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...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that a federal jury has convicted Jonathan Craig Otuel, 36, of Stallings, N.C., of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Otuel previously pleaded guilty...

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Fuquay-Varina nurse was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with painkillers intended for surgery patients. On March 9, 2022, Melissa Elizabeth Chacona pled guilty to the charges. “Surgical patients trust healthcare providers to give them the...

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Keven Rodriguez, a former Raleigh Police Department officer, pled guilty today to three drug trafficking and firearms charges for distributing cocaine while working on duty in his position as a Field Operations Division Officer. He also pled guilty to possession of contraband while in prison after a...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Megan Emily Tate, 28, of Sylva, N.C., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf this morning and pleaded guilty to distributing a substance that contained fentanyl which resulted in serious bodily injury, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert...

AUGUSTA, GA – A Georgia prison inmate who led an Augusta-area methamphetamine-trafficking ring has been sentenced to more than two decades in federal prison. Magnum Jelani Neely, 38, of Millen, Ga., an inmate at Dooly State Prison, was sentenced to 278 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to...