ST. LOUIS – The Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division broke its fentanyl seizure record in fiscal year 2022 with more than 671 pounds of the deadly opioid seized through Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois. That’s a 41% increase over the 396 pounds seized in the last fiscal year, and...

ST. LOUIS - Two men pleaded guilty Wednesday and admitted trying to pick up 100 pounds of methamphetamine that was being brought to the St. Louis area from Colorado. Demond Benard McDaniels Jr., 26, of St. Charles, and Dawuane Lamont Rhodes Jr., 25, of St. Louis, each pleaded guilty in...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City, Mo., man was charged in federal court today with illegally possessing heroin to distribute. Tremaine Davol Bell, 41, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City with one count of possessing heroin to distribute. Bell remains...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Four southern Missouri men were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine. Patrick A. Dodson, also known as “Julio,” 42, and Leslie O. Collins, 48, both of West Plains, Mo., Samuel L. Pyatt, also known as “Tippy,”...