SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On Sept. 18, 2026, DeCarlos L. Smallwood, 51, of South Bend, was convicted of eight felony counts after a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty. Smallwood was found guilty of drug and firearm offenses, including conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or...

CHICAGO – Todd C. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Field Division, announced drug-related charges filed with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office against two men. Burhan C. Ozerdinc, 33, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, and Ahmad S. Sanducka, 33, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, were...

SEATTLE – A 22-year-old Mexican national illegally present in the U.S. was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison for drug and gun crimes. Jesus Cristerna Lucas delivered 5,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover agent in November 2024. This drug sale came mere months...

BOISE, Idaho--Ricky Dee Sedlacek, 63, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for distribution of methamphetamine. According to court records, Sedlacek sold more than a quarter pound of methamphetamine over multiple transactions in Oregon and Idaho. Investigators contacted Sedlacek during a traffic stop as he was...

BOISE, Idaho - Michael Joseph Pena, 28, of Pocatello, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court records, Pena sold methamphetamine and fentanyl on multiple occasions throughout the summer and fall of 2025. When questioned...

WILMINGTON, N.C.– A federal judge sentenced Lara Joy Ezell, 42, to over 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth and distribution of 50 grams or more of meth. Ezell pleaded guilty to the charges on June...

SEATTLE – A 40-year-old repeat offender with a long history of drug and gun crimes was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 10.5 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Levi Frank Graham, most recently of Everett, Washington, was identified as a drug redistributor for...

CHICAGO — A woman has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for using information stolen from physicians to fraudulently write opioid prescriptions. AMANI IBRAHIM fraudulently caused prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other controlled substances to be issued under the names of real medical providers and often in the...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Hugo Alberto Roman Aparicio, 42, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for a gun trafficking conspiracy. All guns were seized and forfeited. According to court documents, Roman Aparicio and others, conspired to smuggle guns from Portland to Mexico. They hid 12 firearms...

SEATTLE– The 32-year-old leader of a drug trafficking organization that preyed, in part, on those living unhoused in “The Jungle” and in the Seattle Chinatown International District was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to eight years in prison. Daniel Ibarra Loera, an illegal alien, living in Kent...