DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
1183 Results - Showing 1011 to 1020
PRESS RELEASE

Bakersfield Marijuana Store Owner Sentenced To Four Years In Prison

FRESNO, Calif. - On January 28, 2013, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced David Chavez Jr., 32, of Bakersfield, to four years in prison for using a communication (telephone) in connection with a drug trafficking offense. He pleaded guilty on September 24, 2012. As part of the plea agreement...
PRESS RELEASE

Fresno Man Pleads Guilty To Structuring Drug Proceeds

FRESNO, Calif. - Joseph Edwin Gable, aka Mike Jones, 42, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to structuring proceeds derived from an interstate drug trafficking operation, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court documents, Gable acknowledged...
PRESS RELEASE

Nevada County Man Forfeits More Than $2.4 Million Worth Of Property And Is Sentenced To Four Years In Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Charles Miller Hilkey Jr., 58, of the Nevada City area, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton in connection with the cultivation of marijuana and structuring cash transactions to avoid reporting requirements, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano...
PRESS RELEASE

Convictions In Multicounty Marijuana Cases

FRESNO, Calif.) - Two large-scale marijuana cultivators in Kern County entered guilty pleas and two cultivators in Kings and Fresno Counties were sentenced today in federal court, Acting Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Guilty Plea in Federal Wiretap...
PRESS RELEASE

Partner In Stockton And Sacramento Marijuana Businesses Pleads Guilty

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Lynn Farrell Smith, 62, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to federal marijuana charges that include conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana, two counts of manufacturing marijuana and six counts of distributing marijuana from storefronts in Stockton and Sacramento, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce...
PRESS RELEASE

Richard Ammar Chichakli Arrested On Money Laundering, Wire Fraud, And Conspiracy Charges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart and Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, announced that Richard Ammar Chichakli, an associate of convicted international arms dealer, Viktor Bout, was arrested yesterday in Australia for, among other things, allegedly conspiring with Bout and others to violate the International Emergency Economic...
PRESS RELEASE

South Lake Tahoe Man Pleads Guilty To Marijuana Trafficking

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gennaro DiMatteo, 43, of South Lake Tahoe, pleaded guilty today to count two of the indictment, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. This case is the product of...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Publishes Proposed Regulations For Disposing Of Controlled Substance Prescription Drugs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Disposal of Controlled Substances in the Federal Register Dec. 21. The proposed regulations seek to implement the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010. According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...
PRESS RELEASE

Ten Members Of Fraudulent Prescription Ring Arrested

OAKLAND, Calif. - On December 18, 2012, ten people were arrested for their participation in a network that obtained significant quantities of prescription narcotics through forged prescriptions, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams and United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. Among those arrested were Letitia Montgomery...
PRESS RELEASE

Bakersfield Marijuana Business Owner Pleads Guilty

FRESNO, Calif. - David Chavez Sr., 53, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal...