RICHMOND, Va. – A Guatemalan national was sentenced today to 172 months in prison for his role as a maritime transportation manager in a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO). According to court documents, beginning in 2016, Amilcar Chavez-Barrera, 42, conspired to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine for distribution...

Greenbelt, Md., – Charles Benjamin Stewart, Jr., age 46, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges for conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, illegally transporting a firearm obtained out of state, and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod...

Greenbelt, Md., – A federal jury convicted El Salvadorian nationals Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, a/k/a “Insolente” and “Trankilo,” age 24, of Landover, Maryland, and Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, a/k/a “Reaper,” age 41, of Long Branch, New Jersey yesterday for conspiring to participate in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also...

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Brian Blackston, age 32, of Baltimore, yesterday to 70 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine in the Monument Street area of East Baltimore. The...

Baltimore, Md., – Dwight Antonio Pitts, age 47, of Hanover, Maryland, pleaded guilty on November 19, 2021, to charges related to his participation in a drug distribution conspiracy involving large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs, shipped through the U.S. Mail from California to Maryland. The guilty plea was...

ABINGDON, Va. – A Greenville, South Carolina man, who formerly resided in Bristol, Virginia, pleaded guilty last week to distributing methamphetamine, international money laundering, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiring to obstruct justice. According to court documents, Joshua Desorcy, 36, was directly responsible for...

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man, who was the 25th defendant associated with Operation High Tide, was sentenced today for his role in trafficking firearms and selling heroin. According to court documents, in 2017, Shon E. Melton, 32, of Portsmouth, was attributed with trafficking 19 firearms, including a concealable short...

Greenbelt, Md., – Alicia Marie Walls, age 28, of Bowie, Maryland; and Andrew Joseph Trimmer, age 32, of Bowie, Maryland pleaded guilty on October 4, 2021, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Trimmer also pled guilty...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – On Wednesday, a federal jury convicted two individuals on charges relating to drug trafficking and money laundering. “As the evidence at trial showed, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of their drug trafficking crimes on behalf of a network of conspirators that...

Greenbelt, Md., – Ludin Alfredo Ipina-Ipina, age 33, of Chillum, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute over 2,000 grams of cocaine. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; Jonathan Lenzner, Acting United States Attorney for the...