SAVANNAH, Ga. - Sixteen of the defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, including the lead defendant in the gang. Operation Vanilla Gorilla targeted the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent criminal street gang largely operated from...

FLORENCE, S.C. - United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that James Latron Sumter, aka “T”, 35, of Myrtle Beach has pled guilty in federal court to conspiring to distribute a quantity of cocaine and heroin, the use of which resulted in serious bodily injury or death. This charge...

FLORENCE, S.C. - United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that John Henry Johnson, 68, of Myrtle Beach, was convicted by a federal jury after three days of trial during the lapse in government appropriations. The jury found Johnson guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Marcus Lenard Armstrong, 35, of McDonough, Ga., was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release on drug trafficking conspiracy charges, for buying the deadly synthetic opioid U-47700 on the dark web using cryptocurrency. “Whether you’re...

SAVANNAH, Ga. - More than 40 associates of the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent, white supremacist criminal street gang operated largely from inside prisons, have been indicted on federal charges related to drug trafficking and firearms possession throughout eastern Georgia and beyond. A 93-page, 83-count federal grand jury indictment...

ATLANTA - Francisco Castaneda Rivera has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly transporting 4.5 kilograms of heroin - hidden inside a car battery - from Texas to the Atlanta area. “Drug distribution is about delivering misery to the consumer,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge...

RALEIGH, N.C. – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge for the Atlanta Field Division, Robert Murphy, announced that Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Talih Rik Anthony Reeves, 36, of Wilmington, N.C., to 190 months imprisonment, followed by 48 months of supervised release...

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Special Agent in Charge for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration's Atlanta Field Division, Robert Murphy, announced that United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced Joaquin R. Ortega, 36, of Graham, N.C., to 252 months imprisonment followed by 60 months of supervised release. Ortega...

ATLANTA – The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia remains resolute in fighting the opioid epidemic that has plagued communities throughout the United States. According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, more than 140 Americans die daily from an opioid overdose, and in 2017, nearly...

RALEIGH, N.C. – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge James C. Dever, III sentenced Samuel Monserrate-Garcia, 55, of Midway Park, North Carolina and Victor Rodriguez , 41, of Jacksonville, North Carolina...