BURLINGTON, Vt. – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that seven defendants have been sentenced in connection with drug and firearm charges related to the murder of Benzel Hampton on April 16, 2019, concluding today with the sentencing of James Felix. All seven defendants previously pleaded guilty to charges including...

NEWARK, N.J. – A Colombian citizen admitted conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States from other countries including Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Field Division Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney Philip R...

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang admitted to his role in a racketeering conspiracy, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Field Division Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Tre Byrd, aka “Bands,” aka “G Bandz,”...

NEWARK, N.J. – Two Essex County, New Jersey, men were charged today with unlicensed dealing in firearms and trafficking firearms in interstate commerce; one of the defendants was also charged with conspiracy to sell fentanyl, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division Cheryl Ortiz...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday sentenced a man from Chesterfield, Missouri who was caught with more than 2,000 capsules containing fentanyl and two stolen guns to 72 months in prison. Travionne D. Shelton, now 30, pleaded guilty in June to two felony charges: possession...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fifteen Kansas City, Mo., area residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute PCP and for illegally possessing firearms. Russell L. Spencer II, also known as “Russ,” 44, Charles N. Hill, also known as “Chuck Wagon,” 42...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE LORA, 30, of Hartford, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Pawtucket man who previously admitted to a federal judge that he was in possession of more than two kilos of fentanyl, a loaded Glock handgun, and nearly $80,000 in cash when he was arrested in October 2019 during a Pawtucket Police Department Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation...

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Melinda Morgan, 41, and Dale Taylor, 39, of Colchester, Vermont were arraigned today on drug trafficking and gun charges arising from a June 30, 2023 traffic stop near Brattleboro, Vermont. According to the indictment in the...

SEATTLE – A 30-year-old man from Seattle, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 60 months and one day in prison for drug trafficking and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Lavonta Austin pleaded guilty in July of 2023 in U.S. District...