scheme, and related schemes.

According to the second part of the superseding indictment, the grand jury began to investigate Houchins in 2018 concerning the aforementioned offenses.  Following the issuance of subpoenas to his attorney and to his various real estate companies, Houchins only produced a small number of documents to the grand jury.  Instead, the indictment alleges that Houchins admitted in a February 2020 letter that he had “destroyed all of the evidence.”

The superseding indictment also alleges that Houchins, who had recently separated from his wife, began to send her harassing messages.  The indictment alleges that Houchins’ wife obtained a Domestic Violence Order of Protection (DVPO) barring Houchins from contacting, threatening, or harassing his wife.  While Houchins was already prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his status as a convicted felon, the DVPO further prohibited Houchins from possessing a firearm.

The superseding indictment then alleges that in March of 2020, Houchins communicated to friends of his wife that she had, “run to the police” and that Houchins has “no mercy on a lying rat.”  Around one month later, the superseding indictment alleges that Houchins sent threatening communications to friends and family of his wife, including photographs of Houchins wearing a mask and tactical vest.

The superseding indictment then charges that, following his internet searches for “killing your wife over love,” Houchins was arrested.  At the time of his arrest, Houchins was in possession of a Ruger AR-15, 4 magazines, a double canister magazine containing 100 rounds of ammunition, two boxes of .223 caliber ammunition, and a tactical vest.  Houchins pled guilty to Count Fourteen, which alleged that he possessed the Ruger AR-15 despite being a convicted felon.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Carolina Secretary of State are investigating the case.  The Wake County Sheriff’s Office, Apex Police Department, and Sanford Police Department, also provided assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-245-1D(2).

RALEIGH, N.C. – Two defendants were recently sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking in the area of Robeson County.

On June 9, 2021, Joel Armando Rodriguez of Maxton was sentenced to 150 months in prison for trafficking cocaine and crystal methamphetamine.

On November 12, 2020, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Five Hundred (500) Grams or More of Cocaine.

According to court documents and other information presented to the court, Rodriguez, 48, regularly trafficked drugs from Texas to North Carolina. On October 7, 2019, members of the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of Rodriguez, and he was found in possession of approximately one kilogram of cocaine.

The investigation also determined that Rodriguez had distributed a significant amount of crystal methamphetamine in Robeson County.

Today, Tushombi Take Wallace of Lumberton was sentenced to 96 months in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking cocaine, cocaine base (crack), heroin, and crystal methamphetamine.  

On December 16, 2020, Wallace pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, 280 Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack), and 500 Grams or More of Cocaine (Count One); and Distribution of 100 Grams or More of Heroin and 5 Grams or More of Methamphetamine (Count Four).

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Wallace, 45, sold cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, and crystal methamphetamine to a confidential informant on several dates from December 19, 2017 until January 29, 2020.

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

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Lemmon  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-57-D-1 and 5:20-CR-169-D-1.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Four Oaks man was sentenced yesterday to 420 months in prison and a life term of supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor and using the internet to operate a prostitution enterprise. On December 17, 2020, Marvarlus Cortel Snead was convicted of the charges after a four-day jury trial.  Snead was also ordered to pay more than $200,000 in restitution to the minor victim.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Snead, 34, prostituted an adult female and a minor victim in various locations throughout the Eastern District of North Carolina in December 2017 and January 2018. Snead targeted extremely vulnerable victims and enticed them with promises of money and romance. Snead also engaged in a sexual relationship with both women and, after convincing them to join him, manipulated them and took their money for himself. Snead was arrested following a January 24, 2018 prostitution sting operation at a hotel in Wilmington, NC, where Snead was prostituting the minor after posting ads online. Following his arrest, Snead sought to continue his manipulation of the minor victim by coercing the victim into signing false affidavits aimed at exonerating Snead but which were actually written by others at Snead’s direction.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. Mr. Acker commented: “This case is about the victims, who suffered at the hands of a greedy trafficker. Our community will not tolerate perpetrators like this defendant targeting our most vulnerable children and citizens for their profit.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Stephany and Erin C. Blondel  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:19-CR-151-D.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Shallotte man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison and three years of supervised release for trafficking cocaine and possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.

On March 1, 2021, Dev Vontrai Bland pleaded guilty to Distribution of a Quantity of Cocaine (Count One) and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon (Count Five).

