PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, Jose Ismael Castro Leon, 47, a Mexican national living in the United States illegally, was charged by federal criminal complaint in Phoenix, Arizona with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl. According to the complaint, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) East...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, John Avendano, 21, of Phoenix, Arizona, was charged by federal criminal complaint in Phoenix, Arizona with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. According to the complaint, on September 22, a Task Force Officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) East Valley Drug Enforcement Task...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jorge Anaya-Valencia, 48, of Guyamas, Sonora, Mexico, who was unlawfully living in Arizona, was sentenced on September 23, by United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham to 180 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. Anaya-Valencia’s co-defendants, all illegal aliens, were previously sentenced in this case...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On September 17, Mariano Gomez Padilla, 28, Eduardo Garcia Lopez, 21, and Abel Martinez Valenzuela, 25, all Mexican nationals living in Arizona, were charged by federal criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. According to the complaint, on September 17, Drug Enforcement...

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Jafari J. Williams, 48, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence was announced by John...

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Bennie Charles Deloach, 36, of Cantonment, Fla., was sentenced to 14 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine or 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The sentence was announced by...

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Taj Tariq Tamboura Robinson, 35, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The...

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – On Monday, August 18, 2025, Shantel Marie Powell, 37, of Crestview, was found guilty by a federal jury of making a false statement to a federal agent. Her husband and codefendant, Kevin Lamonte Powell Jr., 40, had earlier pleaded guilty as charged to possession with intent to...

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Calvin D. Thomas, Jr., 30, and Satori Ashanti Keys, 45, both of Pensacola, were indicted by a federal grand jury this week. Each man was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, more than 500 grams of...

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Erik Gammons, 42, of Marianna, Fla., pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday, August 8, 2025, to Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing Methamphetamine and 500 Grams or More of Cocaine. The plea was announced by John P...