News and reports from the Department of Justice.

United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the sentencing of two defendants for illegal possession of firearms. United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced both defendants yesterday.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that 16 individuals, charged in 3 indictments, have all pleaded guilty to their respective roles in conspiring to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl and cocaine, in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) “Operation Titan Fall” investigation

A Minneapolis man has been charged in a federal indictment for illegal possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

A man from Texas and a woman from St. Louis were indicted Wednesday on drug conspiracy charges after multiple kilograms of suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine were found during a traffic stop on Interstate 44 in St. Louis County.

Daniel E. Russo pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, distribution and possession of oxycodone, and nine counts of filing false personal and corporate tax returns. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Frank A. Tarentino III, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and Keechant Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today that a grand jury in Manhattan federal court returned a Superseding Indictment charging Israel Garcia a/k/a “Shorty Rock,” the former leader of the Get Money Gunnaz set of the Young Gunnaz street gang (the “GMG YGz”) with murder in aid of racketeering and other charges in connection with the October 11, 2010, murder of Alfonso “Joey” McClinton.

Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana announced that Jacqueline Anderson, 37, of Rushville, Indiana, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Benjamin J. Hicks III, 42, of Indianapolis, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Robert Perez, Jr., 33, of Perris, California pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in California and New Hampshire, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced that Gary Sewell, 41, previously of Enfield, was sentenced to 72 months in prison for participating in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JEAN CARLOS MERCADO, 34, of Meriden, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 50 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a drug trafficking organization that used the U.S. Mail to ship kilogram quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut.

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that, on February 9, 2023, Dennis Martin, 42, of Colchester, Vermont, was convicted for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, following a four-day jury trial before United States District Judge Christina Reiss.

A Weymouth man has been sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed prodigious amounts of cocaine from Puerto Rico, which he and a co-conspirator obtained via the U.S. mail.

The United States Attorney’s Office stated that Cody Ahonen, 29, of Mt. Holly, Vermont was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 48 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to possessing cocaine and cocaine base with intent to distribute and possessing firearms as a prohibited person.

Nearly nine kilograms of fentanyl seized, including approximately 48,000 fentanyl pills