TAMPA, Fla – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found Damian Sierra (43, Port St. Lucie) guilty of possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Sierra faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 40...

OCALA, Fla. –Tralvaster Epps (34, Ocala) was sentenced to 10 years and 2 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Epps had pleaded guilty on November 18, 2021. According...

FRESNO, Calif. — Johnathan Eldon Moss Jr., 35, of Merced, was detained Thursday on a two‑count federal indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of ammunition and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon...

MIAMI – This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced a new initiative, Operation Overdrive, aimed at combatting the rising rates of drug-related violent crime and overdose deaths plaguing American communities. Last fall, DEA initiated a data-driven approach using national crime statistics and CDC data to identify hot spots of drug-related...

ORLANDO, Fla. –Jesus Manuel Rodriguez-Castillo (39, Kissimmee) was sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl-laced heroin. Rodriguez-Castillo had pleaded guilty on October 5, 2021. According to court documents, Rodriguez-Castillo sold approximately 290 grams of fentanyl-laced heroin to a cooperating source and an undercover DEA...

SAN FRANCISCO – The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a new initiative, Operation Overdrive, aimed at combatting the rising rates of drug-related violent crime and overdose deaths plaguing American communities. Last fall, DEA initiated a data-driven approach using national crime statistics and CDC data to identify hot spots of drug-related violence...

FRESNO, Calif. —Renato Aguilera, 30, of Porterville, California, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 3, 2020, Aguilera conspired with...

FRESNO, Calif. — Keisean Rockmore, 27, of Bakersfield, California, pleaded guilty today to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, on Jan. 19, 2021, Rockmore drove co-defendant Adrian Rodriguez...

FRESNO, Calif. — Fabian Garcia-Palacio, 19, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to three years in prison for illegally distributing fentanyl to a minor, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, in March 2020, Garcia-Palacio distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with...

ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Jose Armando Delgado Martinez (35, Orlando) to 14 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute over a kilogram of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced heroin. Delgado-Martinez had pleaded guilty on November 9, 2021. Two of Delgado-Martinez’s...