United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SEATTLE – A Seattle man, involved with firearms and fentanyl, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to federal charges that carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Lavonta Austin, 30, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge...

EUGENE, Ore.—A Gresham, Oregon man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on July 11, 2023, after he was arrested transporting methamphetamine in Deschutes County. Dennis Richard DeChenne Jr., 39, was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Matthew James Holmberg, 20, of Spokane Valley, Washington, was sentenced on July 19, 2023, to 19 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to court records, Holmberg was involved...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced Gary Lee Davis, 56, of Charlotte, to 188 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert J...

SEATTLE – Two men who served key roles in a large, wide ranging drug distribution conspiracy were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to significant prison terms, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Aaron Alarcon-Castaneda (aka Sobrino), 38, of Chino, California was sentenced to six years in...

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced criminal charges against two defendants today as part of the Department of Justice’s 2023 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. This two-week nationwide law enforcement action resulted in criminal charges against 78 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid...

COEUR D'ALENE – Dalila Miller, 39, of San Diego, California, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. According to court records, on October 23, 2020, U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted Miller’s vehicle in a remote area...

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley, along with federal and local law enforcement, announced ongoing and coordinated efforts to address violent crime and drug trafficking in Fayetteville and surrounding areas. This effort was conducted as part of two strategic initiatives underway in the region: the Violent Crime Action...

NEW BERN, N.C. – A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous, published opinion affirming former physician Jong Whan Kim’s conviction and sentence for operating a pill mill in Tabor City. The Fourth Circuit’s decision was the first published opinion by the Court upholding a...

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Dr. Mark S.T. Armitage, a physician practicing with Pelican Family Medicine in Wilmington, North Carolina, agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act. Dr. Armitage, who previously surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration to prescribe controlled substances, further agreed not to...