United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SEATTLE- Two men who served as drug runners for a Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cartel connected drug trafficking organization were sentenced to prison following an extensive wiretap investigation. In sentencing 28-year-old Armando Fierro-Ponce to eight years in prison, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour noted that he had acted...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Scott Andrew Hollington, M.D. (57, St. Augustine) with 10 counts of distribution of controlled substances and one (1) count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. If convicted, Hollington faces a maximum penalty of 20...

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Virginia Garcia Moreta (35, Tampa) and Hector Rodriguez Mendez (47, Tampa) to 70 and 63 months in federal prison, respectively, for conspiring to commit money laundering. As part of their sentences, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in...

Spokane, Wash. – Antoinne James Holmes, age 23, of Cusick, Washington, located in Northeast Washington, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison. Holmes pleaded guilty on April 7, 2022 to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl. Holmes’ sentence will run concurrently with a 151-month sentence imposed for related conduct in Idaho...

EUGENE, Ore.--Two California men have been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin from California to Oregon. Jack Scott Lewis, 36, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. Previously, on June 6, 2022, Lewis’s accomplice, Michael...

TAMPA , Fla. – U.S. District Judges Thomas Barber and Virginia Covington sentenced Marvin “MJ” Mitchell (36, St. Petersburg) to 15 years in federal prison, Christopher Hughes (44, Clearwater) to 8 years in federal prison, and Emma Leifer (26, Clearwater) to 6 years and 6 months in federal prison for...

FORT MYERS, F l a . – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber sentenced Shauntavus Berklin (34, Fort Myers) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon and distributing fentanyl. The court also ordered Berklin to forfeit the firearms he illegally had possessed. Berklin had...

ORLANDO, Fla . – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found Juan Carlos Garcia (39, Apopka) guilty of conspiracy and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute it. Garcia faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for...

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Hector Enrique Veliz Villeda (30, Hialeah) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Veliz Villeda faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has...

SEATTLE, Wash. – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 23rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. For more than a decade, DEA’s National...