SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On July 28, 2026, DeCarlos Christopher Smallwood, 29, of South Bend, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Two Evansville men have been sentenced to federal prison for operating a methamphetamine trafficking ring in Vanderburgh County. The Crossroads Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), including the Drug Enforcement Administration Indianapolis District Office, led the investigation. Isaac J. Horne, 47, was sentenced to 15 years in federal...

ROCKFORD, Ill. — An Illinois man has been sentenced to over 24 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine. On Oct. 25, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bradley Walters’s place of business, Black Sheep Vintage, in Roscoe. Inside the premises, officers located more than...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On June 10, 2026, Bao Xu, 33, of Los Angeles, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine. Xu was sentenced to 121 months in prison...

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for trafficking firearms and drugs. In the fall of 2024, Efrain Jacobo sold methamphetamine, cocaine and seven firearms in a series of transactions in Joliet. Unbeknownst to Jacobo, the buyers were undercover law enforcement officers...

MADISON, Wis. – Jamar M. Purnell, 49, Chicago, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of...

SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Charles Pheal Jr., 35, of Michigan City, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to distributing 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. “While drug dealing, Mr. Pheal alleged to be selling...

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for coordinating more than 200 shipments of methamphetamine from California to Chicago. In 2022 and 2023, Keith R. McCormick mailed more than 200 parcels—each containing a pound of 90-100% pure methamphetamine—from his residence in Sacramento, California, to...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Elijah Suggs, 31, of South Bend, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Maurice Williams, 30, of Milwaukee, was sentenced to 264 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a...