United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ASHEVILLE, NC – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Benjamin Dann Owens, 36, of Hayesville, N.C., was sentenced to 312 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and other narcotics as...

SEATTLE – A 46-year-old Marysville, Washington woman, who co-owned a Lake Stevens, Washington restaurant used for drug trafficking, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for distributing methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Laura Rodriguez-Moreno has been in custody since...

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Patricia Ann Hemphill, 51, of Rock Hill, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison after pleading guilty relating to a multi-state drug operation out of the Rock Hill and Charlotte, North Carolina area. Evidence presented to the Court showed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation...

Seattle – The leader of a violent, prolific drug trafficking ring was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering and...

Seattle – The mid-level leader of a drug distribution cell that was one of the most violent seen in the Western District of Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jose Daniel Espinoza, 35, was indicted and...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Dumfries man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury, and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. According to court documents, on September 21, 2021, Michael Vaughn, 28, distributed cocaine laced with fentanyl at...

NY., - Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the conviction in Manhattan federal court of Billy Ortega, a/k/a “Jason,” for distributing the fentanyl that killed three young New York City professionals: Julia Ghahramani, Amanda Scher, and Ross Mtangi. The jury convicted Ortega...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Megan Emily Tate, 28, of Sylva, N.C., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf this morning and pleaded guilty to distributing a substance that contained fentanyl which resulted in serious bodily injury, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Rock Port, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to selling fentanyl to another Atchison County, Mo., man that resulted in his fatal overdose. Quentin W. Carder, 23, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of conspiracy to distribute...

Tacoma – A Bremerton, Washington couple was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to lengthy prison terms for possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. David Berryhill, 46, was sentenced to 90 months in prison and his fiancé Jamie Kelly, 50, was sentenced to...