Press Releases - 2020-03

SAN DIEGO – Federal agents on the San Diego Tunnel Task Force uncovered a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel on Thursday, March 19, which extends under the United States-Mexico border to a warehouse in a commercial complex in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego.  The discovery of the tunnel resulted from an ongoing investigation by members on the San Diego Tunnel Task Force, which include Homeland Security Investigations, U.S.

TAMPA. Fla. - Jack Bradley Rice (35, Pinellas Park) has been charged with possessing with the intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine and for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. If convicted, Rice faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.          

WASHINGTON – The upcoming National Prescription Drug Take Back Day scheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2020 is postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  DEA will reschedule Take Back Day for a date shortly after the health crisis recedes and national emergency guidelines are lifted.

WASHINGTON – Former president of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro Moros, Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Venezuela’s minister of defense, and Venezuela’s chief supreme court justice are among those charged in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Miami, along with current and former Venezuelan government officials and two

ST. LOUIS – Markquis Bryant, aka “Two” 48, of Saint Louis, was charged by a federal complaint with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; being a felon in possession of one or more firearms; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Bryant will appear in court on March 27, 2020 for his initial appearance in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nannette A. Baker.

TAMPA, Fla. - Ronde Yarrell (43, Bradenton) was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for distributing heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine.  Yarrell had pleaded guilty on August 1, 2019.         

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan and U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jonathan DiPirro, a/k/a JD, 29, of Depew, New York, and Sarah Szymanski, 28, of Cheektowaga, New York, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $1,000,000 fine. 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Bobby Roger Burch, 48, of Hayesville, N.C. today to 262 months in prison, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Judge Reidinger also ordered Burch to serve five years under court supervision upon completion of his prison sentence. 

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -  Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Keith M.