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...

Ocala, Fla. – Jimmy Deon Lofton (46, Ocala) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber to eight years and one month in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Lofton pleaded guilty plea on May 28, 2026. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the...

Pensacola, Fla. – Jeffrey Benjamin Banks, 45, of Pensacola, has been indicted in federal court for one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, 5 grams or more of methamphetamine and fentanyl and one count of possession with intent...

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...

NEW BERN, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced Kenji Chiba Jerkins, 31, to over 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute large quantities of meth in Lenoir County. Jerkins pled guilty to these crimes on June 18, 2026. “This defendant was held...

Sherman, TX – An Arizona woman and a Dallas man have been sentenced to federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a deadly fentanyl overdose. Pamela Esquivias, also known as Azalea, 25, of Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute...

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...

BOSTON – A Boston man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for felony narcotics charges. Michael Lagasse, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to time-served (approximately 10 months) followed by three years of supervised release. The government recommended a sentence of 40 months...

STAMFORD, Conn. - David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAMION BAKER, also known as “Ray Ray,” 46, of Stamford, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 162 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for...

BOSTON – A Las Vegas man, formerly of Northborough, Mass., pleaded guilty on Sept. 10, 2026 in federal court in Worcester for conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute large quantities of anabolic steroids and methamphetamine. The defendant also pleaded guilty to firearms charges. Mark Taslakian, 52...