United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DENVER – Howard Weiss of Greenwood Village was sentenced to six months in federal prison for distributing a controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice, for structuring financial transactions in a way to evade reporting requirements, and for engaging in monetary transactions greater than $10,000 that were derived...

TRENTON, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced a Mercer County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 130 months in prison for his role as the leader of a Trenton drug-trafficking organization responsible...

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Fuquay-Varina nurse was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with painkillers intended for surgery patients. On March 9, 2022, Melissa Elizabeth Chacona pled guilty to the charges. “Surgical patients trust healthcare providers to give them the...

ORLANDO, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Robert J. Potocnack (42, St. Cloud) has pleaded guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking...

FRESNO, Calif. — Juan Medina, 29, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced. According to court documents, in July 2015, Medina, a truck driver acting at the direction of a...

EL PASO, Texas – A Dallas woman pleaded guilty in a federal court in El Paso Wednesday to charges in connection to her role as a stash house operator and coordinator of a human smuggling organization operating in far west Texas. According to court documents, Elizabeth Miranda Lozano, 39, joined...

FRESNO, Calif. — Sawtantra Chopra, 76, of Modesto, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other medication, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced. According to court documents, Chopra admitted prescribing drugs — including hydrocodone, alprazolam...

WASHINGTON – DEA is proud to join “Song for Charlie” and many of our valued law enforcement, public health, and non-profit partners in recognizing National Fentanyl Awareness Day. Tomorrow represents an important opportunity to remember the victims of fentanyl poisoning and educate people in our communities about the deadly threat...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – A registered nurse on Thursday admitted illegally obtaining and using fentanyl from the hospital where she worked. Lindsey M. Francis, now 35, was a nurse at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau at the time of the crime. On Jan. 15, 2022, a colleague discovered...

INDIANAPOLIS - Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers for the Southern District of Indiana announced that Sierra Goode, 33, and Cody Stonehouse, 32, both of Indianapolis, have been sentenced to 70 and 63 months in federal prison respectively after...