Eastern District of Tennessee

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Kaylen Butcher, 19, of Greeneville, Tenn., was sentenced on Jan. 10, 2013, to serve a total of 61 months in prison by the Honorable Leon Jordan, Senior U.S. District Judge. Upon his release from prison, he will serve five years of supervised release. Butcher was further ordered to pay restitution to the victim of her crime.

Butcher pleaded guilty in September 2012 to the June 2012 robbery by force of the Stop and Go Market in Chuckey. Butcher also pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm in the commission of the robbery. Federal law mandates a five year minimum mandatory sentence for carrying a firearm in the commission of a violent offense. In determining her sentence, the court considered Butcher’s cooperation against Larry Morgan, who was convicted at trial in October 2012, of the armed robberies of the Stop and Go Market and Greeneville Federal Bank. Butcher testified against Morgan at trial.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation included the Greeneville Police Department, Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Johnson City Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab, and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department dive team. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Tammy Copas, 40, of Johnson City, Tenn., was sentenced to serve a total of 121 months in prison by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. Upon release from prison she will be subject to three years supervised release under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office.

Copas pleaded guilty on May 14, 2012, to robberies by force of the Discount Tobacco Outlet store in Elizabethton and the La Perla restaurant in Johnson City, both of which occurred in January 2012. Copas also pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm in the commission of the La Perla robbery. She was sentenced to 37 months for each of the robberies, with the terms to run concurrently and 84 months for brandishing the firearm, to run consecutively to the robbery sentences. Federal law mandates a seven year minimum mandatory sentence for brandishing a firearm in the commission of a violent offense.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Lopez included the Johnson City Police Department, Elizabethton Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- Robert Randall “Peanut” Webb, 62, of Newport, Tenn., was sentenced on Jan. 7, 2013, to serve 90 months in prison by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, Senior U.S. District Judge. Webb pleaded guilty on May 1, 2012, to conspiring with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine. Upon his release from prison, he will remain on supervised release for five years. He was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $100.

Information presented at sentencing established that Webb used his home to conduct what was referred to as a convenience store for illegal drugs, from January 2011 until his arrest in February 2012. The court found that he managed the criminal activity which involved five or more participants including: James Robert Brickner, who previously received a sentence of 151 months in prison; Chelsea Shawntel Meigs, who previously received a sentence of 152 months in prison; and Margo Pondetta Gray, who previously received a sentence of 88 months in prison in the same indictment.

Testimony at sentencing established that Webb’s home served as a centralized location for 50+ drug addicts, who purchased prescription pain pills, heroin, crack cocaine, ecstasy, and morphine. Webb and many of his co-defendants injected illegal drugs intravenously during the period of the conspiracy. The illegal drugs were imported from Knoxville, Nashville, pain clinics in Florida and Georgia, and New York.

William C. Killian, U.S. Attorney, noted, “This investigation removed a fairly large scale drug operation from a residential neighborhood in Newport and demonstrated the effectiveness of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together to improve the safety of Tennessee communities.”

The indictment and subsequent conviction of Webb was the result of an investigation conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Newport Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Smith represented the United States at trial.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Habraham Enrique Guevara, 26, of Limestone, Tenn., was sentenced on January 8, 2013, to serve seven years in prison by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. Guevara pleaded guilty on Jun. 5, 2012 to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. In a separate indictment, Guevara and his mother Rosalva Robledo were charged with document fraud and illegal harboring of aliens crimes.

Information at sentencing established that Guevara, his father, Jose Cruz Guevara, and uncle, Arnoldo Ayala Cazarez, conspired to bring four pounds of high quality Mexican methamphetamine from Oklahoma City to sell in upper East Tennessee. All four pounds were found at the Guevara family home in Limestone, Tenn. One pound was 92.9% pure and qualified as meth ice. Enrique Guevara served as the translator, lookout, and transporter for the deal, which took place on Jan. 31, 2012, and was taken down by law enforcement. The investigation resulted in the conviction of six individuals, all natives of Sinaloa, Mexico, who were illegally present in the United States.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said, “The quantity of methamphetamine found at Guevara’s home was the second-largest quantity prosecuted in federal court in the northeastern division of the Eastern District of Tennessee. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug and the presence of high quality Mexican methamphetamine in Washington County presented a danger to the safety of that community.”

The indictment and subsequent conviction of Guevara was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and Second Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Donald Wayne Taylor and Helen Smith represented the United States in the prosecution.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn.- On Jan. 8, 2013, Paul Douglas Prater, 51, of Niagra Falls, N.Y. was sentenced to serve 264 months in prison by the Honorable Leon Jordan, U.S. District Judge, as a result of his conviction on Jun. 13, 2012, of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.

