CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Savonte Watkins, 46, of Charlotte, to 42 months in prison on drug charges yesterday, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Bell also ordered Watkins to serve three years under court supervision after...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Joel Wesley Creech, 45, of Brevard, N.C., to 132 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also imposed five years of supervised release following incarceration. According...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two men have pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic cocaine across the border, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Mikeal Jovany Phillips, 35, Huffman, and Juan Andres Rodriguez-Murillo, 31, Mexico...

LAREDO, Texas – Three Laredo residents have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and launder money, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Cesar Mendiola, 57, Rafael Rodriguez, 63, and...

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Seabrook man has been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking drugs in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division, and U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today. Justin Hall McSpadden, 45, pleaded guilty...

McALLEN, Texas – A 34-year-old Reynosa, Tamaulipas, city council woman has entered a guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute approximately 42 kilograms of cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. On June 10, Denisse...

RALEIGH, N.C. – William Dayshawn Wilson, also known as “Santana,” of New Bern, North Carolina, was sentenced to 234 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and aiding and abetting. On June 3, 2022, Wilson, age 32, pled guilty to the charges...

San Antonio, TX A federal court in Texas ordered a San Antonio pharmacy and its pharmacist to pay a $275,000 civil penalty and imposed restrictions related to the dispensing of opioids and other controlled substances. Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction, the court enjoined Zarzamora Healthcare LLC...

RALEIGH, N.C. – The leader an armed drug-trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for moving kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in and around the Craven County area was sentenced yesterday to 420 months in prison for drug trafficking and gun charges. On March 3, 2023, Ivan Leonardo Medina-Beltran, age 45, pled...

SAVANNAH, GA -- Two Georgia men, including one from Bryan County, have been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. Darien Cothern, 34, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and Javarus McKinney, a/k/a “Jody,” 34...