BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Two related indictments charging 19 defendants in a drug trafficking conspiracy based in Jefferson County have been unsealed, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. The following individuals were charged in the first indictment: Hakim Rashad James, also known as “Hop,” 48, of Birmingham, Ranisha Alliya Tolbert, also...

BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Kurt Wall announced the sentencing of Michael D. Nelson, age 56 of Independence, Louisiana, in connection with an extensive federal, state, and local investigation aimed at a large-scale cocaine and heroin trafficking network based in East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parishes. U.S. District...

LITTLE ROCK—Bertoldo Alcaraz-Ortuno, who was previously convicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, will spend the next 136 months in federal prison after being convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence...

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division has new leadership. DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole has appointed Anthony Chrysanthis as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC), covering Southern California, Nevada, Hawaii and the U.S. Territories of Guam and Saipan. Special Agent in Charge Chrysanthis draws...

EL PASO, Texas – Dr. Brian August, located in El Paso, has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act, the False Claims Act, and the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. The allegations involved the issuance of 255 controlled substance prescriptions to...

JONESBORO—A Blytheville man involved in drugs, guns, and child pornography will spend the next 20 years in federal prison. Jeremy Barnett was sentenced to 240 months’ incarceration today after being convicted for illegally possessing firearms and production of child pornography. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District...

MOBILE, AL – A Mobile man was sentenced today to life in prison for leading a vast drug-trafficking organization responsible for distributing hundreds of pounds of cocaine and pure methamphetamine. Several other members of the organization were also sentenced to serve decades in prison. According to court documents, Braxton A...

Aberdeen, MS – A Cleveland man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for distribution of cocaine. According to court documents, Anthony Williams, a/k/a “Big Ant”, 45, of was convicted of sale and distribution of cocaine. Williams was sentenced as a career offender having been previously convicted of two...

ALBUQUERQUE – A Hobbs man was sentenced to 26 years in prison for drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession as a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on October 19, 2023, agents with the Lea County Drug Task Force stopped a SUV...

EL PASO - A former FBI “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” and leader of the El Paso/Juarez-based Bario Azteca gang pleaded guilty today in federal court in El Paso, Texas, for his role in the March 2010 U.S. Consulate murders in Juarez, Mexico, in which three people associated with the U.S...