SPOKANE, Wash. – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that in 2023, the office she leads prosecuted 85 illegal firearm offenders, resulting in the seizure and forfeiture of 163 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are forfeited are removed from...

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Devon Drake, 33, Lacey Fontaine, 33, and Henry Townsend, 28, each of Syracuse, New York, have been indicted and charged with distributing and conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. Drake is also charged with distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl within 1,000...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Carl Junction, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm. Chet Edwin Mercer, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Thursday, Feb. 29, to 12 years in federal prison without parole. On Oct. 12...

BOSTON – A Rhode Island man has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Alfredo Valdez, 46, of Providence, R.I. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl...

BOSTON – A Fall River man has pleaded guilty to his role in a drug distribution conspiracy involving oxycodone pills. Austin Gonsalves, 37, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for May...

NEW YORK CITY - Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Jose Luis Tejada Aybar was sentenced yesterday to 150 months in prison for operating the Cab Louie Delivery Service, an on-demand drug courier service that delivered fentanyl-tainted cocaine to customers in...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Danyell Kerr, Jr. was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Kerr, 32, of Albuquerque, pled guilty to...

ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Kassandra Lee Perales and Jared Michael Moore, two of the 12 defendants arrested during a joint enforcement...

BOISE, Idaho – Four members of a drug trafficking conspiracy were recently sentenced to federal prison for distributing large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Idaho, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. According to court records, beginning in March 2023, Idaho State Police detectives working in coordination with the Drug...

NEW YORK CITY - Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino III, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Erin Keegan, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field...