Press Releases - all

(Orlando, Fla.) – 17 members of the Pagans Motocycle Club pleaded guilty today to multiple charges of conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine in four separate cases:

United States v. Barbara Caylor-Hernandez et al., Case No. 6:18-cr-184-Orl-37TBS

STATESBORO, Ga. - A Mexican national and 17 other Statesboro-area residents indicted in a sweeping two-year, multi-agency investigation have pled guilty to a multitude of charges, and now face sentences of up to life in prison.

FLORENCE, S.C. - United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that John Henry Johnson, 68, of Myrtle Beach, was convicted by a federal jury after three days of trial during the lapse in government appropriations. The jury found Johnson guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and two counts of the attempted distribution of heroin in January and February of 2017. Johnson faces up to 30 years in federal prison as a result of these convictions. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced today Shi Yun Zhou, 27, of Charlotte, to 108 months in prison and four years of supervised release on drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Sixteen of the defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, including the lead defendant in the gang.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Marcus Lenard Armstrong, 35, of McDonough, Ga., was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release on drug trafficking conspiracy charges, for buying the deadly synthetic opioid U-47700 on the dark web using cryptocurrency.

BOSTON – A Worcester restaurant manager pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Worcester to conspiring with the wife of a convicted drug dealer to use drug proceeds to renovate and operate a Shrewsbury Street restaurant. 

Joseph Herman, 37, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, making false statements to federal investigators and attempted witness tampering. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for May 28, 2019.

Tampa, Fla. - Roderick Lamar Duval, 39, of Bradenton, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl and heroin. He had pleaded guilty on September 27, 2018.

According to court documents, Duval sold fentanyl and heroin to an undercover detective on multiple occasions. During one of the transactions, Duval sold the fentanyl and heroin to the undercover detective within 1,000 feet of an elementary school in Bradenton.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; New York Division, and U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr., announced that Scott Schafer, 39, of Rochester, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, methamphetamine. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, or both.