PHOENIX – On September 28, 2022, a grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona, returned a 34-count indictment against nine individuals, including: Yvette Porras-Ochoa, 40, of Wittmann, Arizona Ricardo Ochoa, 41, of Mesa, Arizona Kourtney Moore, 40, of Akron, Ohio George Martinez-Aviles, M.D., 55, of Peoria, Arizona Vanessa Quijada, 36, of Phoenix...

PHOENIX – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 23rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. Last April, residents of Arizona turned in 8,215...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Gabriel Joseph Bustamante, 43, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on September 28, 2022by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 17.5 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Bustamante previously pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Felon in Possession of...

PHOENIX - Alexandro Luis Gomez, 30, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on September 28, 2022, by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 17 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Gomez previously pleaded guilty to Distribution of a Controlled Substance connected to the overdose death of...

PHOENIX - Maria Fernanda Granillo-Velazquez, 21, of Mexico, was charged on August 19, 2022, by criminal complaint for Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl. Granillo-Velazquez had her initial appearance on August 22, 2022, before United States Magistrate Judge Michael T. Morrissey. The case is set for trial on November 1...

NEW BERN, N.C. –A New Bern man was sentenced on September 30, 2022, to 118 months in prison and 60 months of supervised release for trafficking heroin and fentanyl in December 2018 and January 2019. On April 15, 2022, Quentin Tavaris Bryant pleaded guilty to the charges. “Working together with...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Lawrence Jeffrey Brooks, 41, of Mount Holly, N.C., to 396 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, and Dustin Blair Henry, 39, of Charlotte, to 235 months in prison and five years of supervised release for...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Jose Francisco Vasquez-Rico, 22, and Andrew Estiben Reyna-Rodriguez, 23, both of Charlotte, were sentenced to 168 months and 51 months in prison, respectively, for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell also ordered the defendants to...

ALBANY, Ga. – A Florida resident with multiple prior state felony convictions for distributing methamphetamine pleaded guilty to a federal controlled substance charge after being caught with approximately eight kilograms of the illegal drug during a routine traffic stop when his co-defendant attempted to escape from authorities with the bag...

PHOENIX – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the results of an enforcement operation that spanned from May to September and resulted in significant fentanyl seizures across the United States. “On the frontline as we race to save lives, DEA Arizona continues to seize historic amounts of deadly fentanyl,”...