SAVANNAH, Ga. – Three people, including two medical professionals, are among defendants recently prosecuted in federal court as part of continued efforts to crack down on opioid abuse. Lisa Marie Douthit, 42, a pharmacy technician at a Walgreen’s in Bryan County, was sentenced to three months in prison by U.S...

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...

FLORENCE, S.C. - United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that James Latron Sumter, aka “T”, 35, of Myrtle Beach has pled guilty in federal court to conspiring to distribute a quantity of cocaine and heroin, the use of which resulted in serious bodily injury or death. This charge...

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...

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. Operation Vanilla Gorilla targeted the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent criminal street gang largely operated from...

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. The joint federal, state and local investigation began in 2015 after citizens complained about...

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. “Whether you’re...

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Special Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration this morning arrested an Orange County doctor on federal charges that allege he illegally distributed opioid and other powerful narcotics by writing prescriptions for “patients” without medical examinations and to at least five individuals who suffered overdose deaths. One...

LOS ANGELES – As the greater Los Angeles area continues to be hamstrung by an opioid epidemic that has seen approximately 500 overdose deaths this year, the DEA in Los Angeles has announced a new comprehensive opioid strategy. At a press conference on Dec. 18, 2018, the DEA in Los...

LOS ANGELES – A Hollywood man who allegedly sold fentanyl to buyers he met on Craigslist was indicted today on federal charges of selling the powerful synthetic opioid to a customer who suffered a fatal overdose. Andrew Madi, 25, was charged by a federal grand jury with one count of...