United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ALBANY, Ga. – Two Southwest Georgia residents with criminal pasts pleaded guilty to federal charges resulting from an armed drug trafficking investigation conducted by local, state and federal level law enforcement agencies. Justin Harris Vinson, 42, of Warwick, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of methamphetamine on Sept...

A long-term undercover investigation resulted in the arrest of a New Jersey man in connection with sales of eight guns, cocaine and “pink cocaine” in locations across Manhattan. Laboratory analysis of the “pink cocaine,” also known by the street name “tusi,” indicated the presence of ketamine and MDMA. Bridget G...

SAVANNAH, GA: A physician who operates weight-loss clinics in the Savannah area has agreed to pay civil penalties and to accept increased oversight to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act. Dr. Donald Lyle Gates, who operates three Savannah-area Scale Solutions clinics, reached a settlement with the Southern...

NEW BERN, N.C. – Christian Ricardo Arce-Cazares, a 36-year-old resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, illegally present in the United States has been sentenced to 150 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting the distribution of...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – James Brewer, 36, of Columbia was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of fentanyl. Evidence presented to the court showed that on April 22, 2022, Brewer and the victim, R.B., discussed the exchange of drugs and that Brewer sent R.B. a...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Jason Dean Keever, 42, of Asheville, was sentenced to 336 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release today for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Allen Lee Henson, 54, of Morganton, N.C., was sentenced today to 168 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the...

STATESBORO, GA: Two newly unsealed federal indictments charge 23 defendants in widespread conspiracies that used drones to deliver methamphetamine, marijuana, and cell phones to Georgia state prisons. The indictments, USA v. Hall, et al, and USA v. Harris, et al, were unsealed in U.S. District Court, said Jill E. Steinberg...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Jonathan Craig Otuel, 36, of Stallings, N.C., was sentenced today to 181 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine and related firearms offenses. According to court documents, evidence presented at Otuel’s trial, and witness testimony, on November 19, 2019, officers with the...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The owner of a Charlotte area car dealership and a sales manager have pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. John Harvey Martin, 50, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty today, and Vincent Emmanuel Jefferson, Jr...