ATHENS, Ga. – A defendant charged in an ongoing, large-scale drug trafficking investigation dubbed “Operation Wu Block,” has pleaded guilty for her crime, said Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Latasha Bishop, 33, of Athens-Clarke County, pleaded guilty to one count distribution of methamphetamine before...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Fourteen members of a methamphetamine trafficking ring have been charged with federal drug conspiracy and related drug and firearms offenses, announced Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division and Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina...

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - John Michael “Mike” Gowder, James Heaton, and George David Gowder have been sentenced to federal prison. Both Mike Gowder and Heaton were convicted on October 24, 2019, after a two-week jury trial on 102 counts related to illegally prescribing and obtaining more than 15,000 doses of prescription...

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A pharmacist who owned and ran Fulghum Pharmacy in Baxley, Ga. was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy that involved health care fraud and illegal distribution of opioids. Ray Ashley Dixon, R.Ph., 42, of Baxley, Georgia, was sentenced by...

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Chatham County has been added to the Atlanta-Carolinas Region High Intensity Drug Trafficking area (HIDTA) in an effort to assist in the community’s fight against drug trafficking. The designation, by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), means Chatham County will gain access to...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Randall Curtis Gross, 27, of Grand Coulee, Washington, was sentenced on June 16, 2020, after having pleaded guilty on February 11, 2020, to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine as well as heroin. Senior District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Gross to a...

SAVANNAH, Ga - Three Florida men have been charged in a conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine after authorities discovered and seized a shipment with nearly $2 million worth of cocaine. Juan De Jesus Gutierrez, 45, Jonathan Mejia, 41, and Ricardo Sanchez Ortiz, 46, all of Kissimmee, Fla., are charged...

SEATTLE - Two Bellingham, Washington, residents made their initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Seattle following their arrest on May 28, 2020, for distributing fake oxycodone tablets tainted with fentanyl. Troy J. Klander, 38, and Zachary D. Salas, 38, are charged with conspiracy to possess fentanyl with intent...

SAVANNAH, Ga - Five Savannah-area residents are charged in a seven-count federal indictment handed down by a U.S. District Court grand jury meeting in virtual session in accordance with the COVID-19 pandemic. The four men and one woman named in the indictment face charges with possible penalties of up to...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Shannon Dale Henson, 46, of Asheville, to 112 months in prison, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also ordered Henson to serve four years under court supervision upon completion of his prison...