OAKLAND, Calif.– Mario Sevilla Artiaga and Danexi Mendoza Licona were each sentenced to seven years in federal prison on Friday, October 23, for conspiring to and selling fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar handed down the sentence. Mario Sevilla Artiaga, 23, and Danexi Mendoza Licona, 22, both nationals of...

LUBBOCK, TX – A former Texas Tech University professor who manufactured and distributed fentanyl — including a branded mixture known as “pink flamingo” — was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Daniel Taylor, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or...

Sacramento, Calif.— The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California; U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, San Francisco Field Division’s Sacramento District Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sacramento Field Office; Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; Sacramento Police Department; Central...

Sherman, TX – An Arizona woman and a Dallas man have been sentenced to federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a deadly fentanyl overdose. Pamela Esquivias, also known as Azalea, 25, of Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute...

FRESNO, Calif. — Three individuals were charged today following a multi‑agency investigation that dismantled a clandestine methamphetamine conversion laboratory in Terra Bella, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced. Jose Diarte-Perez, 46, and Carlos Beltran-Ochoa, 27, both from Mexico and illegally...

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Collin Shane Kirby, 21, of Oklahoma City, and Shane Michael Burgess, 24, of Mustang, Oklahoma, have both pleaded guilty to distributing a controlled substance analogue. According to public records, on December 12, 2025, Kirby sold pills to Burgess that contained N-Propionitrile Chlorphine, a synthetic opioid known...

OAKLAND – Joel Dowen was sentenced to eighteen years in federal prison on August 7, 2026, for engaging in a violent extortion scheme, shooting at a federal officer, drug dealing, and bank fraud. Co-defendant Micah-Luc Almeida was sentenced to three years in federal prison for conspiring to deal drugs with...

FRESNO, Calif. — David Joseph Yama, 42, of Reedley, pleaded guilty today to possession of fentanyl and alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) with intent to distribute, three counts of being a felon in possession of ammunition, and one count of carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense...

OKLAHOMA CITY – A federal indictment has been unsealed, charging Collin Shane Kirby, 21, of Oklahoma City, with distributing a controlled substance analogue resulting in death. According to the Indictment, Kirby is alleged to have distributed a substance containing N-Propionitrile Chlorphine, a synthetic opioid known as cychlorphine, to another individual...

SAN FRANCISCO – On June 24, 2026, Javier Velasquez Antunes was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for dealing methamphetamine while illegally possessing a loaded handgun and shotgun. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria handed down the sentence. Antunes, 50, a national of Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand...