KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Daniel Sands was arrested and charged on Nov. 20, in a criminal complaint with engaging in conduct with the intent to retaliate against a witness who testified against his father in an official court proceeding in U.S. District Court. An initial appearance was held this afternoon before...

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9, 2015, four more individuals involved in an extensive a-(alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western North Carolina, were sentenced to serve time in federal prison by the Honorable Pamela L. Reeves, U.S. District Court Judge. Melissa Carol...

STATESVILLE, N.C. - A federal jury sitting in Statesville delivered a guilty verdict against Eduardo Trejo-Munoz, a/k/a “Lalo,” 23, of Hickory, N.C., for trafficking high purity crystal methamphetamine worth over $5 million, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following a two-day trial which...

LOS ANGELES - A Rowland Heights doctor was convicted today of three counts of second-degree murder for prescribing massive quantities of addictive and dangerous drugs to patients with no legitimate need, three of whom died of overdoses. A jury of ten women and two men found Hsiu Ying “Lisa” Tseng...

LAS VEGAS - Mahesh Kuthuru, M.D., 47, of Henderson, Nev. pleaded guilty today to unlawfully writing prescriptions for oxycodone and other highly addictive prescription painkillers, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada. Kuthuru, who was indicted in October 2014, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Alberto Gasca, 31, of Los Angeles, California, to serve 128 months in prison and five years of supervised release on drug trafficking charges, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Gasca pleaded guilty...

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Joshua Brandon Hinkle, 30, of Chuckey, Tenn., was sentenced on Oct. 20, 2015, by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 110 months in federal prison for his role in an extensive a-(alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western...

LOS ANGELES - Investigations led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in the Los Angeles area have resulted in the arrest of over a dozen defendants allegedly involved in the large-scale manufacture and distribution of synthetic drugs that are commonly called “spice.”...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Heather Morgan, 28, of Maryville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge on Oct. 13. Upon her release from prison, Morgan will serve a two year period of supervised release. Morgan pleaded guilty to...

LAS VEGAS - Federal charges have been filed against four men and one woman alleging they are part of a large-scale heroin trafficking organization that operated in the Las Vegas area since December 2014, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada. Juan Almeda-Vazquez, 27, Maria Landin-Hernandez...