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Bland, 29, sold cocaine to a confidential informant on several dates from August 1, 2019 to September 26, 2019.

Bland was arrested on November 14, 2019. Agents then executed a search warrant at Bland’s residence and seized cocaine base (crack); marijuana; methamphetamine; drug packaging materials; currency; and a loaded 9mm handgun.

Due to Bland’s criminal history, he was determined to be a Career Offender.

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

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Lemmon  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-82-D-1.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – A Bladenboro man pleaded guilty today to theft of government property and Social Security fraud.

According to court documents, Leslie McCrae Dowless, 65, defrauded the Social Security Administration by concealing his work and income while receiving monthly benefits payments.  In February 2013, Dowless applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.  In the application, Dowless claimed that he was unable to work due to a disability.  Dowless received SSI benefits until July 2018, when he applied for Retirement Insurance Benefits (RIB).  In his application for RIB, Dowless stated that he did not expect to work in 2018 and had not worked in the two years preceding his application.  Dowless received RIB benefits through November 2018. Dowless was required to report certain events to the Social Security Administration, including changes in his work activity, income, or resources.

Unbeknownst to the Social Security Administration, Dowless worked as a consultant for at least two political campaigns during the 2018 Midterm Elections.  From March 2017 to November 2018, Dowless received at least 59 checks totaling $135,365.57 for consulting work. Dowless failed to report his work and income to the Social Security Administration.

Dowless pleaded guilty to theft of government property, 18 U.S.C. § 641, and Social Security Fraud, 42 U.S.C. § 1383a(a)(3) and faces a maximum penalty of 180 months in prison when sentenced on August 23, 2021.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the plea. The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Federal Burea of Investigation are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-53-B0.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville man was sentenced today to 168 months in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking crystal methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On February 24, 2021, Terekus Derrell Rogers pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Fifty Grams or More of Crystal Methamphetamine (Count One); Possession with Intent to Distribute Fifty Grams or More of Crystal Methamphetamine (Count Two); and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count Three).

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Rogers, 39, sold crystal methamphetamine to a confidential informant on several dates from May to July, 2020.

Rogers was arrested on July 30, 2020 and was found in possession of more than 26 grams of crystal methamphetamine.  Agents then executed a search warrant at Rogers’s residence. Agents seized almost 800 grams of crystal methamphetamine; a rifle; a revolver; a handgun; almost 150 rounds of ammunition; drug packaging materials; and more than $28,000 in currency.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Fayetteville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Lemmon  prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-375-D-1.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Jacksonville man yesterday on charges of distributing crack cocaine, possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Robert Lee Henderson, 45, would drive from Jacksonville to New Bern, NC, in order to sell crack cocaine.  After selling crack cocaine to an informant in April 2019, detectives with the New Bern Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Henderson while he was traveling into town.  Henderson fled, driving through a crowded intersection.  He was arrested a short distance later, after he attempted to flee on foot behind a store.  Nearby, officers located additional amounts of crack cocaine and cocaine belonging to Henderson.  Detectives with the Jacksonville Police Department then executed a search warrant at Henderson’s residence and located four loaded firearms, over 80 grams of cocaine, smaller quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine, and over $36,000 in cash.

Henderson faces a maximum of 70 years in prison when sentenced in September.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the verdict. The New Bern Police Department, Jacksonville Police Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura S. Howard prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.7:20-CR-107-BO.

RALEIGH, N.C. – In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina conducted a webinar training with nursing homes and long-term care (LTC) facilities throughout our District.  The topic of the training was Elder Abuse in Nursing Home Settings:  How to Recognize and Prevent.  As the COVID-19 pandemic devastated nursing homes early in the pandemic and exacerbated many of the systemic problems already existing in many of the nation’s nursing homes making monitoring and detection of elder abuse more difficult, the training focused on educating nursing home staff on recognizing and preventing elder abuse and neglect.  The training focused on critical issues to keep all nursing home and LTC facility residents safe and discussed five types of abuse:  physical, psychological, financial, sexual, and neglect/abandonment.  The training also provided tips for nursing home and LTC staff to recognize compassion fatigue and using self-care techniques to combat it.  Lastly, a list of resources was provided to report elder abuse should it occur in their facility. 

