SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Jianhua Zhao, 25, of the People’s Republic of China, and residing in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty on Oct.1, 2026, after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine...

MILWAUKEE -- U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced Jerry Jones III, 69, a former emergency room physician from Mequon, Wisconsin, to 27 months’ imprisonment on Oct. 1, 2026, announced Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. On June 29, 2026, Jones pleaded guilty...

SIOUX FALLS - A Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in federal prison. The sentencing took place on September 28, 2026. Jason Pfuhl, 41, was sentenced to seven years and eight months...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On Sept. 23, 2026, Robert Newton, 34, of Niles, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Newton was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by five...

PEORIA, Ill. – Dione D. Alexander, 37, of Peoria, was sentenced on Sept. 18, 2026, to 120 months’ imprisonment for distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual), to be followed by five years of supervised release. At sentencing the government provided information that between Sept. 4, 2024, and...

MOLINE, Ill., - A Markham, Illinois, man, Orlando Dampier, 47, of the 15000 block of Whipple Street was sentenced on September 16, 2026, to 15 years of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine. According to court documents and statements in court, in...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - A Cedar Rapids woman who distributed methamphetamine was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison. Larissa Marie Ruffin, age 48, received the prison term after a March 12, 2026, guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance. Information from the sentencing...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On Sept. 18, 2026, DeCarlos L. Smallwood, 51, of South Bend, was convicted of eight felony counts after a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty. Smallwood was found guilty of drug and firearm offenses, including conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or...

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Willie York, 47, from Mason City, Iowa, was sentenced on September 18, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City. York pled guilty on May 11, 2026, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a...

CHICAGO – Todd C. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Field Division, announced drug-related charges filed with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office against two men. Burhan C. Ozerdinc, 33, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, and Ahmad S. Sanducka, 33, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, were...