SAVANNAH, GA: The leader of a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed kilos of cocaine and large amounts of other illegal drugs throughout the coastal Georgia area has been sentenced to more than 25 years in federal prison, concluding prosecution of Operation Deadlier Catch. Joseph Bulloch, a/k/a “Lil Joe,” 34, of...

ASHEVILLE, NC – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Benjamin Dann Owens, 36, of Hayesville, N.C., was sentenced to 312 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and other narcotics as...

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Patricia Ann Hemphill, 51, of Rock Hill, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison after pleading guilty relating to a multi-state drug operation out of the Rock Hill and Charlotte, North Carolina area. Evidence presented to the Court showed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation...

STATESBORO, GA: A newly unsealed federal indictment charges nearly three dozen defendants for their involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy centered in south Georgia and reaching into the Caribbean. The primary conspiracy charge in USA v. Morales-Jimenez et. al, dubbed Operation Carpet Ride, carries a statutory minimum penalty of 10...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Darryl Hemphill, 34, of Rock Hill, pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Rock Hill Police Department began to investigate a group of defendants who were...

MACON, GA - Thirteen defendants have been sentenced to terms of up to 15 years in prison after an extensive operation that targeted a middle Georgia drug trafficking conspiracy. Eight men and four women were indicted in February 2021 under Operation Breaking the Bond, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task...

AUGUSTA, GA – Seven people have been indicted on charges related to a major methamphetamine-trafficking organization blamed for at least one overdose death. As described in the newly unsealed indictment in USA v. Wheatley et. al, the investigation in Operation Wheat Fields dates back to early 2018 and includes allegations...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced James Julius Lumpkin, of Sevierville, Tennessee, to 156 months in prison and five years of supervised release for drug trafficking, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. Attorney King is joined in...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A drug investigation led by the Western District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) has resulted in the indictment of six members of a poly-drug trafficking organization (DTO), announced United States Attorney Dena J. King. Brian Mein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau...

AUGUSTA, GA: Three Augusta men face felony gun charges while three others also faces drug trafficking charges as Richmond County law enforcement officials pursue individuals associated with an increase in gang-related violent crime. Federal indictments returned in the March term of the Southern District of Georgia U.S. District Court Grand...