ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who was dealing fentanyl and fatally shot a 16-year-old with a fully automatic pistol in downtown St. Louis in 2022 to 15 years in prison. Judge Schelp also ordered John M. Whitney Jr., 22, of Bridgeton...

ST. LOUIS – A felon convicted of drug trafficking charges that included a 2019 St. Louis murder was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp to life plus 10 years in prison. Freeman Whitfield IV, 29, was an enforcer for a large drug conspiracy, evidence and testimony at...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Springfield, Mo., men and two Parsons, Kansas, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle being transported from California, as well as several firearms...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing more than 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine to distribute and illegally possessing two firearms. Christopher Kelley, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 16 years and six months in federal prison without...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Fulton, Mo., man and a Florence, Mo., woman were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Matthew Gunnar White, 32, of Fulton, and Krista Huddleston, 30, of Florence, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Roseann...

RALEIGH, N.C. – Today, United States Attorney Michael Easley announced that over the course of 2023, his office prosecuted 281 illegal firearm offenders resulting in the forfeiture of at least 249 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are criminally forfeited are removed from the possession of a...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Friday found a fentanyl dealer responsible for the overdose death of a 17-year-old in 2021 and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. Keith Edward “Kesso” Matthews, 24, of St. Louis County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in September to four felonies...

RALEIGH , N.C. – An Elloree , South Carolina man was sentenced to 151 months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possessing with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. On October 13, 2023, Ricardo Baltazar-Aguirre pled guilty to the charges. According to court documents and...

RALEIGH , N.C. – A Halifax County man was sentenced to 100 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine. On October 16, 2023, Taj’ma De’yong Ussery, also known as “Pop Off,” was convicted by a federal jury. “Drug traffickers are pushing dangerous and illegal drugs in vulnerable communities, driving up rates...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing eight firearms. Nicholas G. Gutierrez, 43, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Tuesday, Jan. 23, to 15 years in...