ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Friday found a fentanyl dealer responsible for the overdose death of a 17-year-old in 2021 and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. Keith Edward “Kesso” Matthews, 24, of St. Louis County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in September to four felonies...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Timothy Brian Jackson, 44, of South Charleston, pleaded guilty today to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. Jackson admitted that he created and intended to distribute fake oxycodone pills that actually contained fentanyl or other opioids. According to court documents and statements made in court, on...

Washington, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, which covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) confiscated more than 639,000 fentanyl pills and 189 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023. This amount represents more than a three-fold increase in the number of fake pills laced with...

PECOS – An Anthony, New Mexico man was sentenced this week to 327 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization that distributed cocaine. According to court documents, Gilberto Hernandez, aka “G”, 30, was the leader of the Hernandez drug trafficking organization (DTO). From August 2021 until...

RALEIGH , N.C. – An Elloree , South Carolina man was sentenced to 151 months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possessing with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. On October 13, 2023, Ricardo Baltazar-Aguirre pled guilty to the charges. According to court documents and...

PECOS – A Kermit man was sentenced this week in federal court in Pecos to 115 months in prison for possession and distribution of methamphetamine and an additional 24 months in prison for a supervised release violation stemming from a felon in possession charge he was sentenced for in 2022...

EL PASO – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division has a new Special Agent in Charge (SAC). On Sept. 11, 2023, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram named Towanda R. Thorne-James as the new Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the El Paso Division, which serves New Mexico and West Texas...

TAMPA, Fla . – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Alfred Clayton Rosier, Jr. (29 , Sarasota) pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla . – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis sentenced Andrez Galarza Miranda (51, Mexico) to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Galarza Miranda had pleaded guilty on September 29, 2023. According to court...

TAMPA , Fla . – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber sentenced Eric Joen Brenes-Colon (34, Orlando) to 9 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and MDMA (Ecstasy) . Brenes-Colon had pleaded guilty on October 26, 2023. According to...