An investigation conducted by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) showed that Prater was transporting ammunition from Tennessee to a violent drug trafficking organization on the New York-Canadian border. Testimony at trial showed this drug trafficking organization was transporting large quantities of marijuana and cocaine across the Canadian border for distribution in the Niagara Falls area of New York. On Mar. 17, 2011, Prater was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol Interdiction Unit (THP) in Sullivan County, based on information provided by HSI. He was found to be in possession of 500 rounds of pistol ammunition, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was contacted and joined the investigation.

Agencies involved in the investigation included HSI, THP, and ATF. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Reeves, Eastern District of Tennessee and Melissa Marangola, Western District of New York.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian praised the quick response and excellent work done by the various agencies. "This sentence sends a message to those possessing and using firearms and ammunition illegally,” said U.S. Attorney Killian.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- On Jan. 8, 2013, Freddie Marshall Carson, 45, formerly of Powell Tenn., was sentenced to serve 46 months in prison by the Honorable Tomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, as a result of his conviction on Aug. 1, 2012, of wire fraud and money laundering.

An investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) showed that from 2005 through 2011 Carson held himself out as a well to do business man, owner of Masterworks. He conducted his sham business out of a $2 million home he claimed to own but was merely renting. He perpetrated the scheme by ingratiating himself into religious communities and using the religious affiliations to lull members of the communities into investing or making loans to his company. Some victims were told they were investing in securities of Masterworks to be used in business activities. Neither Masterworks nor Carson were registered to sell securities. Other victims were presented an investment scheme under the guise of a short term loan with guaranteed high rates of returns. However, once the victims wired their money into the Masterworks account the money was immediately diverted by Carson for his own personal use, such as a $55,000.00 new Infiniti SUV. The scheme spread over multiple states with multiple victims. The amount of loss totaled over $1 million.

Agencies involved in the investigation included FBI and IRS. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kolman.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- Sabir Jaquail Grant, 23, of Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced on January 8, 2013, by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, to serve a term of 12 months in prison for aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit Social Security fraud. In addition, he was also ordered to serve a three-year period of supervised release upon release from prison. Grant’s pleaded guilty on Feb. 22, 2011, to conspiracy and identity theft charges.

Grant and his co-conspirator, Joshua Phillips, came to the attention of law enforcement when Wal-Mart Loss Prevention associates observed them attempting to purchase cellular telephone accounts with suspicious North Carolina driver’s licenses. Knoxville Police Department officers arrested both defendants on Apr. 8, 2010, at the Wal-Mart location on Clinton Highway. Grant and Phillips were found in the possession of numerous false identity documents, including counterfeit Social Security cards. Both defendants subsequently entered guilty pleas to federal charges. Phillips is presently serving a sentence of 24 months in prison.

This conviction was the result of an investigation by the Knoxville Police Department, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Dale, Jr. and D. Gregory Weddle represented the United States.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tamral Guzman, 42, of Blount County, Tenn., pleaded guilty on Jan. 3, 2013, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, to failure to appear. Sentencing has been set for 10:00 a.m., Mar. 20, 2013, before the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. District Judge.

According documents on file with the U.S. District Court, Guzman was charged in a 57-count indictment for which she was on trial beginning on Sept. 24, 2012. She attended trial every day until Oct. 2, 2012, when she failed to appear. A warrant for Guzman’s arrest was issued by the District Court. The trial proceeded and she was convicted of all 57 counts on Oct. 4, 2012.

On Oct. 30, 2012, a vehicle believed to be driven by Guzman was located in Florida. Surveillance was set up on the vehicle and as a result Guzman was identified and arrested. Guzman admitted to living in a local hotel, paying for expenses with cash, and working in a local restaurant under an assumed name with her boyfriend and co-defendant Brian Paul Hatcher.

On Nov. 6, 2012, a three-count indictment, which included these charges, was returned against Hatcher and Guzman by a federal grand jury. Hatcher pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2012, and faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison for accessory after the fact and a maximum term of 20 years in prison for retaliating against a witness.

This indictment was the result of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Marshal Service. Jennifer Kolman Assistant U.S. Attorney represented the United States at trial.

“This conviction is notice to all that running from the custody of the U.S. Marshals is an additional offense which we will prosecute. The federal judicial system must be respected. I extend my sincere praise for the work of the Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Blount County Drug Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service for their diligent and successful work that resulted in these convictions,” said U. S. Attorney Bill Killian. “We are also very appreciative of the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman for her prosecution of these cases,” he added.