COLUMBIA, S.C. — Vernon Antwan Martin, 37, of Columbia, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the distribution of fentanyl to a 20-year-old University of South Carolina student, resulting in her death. Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that in May 2023, Columbia Police officers conducted a...

LITTLE ROCK—Maurice Morning, who has a previous federal conviction and several state felony drug convictions, will spend the next 144 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down...

BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Jeremy Dewayne Hawkins, age 45, of Zachary, Louisiana, to 180 months in federal prison following his convictions for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and heroin...

Atlanta – Three illegal aliens from Mexico, Sergio Cortes-Nieto, Christian Martinez Larumbe Dominguez, and Jose Angel Cortes Raquel, appeared in federal court today and yesterday on charges related to their alleged operation of an Atlanta-area methamphetamine conversation laboratory. In addition, Cortes Raquel was arraigned on a previously unsealed indictment that...

LITTLE ROCK—Allan Ricardo Medina-Morales will spend the next 135 months in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by Chief United...

ATLANTA - Abelardo Avila Gomez, an illegal alien who was previously deported from the United States, appeared in federal court to face charges related to his alleged trafficking of 37 pounds of fentanyl from a Brookhaven apartment. “Avila Gomez allegedly trafficked a staggering amount of deadly fentanyl stored in his...

ATLANTA - Osiel Adame-Gomez and Miguel Velazquez-Garcia appeared in federal court to face charges related to their alleged distribution of large quantities of fentanyl. “Fentanyl is a highly lethal weapon of mass destruction that the narco-terrorist cartels have wormed into our country,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “We will...

LITTLE ROCK—A federal jury has convicted three men involved in methamphetamine and cocaine conspiracies that spanned from California to Texas to Arkansas and involved multiple pounds and kilograms of drugs. The trial, which spanned six days, ended Tuesday evening with guilty verdicts for Bruce McArthur Smith, 54, of Hesperia, Calif...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Two related indictments charging 19 defendants in a drug trafficking conspiracy based in Jefferson County have been unsealed, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. The following individuals were charged in the first indictment: Hakim Rashad James, also known as “Hop,” 48, of Birmingham, Ranisha Alliya Tolbert, also...

BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Kurt Wall announced the sentencing of Michael D. Nelson, age 56 of Independence, Louisiana, in connection with an extensive federal, state, and local investigation aimed at a large-scale cocaine and heroin trafficking network based in East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parishes. U.S. District...