For more information about DOJ’s efforts to prevent and combat elder abuse, please visit the Elder Justice Website at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. You can also contact the Victim Connect Hotline between 9am-6pm, Monday through Friday, at: 1- 855-4VICTIM (1-855-4842846), or contact the Elder Justice Coordinator at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina at (919) 856-4530.

A Proclamation on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, 2021 | The White House

Older Americans make invaluable contributions to our families, our communities, and our Nation every day. But for far too many, the sacred promise of aging with dignity in America is broken by ...

www.whitehouse.gov

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Jacksonville man was sentenced today to 340 months in prison after a jury found him guilty in February of charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a quantity of marijuana, and five kilograms or more of cocaine; distribution of a quantity of heroin, and aiding and abetting; possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a quantity of marijuana and a quantity of cocaine; possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Lee was sentenced to 280 months in prison on all offenses but possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, for which he was sentenced to 60 months in prison to be served consecutively.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Austin Kyle Lee, also known as Justin, 31, sold heroin to dealers in Jacksonville on multiple occasions, beginning in 2016. Through further investigation, it was determined that Lee, who was on parole for a felony drug conviction out of New York, was maintaining a house next door to his probation-official residence. 

Officers searched Lee’s stash house on Ridge View Drive and found over $210,000.00 in cash, 354.4 grams of cocaine, 159.72 grams of heroin, and 118.95 grams of marijuana.  Additionally, a loaded Glock 19 9mm pistol, Kel-Tec 9mm pistol, and Jiminez Arms .22 pistol with obliterated serial number were located in the house.  Over the course of approximately two years, Lee distributed around 5 kilograms of heroin, 20 kilograms of cocaine, and 1.75 pounds of marijuana.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Police Department, Onslow County Probation/Parole, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,  Duplin County Sheriff’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lucy Brown and Robert Dodson  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:18-CR-153-FL.

A North Carolina man was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for production of child pornography.

Raul Ayala, 72, of Angier, pleaded guilty on April 26, 2021. According to information provided to the court, Ayala’s crimes were initially discovered when a prepubescent minor victim disclosed to his parents that Ayala had sexually molested him. When investigators interviewed Ayala, he admitted molesting that victim and also admitted exploiting other victims as far back as the 1970s.

A search warrant was executed at Ayala’s residence and multiple digital devices were seized. During the search, law enforcement located in Ayala’s attic a hidden briefcase, suspended by a pulley system, that contained both adult pornography and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The briefcase contained tri-fold advertisements for child sexual abuse videos that included pictures of children engaged in sexual acts with adults. The briefcase also contained numerous nude Polaroid pictures of minor victims dating back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Seized digital devices also contained numerous CSAM images and videos. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were able to track down and identify one of the boys depicted in the Polaroids. He is now in his 50s and disclosed that Ayala had sexually abused him when he was a minor, beginning when he was 8 years old.

In addition to his prison term, Ayala was sentenced to a term of five years of post-incarceration supervised release.  A restitution hearing may be scheduled in the future.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney G. Norman Acker III for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement.

HSI, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fuquay-Varina Police Department investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 168 months in prison for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine and possession of a firearm by a felon.  On January 13, 2021, Rodney Tyrone Tyson pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, law enforcement in Wilmington received information that Tyson had robbed an individual of a large amount of crack cocaine.  Tyson was spotted by law enforcement in a housing community in Wilmington.  As an officer approached Tyson to speak with him, Tyson turned and walked in the opposite direction.  Upon seeing another officer, Tyson turned and walked in a different direction to avoid law enforcement.  When one of the officers neared Tyson, he could smell a strong odor of PCP.  The officer made contact with Tyson and patted him down.  The officer found a .38 caliber firearm in Tyson’s front pocket.  Tyson was arrested and officers began to transport him to the Wilmington Police Department.

During the transport, Tyson became combative and attempted to kick out the back window of the patrol car.  Officers removed Tyson from the vehicle and put hobble straps on his legs to prevent Tyson from damaging the vehicle.  During the struggle, Tyson’s shoe came off and officers located a vial of PCP, 9.85 grams of cocaine base (crack) and 2.11 grams of marijuana.  While officers were trying to get Tyson back into the car, he kicked one officer and bit another.  Tyson continued to try to damage the police car during transport.

Tyson was sentenced as a career offender, having multiple prior convictions for violent felonies and drug distribution felonies. 

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after the sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever, III. The Wilmington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:19-CR-87.